Percé: Visiting 120,000 gannets (Fou de Bassan)

This is extreme bird watching. After searching for occasional glimpses of a woodpecker; here we are six feet from 40,000 nesting gannet pairs watching over their egg, patching it with algae, squabbling with the neighbours. They are quite talkative and affectionate looking; I wonder if I could study their language as it seems quite articulate. 

We only had about 45 minutes with the gannets because we arrived just before one PM since we had not planned the outing.

The guide books should be rewritten. Here is what you do. Upon driving into Percé (preferably before noon) drive directly to the center of town and use the free parking (clients only) at Croisière Ile Bonaventure opposite the docks. Pay $25 cash each for your tour of the islands directly from he parking attendant; make sure you ask for the LARGE BOAT, the smaller one was quite wild as we went around Bonaventure island. Walk to the docks and board. You will then go on a ride on both sides of Percé Rock and then offshore around the island. All tours are identical but for the boat size.

Just before returning from the island, the boat docks on the island where you can choose to catch the next one and go for a walk across to where the Gannets nest (a 5.5 km, 2 hour trip over a 130 meter hill). Access to the island is $3.50. 

The Atlantic was not as salty as I expected but it was much colder!