These are the very last days of the trip, we leave on August 15th. Here we are in Montreal. We have approached France, returning to the crossing 3 time zones. And we went back to the side of the francophonie, very lively, it’s a transition.
We are taking advantage of these few days to discover the city.
The unmissable Mount Royal Park, inaugurated in 1876, work of Frederick Law Olmsted (which we will certainly find everywhere). It is one of the largest parks in the city, it offers many activities in addition to walks on wooded trails. Viewpoints allow an overview of the city below, with the St. Lawrence in the background. We get closer by walking along the Old Port. Even if it is not yet very wide in Montreal, the river is very impressive, with a very powerful current, which has also prevented for a long time the development of port activities.
We also took advantage of a park near our accommodation, the Parc de l’île de la Visitation. Small pleasant park, very family-friendly.
Hot days are marked by the song of the blistering cicadas. To give you an idea of the sound volume, we thought when we arrived that a neighbor was working with a circular saw. The sound can reach nearly 100 decibels!
We also took the opportunity to rest, after the intensity of the stay in the United States. The work of the SCOP that we have continued to ensure, visits, meetings, research, the blog… All this has filled these few months well. From East to West, we really had the feeling of making two different trips.
In Massachusetts, we found familiar atmospheres and landscapes, but with the difference of scale in addition. We were really struck by the size of the trees and the place that is left for them, especially in urban areas. The least wetland hosts colonies of beavers, which regulate the flow of rivers and create very rich ecosystems. What will also mark us a lot is the proximity to some animals that approach dwellings easily to feed: deer, squirrels, turkeys (we haven’t managed to see them fly away to perch in trees, damage…), chipmunks, raccoons…
In the northwest, we got closer to the wild environments and wide open spaces of which we dreamed: the rainforests and the Pacific particularly marked us, as well as Vancouver Island with the passage to Canada. The passage through California with the Redwoods is a big favorite.
This trip would not have been the same without all the people we met, who took time to exchange, to show us around gardens.
We return rich from all these shared moments and these places visited.
In short, this long botanical journey is very positive and beneficial!
In short, we return rich from all these shared moments and these visited places. This long botanical journey is very positive and beneficial