M/V MASCOT: July 2016 - Ottawa River & Montreal

Leaving Ottawa we descended the flight of 8 locks onto the Ottawa River. For the most part, the Ottawa River defines the border between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Water depths range from 6 ft to 100 ft with plenty of buoys to aid in navigation. The Gatineau Mountains on the Quebec side were majestic and scenery along the river beautiful. One of our must stops was Chateau Montebello, a Fairmont hotel, in Quebec, It was built in just 4 months by 3500 laborers back in 1930, opening on July 1st and is claimed to be the worlds largest log cabin. In 1981, the G7 Summit was held here with leaders Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Francois Mitterrand. It also acts as a museum with memorabilia and photo's of balls, international events and more covering the walls.
St Anne-de-Bellevue was one of our more interesting stops for boat watching and quite a tourist attraction with the lock front and center along with the boardwalk, restaurants and cafes along the canal. The lock lift is only 3.3 ft but takes approximately 30 minutes. The lock attendants will fit 20+ boats in the lock when busy, it's organized chaos while they load the lock. The boat captains all know how to maneuver their boats and are courteous to other boaters. We spent 3 nights here including a visit with RMHYC friends Louis and Tilly who graciously showed us the area between here and Montreal, as well as providing us with a car. Merci beaucoup!
Montreal has so much to see and do. We checked out the Underground Mall, Old Port, Mont Royal, great restaurants, shopping at European & Asian markets, St. John's Oratory, Notre Dame Cathedral, neighborhood festivals and so much more.

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