Percé

July 2-3, 2016

We arrived at the campground in the rain but were stunned by the view of Percé Rock from the front seats of the coach. The windshield is an amazing picture window.

Coming down the hill in the rain with Percé Rock coming into view.

The the hill we descended.  This photo was taken the next day.

Kaela appreciates the view from the dashboard.

Percé is about 1400 x 300 feet, has a distinctive arch and changes color with the light. It’s the eastern-most point of the Gaspé Peninsula. It was hard to remember that we were still looking at the Gulf of St. Lawrence and not the ocean.

The Caravan had arranged a boat ride to Percé and nearby Île Bonaventure. The water was rough and the wind high, but we were lucky to have a skipper able to circle Percé and land at the island.

The campground is visible through the arch in Percé Rock.

The island is home to one of the largest colonies of nesting gannets in the world. About 100,000 gannets make their nests there, precisely 80 cm from their neighbors. 293 species of birds nest on the island which became a migratory bird sanctuary in 1919.

Once on the island, a walk of about a mile brought us within a few feet of the gannets.

Gannet pairs recognize each other by moves unique to that pair.

The pair in the foreground has gathered grass for their nest.

Gannet feet

                    Gannet chick

This chick looks ready to move out

Supper was a lobster dinner in the campground’s meeting room. Caravan members had ordered lobsters and staff picked them up. Few of us were prepared so the tools used to crack the shells and clean the lobsters were unconventional (hammers, knives, pliers and scissors) but effective.