For one of my longest stints of travel during my internship, I got to spend 10 days exploring the Canadian Island of Anticosti! Anticosti is a large island occupying approximately 3,000 square miles in the gulf of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Although the island is quite large, it is populated by as few as 250 people annually! Such a small number of people meant it wasn’t necessary for large commercial flights to fly to the island, which made getting there an adventure in itself. The first leg of my journey flew me into Quebec, where I would stay overnight for my smaller flights to the island. While waiting overnight, i got to try some poutine for the first time as well. Im shocked it isn’t more popular in the US.
Waking up the next morning, I got myself to the smaller private airport and boarded my first flight. Taking such a small plane was a brand new experience, but super fun! The smaller flight agencies work as the primary method of transport for many of Quebec’s more isolated towns. To get to Anticosti, my route consisted of 3 flights between these towns, with some small layovers in between. Landing in a smaller plane was super interesting, as it is much more noticeable when the plane sways side to side. Once I got to Anticosti, I was immediately met with smiles from Julie Ouimet and Michel Labrecque. Julie and Michel are the owners of N2Pix Expeditions, and Anticosti Ecotours, which specialize in nature experiences and scuba diving in special destinations! Not only do Julie and Michel operate these amazing companies, they are also accomplished photographers and videographers, making them some of the coolest people to dive with.
After being picked up from the airport, Julie and Michel took me on a quick tour of Port Menier, the most settled part of the island. After seeing the only paved section of the island, I knew this was going to be a run trip! On our small tour we also went through how the dive operations are run on the island, including their compressor system, their boat storage and care, and finally how the customers gear is taken care of. One of the most unique parts of their dive operation when compared to other northern dive operations, theirs is practically a hands off experience that they provide their customers. Once the customers arrive on the island, almost all of their gear (drysuit undergarments excluded) is taken and set up, cleaning, and dried for them throughout the trip.
Once we arrived back at Julie and Michels home for the time being, I got to meet Nick, who would be helping them out as a dive guide and spotter on our dives. We all had a nice dinner, and Julie, Michel and I were able to talk about a mixture of things. Including what their goals were for their operations on the island, as well as my own goals for my upcoming presentation about my experience as an intern. Being able to talk things over with them was super helpful, and it was interesting to learn so much about their experiences in diving and in business in general! After dinner we sat outside for a while, and I had my first encounters with the local fauna. The deer population on the island is well over 150,000 individuals, and there are also a ton of red foxes. The animals are super curious about the people in town and often will come right up to us looking for food! My first hours on the island had been incredibly welcoming and fun, and I was absolutely thrilled to see what the coming days had planned.
