Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2018 | Page 16

COVER STORY
to live in Gaspé after it became British territory in 1763. In
1784, about 400 English-speaking Loyalists, refugees from the
American Revolution, also settled in Gaspé, creating a mix of
cultures familiar to travellers of Québec’s south shore.
At the Casse Croute Jo-Ann in Gaspé, I have my once-annual
plate of poutine, the classic Québécois dish consisting of French
fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy. (Eating this rich
dish more than once per year could hasten any man’s meeting
with the Grim Reaper.) Weighed down by all the cheese, we
stop for more sensible supplies at the excellent little Marché des
Saveurs, a well-curated market of Québec delicacies in the heart
of downtown.
Leaving the town of Gaspé, Route 132 remains mostly along
the shoreline. Shortly after rounding the bend at Pointe Saint
Pierre, the road passes a clump of trees and, in the distance,
across a large bay, la Roche Percé emerges for the first time.
From there, the famous rock is not much more than a speck
in the distance and it’s another 30 minutes or so to the town of
Percé. Still, its shape is telltale, with a hole cut right through it.
Rolling into Percé, we settle in for a day centred around the
large rock offshore. It’s a perfect town with lots to do and the
locals don’t seem tired of the tourist hum. We eat delicious
seafood meals gazing at the famous rock across the water and
walk the quiet streets of the town, always keeping the spectacular
formation in view.
There are several more adventurous ways to view the Percé
Rock. You can take a boat trip around the outcropping itself.
You can also hike up to the UNESCO Global Geopark, where
you can admire the view from a glass platform suspended 200
metres above the ground.
We choose to savour the experience from the comfort of the
town, my wife and I sampling tasty Anticosti beers and the kids
eating ice cream. My young children’s memories of this road trip
may already be sketchy; they may eventually fade entirely with
time. But the photos and the stories will remain with us, souvenirs
forever. For me, it’s a long-held item now crossed off my to-do list:
I grew up in Montréal, had seen many other Canadian icons for
myself, but had never visited this part of Québec before.
Given the distance our family travelled to reach this
remarkable site, the kids remain incredibly resilient, taking
everything (mostly) in stride and remaining (mostly) upbeat,
even during the longest days.
In fact, it isn’t until we’re close to Toronto on our return home
that things begin to go sideways. They tire of our high-wire act,
they want out of the car, they’ve reached their respective limits.
This scenario would have played out exactly the same way if we
were driving a Rolls-Royce — a 3,000-kilometre road trip is both
a sprint to see the sights and a marathon to go the full distance.
Next summer, I say to myself, we’ll head west.
16 six star magazine
PHOTO BY JOHN LEWIS