The region along the North shore of the St. Lawrence River N.E. of Quebec City is known for its spectacular scenery, quaint villages and warm hospitality.

The villages and towns in the whole Charlevoix region are alive with "artisanats," potteries and quaint "auberges" everywhere. The most fabulous part of the trip was the rugged beauty of the landscape. The St-Lawrence is very wide there as it empties into the gulf. On a clear day you can barely see the Gaspé Peninsula on the other side. The rugged coastline is mountainous, interspersed with meadows, and peppered with deer and moose crossing signs. Long stretches of the road were fenced in an attempt to keep the huge creatures from suddenly colliding with motorists. The results are usually disastrous for both.

Then, suddenly, you're descending and there below you is a breathtaking view of a bay, a deep inlet, and/or a picturesque village. We took our time admiring the seascapes camera at the ready, visiting tiny boutiques housed in ancient homes crammed with local crafts, and sampling their local cuisine.

We spent the best part of the afternoon savoring the opulence and magnificent setting of the historic Fairmount Manoir Richelieu hotel at Pointe-au-Pique, formerly known as Murray Bay (before the Quebec government francisized all English names).

Baie St. Paul next door and la Malbaie down the road are heritage jewels replete with cheese factories, micro breweries, "chocolateries" and blueberry confectionaries. Lac St. Jean NW of here is the source of the mighty Saguenay. It is known as the blueberry capital of the world. And yes, we happened to be there at the height of the season and how we feasted on them!

Tadoussac, our destination, is a village straddling the mouth of the Saguenay fjord where it empties into the St. Lawrence. It's about a three-hour drive North of Quebec City, Canada (not counting the many stops along the way!) The whole scenic route there is nothing short of spectacular! I had been here and beyond about 40 years ago but, although the scenery has not changed, the tourist trade has since put it on the world map.

Tadoussac was then but a dot on the map and whale watching was yet unheard of. But since 1998 the Saguenay fjord, and the estuary of the St. Lawrence have come under the protective jurisdiction of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park. Now visitors flock here from all over the world.

We spent every second of our two-day stay at The Tadoussac admiring the magnificence of its old world charm, walking along the uninterrupted stretch of beachfront, and feasting on its gourmet meals. This impressive red and white gabled three-story hotel was built in 1864 at the beginning of the steamship era after the first ferry crossing made it accessible to the rest of the world.

Ferries are still the only link over the Saguenay. It takes a mere ten minutes to cross the 1.6 km. span. The year round twenty-four-hour- a-day service is free of charge, and holds six long lanes of vehicles (I didn't count them but there must have been over a hundred).

Tadoussac is the oldest settlement in the new world. Artefacts of early civilizations date back eight thousand years! Discovered in 1535 by Jacques Cartier, it became the first fur trading post. The original log-cabin trading post still stands on the shoreline.

The whale watching and Saguenay fjord expeditions were awesome. Be on the lookout for further articles on those.