Hotel Tadoussac and Whale Watching

 We're spending four nights at Hotel Tadoussac in the small village of Tadoussac on the Tadoussac Bay.  

The first Hotel Tadoussac was built in 1864 by wealthy citizens of Montreal and Quebec City. It had a broad facade of twelve windows and three stories. In 1879, the building was sold for the price of $12,000. In 1888, the hotel underwent its first complete renovation and was torn down in 1941.

The following year, 1942, the Hotel Tadoussac was rebuilt by William Hugh Coverdale, president of the Canada Steamship Lines.

My room is on the first floor, straight ahead, between the two trees.

Back views of the hotel. The mist was lingering over the area in the morning.

Next, we walked over to the pier for our whale watching adventure. The ship was large with many decks and inside and outside viewing options.

We passed several Zodiacs used for a "closer encounter" with the whales.

View from one deck to another. The announcer spoke mostly in French with some English words thrown in. She used the clock as a method for identifying where the whale sighting was. We were mostly able to identify the numbers, but the biggest clue of a possible whale was the rush of the other passengers to one side of the boat or the other.

Suddenly, in the distance was this lighthouse. Once there was a fierce storm and the lighthouse keepers had to flee to the very top. Now it's automated, as are many others.

Close up of the lighthouse. You may be able to detect the wood covering some windows on the top. They were blown out by the storm.

The St. Lawrence River

We traveled up the St. Lawrence to the Saguenay River and Fjord. The hills on the sides were very similar to what I saw in Norway. The entire area is part of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park. With its exceptional biodiversity, it is apparently one of the best places in the world for whale watching.

 

I didn't see any whales. There might have been a minke whale, but I couldn't see it. 

Whale sightings can vary dramatically from day to day, but this season's sightings (because of the 5 degree rise in water temperature) have been lower than usual.

 

We have another opportunity to spot whales from the shore today and another whale watching cruise tomorrow.