Cruise to Sucia Island's Fossil Bay

Sucia Island from the air with Fossil Bay the inlet furthest to the upper right.

August 9-12 found us out in Fossil Bay in one of Washington State's Marine Parks. This one on Sucia Island in the north end of the San Juan Islands.

On our way out we stopped to take measurements on the Pt. Migley buoy to see if it was actually located in the position our charts indicated. This is a part of the U.S. Power Squadron's Coop Charting service in which we report any discrepancies on official NOAA charts used by all mariners to navigate our waters. Any errors are translated into changes on the charts when updates are released.

We were co-captaining a cruise event for the Bellingham Sail and Power Squadron, of which I am a member. Leslie soon will be.  Our squadron friends and mentors for the cruise were Andy and Chris Backus. They have done this many times and asked us to help with this one so we'd learn the ropes.

This cruise blew away the record for the number of boats and participants attending one of these sponsored by the Bellingham Sail and Power Squadron (BSPS). Formerly the squadron had had no more than 5 boats participate. This time 16 boats made it out to the event including two boats from new members. We were not only pretty proud of this achievement but excited for what it could mean for future events.

Leslie and I headed off in the Key of Sea on Thursday morning 9 August in order to try and get there before the dock space was taken. We were pretty sure the bay would be full as it often is this time of year.

Me standing with our boat in the background rafted to a Grand Banks.

We were right! The mooring buoys and dock space were all filled. However, as we approached the docks to check out the possibility of space being available, we were waved over by a boat flying Canadian Power and Sail burgees. Bob Stone hollered at us to raft up with his boat. I immediately got nervous. We'd expected this was going to happen and we'd come prepared with extra lines and fenders. We smartly had read up on what rafting entailed and so we had some idea of what we were getting into. I would have been more comfortable just anchoring out in the bay somewhere but I needed this experience so in we went.

Bob was great at directing us after informing him we were newbies at this maneuver. Our first attempt quickly felt wrong and so, as I do as a general rule in these situations, I backed off and tried again. I figured I'd go at it like I was approaching a dock only even slower. No need to damage someone's $150,000 boat.

I backed down the engines backing us toward the shallower water near shore. As I back up I noted the depth sounder which indicated the depth of the water under our keel. When I saw the depth go to 9 feet I brought here to a dead stop. Drawing 3 and 1/2 feet, I figured 5 and 1/2 feet was as close to grounding as I was comfortable with. Besides, any quick move in water this depth could kick up a rock into a prop and our trip would be ruined. With the engines at idle I pushed the gear shifts into forward and inched my way forward at about a 20 degree angle to Bob's boat. Gently, like I was docking with the International Space Station, we moved in closer and at the last moment I turned the helm to port and our two hulls came gently together, the 4 fenders on each boat doing their jobs perfectly. Bob grabbed our line and tied us off at the bow while Leslie tied off the stern. Bob then tied spring lines at the midships to halt any movement of the boats fore or aft. Done!

We'd made our first raft. Not only that but on the way out from Bellingham, we'd been contacted by our co-captains by VHF radio. My first time having an actual ship to ship conversation. For those who are unfamiliar with this activity, all boats, for a variety of reasons, are supposed to monitor channel 16 while underway. But using channel 16 for more than initial conversation is illegal. Once contact has been made with the party you want, you must quickly agree to meet them on another channel and then clear 16 for other boaters use. So I called to them to switch to channel 78 alpha. Rolling the dial up to 68 A and calling out again for our friends, we quickly reestablished contact and had our conversation. Cool! There is a protocol for using the VHF radio which is taught in basic boating classes but I'd never used it outside the classroom. Another moment of pride.

Bob Stone and a buddy of his, another Canadian, had already scoped out the dock and set up a network with other boaters who would be leaving either that day or the next. So we knew we'd have plenty of dock space to raft up other boats as they arrived. Being on the dock had its advantages. Chief among them was easy access to the shelter on shore that we'd reserved. Hauling all the food and other materials needed to occupy the shelter would be so much more difficult having to ferry it all ashore in our dinghies.

The rest of the weekend was spent getting to know other members of our squadron, taking hikes, eating, playing games and talking about boats. Lots of talking about boats! We learned so much during our stay having these informal conversations.

Note the squadron burgee and the red flag of rank flying on the Key of Sea.

Oh, I purchased a squadron burgee for the bow of the boat and, for the first time, flew my rank flag above the starboard antenna mast. The rank flags are only flown at Power Squadron events but it was pretty cool to see my flags flying. Many other members had several flags flying in recognition of their current and former ranks. The Canadians also flew a U.S. courtesy  flag on their boats, a tradition that I will reciprocate  when I cross into Canadian waters for the first time. The tradition is that when  you enter a foreign nation's waters you are to hoist a flag of that nation. Your own nation's colors still fly off the stern (the place of honor for those colors) of your boat. Flag etiquette is another part of boating education. It's fun!

Several other participants had the same idea we did about getting to Sucia the day before the event began. So by the Thursday evening there were already 4-5 boats either rafted on the dock or anchored in the bay. Nothing much really happened that evening. Just relaxing or taking a walk ashore. 

Friday afternoon the majority of the boats were arriving and it was a busy time finding space for everyone and getting the word out about the dock party to be held that evening. At 1900 hours everyone descended on the dock taking up 4 of the picnic tables and setting out whatever they brought with them to share, appetizers, wine, pop, whatever.  We also discovered that a folding chair is pretty important at these events and lots of those came out of boats along the dock and were set along the dockside for folks to roost.

We'd also put the word out that we'd be having a campfire that evening and lots of folks gathered around that and took advantage of the S'more making materials we'd brought. More opportunity to chat and get to know each other. By a little before dark, around 2130 hours at this latitude and time of year, everyone had wandered off towards their own boats and a good night's sleep.

Bright and early Saturday morning, we were up and heading up the dock towards the shelter to help set up for breakfast. We'd promised attendees 3 meals while they were in port. The breakfasts on both Saturday and Sunday and sinner Saturday night, so this would be another big day.

Our youngest participants helped find the geocache and then picked out something to keep.

Breakfast each morning--muffins, croissants and fruit. 

Breakfast included muffins, croissants and fresh fruit bot days. Folks brought their own coffee or tea.  Following breakfast everyone had a chance to regroup and relax before the days activities began. The plan included some choices--hiking, geochaching, learning to use a sextant, fossil rubbing, a tide pool walk or just relax and do what you want. As it turned out we sort of combined several of the activities in one long hike. It was a difficult hike in places but all of us managed to get back alive. We even found the only geocache currently on the island and allowed our youngest participants to place something in the cache and take something out. They were thrilled and we adults all got a kick out of helping them decide what they should pick out of the box. 

Saturday afternoon was mostly a time to relax or to meet with friends on the dock, take a nap or do more hiking on your own or in groups. Very informal.

Burger BBQ and baked beans

Dinner was kicked off at 1800 hours up in the shelter. We were cooking hamburgers and they were accompanied by baked beans, cole slaw, and more side dishes and dessert brought by the other participants. Another campfire gathered at the fire pit along with more visiting. Despite the offer of making more s'mores, folks weren't interested after the big dinner that included some pretty fine dessert options. 

Again, by about 2130 hours most folks had wandered off to their berths and a good night's sleep. It had been a big, busy day.  

Sunday morning breakfast was served dockside instead of at the shelter. It was closer to the boats where the food was stored anyway and lots of the folks were planning to depart that morning. So following breakfast we all set about getting rafted boats untied and sent on their way. I was also in charge of making sure I got photos of all the boats as they departed. A squadron brochure project was in need of a good cover photo and I'd promised to take a few photos of each boat as it left the harbor. 

Group photo taken the last night of the cruise gathering.

By about noon most boats had left leaving only three boats of the 16 that had been there. We decided to share whatever we had for dinner and to play some '99', a card game we all learned to play at one of the dockside picnic tables. Again, as had been the custom every night, all of us were headed to bed by around 2130. 

Next morning I was up early as the last two boats were planning to leave on a favorable tide. I needed to snap their pictures and so we were up helping untie their boats and saying our farewells. I ran to the end of the dock to get the best angle for my photos and in no time their bows headed of into the morning sun leaving Leslie and I as the only remaining boat. It was kind of a sad finish after several days of so much fun activity and getting to know all those folks so well and then to have to stand there alone on the dock waving goodbye. 

Leslie hiked to China Caves.

We had planned to stay another night but decided to head out ourselves. We'd been invited to guest berth in Blaine in the slip of one of our new friends who were continuing on with their cruise. We arrived their after a 2 1/2 hour cruise across the Strait of Georgia. 

We spent the night there mostly to check things out. We'd been given the chance to move out boat to Blaine, about 20 mils from Bellingham. It is supposed to get us into a permanent berth in Bellingham faster. We walked into Blaine for dinner that afternoon and then back to the boat for an early bedtime. 

A pretty typical sunset on Sucia Island. Stunning!

The final day of our cruise adventure tune out to be quite an adventure! We headed out into the Strait of Georgia with a favorable tide only to find the wind blowing against us. For the next 3 hours we bucked 2-3 foot wind waves and swells until we finally tucked into the lee of Lummi Island and headed down Hale Passage to the turn into Bellingham Bay.  It was actually fun for me but Leslie was none to happy about this rough leg of the cruise. She kept a stiff upper lip about it though. I was proud of her. 

We tucked into our home slip around noon, washed off the boats, gathered those items needing to be taken home and headed for the car. We'd lived to tell another tale. 

Quebec City

Arrived in Quebec City, checked into Hotel L'Aristocrate out on the edge of town but only 15 minutes drive from the old town.  Once settled in we started looking through brochures that we'd found at the TI. Found tons of things to do but due to our timing or the time of year, whichever you prefer, they aren't going on.

We did find a Hitchcock retrospective going on at an indie theater in a neighborhood downtown. We decided to head in and check that out and to have some dinner at a well recommended restaurant around the corner from the theater.

The drive into town went through several lovely old neighborhoods and we instantly fell in love with Quebec City. Well maintained yards despite the harsh winter temperatures. Lovely homes. It just had a cared for air about it that struck a positive note immediately.

The theater turned out to be in a video rental store upstairs from a pharmacy. We found parking right across the street and got to the theater in time to take in two Hitchcock films, one I hadn't seen before called Stage Fright and the second, a classic I love, Vertigo. I've seen Vertigo many times but never on a big screen so this was a real treat.

We go out to movies when we travel as a change of pace. If it is a film worth seeing it is fun to sort of do what the locals do, pony up a few bucks and sit in the dark watching a good film.

After the movies we walked over to Le Cochon Dingue, The Happy Pig, a well regarded local restaurant specializing in traditional Québécois cuisine. We arrived about 9:30 to a nearly empty place with the back half of the dining area already closed and the lights out. There were still three other parties there and they had no trouble seating us. We were surprised that at such an hour there were not more people still out and about. Apparently, either this part of town or the entire town don't stay up late. We thought it would be more Europe-like in its sensibilities where dining was concerned.

We both ordered steak frites which came medium rare as per our request and a pile of fries on the plate with it. There were three choices for sauces. I requested the mushroom sauce, my wife the house sauce. As the hour was late we didn't order anything else.

We were disappointed in the steaks and the frites seemed warmed over. Perhaps they were the last of the fries for the evening. Re-warm rather than heat up the fryer again? The steaks were too uniform in cut to be anything but frozen, precut steaks. Nothing special and they were seriously lacking in flavor. Too bad really. It was a cute place.

We headed back to the room and a good night's sleep.

The next day we headed into the old city and found good parking near one of the gates into the old town. Parking is very regulated inside the walls but there was plenty of good parking for about $7 for 12 hours right outside the walls.

We walked into the upper city and up and down the narrow streets. It was very European in look. The Chateau Frontenac is the centerpiece of this area. A stunningly beautiful hotel sitting on a bluff overlooking the St. Lawrence River. It is supposed to be the most photographed hotel in the world. It is part of the great Canadian railroad chain of hotels stretching across Canada. Each hotel is gorgeous and expensive but fun to walk through and imagine those who lived and played in this place a hundred years ago.

We walked on through town stepping into galleries and shops, stopping to look over menus displayed outside the many restaurants.

For lunch we picked a creperie mentioned as a good lunch place. I ordered a crepe with ham, cheese and mushrooms and Leslie ordered one with bacon and Swiss. Sadly, they were dry and my mushrooms tasted old, a taste that stayed with me for a few hours.

We'd hoped to take the Ecobus, transportation that took you along a route within the walls of the old city, but when we finally flagged one down to board, the sign said $3 a ride. It was supposed to have been one dollar. We opted to go back to the car and take it to the lower city and to drive through other parts of the old town as we went.

We stopped and walked through the market place down on the port promenade. It didn't take long to see what it had to offer, which wasn't much in the way of choices. We are so spoiled when we visit Vancouver, B.C. The Granville Market on Granville Island is always a bustling market with gorgeous displays of fresh fruit and veggies, meats, seafood, cheeses, baked foods, and year round. We have found nothing that comes close to that market out here on the east coast.

View of the lower city.

We found a very bright spot when we walked through the Champlain district in the lower city. Perfect streets with more shops, galleries and restaurants. It was just so tidy and neat. Here is also where you can catch a funicular up the hill to the upper city and the Chateau Frontenac hotel.

After an hour in the Champlain, we walked across the street to our car and looked up and down the St. Lawrence River which flowed right past the parking lot. It was a blustery day which was evident by the white caps across the wide river.

Dinner was at the aux Ancience Canadien Restaurant in the middle of old town. It specialized in Québécois cuisine, meat pies, rustic, hearty fare.

We each ordered a bowl of the soups of the day, one yellow split pea and the other a cream of vegetable. We enjoyed these as we sat by the fire and took in the wood carvings on the walls.

Our mains at Anciens Canadiens.

For our mains we ordered a slice of five meat pie in a flaky crust. Beef, pork, venison, bison and elk were blended in with potatoes and onions and a Salmon en Croute with layers of mashed potato, dill and Atlantic salmon chunks. Again the pastry was flaky and buttery. Delicious.

Our dinner came with dessert so we each ordered a piece of pie, one apple and the other maple syrup pie. Both warm and once again, with a flaky crust and covered with fresh cream. 

The waitress was wonderfully attentive and informative. Very nice meal and a great way to finish the day.

Ever have a day that starts out terribly but winds up wonderful? Today proved to be one of those when I discovered my photo storage disk wallet was missing. I had no idea where I might have lost it along our travels. Spain, Portugal, Canada? Which hotel could I have set it down and not put it back in my pack?

So, I set about sending e-mails to all the hotels we stayed in Europe where I thought I might have left it, which was most of them. It took so long to do that our intention to drive to an island outside of town known for its artisan food producers, had to be canceled. But we discovered that we were inside the lunch window for the restaurant in our hotel which came highly regarded.

Now, you have to understand that hotel restaurants are not generally known for high quality cuisine. What they are known for is their high prices and low quality. There are exceptions to this rule but they are extremely rare and I've never heard of an exception in a Best Western hotel which was where we were staying. But everything we read about restaurants in Quebec named Oneida Fenouilliere one of the very best.

Lamb shanks. Yum!

We had a 15% off coupon so we decided to give lunch a try. Dinner prices were way higher so this would be a chance to try it out without it hurting too bad if it turned out to be a dog. What a surprise!

We ordered the 3 course lunch which included a choice of 3 entrees, several mains and dessert. We both went for the porc rillettes, a kind of pâté but with the meat in a paste formed into the pate shape. A couple of slices accompanied by home made pickle slices, a tomato jam and bits of water cress created a lovely start to our meal.

As a main I ordered the lamb shank which came with various perfectly paired bits of fresh vegetables--Brussels sprouts, quinoa, squash purée, peas and pickled beet. It was a work of art and the combinations on the plate were perfectly paired. I ordered a delicious Argentinian Pinot Noir to go with it.

Leslie's main at Le Fenouilliere

My wife ordered pan seared salt cod topped with a tapenade, fromage en croute, carrot purée, mashed potatoes with herbs. Fresh peas and baby book choy. With it she had a refreshing French Bordeaux white wine.  

The dessert course choices were a banana cheese cake and a chocolate panacotta. We got one of each to try. The cheeses cake came on piece of slate and with a pool of fresh caramel sauce in which two fresh blackberries swam amid bits of ground nuts.

Banana cheesecake

The panacotta was chocolate-orange flavored and was accented by an orange slice, a kumquat with its dried leaves still attached. Both desserts were works of art, looking too good to eat. Much to our taste bud's delight, we did anyway.

La Fenouilliere was by far our best meal during our adventure in eastern Canada and what a surprise to find it right downstairs in our Best Western hotel. Amazing!

After the meal, we walked back upstairs to get ready to go out only to discover it had started to snow. The room was too warm for us to do anything more than take advantage of it and settle in for a nap.

Late in the afternoon we drove over to the Beaux Arts museum. Leslie really wanted to takeout in so while she spent an hour there, I spent it writing in the cafe.

Our final evening in Quebec City was spent back where we had started, at the cinema with the Hitchcock retrospective taking in one more of his films. The snow had started coming down and the wind had picked up so a warm, dry place showing one of the master's greatest films seemed like just the ticket.

Tomorrow we head back in the direction of Montreal and then into Vermont, finally back in the good old USA.

Montreal

Drove to Montreal today. That in and of itself was enough for the day. I was exhausted after the drive. Leslie walked around the old Montreal part of town, which is adjacent to our hotel, in order to get her bearings and to get out a while. We also spent a lot of the evening organizing our next two days. We decided on a couple of evenings of jazz at the two main jazz houses in town--The House of Jazz and Diese Onze.

Our first morning in Montreal was spent walking through Old Montreal, visiting the Basilica, having breakfast and browsing the shops that lined the streets. We also walked along the St. Lawrence River promenade.

Went back to the room for an afternoon nap, then grabbed the car to head out to dinner and our evening of jazz.

Dinner was at a place popular with locals that specializes in burgers and poutine. To describe poutine to folks south of the border (that's south of the Canadian border) is that it is basically French fries or frites covered with cheese curds and brown gravy. Yeah, sounds weird but it is good if not good for you. We both ordered the beef burger, salad and poutine combination. The burger patty was very small and thin. The bun was whole grain but also small. The salad had plenty of veggies on it and came with two squeeze bottles, one with a sort of ranch style herb dressing and the other a balsamic.

After dinner we hiked over to the Diese Onze jazz club in time to get seats at the bar right in front of the stage. The opening duo were two guitarists playing a Django Rinehardt style of music. The group we'd come to hear started playing at 9--Eric Harding's trio of piano, bass and drums. They were rather disappointing. The pianist played with little imagination or variation. Everything sounded the same. The bass player had obviously never played with him before as Eric kept throwing chord changes to him. The drummer was the weakest link, playing in a very heavy handed, detached style. We kept asking who he was playing with because his solos were so unconnected to the style or theme of the piece being played. Still, it was a nice evening out and we didn't get back to the room until after 11.

Day 6:

Had the car brought around this morning and we headed off in the direction of the Jewish quarter of Montreal looking for a bagelry that had been recommended to us. Actually there were two bagelries that apparently cause a lot of debate in town as to which is better. We found the St. Viateur bagel shop first and so that was the one we tried. It was really more like a small factory. No place to sit, nothing besides bagels and the condiments that go along with them. So we took our bagels and cream cheese and sat in the car to eat them.

We really needed a cup of coffee and since we next ran into the Jean Talon Market, it was there we sat down and ordered a breakfast and coffee. Ordering coffee American style has been a bad experience for us here. What we've been served has been very weak, flavorless coffee. The espresso coffees we've ordered are great but significantly more expensive.

Expensive seems to be what everything is here in Canada. Food, fuel, housing, taxes are even high with up to 18% tax on some things. No wonder we see so many Canadians coming down to Bellingham to shop and buy gas. I don't blame them.

Anyway, after a breakfast ham and egg panini, we walked through the Marche Jean Talon checking out the fresh fruit and veggies, the fromage, patisseries, charcuteries,  and maple product sellers.

Then we hopped back in the car and drove over to the Montreal art museum where we spent a couple of hours, then we drove around some of the nicer neighborhoods of Montreal, checked out Oratory St. Joseph, a stunning looking church on a high hill we'd noticed as we first drove into Montreal. Sadly, it's contemporary interior didn't do much for us and we only stayed a short while.

Finally, we drove over to Little Italy for dinner and to an Italian bakery where we bought a few items for later. A chocolate filled cannoli and a bread soaked in lemon cello and filled with whipped cream. Fabulous!

Back at our room we tucked in for the night. A little rain and sleet had begun to fall so this was a good evening to stay in.

Ottawa!

Took a bit of a scenic side trip on the way to Ottawa this morning. We noticed on our AAA map that the road along Lake Ontario was a scenic drive so we headed off in that direction. We stopped in a small town to pick up some picnic supplies and continued on our way driving through several cute little towns and past lots of lakeside "resorts" that were more mom and pop summer cabin places. We'd peek down a little dirt road or out behind someone's home and see a cluster of little rustic cabins or with charming architectural embellishments but all small places like the old motor court motels of the 50's that sprang up across America when Americans began taking car trips. I can imagine they are probably full up in the summer months when families are looking for a sunny getaway along Lake Ontario.

Canadian capitol building in Ottawa.

Speaking of the lake, I've seen the Great Lakes on maps all my life but it really is amazing to see them up close and personal. Lake Ontario isn't even one of the biggest lakes, but driving along next it and gazing across its expanse straining fruitlessly to see New York state on the other side, you get a feel for just how big they really are. It looks like an ocean. There were even waves lapping at the shore. The water out to about 50 or 100 yards had a beautiful azure color to it indicating the shallow in-shore water. But beyond that it was as dark and unpredictable as any ocean water.

As the afternoon wore on and we tired of driving, we turned north and headed back towards the main east west freeway to speed up our arrival in Ottawa. It was a good 5 and a half hour drive without the side trip along the lake shore. After another hour we turned north and another hour later we arrived on the outskirts of Ottawa, the nation's capital.

Okay, maybe eastern Canada in March isn't such a great idea. As we drove towards Ottawa my wife read about the activities and attractions in Ottawa. With each she mentioned, it became like a running gag, "but not this time of year."

Notre Dame Basilica

It is cold here and nothing outdoorsy is happening as a result. There are lots of pubs and restaurants with plenty of outdoor seating. But not this time of year. The famous Rideau Canal is supposed to have ice skating, but the canal is nearly empty and the water unfrozen. There is an icy wind blowing across the city which influences the directions you walk. Stay as much as possible in the lee of a building and you stay significantly warmer.

There were a couple of very nice surprises when we visited the stunningly beautiful Notre Dame Basilica and we were able to sit in the gallery of the Parliament and watch legislators debate national policy. It was interesting to hear them discussing issues that we read about our members of congress discussing.

Organ bay in the basilica

The basilica was as I said, stunning. It is just perfect. Walking in through the front door you see the lovely architectural accents decorating the pillars and ceiling. Walk forward out from under the narthex and suddenly the ceiling soars high into the heavens where the ceiling is painted a royal blue and hundreds of golden stars dot the sky. Everywhere you look your jaw drops with the details. One more time--stunning! It was my number one experience in Ottawa.

My wife decided to go out for a walk this afternoon, planning to visit the National Art Museum since it is free today after 5. Snow flurries changed her mind.

So we are holed up here in our hotel room waiting until we can walk next door at 9. Luckily we are right next door to an Indy movie theater playing a film we're interested I seeing.

We've had plenty of excitement though. Last night around midnight, the hotel fire alarm system went off emptying the rooms. We hung out in the lobby while Ottawa's finest searched every room. Finding nothing, we were allowed to return to our rooms for a fitful night of sleep.

Today we've had a real adventure in site seeing and dining. We walked over to a diner called Mello's for breakfast. The food was good. It turned out the be a real working man's joint. The staff and some of the customers swore like troopers. But it was a hoot anyway with a sassy waitress and a decor unchanged since the place opened who knows how long ago.

A walk through the By Market, which was filled with locals at lunch time, didn't much impress us. We grazed a bit, trying what at first looked like a tasty chocolate chip cookie dipped half way in chocolate. Turned out to be a stale, tasteless disappointment. We also saw a delicious looking savory cheese bread thingy at a bakery shop that had posted lots of photos of President Obama's visit to their shop during his Ottawa trip. Sadly the cheesy thingy didn't match up to our level of delight with our president.

Finally, on our way back to the hotel, we thought we'd found a place that would make it all better. Dunn's Famous Deli has been open they say since 1927. Now I am not exactly sure how they have managed this, but there you are. They are famous for their smoked meat sandwiches which look for all the world like a New York style pastrami sandwich. I say they "look" like one because that is where any other comparison sadly must end. Their jumbo sandwich had about an inch of what looked like pastrami stacked on what was the same color as rye bread and a little yellow mustard swiped across it. This is jumbo? Have these people actually ever been to a real deli? A New York deli, like Katz's or the Carnegie Deli? I don't think so because if they had they would have returned to Ottawa, promptly closed their doors and stopped trying to fool people with these hopelessly tasteless sandwiches. It was as if they had cooked the flavor out of the meat.  It tasted boiled. Then I read that steaming the meat was a big part of the process. And what does "smoked" have to do with the process? This meat never came anywhere near a smoker.

Funny sign in front of a local pub.

It was served with French fries that we're very greasy, which occurs when they are cooked at too low a temperature, and with a cole slaw which was just a sad addition to my already insulted sensibilities. Since 1927, huh? Ottawans, go to New York. Send someone there as a spy to learn the deli business. Please! Oh, vey!

We managed to finish our time in Ottawa on a positive note when we walked literally next door to an Indy theater and saw Salmon Fishing in The Yemen. Terrific film from the UK about a Yemeni sheik who decides he wants to bring salmon fishing to Yemen. Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt star in this film that is much more than the title suggests. Tomorrow, on to Montreal!

Paella Recipe

I recently posted a recipe for Salmorejo Cordobés, a great cold soup we tried while in Spain. 

Salmorejo Cordobés

After posting a photo of my first attempt at paella, I received a lot of requests for the recipe and I am keeping my promise to post the recipe here. 


So, first I'll repost the photo I took of that first pan of paella as a teaser. If it looks good to you, believe me, it tasted as good as it looked.  It is modeled after the paella we had at Ayo's Restaurant on the beach on the Costa del Sol. Here it is!

My first paella

Ayo's Paella

1/2 chicken; cut up into pieces
1 medium onion; chopped
4-5 cloves garlic; minced
1 whole ripe tomato; peeled, chopped
2 cup long-grain white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1 pinch of saffron
1 lb shrimp (raw, medium-size)
1 lb sea scallops
1/2 lb squid
salt and pepper; to taste
6-10 fresh clams


You can also use other meats such as mussels, white fish cut in chunks, good sausage, whatever looks good and is available in the marketplace. Also, while not absolutely necessary, a good paella pan is traditional in preparing this dish. They are available in  many fine cooking stores.

Preparation:

In a large paella pan add olive oil and heat to brown chicken pieces. Remove chicken and add onions, garlic and chopped tomatoes. Cook unit very soft almost like a paste. Add the rice and stir until completed coated with sofito. Add saffron to hot chicken broth and add to rice in pan. Add chicken, and remaining fish to pan and let the liquid boil until the rice begins to open.


At this point you can let it continue to cook on top of range or you can put pan into a 300 degree oven and cook until rice is done approximate 25 minutes. Before putting into the oven or when rice is almost cooked you can add 6-10 clams. When ready to serve sprinkle peas, pimentos, and artichokes over the rice. Enjoy!

Sofito Preparation:


Use the amounts listed of the following items from the ingredient list above:


Onion
Garlic
Tomatoes
salt and pepper


Cook onions until opaque, add in garlic followed by the tomatoes. Cook until softened. Set aside. Make a day ahead if you like and refrigerate. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Oh Canada!

We flew into Toronto via Paris after our three week tour of Spain and Portugal. If you'd like to read about that trip, you can locate the blog installments of that adventure in the blog history along the right margin below.

Picked up our rental car at the airport and headed for the Toronto hotel we booked for the night. We'll get a fresh start tomorrow when we drive to Montreal. We'll spend a bit of time in Toronto at the end of this trip. We don't plan to spend a great deal of time here since we just weren't much inspired by anything we'd read about the city. Much more to see in our other planned destinations.

We'll be staying a couple of days in each of the Canadian cities of Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City as we drive east. Then we will dip down into Vermont, driving through the Lake Champlain islands, stopping at North Hero, on to Burlington, then a short ferry ride across Lake Champlain to the New York side where our journey will head west. Going to Vermont means my wife has been to all 50 states, so this is historic for her (I still have 4 more. It's a long story.)

Along the way we also plan stops in Cooperstown to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame, drive along the Erie Canal to Rochester, New York and then stay a couple of days at Niagara Falls. We'll stay on the Canadian side since we have heard from several sources that it is much nicer.

Then our journey will come full circle when we return to,Toronto for our final day before flying to Vancouver, British Columbia, only 40 minutes from home for us. Our friends Mike and Donna will pick us up and take us to their home for dinner before driving us home to Bellingham.

So, stay tuned. There are plenty of adventures still to come.

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Day 1:

The first order of business was getting to our starting point which was an adventure in and of itself. We were coming in from Paris after an early morning flight from Madrid. We had just finished a three week tour of Spain and Portugal. Tired and ready for a change of scenery, we were very happy to be in Canada and the adventure in store.

We got out of the airport, into our Hertz rental car and arrived at our hotel room quickly and easily.

Hungry but preferably for something with lots of veggies, something we had way too little of in Europe, we found a local Kebab shop nearby. We ordered a chicken and a lamb kebab which were filled with fresh veggies. Delicious! We added a Greek salad to the order and managed to really sate our desire for those veggies.

Back in the room we organized ourselves for the next two weeks before heading off to bed. Heading for Ottawa in the morning.

The Windmills of La Mancha and Alcala de Hanares

La Mancha! Don Quixote, Miguel Cervantes, Dulcinea, Sancho Panza. All names that made the region south of Toledo famous.

Today we decided to make a quick drive through this region before heading back north to the Madrid airport and a flight out to Toronto tomorrow morning.

From Toledo there are several drives that take you on journeys through the countryside. We selected the tour through La Mancha that ended in the village of Consuegra, famous for its castle on the hill above the town surrounded by a half dozen white washed windmills of Don Quixote fame. There was quite a drive up the hill to get to the castle and windmills that also offered amazing 360 degree vistas.  At the top the wind howled explaining exactly why these windmills were put here and why the adjacent distant hills sport giant modern windmills providing electric energy for the region.

We took lots of photos and walked all the way to the top most windmill before hopping in the car and driving into town. It was a pleasant little town with nothing going on and most everything closed. The church was closed. Nothing to see there. There was a river that flowed through town but it was dry. So we headed out to the edge of town to catch the freeway back in the direction of Madrid. We found a gas station so we filled the tank with only €20 worth as we had prepaid for our fuel at the end of the trip.  So we didn't want to leave too much left in the tank when we turned it in.

One of my favorite shots at the church in Orgaz

On our drive back to Madrid we made the decision to head east of Madrid for another quick stop. This time to another World Heritage site.  Alcala de Henares.

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Mora, was our first stop in La Mancha. It turned out to be kind of a dud, so we drove a bit further to the next stop on the tour. The town of Orgaz, yes that was its name, is famous because El Cid was the first mayor. It had a simple but lovely church, a simple square with a restaurant or two and a few shops, all of which seemed closed. Orgaz also sported a rather old bridge that crossed a dried up river. We drove around a bit and then exited the town heading for Consuegra.

The storks nesting in Alcala

By this time we were getting the idea that these little stops in the road were really just a ploy to get people to stay a little longer in the Toledo area and add a bit more to the local economy.

Our stop in Alcala de Hanares was an afterthought. It wasn't a part of the tour but a quick side trip after getting back to Madrid. We still had a few hours to spend before we really needed to get to the airport to return the rental car so we drove on by the airport turn off and about 20 minutes east to this beautiful city.

Alcala contains a major university, The University of Alcala, many historic buildings from the Renaissance era and it is also home to the Roman city of Complutum complete

 with it's forum, baths, market and basilica.

The Archbishop's Palace is where Christopher Columbus had his first meeting with Elizabeth the Catholic and it is where Catherine of Aragon, one of Henry the Eight's wives, was born.

This city is also the birthplace of Miguel Cervantes and where he was baptized. His birthplace is a museum today.

The sad part was when the TI informed us that it was Monday and that the entire town's historic monuments were closed.

We were able to walk around a bit and take in the commercial street and Plaza de Cervantes dressed up in its springtime splendor.

Leslie settling an argument between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

We also had nice views of the mascot critter of Alcala, storks, who built their enormous nests in the treetops and the bell towers all over town. Their curious bill-snapping sound can be heard all over.

The drive back to the airport was a bit stressful but the signage for getting there and returning the car were easy to follow. We had the car turned in in no time and were on a shuttle to the Airport Ibis Hotel within a half hour. Tomorrow we head back to the airport for our flight to Paris and then on to Toronto.

After a restless night at the Ibis Hotel near the Madrid Barajas Aeropuerto, we got a wake up call at 6:30 am. A quick shower, packing the few belongings we needed for the night and we were out the door and to the airport by 7:30. Check in had to be done using electronic ticket machines. Only the business class got to speak to a real person. As we approached the maze of poles and straps that eventually lead to the machines, an Air France employee intercepted us asking if we had carry ons. We indicated that we were carrying on everything. He passed us through to the ticket machines after tagging our back packs.

When we finished with the machines we headed back out but the same guy intercepted us again and told us we had to check our bags. I told him we had made the same flight coming to Madrid and were able to carry on all our luggage. He insisted some airlines have different policies. I countered with, we came on this airline. He didn't want to discuss it anymore so he rudely grabbed my luggage and started rolling it toward a counter where they would check our luggage. The same counter he said earlier we could not go to to check in with a real person.

So, despite the fact that we purposely purchased smaller luggage so as not to have to check our baggage, our luggage is in the hold of the plane and checked through to Toronto. The good news is we didn't have to pay extra for this privilege. More good news. We were seated in emergency rows so we have lots of leg room. Even better is the fact that it is a short flight to Paris where we have to change planes for the flight to Toronto.  We are supposed to be in the two middle seats in a row of four on that flight. That's the bad news.

I was really cranky this morning after not sleeping well, again. When we got to the airport I needed water, coffee and something in my tummy. With that accomplished and an hour of relative peace and quiet sitting, watching out the window as planes landed (doing that gives me endless hours of fascination), I began to calm down. Have I told you how much I hate flying? Next time we take a cruise! Or a much shorter flight.

One last sigh remembering Sagres, Portugal, my favorite stop on the trip.
See you in Canada!

Flight AF1001 from Madrid to Paris took off and landed on time. We tried to hustle over to gate F54 from F 2, but it turned out to be a long walk interrupted first by a passport check, then another security station where we had to unpack our carry on and go through the now familiar, since 9/11, routine of removing your belt, all the items in your pockets, taking out your camera, lenses, computer and any other electronic gadgets you might be toting. Then, reverse the process and you're on your way. It turns out somehow that Gate F2 is nowhere near F54. The walk between the two was so far you'd have thought you'd walked to an altogether different terminal.

The flight took forever to load due mostly to the disorganized fashion AirFrance did the job.  Then, the pilot came on the intercom to let us know the emergency lighting system was not working so workers came onboard to fix it. We waited for over an hour at the gate before we were cleared for take-off.

Well, that's it. We made it. Lived to tell the story as they say. Thanks for joining me on our adventure. I hope it has been even a bit helpful toward your planning a trip to the Iberian Peninsula. Spain and Portugal are two amazing, not-to-be missed countries. Every region offered special historic delights to see and equally delightful culinary delights. I also hope I have given a few insights that will help you avoid certain pitfalls of traveling. I hope to hear from you with comments about your own experiences or to offer suggestions.

Please join me over the next few weeks as we explore some of the  cities of eastern Canada, parts of Vermont and upstate New York.


Bon Voyage!