Publish Date: Friday, August 21, 2009
Location: Tadoussac, Quebec Province, Canada
Coordinates: 48° 08.315′ N 69° 42.935′ W
Beluga Whale at Saguenay Fjord
No, this is not another cooking blog. 🙂 Elle Souffle is the humorous title of an exhibit about whales at Le Centre d’Interpretation des mammiferes here in Tadoussac. The exihibt is completely in French, but the staff is kind enough to provide an English translation booklet, so you can follow along (hence the translation of Elle Souffle to Thar She Blows!). The Interpretation Center is not huge, or super fancy but it is staffed by an incredibly passionate group of naturalist and scientist dedicated to helping understand and more importantly protect the dozen or so species of whales and other marine mammals that call this area home during the summer months. Only the Beluga whale lives here year around. Check out their website at: http://www.whales-online.net/
Tadoussac sits at a unique marine intersection of the St. Lawrence River (which is salt water and very tidal in this area) and the fresh water Saguernay Fjord. The action from the 12-18 foot tidal change twice a day creates a blending of the waters which is conducive to the growth of krill and other foods that whales love to feed upon. Without a doubt the main attraction here is whale watching, and it provides a wonderful opportunity for education at the same time.
I know all three of us have already mentioned this in previous blogs, but it is just heart wrenching and startling to think that carcasses of these beautiful, social Beluga whales are considered toxic waste because of the human pollution in these waters. The good news is improvements are being made everyday due to the combined efforts of scientists, local and national governments, and concerned citizens. If you live in this area, the simple act of changing your household cleaning supplies and garden fertilizers can make a significant difference in water quality. In fact, that’s a change all of us can make no matter where we live. It will have a positive impact on the health of your ground water supply as well as streams, rivers, lakes and oceans in your area. To learn about other simple, daily actions we can do as individuals, visit the powerful and beautifully presented: http://www.onedrop.org
Okay, enough of my soap box for today. 🙂 Below are a few photographs of this remarkable area that we are visiting. Unfortunately the weather and my photographic skills do not do it justice, but at least here’s a glimpse. I want to give my own “Cruiser Shout Out” to Dave for discovering a WordPress plug-in making it easier to include photos in my blogs. Hopefully, it’s easier for you to see them too. Feedback is always appreciated, so please let me know if you like this solution.
Hi Kathryn,
The pictures are coming in very well, and doing the slide show is working perfectly on my system (I’m on a Mac BTW). They could be a bit larger even. The look like they are about 450 x 350 pixels. Hope that feedback helps.
I’m going to show these to my wife after dinner. Her ancestors are from Quebec so it will be nice to show her how beautiful the area is not so far from Quebec city. I read threeatsea every day. Thanks to all of you, it is great to hear about your adventures.
Richard
Kathryn, the pictures make a great addition to your already excellent blogs.
By the way, yesterday afternoon Margaret and I hosted another Cruisers Net Happy Hour at the Anchor Inn in Little Current. One of the boaters had brought her laptop, so I fired up Ayla’s video of her time with us in the North Channel and her broadcast on the Net.
Everyone enjoyed it and they send their best wishes to Ayla and the two of you as you continue this wonderful voyage of discovery.
Fair Winds and Safe Harbours
Roy and Margaret
The pictures are great ‘. Beautiful scenery Thank you.Have great ‘ time be safe
I love the new picture format – so much easier to see and enjoy.
Thank you for your blogging efforts (AND VIDEO!). It adds so much joy to my life 🙂
Good morning Kathryn,
I like this new photo plug-in and the pictures are big enough to see quite well. I’m amazed at how similar the landscape is to some of our favorite places in the Rockies! For the waters here to be so polluted is a heart ache. I wouldn’t have thought it to be so. That the whales can even survive in it boggles my mind. What a shame!
I just love reading about your adventure, from all of your perspectives. Here, the Aspen are already beginning to change (ever so slightly) and the nights are down in the 30’s now. It won’t be long before the snow begins to fall.
I hope you aren’t in harms way from Hurricane Bill. I’m thinking you are in a good spot away from the worst of it. Take care and enjoy every moment of your whale watching. How thrilling!
Jeannie
The new pictures look great. Thank you. The bigger the better for us visually challenged. You might ask Ken on his blog (kensblog.com) how he does his pictures. He seems to to have it down.