Nine Miles In St. Pierre

Sunday, August 13, 2023

Dear Blog!

We have returned from our amazing trip to Saint-Pierre, the capital of the French overseas territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. To make the voyage easier, we left our Jeep behind. We knew we would be doing a lot of walking, but since Saint-Pierre is only 10 square miles, we figured we could probably see the whole village without too much trouble.

Our walking adventure started on Friday, August 11th, as soon as we got off the ferry. It was only two blocks to our bed and breakfast - Nuits Saint-Pierre.  After meeting our congenial host and dropping our bags in our room, we took off back to the waterfront.

While the ferry ride was only an hour and a half, a storm system was working its way through the area. We had a very wet and foggy walk to the ferry terminal in Fortune, NL. The crossing was very rough and many passengers got sea sick. 

However, just as we docked the sun came out.  This turned out to be a good omen!

There are several pocket parks along the waterfront where both locals and visitors can come and enjoy the activity along the waterfront.

Our first stop was Square Joffre:

From there, we trekked over to the Pointe aux Canons. There was once a fort built by the French to defend the islands from British attacks between 1690 and 1713. The old cannon battery was replaced in the 19th century to defend the islands during the Crimean War. The Pointe aux Canons Lighthouse is located near the old fort site. Four cannons now sit in a park near the site of the old fort, but traces of fort have disappeared with the development of the town.

While most lighthouses were constructed to help ships avoid danger. The Pointe aux Canons Lighthouse was built not as a navigational aid, but to actually light up the entrance to the Saint-Pierre Harbor, so the soldiers in the fort could identify ships and fire on enemy vessels. Today, the lighthouse is the first thing visitors see when then come into the harbor.

Just beyond the lighthouse is the L'Ile aux Marins. The small island was first settled in 1604 and once boasted a population of 700. It was a commune until 1945, when it was annexed by Saint-Pierre. Since the 1960s, the island has become a ghost town after the last of the population left for Saint Pierre; however, a small number of people live there on a seasonal basis between May and November. Several of the town's buildings are still standing -- among them the church (Eglise Notre-Dame-des-Marins) which you can see in the below photo.

On the way back from the lighthouse, Kathy couldn't help but jump down and search a small section of beach for some sea glass. She managed to find a couple pieces.

The dory is the traditional boat of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Commercial fishermen have since abandoned these boats for more modern ones. But in Saint-Pierre, a handful of determined mariners continue the tradition. These devotees are called the Zigotos, after the association they founded over 30 years ago. At the end of the day, these colorful hangars are the rendezvous spot for the Zigotos. 

As we walked back to the hotel, we noticed a definite European feel to the neighborhoods. Purple facade and green window frames. Red facade and white doors. Orange and blue, yellow and green, green and orange, mauve and pink, blue and white—the inhabitants of Saint-Pierre take great pleasure in displaying bright colors throughout the town, sometimes attempting daring associations. 

On Saturday, August 12th, we woke up bright and early to another beautiful day. So much for the weather forecast of constant rain! After a quick snack of coffee and croissant at our B&B, we took off to explore the city.

As we made our way along the waterfront, we passed the yacht club. St. Pierre is a very popular destination for sailing tourists. There were a number of visiting sailboats.

As we continued our walk around the Port de Plaisance to the opposite side of the bay, we stopped for a more substantial breakfast (see prior blog) and then continued on to the harbor entrance. There is a paved road that leads out into the harbor along the rock jetty.

Along the way, we stopped to watch some seals bask in the morning sun. Both harbor seals and grey seals call these islands home.

At this point along the jetty, we were opposite the Pointe aux Canon Lighthouse. The village of Saint-Pierre marches up the surrounding hillside.

The road ran out just before the end of the jetty. Thanks to the years of boulder hopping we did at the Hickory Run Boulder Field in Pennsylvania, we made it to the end of the jetty for a closer look at Ile aux Marins.

If you look closely enough, you might just see tiny Kathy surrounded by a sea of granite boulders.

When we were out on the jetty, we noticed another lighthouse off in the distance. Since the day was young, we decided to hike out the Route de Galantry to get a better look. Along the way, we did a little beachcombing for some more sea glass. We also found this old shipwreck.

Our route took us past an old airport. Saint-Pierre's runways were re-located due to the lack of room for expansion. The old airport is being redeveloped for housing complexes. The open fields near the old airport are used to pasture horses.

The Galantry Lighthouse is situated on the South-East side of the Saint-Pierre island, this Galantry Lighthouse built in the 1970's replaces the original Galantry Lighthouse from the 1800s. The original Galantry was built atop Galantry Hill, which aviation authorities declared dangerous for approaching aircraft. It was demolished in 1978 much to the regret of the islanders. The new Galantry Lighthouse is a modern lighthouse and can be seen from at least 20 miles away. 

On the way back across town, we stopped to admire a couple of the local horses. We have since learned that over five hundred years ago, French colonists arrived on the island of Langlade and brought horses with them. Today, the descendants of this original herd are the semi-feral rulers of this French territory, running and grazing freely across the island's abundant pastures. 

We continued our journey to Arche Musee & Archives de Saint Pierre & Miquelon. For more on the museum, see our prior blog. After a windy picnic lunch on the museum patio, we decided to hike up to the scenic overlook at the start of the hiking trails across the hills.

Along the way, we ran into a number of interesting buildings, including this boucherie, the etched glass windows advertise their products. We would have loved to explore inside, but they close from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Almost all the businesses on the island close for a two to three hour lunch.

We're pretty sure this house was built before there were streets. The street is paved right up to the exterior wall.

We decided to follow a short hiking trail over to the scenic overlook.

Looking down from the overlook, we could see the jetty we hiked on this morning as well Ile aux Marins behind it.

When we looked the other direction, we could see all the way to the Galantry Lighthouse.

After taking in the views, it was our intention to hike down to our favorite pub. However, a group of tourists who were there ahead of us left a backpack behind. We tried to call to them, but the wind was too loud, and they did not hear us. We watched them as they walked downhill, waiting for the moment they would realize they forgot their bag. Sure enough, the group stopped, circled up and all looked back up the hill. We raised the bag high to show them we found it, and they sent someone back to get it. We decided to bring it down to him, since we were going that way anyway.

By the time we reached our pub, we had walked over 9 miles. We were disappointed to learn it wouldn't be open for another hour. Luckily, the restaurant down the street was having an outdoor paella party. They were kind enough to sell us a sangria and beer. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing before heading out to dinner.

While there are a number of tours available, walking really is the best way to enjoy Saint-Pierre.