Well, I left Montreal August 2019, rent a car, took all my stuff, and jump into a new adventure. This one lead me to many interesting places throughout the Eastern part of my country Canada, but also few places in USA.
It took few times for me to adapt to the driving of the car, as I had not driven for more than 1 year, and still under 2 years of getting my driving licence (considered ‘young driver’).
All in all I also took 5 times ferry boat.
The trajectory
I first passed by the north shore of St-Lawrence river in Quebec, going by Trois-Rivieres with a step in Shawinigan. Then Quebec city and the Charlevoix region with Baie st-Paul and la Malbaie, up to Tadoussac and the next village (les Escoumins) where I crossed to the other shore and went to Rimouski. Then I followed the Matapedia valley up to New Brunswick and the Baie des Chaleurs where I discovered the Acadia region and the many French settlements and seaports up to Lamèque and Miscou islands. I assisted to the ‘fête des Acadiens’ and the grand tintamarre of Caraquet. Then continued to the Prince Edward Island for 3/4 days, discovered a nice and peaceful island/region with many lighthouses and beautiful red cliffs. Then went to Nova Scotia and Halifax city, passed by the famous Peggy’s cove and up again to Moncton, then St John, and crossed the state’s border to the Maine in USA, I followed the nice coast for few days down to Boston, Massachussets. Then I passed by the Berkshires, and the Adirondacks, up to Ottawa and above until Deep River in Ontario, and then came back to Montreal.
the recordings
I recorded many shores, sea-related sounds, or rivers, under (with hydrophone), or above. There were many marinas, and seaports, I could record nice ambiences of all of that. Some nature sounds happening in less touristic area or with less human activities .
I had some city soundscapes in Trois rivieres, Quebec, Charlotetown, Moncton, St John, Halifax, Portland, Dublin, Boston.
I recorded epic sail boat in Lameques, but also could record ferry boats deeply.
I went to 2 different clock museums, in Bristol and Deep River.
Recorded a carillon of 50 bells in Norwood.
Got some ambiences in Harvard ; lighthouse mechanical sounds; I also had some Acadian festival sounds; along with many others sounds
Challenges
The main challenges, as I was moving to a different place every day, was to find where to sleep! I found a tent, and could do some wild camping; but I mostly slept in the car for the most. I already was paying for the car rental, and couldn’t afford more for sleeping in places. Plus it made it more interesting to stay in the wild. It was my first time as a wild camper with a car; it can get tricky and sometimes awkward as many places along the road are privately owned. I found an app that was able to help me to find those places where sleeping were tolerated, the app is ioverlander. In the end, it was not very comfortable, and I was little fed up after 3 weeks but I had to continue.
Also I found out that driving many hours is tiring and doesn’t leave free times to do so much more. Driving requires almost all your attention, plus having to find the right spot to sleep was about 2 to 3 hours of search every day. All of that, and being alone on the road, it was not easy to work at the same time. It was even more difficult to meet anyone, so I had to dealt with my own loneliness which I’m kind of used to.
Another things I learnt, is that cities are not ‘car-friendly’, and it’s even more true for people sleeping in their car! Parkings are difficult to find, and expensive. Traffic can get crazy around cities, leading to being stuck in jam for hours. Detours due to constructions are more probable to happen; thus it can get stressful. I now would avoid entering a city by car if possible.
Conclusion
I was happy with this experience. I had no major problems. No car crash or technical issues. Had many mosquitoes, but all in all it was a very interesting trip, where I learnt so much. I acquired more confidence in driving long distances, get used to sleep in tiny spaces and be always on the move. I certainly could do it again, however next time I would get a camper or something similar (with more spaces) instead of a small car. I’ll post more about the sound I recorded along the way. Stay tuned!