Fall colours in Quebec; Charette and Saint-Élie

I walked from the railway station in Charette to Gite la Voisine, which is just over 4km – along a road, but there is plenty of space, and drivers were uniformly respectful, moving over to give me extra room even though I was well off the road. As a result of this walk, and my turning down a couple of offers of a lift, the Gite owner decided I was quite the walker, and recommended heading for Saint Élie, “un village touristique”, about 10km away. And back via a different road (on the right in the map below) because of its beautiful trees.

Safety instruction - unzip the snow curtain

You know you’re in Canada when, #4: train safety instructions say to unzip the ee snow curtain before opening the door.

Back garden with a fountain – Charette.

Back garden with a helicopter, Charette.

Why not, I thought, with all afternoon to complete it in. In case I needed more incentive, I was promised a short climb behind the church in Saint-Élie would give me great views of the area.

Walking from Gite la Voisine to Saint-Élie. 23km.

The walk to Saint-Élie itself was nothing to write home about, but perfectly pleasant on a decent day. Most interesting were the houses, as it is quiet out here yet people obviously have money. Spot the house with a helicopter in the backyard, apparently where the owner of a local eco-park lives.

Wooded path, behind the church, to the view.

Saint-Élie sign, outskirts of the village.

Sculpture, outside Garage de la Culture.

l'Arbre a Papermane — l’Arbre a Papermane – sou can just see the paper objets hanging from the tree.

Saint-Élie is very pretty, with a few shops, including a food store (at the garage) and bakery with very friendly owner. Wander past the church and graveyard to take the walk to the top. There is a clearly signposted route for walkers, which I took, and is a lovely walk through the woods. If you’re in a hurry, though, go straight up the road in front of you, for a shortcut.

Leave colours - green, yellow, orange, red — Leaf colours – green, yellow, orange, red.

Jesus and Gabriel sculpture (and list of donors).

View from the top of montagne de calvaire.

Outdoor worship, top of montagne de calvaire.

Religious iconography abounds.

Selfie at the top. Lakes abound in the landscape. None pictured.

Cross and chapel (or storage area – looks like the service happens outside).

Then, the return, and the rue with plenty of arbres I had been promised. With the leaves changing colour for Fall/Autumn, this was a rare treat. It’s a quiet road, too, so there isn’t much traffic to interrupt the reverie through the different colours.