Day 21 - Bonaventure Island

Today is the day I take the boat over to Bonaventure Island. The sunrise this morning was absolutely beautiful. I bought my ticket($45) 2 days ago and the weather looks perfect for today...sunny and warm. The boat left at 9 am and it included a tour around Percé Rock and Island.

The water was very calm, the cruise took about an 1-1/2 hrs before we docked on the island. The scenery and wildlife was stunning...from bald eagles, to seals, and of course the main attraction Northern Gannets.

When I arrived on the island they gave a little talk about the different trails one can take and how long it takes to get to the gannet colony. No taxi service here...you have to walk or you don't get there. I chose the Les Colonies trail since it is the most direct route to the gannet colony. The trail is 2.8 km one way and should take about 45 minutes. I am not in any hurry, today is my day to do whatever I want. Off I go. 

The trail was rough in a few places only because of the rain in the last week. It is a good hike with plenty of inclines. There are a number of benches along the way to sit and regain your breath and strength if need be. I just kept walking with a big smile on my face. There are plenty of outhouses along the way plus when you get to the colony there are a bank of them up on the hill. Everything is soooooo clean and well looked after. At the colony itself, there's a store where you can buy food, drinks, and a souvenir if so need be. Everything is cash, credit, or debit.

Northern Gannets gather on Bonaventure Island from April to November each year for the breeding season. The first mention of these colonies on the Island has been dated back to 1860. This dense and somewhat chaotic colony does have some rhyme and reason to it. Adult males and females return each year to the same spot to build a nest. Each couple raises one chick which will fly away 3 months later. Immature gannets (between 3-5 years) have no nests of their own. In September the gannets begin leaving the island to make their way south to Florida and South Carolina. The new chicks fly to the Gulf of Mexico where they spend 3 years at sea before returning to Bonaventure Island.

Babies everywhere

Feeding time

I spent about 2 hours watching these crazy birds come and go. It's true gannets are PPW's meaning piss-poor walkers. They seem to stumble allot.  This colony is the most accessible in the world. At times I was a foot away from a gannet. Amazing! But it was time to start heading back. I did not want to take the same trail back so I went with the 4.9 km Le Chemin du Roy trail. The trail skirts the south side of the island through forests and meadows, along cliffs, and past restored ancestral homes. It turned out to be a very wet, muddy, and challenging trail but breathtaking at the same.  

In 1831 the island reached its maximum population of 172 people, 35 families in all. A family synonymous with Bonaventure Island is the Brochet family. Jean-Jacques Brochet married a local girl in 1842 and raised 8 children. The ancestral home of the Brochet family.

This house was bought by Lewman Waugh an orthodontist from Maryland in 1945 with the idea to retire here. For the small and scattered population it was very difficult to live on the island year round. After 1962 the island was almost deserted during the winter months making it mainly a summer retreat. In 1971 the Quebec government purchased the island making it a nature reserve. In 1985 I'lle-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé was officially created.

I caught the boat, which takes about 15 minutes, back to the mainland where Susan picked me up at the dock. She knew I enjoyed myself because of the continuous smile on my face. I got back ate everything in sight then fell asleep...still with a smile on my face. What an amazing experience...one for the books.