GALLERY 128: HARP SEAL
The Third Trip 2009:
The Isles de la Madeleine remain one of my all time favorite photo destinations but unfortunately, an increasingly difficult place to get to. I made an attempt at trip #3 in 2007. A huge snow storm closed the Minneapolis airport the day before I was to leave. Many travelers required rescheduling and the check in process for Canada Air took over three hours that morning. The initial flight was delayed which meant that it was unlikely I would make the other three connections. The gate agent at Minneapolis recommended I go on the first flight and see how far I could get. After passing security, I waited on hold with CA for 45min before I was told that I would be able to make it to Quebec City but there were no seats available to the Islands until after the day I was to leave! I was able to retrieve my suitecase and trip #3 was scrapped in Minneapolis. I scheduled another trip for the first week in March 2009. The first two of four flights went without a hitch. Rainy sleet in Quebec City created a delay which started at 7:20pm and continued, waiting in the airport, until 330am the next morning. At that point, the agent found hotel rooms and advised the group to be back to the airport the next day at 8am. The flight made it to the islands but rainy weather and fog made landing questionable. The pilot announced we were going back to Quebec City but remained in slow flight and overflew the air field. About 20min later we landed, hard, about 1/3 of the way down the runway and used hard braking to come to a stop, only 12 hrs behind schedule. I spent a week at the Chateau and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality there. Unseasonalby warm weather including rain and sleet caused cancellation of many scheduled helicopter flights. In all, I was able to spend 4.5 hrs on the ice with the seals, the last day in 30mph blowing winds after a fresh snow. The trip back was no less uneventful. I was informed that my flight had been cancelled because the inbound flight again did not make it in. The CA agent on the phone advised me that a seat would be avaible in seven days and that I might have to stay longer on the island. But, the next morning, an extra flight came in and on the milk run I made it off the island to Montreal, then to Ottawa to clear customs. A delay at O Hare due to fog used up a couple more hours of the day and I finally made it in about midnight to Minneapolis. Leave some extra time on either end of your travel arrangements if you attempt this trip. Most of the trouble could be attributed to unseasonable warm weather which included mixed rain and sleet, and the fact that Canada Air is unwilling to put extra planes or seats on this route during the popular harp seal two week tourist season.
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