Day Four - Godbout QC to Percé QC – 225 miles
The ferry was scheduled to leave at 8:00am, so we got up early and headed to the ferry launching point just across the street form where we had dinner the night before. We had made reservations on-line and after checking in we were told, in French, where to park. We didn’t quite understand we were being told “over there behind that black truck” but we figured out after a few uncomfortable minutes. We were one of the first to board, and after securing the bikes we grabbed our laptops and headed upstairs to find a place where we could utilize the WiFi access advertised on the web site. After firing up we realized there was no WiFi and we quickly gave and headed out to the deck where the sun was shining and we just sat and enjoyed the two hour ride. We disembarked in Matane on the Gaspé Peninsula and gassed up before we started our trek to Percé. We were traveling in a clock-wise orientation which was the opposite direction we traveled on our visit to the area. After going for about an hour we reached the town of St. Anne-Des-Monts where the road to Park De La Gaspésié intersects. The town was founded in 1815 and served mostly as a fishing village but has become a tourist destination with its close proximity to the park. Just another ten minutes down the road we came upon the lighthouse at La Martre (KMZ). It dates from 1905, and wood construction, and is still in operation. Along side of the lighthouse is the lighthouse keeper’s quarters and a small museum. We snapped some pictures of the lighthouse and surrounding area and moved on. Continuing on C132 around the horn the road swept along the Gulf of St. Lawrence rising up on the bluffs and dropping down into the little villages along the coast. We considered taking C198 through the interior of the peninsula but we liked the seaside road so much we continued on our route. We reached Rivière-la-Madeleine and another lighthouse where we stopped for more pictures. This one was of the same vintage as La Martre; built in 1906 and still in operation. It is 55’ in height compared to the La Martre which stands at 63’. It was only 1:00 in the afternoon and we were well on our way to Percé. A short ride up the road and we were at one of our favorite picture spots from 1997 overlooking Grand Vallée. We stopped there for a picture that would provide some historical perspective. Continuing on we were approaching Forillon Park and we came upon our last lighthouse of the day; the Cap-des-Rosiers lighthouse (KMZ). This one was older having been built in 1853 and standing 112’. Of the three lighthouses this one was probably the most impressive, but I liked the La Martre lighthouse since it set up so majestically on a cliff. We continued on into the park and wound our way back through the park to the road’s end (KMZ). There were some nice views and the park had lots of activity on a Sunday afternoon. We were shocked however to see some people on the beach; it couldn’t have been much warmer than 72º, great for motorcycling, but swimming? We continued on to Percé where we searched for our hotel. We had difficulty finding it so we stopped at one of the many information stands and learned that our reservations were at a motel in the town of Gaspé not Percé (KMZ). The original motel granted us a cancellation and we found another one nearby. It was that great of a spot, but it was right in downtown and we unpacked and headed out to dinner walking down the main thoroughfare.
