THE ECHO DES MERS
ON
THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

Linda is one of the partners in Ecomertours Nord-Sud that owns the vessel. Their ecotourism trips are geared to learning about the environment and respecting the resources, culture and people of the area.

Smallshipcruises.com went on the Echo des Mers on their six-day exploration through the national parks of eastern Quebec. This particular cruise went west on the St. Lawrence far enough to go up the Saguenay River, which was gorgeous at sunset going through the fjord with the hills towering on both sides. We saw a number of beluga (white) whales. Then we headed back out of the Saguenay and went east on the St. Lawrence again with stops at Sept-Iles, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Anticosti Island, Forillon National Park, and as far east as Gaspe, then returned.  The cruise covers a rich diversity of wildlife and wilderness environments. This is Canada’s east coast Inside Passage.

The Mingan Archipelago is a scattering of some 40 islands and more than 2,000 islets and reefs in the Gulf of St. Lawrence where the river meets the sea. It became a national park reserve in 1984. There is much environmental diversity with peat bogs, headlands and forests, sometimes all on one island. The land is mostly limestone and one of the highlights of the trip is a stop at the beach of stone monoliths, standing high against the sky -- impressive monuments sculpted by the wind and sea. We are told that it is the world’s highest concentration of stratified limestone monolith formations. A highlight on another island was a hike to a colony of thousands of gannets and observing their behavior. They are related to the famous blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos that we described in an earlier report.

Different cruises of the Echo des Mers focus on different themes. A six-day trip in August goes to more remote locations with focus on birds, whales and other wildlife. Another in August features kayaking in the Mingan Islands and Anticosti in sea kayaks with experienced guides, usually with a half day for kayaking and half day for visiting an island. One cruise is especially geared to birdwatching. Birds you are likely to get to know: Atlantic puffin, Arctic tern, black-legged kittiwake, eider, shearwater fulmar, double-crested cormorant, semipalmated plover, semipalmated sandpiper, Canada goose, greater yellowleg, northern gannet, storm petrel, black guillemot and razorbill. The Arctic tern summers on the islands and flies 15,000 kilometers from eastern Canada to the west coast of Africa then all the way down to the Antarctic, every year. Plants we saw included pitcher plants and other insect-eating plants.

All of the Echo des Mers cruises leave from and return to Rimouski, Quebec … not an easy place to get to. We had to fly to Montreal, cab to the bus station, then take a bus for seven hours east to Rimouski. You can also fly into Quebec City which is closer. Most people drive. But actually the bus ride (the Orleans Express from Montreal’s Central Station, $116 roundtrip) is a pleasant ride during the day with lots of good scenery and a beautiful sunset. It’s a good idea to get into Rimouski the day or night before because the boat departs at 8 a.m.

 The Echo des Mers is a former Canadian Coast Guard vessel named Nicolet, built in 1966 and used for research and for sounding the river for dredging. It was given a major refit in 1997 to start its life as a cruise vessel.

The Echo has 20 cabins and holds 44 passengers. The cabins are simple and utilitarian, with a metal school-type locker for hanging clothes. Most cabins have a private bath with shower. Some cabins have shared bath facilities, but those that do not have a private bathroom do have sink in the cabin. Some cabins have double beds, some have two single beds.  Some cabins allow triple or quad occupancy. Some cabins have windows, others have portholes.

The lifestyle and dress on the vessel and on shore is totally casual. There is no entertainment, no games, no live music, (although there was a talent show the last night with singing of French songs that went on into the night). There is a reading room with a good collection of nature and history books. (But all other books are only in French, so bring your own light reading.) There were a few videos to watch (in French) and a lecture on the tragic sinking of the Empress of Ireland, a cruise ship on its way from Quebec to Europe that sunk just off Rimouski in 1914 after a collision with another ship in the fog. More than 1,000 persons were lost.

 The major criticism we have of the trip is that the cruise is overly French-focussed (but so is all of Quebec – many people turned their backs on me when I asked a question in English). Many crew members do not speak English, instructions and announcements are given in French with only short English translations added. And on the cruise we were on nearly all the passengers were French Quebec and spoke French most of the time. If you do not speak French, we suggest that you ask for one of their cruise dates that has a higher percentage of English-speaking passengers so that more instructions will be given in English.

Our favorite pastime on board was to climb the ladder to the helmstation. Guests are welcome in the wheelhouse at any time where you can study the charts and chat with the captain. In fact, this is the best place to spot whales since you can see far, and you are out of the wind.

Shore excursions are included in the fare, and usually involve visits to ports, museums and historic villages and houses. Hikes through various ecological environments, but not all, are with a nature guide. On shore in the parks you can take your choice of leisurely strolls along the shores and through the parks or other more physically challenging hikes. One excursion is to an Indian museum mostly of the Montagnais Indian culture(if you go, be sure to catch the video off in a side room on how a native canoe is made). Other excursions go to a whale museum, a local farm being converted to a health spa, to small fishing villages, and to a shore where you can find fossils. The boat draws about 10 ft. which gives it excellent stability, but it cannot get into shore at many of the locations, so passengers take zodiacs into ports and  docks.

There is no wheelchair accessibility, either on the boat or in the parks.

 Meals are served in two small dining rooms, with about half of the breakfasts being buffet style, others served. Dinner has two entree choices. One picnic-style lunch was on deck so that time would not be lost from scenery and whale-watching. With advance notice special dietary needs such as vegetarian, low fat, low sugar
and low salt can be accommodated.

Local food to possibly investigate on shore excursions is sea urchin butter made from the gonads of sea urchins that are harvested in the islands, mixed with melted butter, and exported to Japan, where it is considered a delicacy. Local berries include cloudberry, lingonberry, blueberry, mooseberry, raspberry and gooseberry.

Dress is totally casual. Bring a parka, not just a windbreaker, but a winter parka. It’s COLD, and the wind blows, a lot. Even though it’s summer you will need several layers of clothes. Layering is also good so as the days warm up on land you can peel off some layers and enjoy the sun. Don’t forget your binoculars and your passport.

Plan to spend at least one day in Rimouski. It’s a small town but has a remarkably good dining as well as cultural menu to choose from. You must see the gardens of de Metis, with more than 2,000 varieties of plants planted over 40 acres of a private estate. There are some excellent museums, including a well-designed one on the sinking of the Princess of Ireland, and I was amazed to learned at one of the museums that some 20 German submarines had been sighted at various times off Rimouski during World War II and the town had had routine blackouts at night during the war. If you’re lucky you may be in Rimouski when they have their well-known annual jazz festival, usually in September.

Note: The Echo des Mers is no longer in service. However there are other cruises on the St. Lawrence. Let us know what you are interested in.