Flying into Quebec City, I spent my first night in the area enjoying a fantastic meal and wandering through the streets. There is definitely a European vibe to the place, with the vast majority of the inhabitants speaking only French, and obvious inspirations to the local architecture. Coming from the U.S., this makes it feel like you've traveled a lot further than you actually have, which gives Quebec an unexpected allure. It is also why the local tourism board went with the motto " So Europe, So Close."
As much as I enjoyed my visit to Quebec City, my stay was a brief one. The next day I set out with a few other travelers for the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area to begin my explorations. This area is much more rural and rustic, with English-speaking citizens few and far between. That isn't a bad thing at all of course, but if you're expecting a similar experience as you find in other parts of Canada, you may encounter some unexpected bumps along the way.
We were headed to a remote area of the Saguenay region, but en route we made a couple of stops along the way. The first was in a quaint little town called Robertville, which has made a name for itself locally by creating an ice village on its frozen lake each year. The village includes a walking trail and skating route, as well as a rink to play hockey of course. This is Canada after all. There are also more than 180 small cabins that range from basic escapes from the cold conditions, to elaborate homes away from homes. The locals see the ice village as a way to socialize with friends and family, and over the years it has become quite the popular place with visitors too.
While the Robertville ice village was a nice distraction, our ultimate destination was a place called Adventuraid. There, we would spend the night in small cabins and yurts located in the forest while we waited to meet the site's most interesting inhabitants - three packs of wolves that are kept in very large enclosures that allow them to run free, while still coming in contact with humans on a regular basis.
The following day, we had the opportunity to get up close and personal with these creatures when the owner of Advenuraid introduced us to one of his packs. The standard gray wolf and arctic wolf packs remain shy and wild around humans, so we didn't enter either of their enclosures. But one of the packs has been imprinted with humans from an early age, and as a result they are comfortable with visitors.
Inside the pen, we were given the chance to interact with the wolves, which were very friendly, but still had a wild streak in them. Several of the younger wolves followed us around while we explored the interior of their enclosure, which included dense woods for them to retreat to should they feel the need. It was clear they were just as curious about us as we were them, although some of the older members of the pack remained reserved and at a safe distance.
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