Destination: St Pierre et Miquelon (part three)

Tour of Langlade Island (Petite Miquelon)

As we came back from our excursion to the Ile aux Marins (see post 25-August -09) we decided to stay one more day so we could go on a tour of the other islands, Langlade (Petite Miquelon) and Miquelon. You can see them on the map above. We booked the day-tour with “Chez Janot.” We were told that the regular ferry boat had been waiting for some spare parts and we would use a “zodiac” which is an inflatable pneumatic boat the kind used for expeditions or white water rafting.

Picture of Janot zodiac (from his brochure)

Early the next morning we boarded the zodiac with Janot at the helm. Janot is a friendly French seaman, a bit gruff and speaking little English. We and three other couples (from Michigan, Quebec and Nova Scotia) wore life jackets and held onto the rope of the zodiac as best as we could as it danced among the choppy waves. It was very windy, even though this was considered a good weather day for the 6 kms (3.2 miles) crossing to Langlade. Fishermen call this strait “The Mouth of Hell” because of the fierce currents. Along the way we saw many birds and some seals.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

We landed on a cove in Langlade near Janot’s restaurant. We warmed up with hot coffee and fresh croissants while looking out at the sea and the fields.

Janot took us to a garden on the island to show us that Langlade has a micro-climate in summer where many plants and flowers flourish.

Langlade is approximately 3 times larger than St Pierre island. In summer about 400 people stay on Langlade in the few houses there or in a trailer camp since there is neither running water nor electricity. St Pierrais bring their horses to Langlade for the summer and a horse riding school is busy near the beach. Janot took us to his friends in the trailer area where they offered us a choice of local liqueur, French aperitif or soda. We drank and munched on snacks while speaking with his friends, not as tourists on a standard tour, but as if we were visiting long lost friends – this was a very relaxed and friendly tour.


We continued the tour of Langlade where the landscape is quite varied with cliffs, valleys with marshes and wild flowers close to lonely beaches. Janot stopped his van near a high dune and told us to climb up to absorb the stunning view from there.

Don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them

Because of my bad knee I stayed to take photographs of the pristine beach and unending view. Janot in his van, the others on top of the hill and me alone, gazing at the immensity around me – how peaceful.


Next to the dunes is a large salted lagoon called “Le Grand Barachois”. It is a great year long habitat for a colony of common seals as well as for migrating grey seals.

Pictures courtesy of C. Detcheverry

On the way back to Janot’s restaurant we drove by a large band of sand, called an isthmus (pictured in the collage above, top center.) It connects the islands of Langlade and Miquelon. It is said that this isthmus is the most spectacular in the North Atlantic. Up to the 18th century a small canal still separated the islands, but it was filled by sand after many ships ran aground there.

Janot’s wife prepared a very tasty lunch for us that was accompanied by a dry red wine. Now we were ready to drive by the horses roaming freely on the beach and explore Miquelon on the other side of the isthmus – what were we to find there? (to be continued in the next post , i.e.the last part of the trip.)


“The greatest romance ever written pales before the possibilities of adventure that lie in the faint blue trails from sea to sea. The perfect journey is never finished; the goal is always just across the next river, round the shoulder of the next mountain. There is always one more track to follow, one more mirage to explore.” -Rosita Forbes

Miquelon