Visiting France without (really) leaving our waters

Greetings from the port of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon [SPM], a French territory south of Newfoundland's eastern shores. This unexpected trip satisfies a desire my wife and I have had since childhood, fuelled by CBC's show St.-Pierre.

Their famous old lighthouse on Pointe aux Canons, taken when entering the harbour on the ferry to Saint-Pierre from Miquelon.

No, mine is not a travel blog, but with 500 years of European and Canadian history and a new television "cop and robber" show set here, it's not a bad topic for a historical fiction writer to cover.

This unexpected jaunt has been a lovely interruption to our summer, and was only a 90-minute flight from Halifax.

The territory comprises three islands: Saint-Pierre, Miquelon, and Langlade. The last two are linked by dunes.

This usually comes at the end, but ...

If you visit, to avoid losing deposits and having a place to stay on arrival, confirm your bookings are for Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, not the Saint-Pierre off Madagascar.

To ensure this, use their app "SPM Exception".

Double-check they are for the right island as well, Saint-Pierre or Miquelon. 

SPM's economic history

For its first 300 years, the port switched hands nine times, with the British burning everything and evicting the French when they took over. But for the past 200 years, it has been part of France.

Aside from the period of Prohibition, when Saint-Pierre was the port of choice for receiving and distributing alcohol from around the world before it was smuggled into the US, their primary industry was cod fishing. In the beginning, that was done in a "small boat," called a dory, leaving with the tide to collect fish by pairs of men.

That industry collapsed in 1992 when Canada imposed the Cod Moratorium. They fought to secure more fishing rights, but they received only a small portion of the water around their territory and an extension into international waters that they refer to as a "baguette". It does not touch the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, where most of the fish are found.

As in Newfoundland, a new industry had to be developed.

France stepped in by offering bureaucracy work and financial support for tourism. Infrastructure and a hospitality culture had to be developed. Major infrastructure is well underway, but, like the rest of the world, hospitality has been challenged by staffing shortages and high costs.

In season, reservations for accommodation and especially for meals should be made in advance, which can be arduous because they are done by email. Be prepared to be flexible with your meals, and a visit to a grocery store to supplement may be necessary even if you are going expecting to eat in the restaurant.

Our first impressions

One feels as if they are entering a small European fishing port on arrival, whether by air or sea.

Small working boats are many in the harbour, though they don't bustle about as they might if it were still an active fishing port.

Brightly coloured buildings are crowded between the mountain and the harbour. Streets are short and narrow. Buildings are most often adjacent to streets, with occasional sidewalks.

Off the main streets, people walk in the middle of the road, then move to the side when cars appear. We found that most of the people walking were visitors, despite the town's walkability and the good weather we enjoyed. (On average, 30 percent of the days see fog, and as Maritimers know, weather can change on a whiff.) It seems most residents travel by car.

From a trail above the entry to the harbour.

Though some North American vehicles are imported from Newfoundland, most cars and trucks are from France.

Likewise, the signage is in French, the currency is the euro, and the electrical sockets are EU-standard. (Be prepared!)

As with other tourist areas with a short business season, some buildings looked well-kept, and others were in desperate need of paint.

Our first days were undermined by the DuneFest. Forty bands were playing on Langlade. People were camping on the dunes. And many food services were interrupted as owners and staff enjoyed the festival.

The restaurant cancelled our dinner reservations at the last minute. Many other establishments were closed as well. We got to the Super-U superstore just in time to pick up food from the deli, which we heated up in our room.

As we settled in, we discovered small grocery stores are scattered about. In addition to the regular items, these offer fresh-baked bread, a variety of local goat cheese, and locally produced jams and spreads.

They are also the alcohol providers. Three-quarters of that is wine. However, locally brewed beer, cider, gin, and kambutcha are found close to the till.

The small grocery stores were hard to find because they were poorly marked. Whether it is because there is no sign maker on the island or simply because the focus remains still on local traffic where everyone knows you're there, store signs are typically insignificant.

Likewise, street signs are intermittent. Though the village is small, we wandered around with our paper map, up and down the hilly streets, struggling to find anything. By day 3, we were doing well, but had decided one of us needed data so we could use the digital map as well.

Fun stuff

We found it fascinating that the buildings were traditionally built of wood, given that there were virtually no trees and so much rock. The early settlers came without masonry skills.

Wood was brought in, scavenged from the hundreds of shipwrecks or, during Prohibition, taken from the millions of crates the bottles arrived in. Women wove jute bags for the bottles before they continued their journey to the mainland!

After several major fires after 1900, concrete became the main building material. That change progressed quickly during Prohibition, when money flowed in quickly.

The outsides of most buildings, though, look like wood.

There may be others, but this was the only brick building we found in the main part of the village.

The initial concrete buildings were built in France and shipped over as pre-fabs. That still happens today for special buildings.

Masons were imported from France. Likewise for rabbits, deer, and fox. They were brought for sport.

Today, though, aside from several soccer pitches and on the beach on Langlade, sport is more likely to take place in one of the indoor venues. Hiking the many "moderate" trails is available on both Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Swimming in the 3-degree Celsius ocean water is frowned upon; kayaking is a better option!

Do you want to go cod-jigging? Tours are available, but you need to talk directly to the fisherman. (If I were a travel blogger, I would have been there!)

Our phones switched back and forth between Newfoundland time and SPM time. Best to wear a regular wristwatch and not rely on your phone if you want to arrive on time for your meals and tours. My wife's watch was a Godsend.

Miquelon

We spent two days on Miquelon. Its population is 600 of the territory's 6000, and it is calmer than the more active town of Saint-Pierre.

It was lovely, but the small community had recently lost their baker. Several restaurants and the dance hall had closed. The small grocery store had a variety of food should you not have a reservation at a restaurant—two were open for lunch, one for dinner.

Though there are hills, the Cape and le Chapeau, a dead volcano, it is flat enough for a bicycle. We rented eBikes that helped with the hills. But an eBike will not help on the "moderate" trails!

Many of Saint-Pierre's horses are ferried over to Miquelon to run free in the fields and dunes.

We were rained out the first day there. In the morning, we enjoyed the Nature Museum that is included in the Tourist Information building. After a delicious lunch at Chez Alain's, we took an enjoyable van tour of the island.

At the end of the tour, we travelled on a flat trail to a waterfall. It raged after the heavy rainfall. There, where we drank Labrador tea. Cheers!

The dune isthmus leading from Miquelon to Langlade.

Speaking of "cheers", like at a small resort or cruise, we developed a collection of friends from other tourists over the week. We shared our dinners together. We send our joyous thanks to the MacDonalds, Sydney, and Cassandra, as well as Katherine and her Montreal friends.

Ile aux Marins

The island the town overlooks was originally named for the dog sharks that surrounded it in its early days. Ile aux Chiens was renamed with the tourist update, in memory of the fishermen who sailed its waters for hundreds of years.

We visited it in heavy fog. Like the mists of the past, it helped us connect with the long-lost community. Poor people were forced from the village by high property costs in the later nineteenth century onto this island. It had minimal water and heat sources. Electricity did not arrive until after the final resident left in 1963. Water, coal, and wood were carried across the harbour by dory for the 600 residents.

The laundry was used by 600 people.

The only source of water was a small spring. It was used in warm seasons for laundry.

The laundry had two sections: one for washing and one for rinsing. Water could be heated on the stove. Women knelt and leaned over into the bath below them to hand wash everything. In winter, the women rowed the clothing across the harbour by dory to wash.

Cod there and in Saint-Pierre was cleaned and laid on gravel fields for eight days to dry.

The large public school has been preserved as a museum with many interesting items from the island and the town.

Besides the church and the school, there was a tavern that accepted only men.

The tavern is gone except for its stone foundation, but the large school is a museum and the spectacular church is in situ. They are worth the visit. There is a small restaurant, but we did not have time with our Elea Tour to visit it. Visiting on your own costs seven euros per person for the ferry.

Quickly, about the CBC TV series Saint-Pierre

In an effort to build familiarity, Saint-Pierre's president invited the CBC to develop a television show showcasing the island.

As always, on television, all is not as it appears. Not a surprise, there is not a murder every week. The police are not locals, as we are led to believe on the show, but are imported from France for three-year stints. And the Prefect, France's representative, does not have so much power. As recently as 2021, the islanders have rebelled and sent the Prefect back to France!

We found a number of buildings familiar from the series. Do you recognize these?

The front acts as the hospital in the show, but is an educational building.

We're pretty confident a murder took place in the nearer buildings, and the next buildings a robbery took place.

The cathedral. Its outside was used for a funeral in the second season.

Final Thoughts

Being islands, imports must be delivered by water or air. Most food and supplies come from France and Canada. As a result, the cost of living is high for the residents. It is passed onto tourists. Prices for items often match those found in Canada, but before the exchange to euros.

Tourists are from France, Canada, and "blue" United States. Expect to hear only English and French. This is an excellent opportunity to restore your French skills, though many of the service staff speak some English or are fluent in it.

You are technically in France, though the culture is different and is evolving. For example, bread or a croissant is breakfast. Yet coffee is not king; they serve excellent tea. Dessert most often revolves around delicious ice cream. Dress is North American; informal rather than French chic. But dress in layers for the seaside's changing weather.

Table reservations are traditional; you have your table for the evening. No one will rush you out to reuse the table with new customers. We chatted for hours with the people around us, and eventually joined them for meals.

Tips aren't expected for meals, or overall. However, when we did not tip after some of our very expensive tours, which were run by the operators, disappointment was evident on their faces. Thus, it reigned on mine, too.

Direct flights go to Saint Pierre from Paris, Halifax, and St. John's.

Ferries from Fortune, Newfoundland, transport travellers and vehicles to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

So, I repeat ... if you visit ...

Ensure you have booked your accommodation on:

. the right Saint Pierre. This is Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, not the Saint-Pierre off Madagascar.

. the island you're arriving on, Saint-Pierre or Miquelon! 

We had a great week there, with five days in Saint-Pierre and two days in quiet, calm Miquelon.

Again, I am not a travel blogger, so if there's something you like to know that I missed, let me know in the comments.

Salut!

Foreground: Seals resting in the harbour. The building on the right is where many of the French gendarmes live.