At the end of September, my grandfather and I decided to go down to Marseille. My grandfather has some memories of the city, since he did his military service and has family from Marseille. We'll be there for 3 days. We visited the city, some quirky places and then the southern part of the 8th arrondissement, which was much more natural and wild.
Freed to Catch Something
by a wandering wonderer
Master's field
In the Canadian Arctic
July 2015
It's the second sampling trip for my master's project, and we're heading back to the Far North aboard the M/V Arctic. Pascal and I are more familiar with the environment and the crew members now, and this time Nathalie won't be joining us, so it'll just be the two of us. But before we set sail, we have to load our gear onto the ship so that everything is ready for the next day. We arrive at the port of Quebec City. I love this adrenaline rush. I'm so happy to be having this experience. It's not every day that you get to enter the port of Quebec City with permits and sail to the Quebec Arctic on a commercial vessel. I love it…
July 9, 2015 - Short trip to Quebec City
We unload our belongings from the Institute's truck, which we take back to the boat and to our respective rooms. Isabelle came with us to Quebec City to help us and will then head back to Rimouski in the afternoon. But before returning to the boat, we go to eat in Old Quebec. I didn't take many photos apart from these ones of the Château Frontenac from Dalhousie Street.
.jpeg "eyJmciI6IkNo4nRlYXUgRnJvbnRlbmFjIn0=")
July 10, 2015 - A day at the Port of Quebec.
If I remember correctly, we slept on the boat and spent the day at the port. We took our first samples of water from the port and the ballast tanks. I took the opportunity to photograph the surroundings. Please bear with me, the quality of the photos is not great...
The day ends with this beautiful sunset over the harbor... I can't wait to leave.
July 12, 2015 - The big departure...
So on July 11, I have no idea or memories of what we did, but it doesn't matter, because on July 12 we set off on our great adventure... I remember calling my mother, here on the deck of the boat with the view of Quebec City gradually receding behind us, telling her that I was leaving and that I was really excited...
You can see Montmorency Falls...
As the silence suggests, we didn't talk much today, just contemplated the landscape... The day ends with this beautiful sunset.
July 13, 2015 – Heading to Grande Anse, Saguenay Fjord
Today we are making a short detour to Grande Anse to resupply, particularly with explosives that will be transported to the nickel mine. We are rediscovering the Saguenay Fjord, but a little deeper this time. The last time we were here was aboard the Coriolis II, the ISMER boat, but we only stayed at the mouth of the fjord. I see it as a tourist cruise because this location is not part of our sampling plan. It is absolutely magnificent...
.jpeg "eyJmciI6IiJ9")
We sail along the Saguenay Fjord National Park, catching a glimpse of the statue of Notre-Dame-du-Saguenay.
We arrive in Tadoussac at sunset and receive a warm welcome...
We can no longer see the horizon, everything is peaceful (except for the sound of the boat, of course...).
July 14, 2015 - Day off
This July 14th is going quietly. I just remember taking these photos...
.jpeg "eyJmciI6IiJ9")
.jpeg "eyJmciI6IiJ9")
.jpeg "eyJmciI6IiJ9")
July 15, 2015 - Taking photos from my cabin
My cabin, my room, is at the end of the corridor, opposite the door leading to the engine room. Needless to say, there's a bit of noise, but strangely enough, it doesn't bother me. Even at night, I perceive it more as white noise that helps me fall asleep. I have a magnificent view of the sea from my porthole... Fog rolls in at the end of the day, and we risk not being able to see anything...
July 16, 2015 - Foggy day
The fog has rolled in, we can hardly see anything, even the sun is struggling to break through... As the Wi-Fi connection was very poor, I remember having only one song recorded in my Spotify playlist... It was The Sun by Parov Stelar. That song always reminds me of that moment...
July 19, 2015 - Icebergs
The fog remained until July 18, so we took advantage of this to collect data and transcribe it onto our paper files... Today the weather is magnificent and we can see tabular icebergs...
The explosives are stored in this container at the front of the boat.
We work at the front of the boat in the storage area where we have stored all our equipment and where the filter station is located. It is rudimentary in design but works well.
July 20, 2015 - Arrival in Deception Bay
Last day of sailing. We arrive safely at Deception Bay... We still have quite a few samples to collect before going ashore. Here we go...
It's so nice to work here, it's unusual, it's interesting, it's just great...
We sample the harbor water with two types of nets, one for zooplankton and one for phytoplankton...
With the zooplankton net, we discover this little anemone... We note this observation and release it back into the water.
We finally set foot on land. The sensation is very strange. We are a little shaken up, but we quickly regain our balance. Before our driver arrives to take us to the mine, we explore the surroundings a little and climb up to admire the landscape and the boat in its entirety.
Here we go...
Landscape of northern Quebec...
We soon arrive at the mining complex, where the landscape becomes much rockier...
I think we checked into our rooms and then went for a walk on the only footpath in the complex.
I don't remember what I was thinking, but everything went well...
July 21, 2015 - Last day
Last day before heading back to Quebec City. The weather is beautiful, so we decide to go for a walk... obviously to the same place as yesterday...
So, the second scientific expedition is coming to an end, and I loved the experience. We didn't see any ice at all except for those icebergs in the last few days, but otherwise the sea was completely free of ice. Writing all this down, I realize how lucky I was to have had this experience. I remember how I felt at the time, and it was incredible in my mind. I was so happy...
So, the second scientific expedition is coming to an end, and I loved the experience. We didn't see any ice at all except for those icebergs in the last few days, but otherwise the sea was completely free of ice. Writing all this down, I realize how lucky I was to have had this experience. I remember how I felt at the time, and it was incredible in my mind. I was so happy...