Rob-n-Hild, Eastward Ho!

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Natashquan - somewhere in the Gulf of St Lawrence! 59 km. 1 hours. Elevation maximum 28 metres - driving

Hi from the Bella Desgagnés! A bit later than expected due to an accumulation of sea ice on her previous circuit, the Bella docked in Kegashka at 12.30 pm today where we were waiting for her. We are currently about 19 hours overdue for our arrival into Blanc Sablon - which means Friday midnight or early morning Saturday instead of Friday morning.

The road from Natashquan to Kegashka was gravel for most of the way, so although Rob caught up with Hild on kilometers, his average speed dropped. Kegashka is the end of the road - literally. R138 has gone on for about 1400 km and stops here - FIN. We had got going early after breakfast so we got into Kegashka a long time before the Bella was due, but that gave us time to chat with the load master and his dog (a German Pointer called Kapy), and his assistant and his dog (a Rez dog called Murphy), and a passenger going to La Romaine and his cat! We didn't remember the name of the cat.

We took a drive around Kegashka - that took 15 minutes and 6 km. We saw a big fake moose, the airport and pretty much every house. Then Hild checked us in and got the world's biggest boarding card. Later we noticed that it had to be this big so they could print all the terms and conditions on the back.

Mary Jane was driven into a container and strapped down - a bit worried, but lots of other cars were being loaded into their own containers too so she had some company. We had elevenses sitting on the dock - finishing off some stuff so it wouldn't go off in the car - we do cry over spoilt milk! As the arrival time approached, more and more people turned up as this is the only way for people in the coastal towns between here and Blanc Sablon to get home - a stretch of about 450 kilometers!

When Bella arrived, she reversed into the dock and the on-board crane began unloading containers to be filled with stuff for the next ports. Then we got on board as they loaded containers with cars - so Rob was out on deck trying to film Mary Jane. It was cold, so Hild found a nice reclining seat inside where it was warm.

This is Mary Jane in her container being loaded. It took a bit of time so it is edited and run at 2x speed. Makes it more fun that way too, but it is a big file and it will take some time to load...

As we got under way, we went up on the top deck to watch and let Max record where we we started, but it was too cold to stay out and as soon as we turned East we gave in. We dozed in the comfy chairs and then got to La Romaine where lots of stuff (and some cars) were unloaded. The sun was going down as we left so we grabbed a bite to eat in a rather quiet cafeteria and settled down to get some work done in the bar area upstairs - where a lecture was taking place on the local marine life for the cruisers.

Coming up: More from the Bella....

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