Entry into Canada was easy. We left Burlington, VT and headed toward the border with much excitement. The wind was picking up and the water was getting choppy. We were going to try to get fuel before crossing the border because it was less expensive in the USA. The LAST marina at the border was not open yet that morning. So disappointing. Leaving the dock took a little bit of work - we didn't think we'd be able to reverse out well due to the wind/waves. So, Bruce and I took some lines and pulled the boat from one side of the double slip and turned it around so we could head out facing forward instead of backing up. A local boater helped us release the lines - perfect timing for us - and we headed out.
We stopped at the Canadian Customs dock. Grateful to have met another looper there who showed us a slip that got us out of the waves. The border patrol asked us a few questions, had us get off the boat while they took a look and we were on our way. The whole thing took about 20 minutes.
Almost all of these locks in the small canals in Canada are run by hand by the Parks Canada staff. They are fabulous fonts of information - the system takes people who know the history of the area and teaches them to run the locks. We loved chatting with them as we went through.
With our Parks Canada pass we were able to go through the locks and tie up to the walls over night. Most of these didn't have electricity so we'd run the generator to power the boat to cook. It was cool enough we didn't need to run the air conditioning. The towns are very quaint and inviting.
Photos:
Chambly
Ecluse 10 - a little cafe
Pasture land behind the cafe
After Chambly, we headed up to the St Laurence River to Montreal. The current entering Montreal is SWIFT. We navigated around tour boats and ferries and passed under the bridge to get into the city. We had a fabulous time in Montreal. We biked to the farmers market, walked to get groceries in the rain, ate gluten free chocolate croissants and pastries at a gluten free bakery, made friends and loved the hustle and bustle of the city.
Photos:
The little coffee shop we ducked into with bags of groceries to get out of the rain.
The beautiful farmers market we biked to along the river bike/walking path
The view of Old Port from town
Photos:
That amazing chocolate croissant
Kayla, Alex and Canadian friend Maggie
A corner cafe - flowers everywhere
With weather conditions always at the top of mind, we ended up spending a week in the Old Port and enjoyed every minute of it.