Rimouski to Shediac

We left Rimouski and set off on Highway 132, heading east and then south towards Campbellton. It rained all day. As I have mentioned before one of the issues of pedalling recumbent is that you are more open to the elements as you lie back - there is no way to put your head down and hunch over the handlebars as on a conventional bike. As a result I had a cold river of water running inside my three layers of clothing, down my chest and out the bottom of my jacket. As I cycled along I felt like I was a geographical feature.  Susan braved it out as she cycled in her shorts but that's mainly because she overheats with her two jackets on to keep out the rain. All in all it's quite a bit uncomfortable when it's raining hard. 

As we have cycled across Canada we have experienced snow, the beginning of the Spring through to the summer heat and humidity.  Though it's still hot most days we can feel the beginning of Autumn. Thank goodness we are home before Winter. 

On this part of the cycle the signposts were kind of familiar. 

It was like being in an alternate universe where Scotland has been taken over by the French. 

As we continued cycling south through Val Brillant, Campbellton, Beresford and Miramichi we camped at some very average campsites but with great locations. 

To date we have camped for 32 nights (yes I do keep a record). It's a lot less than we had originally planned but we like the comfort of the motels and, generally, the standard of campsites in Canada has  been poor (in our experience).

This part of New Brunswick is an area of Canada that is proudly Acadian and the flags (essentially the French flag with a star on it) are everywhere.  Also the huge stone churches we saw in every small town or village in Quebec have been replaced by the wooden churches of New Brunswick.  We paused for lunch on the steps of such a church one afternoon.

Eventually, after several days cycling we reached Shediac, self proclaimed Lobster Capital of the world. Just to prove their point they have the biggest lobster in the world on display.

 

We are having a day off in Shediac and so far we have eaten mountains of lobster, deep fried clams, scallops and prawns. Outstanding. 

Finally, as we don't fly home until the 22nd September we have now adjusted our trip across our last province, Newfoundland.  Originally, we were taking a ferry to Argentia and a two day cycle to the end at St John's.  Now we are taking the ferry to Port Aux Basques, an extra 700km or so across hills with almost guaranteed wind and rain. I think Susan is quite happy with the choice though I won't be able to confirm that until she starts talking to me again :)