It is Saturday morning and such a lovely morning is welcoming us while prompting us to continue our journey towards the big city of Montreal. Last night we were visited by our dear friends Stephan and Sabrina who live in Montreal. For them it was as a short 1/2 hour drive to our marina and for us it is 6-7 hour boat ride to get to our next marina in Montreal. It is Stephan’s Birthday and we celebrated in a French Italian way while consuming a delicious meal and tasting some lovely wine at Bistro Pasta Viva.
We are first in line for our next lock #9 right after the bridge which presents itself next to our resting spot for the night. There are seven locks and moving bridges ahead of us but we are first in line which should make our day a bit easier. Yes we are moving at idle speed but we don’t have to wait which is a great advantage for it could take hours more if waiting for the locks and bridges to open.

Saint Jean is an interesting town in the suburbs of Montreal. It has two universities of which one is a military one and the other a good old Catholic one. Both are highly rated and well attended and liked.
As we move on through the canal we have to pass 9 locks of which some are a short distance apart with a basin of water in between them, and than there are three that open lock to lock to lock just as a terraced garden would look like. Fascinating to see and each of them was a drop of 10 to 18 feet with the last one opening into the Chambly lake graced with a fort and rapids on the starboard side and an abundance of happy boaters all over the lake and waterway. After all it is a weekend and the summer weather is fully present. All these old locks are manually operated and extremely narrow but just enough for our beautiful Contessa to fit in by herself.

Finally after a long and tedious ride we have reached the great St Laurence River. What a relief for us and our engines for they want desperately to stretch their legs! Montreal here we come!
Yes it is a relief yet it also means that we have entered a vast body of water fully open and operational to big freighters and lots of commercial traffic. Industry all around us. Where is Montreal?