Day 10 - Lachine, QC to Contrecoeur, QC (Brian)

July 30, Contrecoeur, Quebec

 The winds that drove us yesterday stayed high all night and whisked us into the ten mile Lachine Canal. We rowed through an old industrial area of Montreal with some abandoned factories the size of Cathedrals. But even there the canal water was clean and lined with parkland and bike paths. We stopped for coffee, pastry and sandwiches at the Marche Atwater.

   The lock keepers are always good to us, and one of them today was an absolute babe. More than one of the lock keepers, although not the babe, have said they wish they were coming with us.

  Leaving the last lock, we were out there with the big boats and big water. There was a boiling, intimidating rip where the harbor opened to the St. Lawrence Seaway. We took one look and stopped to think about it. Then we put on our life jackets and within minutes were being carried at 8 miles per hour, sharing the sea lane with tankers and cargo ships.

  Our math is a little inexact, but we think we may have made 40 miles today.

 The St. Lawrence took us through the port, where ships were and unloading, before giving way to countryside, and colonial Quebec. Occasionally you come across an old "moulin", a stone silo-like building that was once a windmill.

  Somewhere along the way I heard a noise that sounded like a baseball stadium with a crowd. But we turned and it was an island with thousands of calling gulls.

 Contrecoeur is a little town with one main street and a pub. We negotiated tent space and a shower at the marina.

 Big chicken just arrived at the table. Au revoir.