Part fifteen – the gothic return of anton von stefan
From the shores of the Atlantic at St. John’s, Newfoundland, our Author’s journey began its westward trek. Following the pristine coastline north along Trinity Bay, he made his way up to the historic point at Cape Spear. Here, in the year 1497, John Cabot, sailing in the Matthew, reached Newfoundland at what is now called the Bonavista Peninsula.
Crossing the Atlantic back onto the mainland, he turned north just after leaving Cape Breton Island, crossing the Northumberland Strait by ship. Taking some time to enjoy the beauty of Prince Edward Island, especially the city where the ground work for Canada was set in Charlottetown in1864, he left this province by driving over the Confederation Bridge. It was a most remarkable crossing which took him back to New Brunswick.
From there his travels caused him to set sail once more, this time crossing the St. Laurence River at Riviere-du-Loup. Here, he meandered along the narrow roads of rural Quebec, albeit along the northern shores of its great river.
New to this part of the Gothic Journey were the city of Trios Riviers and the monastery at Ste Anne-de-Beaupre. Sailors from Cape Breton first sought refuge against shipwrecks off Ile-Oeuf and founded a parish to Ste. Anne, the patron saint of sailors, in 1657. Called Sainte-Anne-du-Petit-Cap until the early 19th Century, a Chapple was built a year later, in 1658. As one of the first builders had a severer debilitation and need crutches to simply move about was cured during the construction, Anne of Austria (Anton’s country of birth) and wife of Louis XII, thereby Queen of France, supported the shrine and the first basilica was complete in 1876 but was destroyed by fire in 1922. With the present-day basilica started in 1926, the depression delayed the work until 1937, when work on the interior resumed. It was completed in 1946, just after the end of the Second World War. What is remarkable about this massive Catholic Church is that below the ground floor they built a second church with massive arches and a ground floor area almost as big as the church above. Our author spent several nights in the free campsite the parish runs and is located just across the road from this impressive church. A photographer’s paradise night and day, it has a Way of The Cross rising from behind the basilica up the steep incline, each station with life size figures. He also took the time of making a summer inspection of Quebec’s famous Mount Sainte Anne’s ski hill.
Visiting Ottawa and Gatineau, he opted for the northern section of the Trans Canada Highway. Travelling north on Highway 105 and then west along Highway 117 he motored through the more remote parts of ‘La Belle Province’. He then drove into Northern Ontario and onto Ontario Highway 66 where, just past Kirkland, he met with Trans Canada Highway 11. Following this highway for some 1500 kilometres back down to where Highway 11 and 17 join for the trip back to Thunderbay. Just west, at Shabaqua Corners, he again changed course, following the Highway 11 part of the Trans Canada , reaching the “southwestern most part” of this province (Ontario calls this region the “North Western most part” as people from T.O. state that the region IS actually north of Toronto). Crossing the water filled area below Lake of the Woods, he traveled through Fort Francis to Emo. Five kilometres west of this town he took Highway 71 north to Kenora, finally joining up with the main section of the Trans Canada Highway, Highway 17 West. The sun and the open skies of Canada’s prairies where as vast and as beautiful as they were on his way east; and, by the 6th of September, he completed his Gothic Journey to St. John’s, a partial exploration of Canada, yet a drive of 17,909.5 kilometres!