Canada

Today we travelled to Fort Coulonge from Ottawa but before leaving we visited the RCMP Royal Canadian Mounted Police which was pretty dull really the highlight being when Andy almost stood in a big pile of horse crap.

Our next stop was a town called Wakefield similar to Wakefield in the UK in that there were a number of weird people wandering the streets. This was an experimental stop by Moose and our driver took us here as nobody was up for the bungee jumping that normally takes place. On arrival we were greeted by a load of hippies and hippy kids playing in a Teepee. We were all a bit nervous that we might end up in some strange cult but the offers of free corn and fresh melon was too good to miss. One of the hippy guys kept telling Liam to check out the Teepee but he wasn't having any of it. After eating all their corn and Melon we borrowed the huge car inner-tubes the kids were playing with and set off to the river for a spot of bridge jumping followed by a lazy float down the river in the tubes.

We arrived at Fort Coulonge in time for the Sunset and found it packed with Mountain Bikers doing a 36hr bike ride. After being allocated our tents Liam cooked up some more tasty grub and we spent the evening enjoying some live music and a few beers.

We stayed in Fort Coulonge for the whole of the next day and had a great time relaxing in hammocks, swimming and Kayaking, I know it's a hard life but someone's got to do it! :-)

Still on the Moose tour the next stop was Ottawa, on the way there we went to a Safari park containing Bears, Wolves, Deer, Arctic Wolves, Mountain goats with huge straight pointed horns oh and some fat wart hogs, the bears were very funny. Here I also got to see my first Moose, he looked bored stiff!!

I didn't spend much time here in Ottawa as we arrived fairly late. I did a quick guided tour courtesy of our Moose driver Mikey B which took in the Parliament buildings with some great views across the city we also saw the fattest Groundhog ever. There is a stray cats shelter near the Parliament buildings that was built by some crazy dude who has since died but people still put out food for the cats however a family of Raccoons the fat Groundhog and numerous squirrels find the cat food to tasty to pass up and have also taken up residency there.

The Hostel in Ottawa provided the most entertainment as it was formerly a jail only 3 official hangings ever took place at the jail, however there are rumors of unofficial hangings taking place at the hands of the guards. After the jail had closed, a bridge was constructed along the side of the grounds and several unmarked graves were discovered. It is possible there are still bodies buried under what is the parking lot today. The dorms of the hostel are converted cells which have been knocked through to make them bigger as there are originally just 2x3 meters. It's a pretty cool place to stay.

Mont-Tremblant this was the fake ski village at the foot of the Mountain not the actual village which is about 10kms away, it was tacky and expensive but it was only a stop off for an hour. We quickly moved on to the Hostel which was situated next to a gorgeous lake. After a arriving we all ditch our stuff and spent a few hours swimming and larking about in the cool water which was much appreciated after a hot day on a bus.

After another great meal this time cooked by the driver although Liam helped out we had a few beers and played touch football, it was good fun and my team won and the victory was made all that sweeter by the fact that on the opposing team was the Canadian driver who's idea it was to play.

There was a massive Tipi (Teepee) in the garden containing a roaring fire but since it was still about 25 degrees and sticky at 11pm it was more like a furnace than a camp fire!

The next morning before breakfast Liam and I went for a swim in the lake which was still lovely and warm although the girls didn't believe us and refused to go in :-)

I spent 3 nights in Montreal partly as a break from the daily bus rides and partly to see more of the City.

Luckily I have been traveling with Liam and Amanda, Liam is a chef so we've been eating some tasty meals on a budget. We had some Thai coconut soup dish that fed about 10 people for $25 and a pasta dish which stretched so far we had it for breakfast the next day.

Enough about my eating habits a little about Montreal, it's name is derived from the French Mont Royal the name of the 3 head-hill in the City. We walked up to the hill and got some amazing views of the City. We also visited St Joseph's Oratory which gives spectacular views of the city and is also home to some dudes heart in a box, Brother André, it's supposed to give healing to the sick. There are lots of dicarded walking sticks hung up where people have supposed to have been 'healed' I don't buy into any of that rubbish though, all these crippled people must have shopped at the same walking stick shop that's all I have to say!!

The next day I went to the La Rhonde theme park with Shanna, Jacqueline and Chris, it was a great day and really really hot so made use of the water rides to get soaked and cool off, not something you get to do at the theme parks in England very often! In the evening we went to the Montreal Fireworks festival and managed to catch the German display on Wednesday evening, it was very very efficient even if it doesn't make economic sense!

I know I keep talking about great views and not loading any pictures but I've yet to stay in a Hostel that has allowed me to connect my camera. Once I get to Toronto I'll find an internet cafe and spend an afternoon uploading photos.

Another early start! today we headed to Tadoussac which was France's first trading post on the mainland of New France. It lies at the foot of wild rounded hills the name “totouskak” means “breasts” in the Innu language

We arrived here later than planned as we had to turn back 30 mins into our journey because the crazy French driver, Paul, we have left without a passenger. I blame the girl as she should have been there by 9am and she wasn't.

As we were running late the planned 2pm trip to go whale watching was postponed until 5pm which gave us time to check out Tadoussac so I joined the Dutchies for a wander along the beach and discovered that the water was bloody freezing despite it being close to 30 degrees in the sun.

For whale watching we first had to change into warm clothes and then put on more layers in the form of some rather attractive orange and blue suits, bearing in mind it's still only 5pm and the sun was blazing, to say I was hot would have been an understatement! Once speeding along in the Zodiac boats we soon realised why we were give the suits, it was bloody cold! It was all worth the wait though as we got to see lots of whales including a mother and her calf and a couple of comical Seals doing Mere cat impressions in the water.

The Hostel we stayed in was a real hippy place and served the most amazing Mexican food and plenty of cold beer to wash it down with. We all spent the evening listening to a couple of old guys playing classics from CCR and such like on a guitar and Banjo each with a foot operated bass drum and symbol.

Still no sign of Moose!