Today I started to slow down a little – although buying the inflatable mattress was a brilliant idea if I say so myself, I had a much better sleep last night.

Today being Monday, none of the museums or items of interest to tourists are open.

I’ve been think about the quality of some of my photos. My main camera (Canon 70D) looks to possibly have a dirty sensor, due to some small marks I have noticed on some photos. After cleaning the lens the marks remained. I wasn’t sure whether it was the camera sensor or the lens, as one of the marks changed depending on the rotation of my 17-70mm lens. So I decided to take them in for checking.

After breakfast, I did some research on camera stores around Quebec City, and then headed off to catch the bus to one of them – called Gosselin Photos. I went through it with one of the camera guys – they had to find me one who spoke reasonable English as my current French is mainly just Bonjour and Merci (most people in Quebec City speak French, virtually all the signs are in French, and probably only a half of the population speak really good English). Which is fine, it’s their province. Anyway, he said it would be ready by Thursday afternoon.

So this left me for most of the week with my backup camera (Canon 600D) and the rest of my lenses, but the lowest lens width is 50mm (it’s a prime – or fixed – lens) , and the next best is a 70-200mm zoom lens. So I cannot get any good real close-ups, like buildings etc (since that’s what the 17mm end of the lens is for). As can be seen below, from my shots of Chute Montmorency (Montmorency Falls), which I went to visit this afternoon. In the end this is okay as it’s a relaxing holiday, not a photography tour – but the photos are really not only something to show others and display at home, but are also memory pegs for me in the future, to remember these travels. But at least I got to spend more time looking at the beautiful scenery.

It was quite a bus trip – about 40 minutes, a little longer than Google Maps said, but at least I got off at the right stop.  I still had to walk a kilometre and a half through ice and snow to get there. But when I did – it was spectacular. It’s taller than Niagara Falls, and is quite iced up. So I went to take a couple of photos from my iPhone, but the battery died (the temperature is around -25C today and the iPhone and camera batteries go flat very quickly). So I took a number of photos in a matrix which I hope to be able to stitch together (I think my free time in 2017 will be consumed by this), but in the meantime I shall table these few. They really do not do the Falls  justice in terms of their sheer capacity and raw power.

The first is of part of the top of the waterfall, and shows the ice and snow on top of the waterway; the second is of the start of the waterfall and shows part of the mist spraying upwards. At times the mist reached the bottom of the bridge. The final three are from the highest of the front viewing platforms. There are around 6 platforms at different levels from the top to the bottom, with wooden steps between them. By the time I got these photos, it was getting very cold and I still had another 2 kilometres to get back to the bus stop, so I stayed at the top level, took my photos, and then headed back to the hostel.

There is an interesting story in the spooky stories of Quebec City that relates to the Montmorency Falls, the story of La Dame Blanche. The Battle of Montmorency occurred on 31 July 1759, around 6 weeks before the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (see yesterday’s blog entry). This was another important battle between the British and the French, and the commanders were General James Wolfe and the Marquis de Montcalm. The British had around 4000 regular troops and the French had around 10,000 being a mix of regular troops and militia. The British attacked the French line at Beauport, which is about halfway between Quebec City and Montmorency Falls, the battle being within a kilometre of the Falls. The French held the line and the British retreated with 440 killed or wounded, against 60 on the French side. One view is that the battle ended just due to the disparity of sheer numbers, however another is that the humidity and heat from evaporation caused the British army’s gunpowder to cake, rendering it of no use. The spooky story is that the fiance of one of the deceased fighters wandered around the Falls calling his name after the battle. In an apparent state of shock or emotion, she put on her wedding dress, and plunged over the Falls to her death – but her body was never recovered from the Falls. It is said that some visitors see her through the mist and water, and others hear her calling his name against the roar of the water. An interesting history.