 We debated leaving for Quebec City today but decided against it. Chris and Joan had a long drive from London the day before and the excitement they encountered along the way had worn them down a bit, so we decided to spend another day in the Montreal area and do a bit of sight-seeing. After all, it is not likely that Ananda will be back this way for a few years—if ever! |
 We took Ananda out of the marina and headed across the river towards Montreal. The river at this point is about 2-3 miles wide, with lots of turbulence in the water, strong current and boating traffic of all shapes and sizes. Headed upstream in the strongest part of the current our best speed was only about 2.8 knots. I’d hate to have to do a few hundred miles of climbing upstream like that! |
 The site of Expo 67 is on a small island just upstream from our marina and the old city of Montreal is across from this island. The Expo 67 site is now a large park and amusement area for the city and region. It is called La Ronde and it has lots of rides and other family-oriented things to do. La Ronde was one of Emily’s favorite things about Montreal when she was in Quebec on a French language exchange trip a couple of summers ago. We motored over towards the old city and once we were behind the breakwater the current disappeared. Boaters can come right up to docks at the waterfront for the old city. This is also an area where cruise ships and freighters tie up. |
 After touring around the waterfront (from the water) we headed back to our marina and prepared to make plans for our departure the next morning. We decided to go to a nearby grocery store and pick up a few more provisions. Chris and Joan were still feeling the effects of their Longuiel driving ordeal so we were all determined to pay very close attention to the local roads and our route. Well, we found our way to the shopping plaza with no difficulty at all—but wouldn’t you know it—we sure got lost on the way back—and we were only about 10 minutes away from the marina! This area has a series of one-way streets, dead end streets, and interchanges leading to the bridge across the river to Montreal and to the freeway along the river. |
 In all of this there was not one direction sign to the area we were trying to get to. I tried to get my BlackBerry AT&T Navigator to help us out but the silly thing was not able to lock on to enough GPS satellites to provide directions—and yes, Catherine, I know what you are thinking at this moment—you’re right again my dear!After almost an hour of driving around in circles, supplemented by bad (but well-intentioned) advice from several locals, we finally stopped and asked another driver for directions. Thankfully this person knew where the marina was and was also kind enough to agree to lead us to it. Chris offered a “reward” of “biere froide” (cold beer) once we reached our destination but the good Samaritan was content with our enthusiastic “merci beaucoup, monsieur!”. After two events of not being able to find our way to a destination that was less than a 10 minute drive, we were beginning to wonder if we could make it to Halifax! Have no fear, Tiki Navigator is here and we have lots of marine charts too! |