Some moments will always stay with you. One of those heartbeat moments, brings me back to a tiny lighthouse island right in the middle of the mighty St.-Lawrence-River north of Québec ville. After my overnight stay and with a very early morning cuppa, I went out to enjoy the silence over the river. Sun just went up and the river waters were still & shiny as a mirror. Enjoying my hot, steaming coffee, I watched Riviere-du-Loup emerge from the foggy riverbanks across the water. It was so still, I could almost reach out and touch the silence. But there. A breathing sound. Breathing?
Yes. I heard breathing sounds from the river, coming closer and closer. Standing up I put my mug down, craned my neck and there they were. White humps, barely – but definetly – breaching the surface. Beluga! One, two, three and more followed the stream upwards passing my viewpoint by 20 m or less. Mesmerized I took photos and counted up to 12 beluga advancing leisurely upriver.
Oh, I took a lot of pictures in those minutes – white backs in silvergrey riverwater and seabirds following above. But none of these pictures captures the sound of the breathing I heard, the emotions of seeing those amazing animals up close in their natural habitat for the first time. Just writing about it, I remember my grams who always to me to go out “learn and make memories”, because no-one can take away what’s in your head.
And, what a wonderful memory my one-night-stay on this unique little lighthouse island was. We only were three people within the lighthouse building and guide & chef staying at an outbuilding. The couple staying in one of the other rooms was from Drummondville and also he spoke English with me, his wife only spoke French. Quite the challenge to reactivate my school french. After every sentence I just hoped not to have offended them. Luckily I did not and during my following travels throughout the year, my school french even got a bit of polishing.
