Tour - part 4
At 272 feet, Montmorency Falls are the highest falls in the province of Quebec (as opposed to BC's at 1443 feet... which is less than half of Venezuela's Angel Falls).
Too bad this visit was saved for the end of the tour because by then it was pouring rain. The driver stopped by a path and let out anyone who wanted to walk across the bridge over the falls. Then he would pick them up on the other side.
Most people stayed on the bus. About six of us ventured out in the miserable, horrible, wet, windy cold. I hate getting wet but I wasn't about to miss this opportunity. It was a challenge trying to take photos while holding an umbrella over the camera.
We walked a short distance along a path though the woods before reaching the bridge.
I don't think I've ever walked over waterfalls before. It was a little creepy.
The Montmorency River is to the right.
The falls are to the left.
Almost more creepy than the crashing, thundering falls below, is the smooth-running water at the top. It reminds me of nightmares I've had. Glenn adds his thoughts: "Staring down on that smooth transparent water as it flows powerfully over the polished rock brings on a feeling of fear so strong that I felt like running away. It may sound strange but it's like looking at a slimy monster. So deceiving and tranquil and yet so deadly. Seeing the rope stretched across the water makes one realize it is there in case someone falls from the bridge, but God help anyone who doesn't grab the rope in time. To me it is much more traumatic than a close-up of Niagara Falls. It's nature's horror movie".
The falls go down... and down.
From here we can see the bridge we took to Ile d'Orleans.
This is probably the 487-step staircase to the bottom of the falls, which would be a fun walk on a nicer day.
Looking back, you can vaguely see the steps and the bridge we walked over in this picture.
Interesting rock formations along the way.
Nearing the parking lot...
... and Manoir Montmorency, a former residence of the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria. After being damaged by fire in 1993, it has been rebuilt using the original plans. Apparently there is a restaurant and information centre inside.
But we didn't get to go in because our bus was waiting.The bus smelled of wet wool. The driver (who, you may remember, was from Switzerland) let a young Swiss fellow off at a motel out of town. I thought it was a good thing a restaurant was attached to the motel because there wasn't much else around it. The young man asked the driver to wait while he raced to his room to get him something. He was back in a flash with a Swiss chocolate bar for the driver. It wasn't a regular sized bar either. I admire people who travel with chocolate and wondered how many of those giant bars he had packed in his luggage.
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