Autumn moon over Montreal © Scotiana 2010

That night around midnight – there’s a big round Autumn moon sailing grandly over Montreal

(Kenneth White – The Blue Road – Mainstream Publishing Company – Edinburgh – Ltd 1990)

It is with great pleasure that I write these few words today about a marvellous journey which Scotiana team (Mairiuna, Jean-Claude and I, Janice)  are delighted to embark upon.

Scotiana's Blue Road, Province of Quebec. Modified Google Map

Flying from Bordeaux, France, Mairiuna and Jean-Claude landed safely at Montreal’s Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport and we are now all excited to roam the province’s winding roads and other less known paths to discover what is there “outside” as for the next two weeks, we will travel along the St-Lawrence River and will get acquainted with the history, traditions and culture of this magnificent land which bears as motto the sentence “Je me souviens”.

We are very happy to share our discoveries and encounters with all our readers, so fasten your seat belts and let yourself be guided through the country’s blue side . 😉

Aerial view of Labrador and Province of Quebec. September 2010 © Scotiana 2010

Maybe the blue road is that passage North, among the blues of silent Labrador.

Maybe the idea is to go as far as possible – to the end of yourself – till you get into a territory where time turns into space, where things appear in all their nakedness and the wind blows anonymously.

Maybe.

(Kenneth White – The Blue Road Mainstream Publishing Comany – Edinburgh – Ltd 1990)

Of course our ‘blue road’ is going to be quite different from that of Kenneth White, a travel from Montreal to Labrador which he did about thirty years ago (in the more lonely places things must be quite the same as they were then), but what we would like to retain from his travelling experience, while following our own itinerary towards Labrador, up to the door of some of the wildest and more solitary parts of Quebec where the road ends, is his very special and vivifying way of seeing things, discovering the world with what he calls a ‘geopoetical’ approach of it.

Lac Meilleur, St-Augustin de Mirabel, Province of Quebec © Scotiana 2010

We will leave from my house, in the nice and quiet village of Saint Augustin, Mirabel, near Montreal……

Panoramic view of Montreal skyscrapers, Province of Quebec© Scotiana 2010

On our return we’ll visit the bustling big and historical cities of Quebec and Montreal but, now, our aim is to reach the wildest parts of this immense country where cold winds are blowing on vast empty spaces. There we’ll try to have a look at the whales which play on the icy waters, watching and listening to the birds flying in these skies, discovering the mysterious tracks of the animals which live in these far away territories…

Original fishermen huts (Les magasins du Galet) - Natashquan, Province of Quebec. Source: Wikipedia

Bon voyage !

Talk soon,

Janice

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 1

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 3

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 4

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 5

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 6

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 7

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 8

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 9

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec – Episode 10