When we
checked in at the ferry last night I asked about the weather
forecast and was told it was going to be good for the next few days.
I was relieved as it meant we should get a good ferry trip but the
night did not bode well. The wind picked up and it started to rain.
At 2:00am Stef woke up hearing an alarm going off beneath our
bed. Neither of us had a clue what it was but when he tried to turn
the lights on and they would not work we knew something was up. Stef
went outside to check the electrics and I checked the inches of
papers we have on Morty to find out what the alarm was.
The alarm was our LPG alarm, implying we had a leak in our propane
system somewhere but that was a red herring. Stef came back saying
that where our electric cable was plugged in to the extension lead
was wet and the electrics had probably shorted. He had unhooked us
and the alarm then also stopped. This also turned out to be a red
herring. There had been a power outage covering all of the ferry
terminal so hopefully all our electrics should still be OK. We went
managed to get a few more hours sleep before a knock on the door at
about 5:0am, our wake up call to tell us to get ready for the ferry.
It had not yet arrived in port but as it is more than a day behind
schedule they want to make sure that they can turn around and get
out again as quickly as possible. It was still wet and also a bit
windy. We drove Morty into the warehouse where he was given a once
over to check any current bumps and scratches and then queued up
behind the other cars getting on board.
The Nordik Express, operated by Relais Nordik is a passenger and
cargo freighter. Neither of us had much of an idea of what to expect
or how many other passengers would be on board. It plies the coast
of Quebec, in the north connecting villages which are only
accessible by boat as there is no road, so it plays a vital role in
keeping these small villages supplied.
Designed for freight it only takes containerised cargo so all cars
on board have to be loaded into containers. These are essentially
just the container frames, the sides are left open to the elements.
As soon as the ferry arrived, the harbour sprang into life. The on
board crane swung into action and a complex dance followed ensuring
that as containers were off loaded and loaded the ferry maintained
balance. We got on board and the Purser rattled off information in
very fast French, confirming that we were now back in Quebec time,
five hours behind the UK. We checked out our cabin, small but
comfortable, before heading back on deck to watch the proceedings
and to make sure that Morty was safely loaded.
It sounds simple, take off one container and put on another, and the
crew on board made it look simple but they are skilled at their
trade. The chap operating the crane gave just enough clearance over
buildings and other containers to swing his loads around and into
place. I am intrigued to know what supplies were in the containers
and how long they would last for in the local villages. The men
guiding the containers have a high risk job too. Any miscalculation
by the crane operator could end up with a container mashing them
well and truly. They have good balance and seem unperturbed to be
standing on the edge of a container three storeys up guiding the
next piece of the puzzle into place.
We stayed and watched until Morty was safely on board. He is out on
the edge of the boat and as we left was the only container on the
third layer up. Once he was safely stowed we went and had long hot
showers in our cabin, got changed and went down for breakfast. Our
fare is an all inclusive full board fare something we were both glad
about having seen the on-board cafe.
At breakfast we were joined by a couple who live in Montreal, Guy
and Lise. They are both of the eccentric professor genre, chattering
away at fourteen to the dozen and both talking at the same time.
Despite speaking English, Lise still spoke in French being a typical Montrealer.
When he could get a word in, Guy spoke in English but he was
still difficult to understand. They were enthusiastic
conversationalists and when people had left the restaurant
after lunch they were still happy to be chattering away. I finally
had no choice but to disrupt the state of play,
the ferry had left port and it was windy and feeling a bit queasy I
needed to get up on deck so I could see the horizon and cool down as
it was really hot below.
On deck I started to feel better. The air was fresh and cool and I
could start to reset my internal balance. It was still windy and the
ferry was rolling and swaying as we went. Getting cold, we went
inside the upper deck lounge. A good idea to keep warm but not a
good idea when you are feeling queasy. The lounge has big windows
all around so you get great views outside. The only problem is that
the handrail around the edge of the ferry outside is just at eye
height when you are sitting inside. As such, instead of being able
to focus on the horizon all I could see was the handrail swaying up
and down and rolling around in the waves.
When we have sailed in England I have often felt queasy but not
actually been ill. Not so here. Stef was doing his best to take my
mind off it but after two trips to the loo upstairs I finally
admitted defeat and accepted I needed the privacy of our cabin. Once
there, standing in front of a large unobstructed window I started to
feel a bit better but knew that the cure all of sleep was the answer
to my woes. Lying down, I felt OK but if I stood up it resulted in
yet another trip to the bathroom.
They have a regimented schedule for meals on board (breakfast from
7:30 to 8:30, lunch at 11:30 and dinner at 5:00pm) and Stef came to
check on me to see if I wanted lunch. Not surprisingly my answer was
"no". I slept a while longer and then suddenly found myself awake
and feeling better, probably in part because we had come into a
harbour along the way and there was no more motion.
Loading Mortimer
I went in hunt of Stef and found him downstairs in an almost
deserted restaurant. He had been trapped by Lise and could not
easily get away. Her husband had also been struck down with
motion sickness. When we docked we excused ourselves as we wanted to
see the harbour.
We watched the same process of unloading and reloading and before
long we were off again. Our route now takes us closer to shore and
there is a string of islands between us and the sea so it should be
a calmer voyage. In the TV lounge The Motorcycle Diaries film was
playing, a film about Che Guevara as a young man going on his
travels through South America with a friend. We have it on DVD and
watched it again, this time not only reminiscing about Chile and
Argentina but also revisiting some of these places we have seen in
Perú on this trip.
For the rest of the afternoon we watched the world go by from the
upper deck. Its a very slow pace of life, with the exception of the
hour or so spent in harbours and watching the crew at work. One of
them got slightly stir crazy and started to bounce up and down on
the top of one of the containers, using it as a mini trampoline. He
grinned as first he saw us watching and laughing at him and then saw
is colleagues laughing too. They seem to work long hours in a tough
job but enjoy it at the same time.
At 5:00 we went down for dinner, taking a table set for two so that
we could people watch during our meal. I had the feeling that most
of the other people on board were either traveling in groups of four
or had also quickly forged friendships with other passengers. I cannot say that the food was
great, and it certainly did not live up to the marketing hype in
their literature, but it was not a bad three course set. One of the
other passengers entertained us for a while with a tune on his
accordion. It was obviously a local favourite in Quebec as most of
the passengers and the waitress joined in and sang along while he
played. We and a few others really stood out as foreigners because
we were not able to join in too!
We headed back up to the main lounge after dinner and watched yet
another glorious sunset. With nothing on shore there was no light to
distract from the view and the sky was almost cloudless. The red,
bronze, and orange glow on the shore stretched as far as you could
see in either direction fading into bright clear daylight when you
looked further up beyond the horizon.
I tried to spent time catching up on my diary but found the motion
of the boat was starting to make me feel queasy again. Turning to
speak to Stef he had nodded off where he sat. It was only 6:30pm
(8:00pm Newfoundland time) but we were both shattered and headed
back to our cabin and got tucked up in bed. Within half an hour I
could no longer read my book, and I turned my light off and settled
in for a good night's sleep.
