Tuesday, August 5th and Wednesday, August 6th 2003

Partially cloudy skies, moderate wind and good swell from the Southwest.

The beautifully rebuilt Rose-Blanche lighthouse

After driving back from Burgeo, we discover Rose-Blanche without fog. We repack our boats in the hope of paddling to Grand Bruit and leave in the late afternoon from a slipway behind the ferry wharf. After crossing Bay Le Moine, we camp near Petites. 

Early on Wednesday morning, after hearing a weather warning on the radio, we decide to change our plans. Instead, we spend the next couple of hours walking through the village of Petites. About one half of the 30 houses of this tiny outpost are still occupied - but not for long...  

In June 2003, the residents of Petites voted, almost unanimously, to accept a resettlement.  Almost all of the houses will be sold to the government.

The diesel generating station that provides electricity to the village will be shut down in October and will be dismantled. All power and telephone lines will also be removed. Current residents will be allowed to rent their homes back from the government for 5 years at a cost of 1 dollar (with no guarantee of renewal).

Proximity to Rose-Blanche will hopefully prevent Petites and its beautiful wooden United Church from falling in ruins like Fox Island, La Hune Harbour and many other resettled outposts.

The Petites cemetery is made up of a collection of small lots, one per family...

Turning back to avoid the weather forecasted for later tonight, we explore the entrance to Bay Le Moine and stop for a snack on a multicoloured pebble beach.

On our way back, under a freshening wind, we paddle right by the lovingly restored Rose-Blanche light house, standing like a chapel over the turbulent water.

Back at the Rose-Blanche ferry wharf in Diamond Cove, we meet a family from Matane, QC. They are returning from an 800 km Zodiac trip. They left 10 days ago from here and rode all the way to St-Pierre and Miquelon, camping ashore as we did alond the way. This morning, on their way back not far from here, they met a small pod of orcas. A curious young male swam right up to them, so close they could touch him.

Our trips can hardly be compared, yet our eyes shine in the same way. Our heads are already dreaming of future project but are also filled with the nostalgia of the fleeting instants of freedom and solitude that we found on these shores.