Day 167: Sept-Îles, Québec … Canada

Thursday, 22 June 2017
At Sea — St Lawrence River

Stats @ Ship’s Time 8:50p (EDT) … UTC 00:50a (23 June)
Temp: 60.1F (19.7C)
Position: 49.59.38N / 66.12.14W

Traveling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.
~ Ibn Battuta ~

Hello — or Kuei Kuei in the local Innu language — from Sept-Îles [Seven Islands in French; Uashau — meaning Bay — in Innu].  Our call on this Canadian city, which is situated where the Saint Lawrence River opens up to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, was an inaugural one for Insignia.  The city does not see a lot of cruise ships stopping for a visit.  An article I read onshore indicated that Sept-Îles welcomed a mere four cruise ships in 2016.  About the same number is expected this year — mostly during the Fall tourist season.  For those who did not venture far from the port, I think today’s stop was a disappointing one.  I wouldn’t rate today an A+, but we wandered a bit further afield and are pleased enough with the way our day turned out.

We started our day with a quiet morning sailing the St Lawrence River.  I caught up the journal on our time in Québec City and did a bit of reading before joining Mui at the Terrace Café for lunch at 11:30a.  Insignia began docking procedures while we ate our meal.  It was cloudy and quite cool … with the forecasted high of 61F (16C) feeling colder because of the breeze coming off the water.  That was an improvement over the 55F (13C) earlier in the day, however, so no complaints.

We bundled up and headed off the ship shortly after the all clear was sounded at noon.  The first shuttle into town wasn’t until 12:45p.  Instead of waiting around for it, we picked up a map from the tourist board representatives and began walking along the riverfront.  Our destination was Le Vieux-Poste [The Old Post], a replica of a 17th century fur-trading station.  The site doesn't officially open until 25 June, but an exception was made since there was a ship in town today.  We were told it was a 50-60 minute walk from the port, which was fine since we wanted to stretch our legs anyway.  Along the way, we ran into the Sweets, who, like us, had left the port on foot.  We told them where we were going and they decided to tag along.

A portion of a mural we encountered near the port.

There were two couples at the gate to Le Vieux-Poste when we arrived … waiting to pay their admission with credit cards.  Turns out the internet was down all around the area … so no CC usage.  Neither couple had Canadian dollars, so one couple paid USD cash; the other refused.  We offered to exchange some currency for them since we had some extra Canadian funds, but they were in a snit and left.  So be it.  Even though I didn’t quite make the age requirement, we were given the senior discount for 60+ and paid CAD$10pp ;-)

Looking back towards the entrance to Le Vieux-Poste.

Le Vieux-Poste — designated a historic and cultural site — consists of a series of reconstructed buildings on what was the traditional summer gathering place for the Innu of the Ste-Marguerite and Moisie Rivers as long back as 1673.  Until the mid-19th century a succession of owners operated fur trading posts here.  The most famous of them was the Hudson’s Bay Company.  Between 1964-1966 archaeological excavations unearthed traces of their presence.  The site, as we saw it today, depicts the way the post was in 1786.

A trading post from the 1700’s might have looked like this.

All of the costumed docents were welcoming.  Since there was a small group inside the old post office, which served as the trading post back in the time, we dallied outside and chatted while we waited our turn.  Once inside the building, a docent explained his role at what was a Hudson’s Bay Company post and told us about the animal skins hanging on the wall ... passing around a beaver pelt that was amazingly soft to the touch.  A small room at the back of the trading post had a few artifacts uncovered during excavations in the area and more information about the goings on here. 

Pelts were the ‘currency du jour’ at trading posts.
Mui likes the lynx pelt … but much prefers the lynx we saw in the wild in Alaska.

Representation of beaver hunting by the First Nations people.

Our ‘trader’ docent also explained how the bartering system with the Innu worked … they hunted in the far north in the winter and came down to the trading post in the summer.  These First Nations people were savvy at bartering.  If the trader did not give them a fair price, they simply paddled off to find another one who would.  Tools and weapons were the most sought after items … if they had skins left, they would then barter for luxury items … they liked ‘bling’ quite a bit as I understand it.  The sample price list was in French, but it looked like a dozen buttons cost the same number of pelts — une plue [one beaver skin] — as a gallon of brandy; or a pair of shoes; or two cans of tobacco.

The Innu traded first for essentials … then for things they considered a luxury.

After this introduction, we continued on to the other buildings.  The habitacion, where the trader and his men would have lived back in the day, housed historic and cultural exhibits.  There was also a lookout tower, as well as a church that may or may not have been on the site originally.  It is known that a priest wanted to build a church at the post, but he died before he could do so … there’s no information on whether someone else followed through with that plan.  A church was constructed at this recreated post to show what a place of worship might look like back then.  Nearby there was what was termed an Innu Camp.  It consisted of little more than a tent with an Innu couple describing life back in the day.

Innu traders coming down the river to trade … they had to cover their
heads to protect themselves from mosquitoes and biting flies.

A simple place of worship … a simple stained glass window.

The Innu Camp would be a bustling place in the day … not so much today.

Our Innu docents describe the life their ancestors led at the camp.

Admittedly, this site would have offered more things to see and do had we arrived after the official opening date … signs of the prep work for that date were all over the post.  Nonetheless, we left happy with what we did manage to see.

Since we had massage appointments at 5:30p, we left the Old Post at 3:00p to begin the trek back to the ship.  We did better time-wise by taking another road that paralleled Rue Arnaud — the main drag.  We arrived at the port and followed our noses to where the locals were putting on a complimentary BBQ for the ship’s passengers and crew.  I’m not sure if this is done for all visiting ships or just for those visiting for the first time, but those who partook of the BBQ said it was very tasty.

Our massages today were initially scheduled for 10:00a.  When we got The Currents delivered to our cabin last night, however, we noticed that if we booked appointments between 1p-8p — during the ship’s scheduled time in port — there was a 20% discount.  We’re not stupid.  We called last night and moved our appointments to 5:30p.  Aaaah yes — a nice way to end a day on which we walked over 5½ miles (9 km).
    
We are losing an hour tonight as we move into Atlantic Daylight Time again.  The yo-yo time changes in the next few days ahead are going to play havoc with our natural body clocks … but at least we have a day at sea tomorrow.

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