I just returned form a week in Quebec, attending Canada’s largest tourism trade show. After the show I travelled through the region NE of Quebec city for a couple of days. I came away from the show with enough excting experiences to fill my blog for months, but I’ll highlight a few in the coming days.

One experience that I had no idea existed: The Nordik Express. This working ship plies the waters of the St. Lawrence’s north shore, stopping at all the small ports along the way to unload goods and people. Many of these small towns have no road, so the ship is their main way of contact with the outside world. The company’s website has a number of great suggestions for excursions. If you are taking the round trip (one week), they suggest taking a bike to explore the towns along the way. The route is also a great way to travel from Quebec city to Newfoundland, or better yet, a way to complete Quebec/Labrador’s great road trip: Quebec-Baie-Comeau-Fermont/Labrador City-Happy Valley (Labrador). From there a ferry to Cartwright. From there drive to Blanc-Sablon, and take the Nordik Express back to the road head at Natashquan. Drive back to Quebec city.

For the ultimate east coast road trip, at Blanc-Sablon you’d take a ferry over to Newfoundland, drive to the southern end to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia, and then make your way back through New Brunswick and the Gaspe to Quebec city. That would be an amazing way to see Canada’s east.