July 2026 Canlife Correspondence: Canada's Parks, Coastal Drives, Celebrations, & Creative Cooking!
Lost Between Two "Fins" The boat slowly pulls out of the marina and blasts a quick toot of the horn, as much for the tourists and tradition as to alert other boats. We motor past the breakwater and slowly pick up speed, cutting a clean V line through the calm morning sea. Within seconds we're cruising, taking in the tree covered isles of the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve , from our seats in the stern. Suddenly, the boat slows and everyone, even the children, jump up, fingers pointing, and scream, " FOCK! FOCK ! FOCK!" “Did they just say…?” The boat isn't sinking, we haven’t hit a submerged ledge, no, all the excitement comes from the small group of harbor seals, “phoque,” which now surround the boat. The French word for seal sounds exactly like the word that escapes my mouth when I bash my head into a low hanging branch... happens more than it should, really. Now why didn’t my five years of French study cover s...