Metro Trains and Canal Boats Day 6

     Today we decided to take the subway into downtown Montreal to avoid weekday traffic. Our KOA is about 10 miles from a station across the river from Montreal. Despite the annoying mono-lingual (the rest of Canada is bi-lingual) all-French all-the–time signage, we found our way through a maze of subway tunnels and ended up in Old Montreal by the cathedral – cobblestone streets and all. We walked around the old section of town and then wandered down to the waterfront.

     Montreal has done a great job of making an asset of the St. Lawrence River – there are gardens, fountains, picnic tables, benches, and biking/hiking trails all along the water. It was a perfect day to be out and about – sunny and 68. We had considered going to a museum which reviewed Montreal’s history when I spotted an ad for a canal ride. An outdoor adventure seemed like more fun than a museum. We hopped back on the Metro with our full day “tourist pass” and rode a few more stops to the Lechine Canal. (We got off at the wrong station only once).
     After some delicious soup in a little bistro, we climbed aboard a canal boat for a Parcs Canada tour. The Lechine Canal is the precursor to the Montreal section of the St. Lawrence Seaway. I remember when the Seaway opened and big boats could sail into Duluth from exotic ports. This old canal was created in the 19th century and was a huge boon to manufacturing and trade in Montreal. Our boat trip took us through one of the old locks and under several of the old turnstile bridges. We got a lot of history of old Montreal and saw the city from a completely different angle. It was a great afternoon.  Now it is time to do some laundry, dump the tanks and get ready to head back into the USA tomorrow.