Trois Rivieres

Here I am back in Canada! Admittedly on the other coast, as far away from the last place as Belfast is from Paris but certain features of Canadian life remain despite the fact that the last place I visited was in Victoria in British Columbia and now I am in Trois Rivieres, Quebec.

I ended up in this gentle, slightly out of synch with the rest of the world town to inspect a company vessel. A trip that took me from Edinburgh to Paris, Paris to Montreal and then a painstakingly slow car journey through Montréal to here! Wow, the Montreal traffic jams must be a tourist attraction as they put London (and Manila) to shame; allowing 16yr olds to drive was not the wisest decision the Canadian Government ever made!

So here I am in this little gathering of buildings along the St Lawrence Seaway and I am wandering why it reminds me so much of Victoria. And then it dawned, tis' the bums you see, the government sponsored layabouts who seem to adorn every main street in every town in Canada, the well-dressed and mostly extremely well educated hobo's who offer to read poetry or make cups of tea and who are politer than shopkeepers in their demands for money!

I first went for a stroll around this riverside backwater in the evening; a jolly jaunt through the town centre and around its periphery. A stroll that took a mere half hour and left me wandering what all the Japanese Tourists would be doing after the euphoria of escaping their 'big smoke' had worn off! I strolled around, took note of the bums pretending to be part of the jovial after work office crowds who were sipping beer under the waning sun. My walk eventually led me to the town quay, the place where a ferry boat leaves from, where the towns collectors of old cars had met for the day and the hobo's and feeders off the state gathered to chin wag the evening away before collapsing onto a park bench for the night!

Looking Upriver from Town Jetty
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2007

A beautiful view is garnered from the wharf, a view upriver of the bridge and the local gaily yellow painted ferry and downriver of a 'possibly still working' Great Lakes Bulker and a Coast Guard Catamaran.

An oldish Great Lakes Bulker in Trois Rivieres
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2007

One painted bright red the other a greying black! The buildings here, as in BC tend to be wooden of nature, apart from the single blue glass monstrosity with the radio antennas sticking out like a sore thumb. Certain brick and stone structures lend slight age to the town, but for the most part careful uses of greens and yellows, faded browns and hint of a tint blues keeps the town looking modern and in keeping with the Canadian style whether French or English!

The Hotel is good. I am staying at the Hotel Gouverneur (http://www.gouverner.com), situated on the Rue Hart in Trois Rivieres and opposite the Museum of Quebec Culture and the Vieille Prison. Once again, as with the hotel I stayed at in Victoria, the service is good, the food is excellent at the hotels restaurant the 'Le Rouge Vin' (will charm you with its ambiance and good dining) and the room is functional and large (just be careful of the hot tap as when turned on quickly the hot water tends to jump out with excessive vigour thus splashing hot water over the recently adorned and ironed shirt).

The Gouverneur Hotel
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2007

The next morning I woke up at the rather early hour of 6am and in preference to tossing and turning for a further hour, in the hope of gaining an extra wink, I decided to see the town before the sun worked its way higher than the river bank! Again half an hour was enough! I ended up on the river bank snapping a few shots of the early morning suns reflections in the water and of the Coast Guard vessel as it set off for work. The bums were extremely friendly this morning! One hobo, who obviously could not afford a shirt offered to take a photograph of me with my camera, and with the water as a backdrop. We discussed cameras for a while, and the use of aperture for special affect, whilst I cleverly managed to convince him that my cameras card was full! Whilst I fully admire Canadian hobos for their politeness and friendly demeanours, I still retain doubts as to their complete honesty! When I am on their territory, with at least ten of them stretching and yawning as they wake-up on their park benches, and with the only other signs of civilisation being the Coast Guard vessel steaming over horizon, a wrong word here might just turn these hobo's into similar entities as those bums found in the UK!

Anyway, all things being equal he did not push me and I departed their arena with a shake of hands and a friendly wave from some of the others who all seemed to have 'bistro' cups of coffee in their paws.

I headed slowly back to the hotel, snapping anything and anything that needed to be snapped and arrived back in time for breakfast and a large urn of coffee! The Japanese tourists had woken-up early and were testing the restaurant for its soundproof ability to little effect! I felt sorry for them in some inane way - a large some of money paid and they end up in a place that is not really big enough for them! By lunchtime they will have seen everything! This place is more suited to those looking for a bit of peace and quiet, tranquillity from the traffic jams of Montreal, an insight into how the French Canadians lived twenty or thirty years ago, a spot beside the river to watch the world go by from and an escape from life for just a little bit of time.

I am leaving at 11pm to go and see the vessel. I am leaving this entire town behind with the notion that I will not be missing much! Maybe when I am older, when I am more capable of simply using silence, tranquillity and the slow pace of life to my benefit then I will come back and gain more! But right here and right now, this town is too small for me and I must move on.

Ieuan Dolby
Author and Webmaster of SeaDolby.Com
Copyright © 2007