Introduction to today's journey
Today's journey takes me from Toronto to the mouth of Lake Ontario from where the St Lawrence River flows through the Thousand Islands archipelago. From there we head north eastward to Ottawa, Canada's capital city where we explore the city centre and government buildings before continuing to Montreal where we explore the city's old quarter.
Today's Journey
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Departing Toronto before sunrise, we follow the northern shore of Lake Ontario to its mouth at Thousand Islands from where the St Lawrence River begins. Here we catch a boat passing the tiny islands, each with houses on them. |
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The most spectacular of these islands has fascinating stone buildings built on it, the largest of these is Boldt Castle. |
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Cruising around Boldt Castle with another smaller castle at the water's edge. The lake maintains a constant flow of 7410 cubic metres per second into the start of the St Lawrence River on its 1197 kilometre journey to the sea, so there is no need to elevate the houses much above the water level. This river drains all of the great lakes, the world's largest system of freshwater lakes. |
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Upon returning to shore, we head northward away from St Lawrence River eventually reaching Canada's capital city Ottawa with a population of about 1 million people. |
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Parliament Hill with the Canadian parliament buildings towering above the city. |
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From Ottawa we head eastward following the Ottawa River downstream to where it flows into the St Lawrence River in Montreal. |
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Passing the Montreal City Hall in the middle of the city on Montreal Island. From here I walk down Place Jacques Cartier. This is the largest French city outside of France and the most populous city in Quebec province with a population of 1.7 million people. |
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Reaching the port at the end of the mall on the St Lawrence River, which from here is navigable up to Toronto and out to the Atlantic Ocean. |
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Walking back up the Place Jaques Cartier to explore the markets. |
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A very colourful stall, making the most of the warm weather before the harsh winter comes again. Winter temperatures can drop to -30 degrees here, and much activity in the city goes underground to escape the worst of the cold. |
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