APPRECIATING THE SLOW TIME IN A TRAILER IN QUEBEC

I got so excited hearing Nihan got her land which is what she was dreaming about for a while. She is one of the people who makes you wonder what is she onto now. She always has projects to work on and so I love getting together and hearing the stories. We have very similar backgrounds both educational and life experiences and that makes us understand each other with no effort.

When she invited me to her trailer on the land for a total of 6 days’ journey I said yes with no hesitation although it was very short notice and I definitely needed to sort things out first.

After hanging up the phone, I remember myself looking at the list of things that Nihan told me to bring and I hardly had half of them. Everyone was telling me how cold the weather is in Quebec but I had no time to do shopping. But I knew I was going to be fine.

We left Toronto just afternoon on Friday and we constantly chatted from the time we closed the car's door until we arrive at our hotel somewhere around Stoco Lake. We placed our belongings into our room as possible as quick to watch the lake before it gets too dark. But we were late. It got dark in seconds. We wished to find a bench nearby the lake. It was hard to see with our weak phone light but suddenly a bench-shaped shadow appeared! We got lucky, it was right in front of the lake. Nihan had brought us two small bottles of wine and that was the highlight of the day! Drinking and talking in the dark watching the fragile lights on the lake...It was a perfect moment.

The next day we were up early in the morning and left Ontario behind. We made our stop in a small cafe called Chez Renaud in Quebec for breakfast. Since Nihan was praising their breakfast during the road. We asked for two breakfasts as soon as we entered the place but it was sad to hear that we missed the breakfast time. Yet it didn't take me long to find out what to order! A smoked beef sandwich! I should have followed at least one cliche as it was my first time in Quebec. It is usually to go to Montreal or Quebec City first, but I was directly going into the Quebec wilderness. Which was totally something my authentic self would do.

We got back on our road again without taking too much time. We were excitingly chatting about things we will do in the land. Meals we will cook on the fire, visiting neighbours, having guests for dinner, hiking, fishing, paddleboarding… ! -I didn't tell Nihan that I don't have waterproof things with me except a jacket, I guess I was just waiting for the last moment-

We arrived at Notre-Dame-Du-Laus around noon and Nihan gave me a tour of her land. Yellow Birches -the provincial tree of Quebec-, Sugar Maples, oaks, firs... The sloped land has some levels and was flat on the lakeshore. We were there at the perfect time of the year. Fall was sharing all the bright colours with us. The land was very fertile with all the beautiful trees and plants. Nihan was doing her best to keep the land's virgin beauty and was letting them shape her future home and plans.

The first morning I woke up hearing the rain hitting on the roof of the trailer. One of my favourite sounds. I closed my eyes to absorb the moment. Then went to the table and started sketching a bit.

I love fire. And I'm comfortable enough to say that I'm good at starting it. I enjoy watching it, cooking on it, feeding it, playing with it, hearing it, feeling it...As a result, I couldn't let us have a night without a campfire! (confession: I was about to lose my belief that I will be able to make it on that rainy night.)

Nihan and I treated ourselves to local Quebec fish cooked on the fire, countless glasses of wine, and whiskey. We ate our overbaked campfire potatoes like they were the best.

The next day we went for a hike. The trail we were going to follow wasn't a designated one, it was basically just another terrain. You kinda had to figure out which way to go and keep that way on your mind to be able to get back. We sure had an idea where to go since Nihan made that hike before with her neighbours. But it was a different season and now it was wilder with all the grown ivy, fallen trees, and different water levels. So we got lost.

We didn't make it a big deal. Nihan and I both were cool about being lost. At least we acted like we are!

Just a plain note: the roads are definitely looking different on the way back.

We tried to find some signs and remembered the things we admired on the way. Mushrooms! We had stopped for them almost on our every step.

One of us waited at the current position while the other was trying the road to find something that we saw before or to see if the road is going anywhere. After trying a couple of ways we finally found a way that took us to the road that we came on. We were relieved. The trail was definitely wild with no marks.

Our days passed pretty quickly. We almost did everything we wanted to do except fishing and paddling. Luckily the weather was really beautiful all the time but still, maybe it was too optimistic to plan water activities. We had to give up on our worms and leave them to the neighbour while leaving. I had no idea that stores literally sell live worms. and in a spread container! and you need to keep them in the fridge… sounds risky to me... And it’s definitely another story how we managed to buy them. Well, at least we learned how to say “ver vivant” but it’s too bad that I couldn’t capture Nihan’s worm drawing when she was trying to describe it to the cashier in the store.

You don’t always have to catch your own fish. We didn’t pass the fish truck in the town to stock our fridges in Toronto with Quebec seafood.

We stayed at a roadside hotel on the way home. It was just an ordinary hotel but I had one of my best showers there since I wasn't able to shower for a couple of days. I took my time. Let my body feel the warm water with all the senses.

We left early again and stopped at Peterborough to have our breakfasts. It was one of those cosy diners and I was so happy with their fulfilling breakfast.

Arriving home felt different, I questioned my daily habits even after just a few days in a trailer. I'll have a better voice to talk about that after having another experience like this.

Take care for now!