Today we went back to the Marine Environment Discovery Center north of Tadoussac. We took the ferry over. There was no fog today and the view was amazing. We could see up the fjord. Off the side of the boat were a pod of beluga whales. We saw them show their tails but couldn’t get down and near the side to get a photo of them. It was amazing to see them show their tails.
At the Marine Environment Discovery Center we went rock scrambling while watching for sea life. We saw a few seals and a pod of harbor porpoise swim by near the rocks. Just as we were turning to leave he heard the blow of a whale. We all spun around to see a huge Minke whale surfacing. We watched a few more minutes and saw it come up again about 30 meters from us. Where the rocky shore meets the water there is an immediate drop-off. The whales like to chase their food up against the rocks.
A little rock scrambling before we head up the hill.
We attended a class on sharks in the St. Lawrence. We learned that there are 7 main species in the area. They have great white, blue shark, mackerel shark, basking, Greenland and two types of dogfish. We learned about their anatomy and how sharks have three extra senses. It was fun to learn that they have recently dated a deceases Greenland shark at about 400 years of age. This is quite amazing! Also the mackerel shark carried their eggs inside and as they hatch they eat the other eggs or sibling until one is left. Then that one will life in the mom until it is about 1/4 the size of an adult. Sometimes the babies get aggressive and actually kill their Mom from within. Freaky!
Next we drove inland and along the Saguenay River to the Quebec National Park of the Saguenay Fjord and Saint Marguerite. We checked out the visitors center.
Then hit the trail. It was supposed to be a spectacular place to view beluga whales. We hiked the 3km trail out to the viewing platforms. We arrived and it was insanely packed with people looking out at the water. We were excited to see the whales but there were NONE! NONE! We stuck around about an hour and watched from the beach below the platform and then the platform as people started to leave. Nothing! Oh well. The walk was beautiful along the river and we took a nice stroll back. Breighton walked ahead when Emmerson needed a break. B left us trail markers drawn in the sand. We followed a path of “I was here. -Bâ€, arrows and times he past points until we caught back up with him sitting on a bench watching some black, fuzzy caterpillars.
The weather got up to 86F today with no breeze. We think it was because we were inland. On the way back on the ferry the temperature was back in the upper 70s and by the time we got to the campground it was in the mid 70s. Amazing how within an hour the temperatures vary so much.