Into the Washing Machine

Caving the Magdalen Islands

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARCY RHYNO

Gazebo at la Salicorne.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

The sensation of being pushed this way and that by waves from all sides is such fun, I find myself laughing aloud. I’m sloshing around inside “the Washing Machine,” bumping up against the red sandstone walls and ceiling worn smooth by centuries of waves. It has me feeling like a piece of laundry, and I understand the aptness of the name for this little sea cave on the coast of the Magdalen Islands.

Be assured, I’m in no danger. The thick wetsuit I’m wearing is keeping me warm and comfortable as I bob around effortlessly in the cool North Atlantic. I’m not alone, either. Two other adventures are beside me and two young, competent guides are escorting us, one with us in the water and the other in a kayak just outside the washing machine.

The experience called “Caving the Cliffs” is one of many unusual and appealing activities offered by the truly imaginative Auberge la Salicorne, an inn at the northern end of the archipelago on Grand-Entrée. That’s about as remote as it’s possible to get on the Maggies. When the waves are extreme, adventurers here categorize caving the cliffs as “sportive” and only for the fearless. La Salicorne offers ways to ride the waves that are slightly less anxiety-inducing.

Excursions include gentle yoga sessions, clam digs, nature reserves hikes and sublimely ridiculous activities like mud bathing. Down the hill from the inn, acres of red, slippery clay emerge with every low tide around Boudreau Island. The inn claims the properties of a clay bath “rejuvenates you by at least 10 years.” I suspect it’s as much the three-hour frolic in muck — the adult equivalent of childhood puddle stomping — that leads to youthful rejuvenation.

For a more conventional adventure, Salicorne and other companies guide visitors on kayaking excursions in these very waters, in and out of the Washing Machine and around other natural features. Hundreds of years ago, just off the nearby red cliffs of Old Harry, the the Indigenous people of the area and the visiting Europeans hunted walrus. Old Harry is a rugged arrowhead of bluffs at the southern end of the 8.5-kilometre Old Harry Beach on Sea Cow Bay, named for the walrus herds that once frequented here. Today, it’s on a list of the world’s top beaches, so named by National Geographic

For excursions at your own pace, rent a kayak, sailboard, stand up paddle board or laser sailboat from Centre nautique de l’Istorlet — one of several Magdalen outfitters — and take to the secure waters of “Le Bassin” off Havre-Aubert at the southern end of the archipelago.

Kite surfing is a popular pastime on the Magdalen Islands.

Photo: Darcy Rhyno

Parc de Gros-Cap rents sea kayaks on Cap-aux-Meules, the central island. Horse lovers can sign up for guided, small group rides that loop across fields, through woods and onto the beaches, where the horses often wade into the waves.

For the super athletic visitor with a competitive bent, the wide, warm lagoons between the Maggies’ long beaches attract kite surfers from far and wide. The winds across the open Atlantic are nearly constant, but the waters of the enclosed lagoons are just as constantly calm. I spent one enjoyable afternoon, watching the kite surfers take flight, then bounce along over the shallow waters.

The best way to enjoy the sport is to connect on social media with Maggies Kitesurf, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging kite surfing on the islands. To learn the sport, sign up for lessons and tandem rides with an operator like Jasmin Bousquet’s Kite School, one of several island trainers. Alternatively, there’s also good surfing and swimming from the beaches on the ocean side of the lagoons. Because several of the individual islands are linked by long, lonely beaches, finding a quiet spot for yourself is always easy.

If you’re up for a quick buzz around the islands to see them from the water, take a fast Zodiak tour with Excursions en Mer. Do some fishing, visit the sea caves, go wildlife watching or take a trip out to Entry Island, the only island not linked to the others by those gorgeous beaches.

For the ultimate outdoor Magdalen Islands adventure, you’ll want to visit in winter. That’s when seals arrive on the offshore ice flows to give birth to their pups. If the weather and winter ice cooperate, visitors can take a guided tour out to the ice floes to get a close-up look at those world-famous whitecoat seal pups.

Back at the Washing Machine, the Auberge la Salicorne guides eventually coax me out of the sea cave. I float along on my back beneath the cliffs in a wetsuit and lifejacket so buoyant, floating is effortless. The waves are rocking me with such an enjoyable rhythm, I could almost fall asleep. Above me, the cliff curves, rises and drops randomly, its contours shaped by millennia of waves and wind.

There’s something comforting about the way the Magdalen Islands are sculpted by natural forces. I close my eyes, feel the pulse of the ocean and listen to the waves, lapping and splashing against the sandstone walls. I give into these monumental forces of nature that are, at least for the moment, set like a washing machine on gentle.

Madelinot Pot-en-Pot

This seafood pie is a favourite in Restaurant madelinot at La Salicorne.

Serves 9

Ingredients

Pie shell

4 cups (1 L) flour

1 cup (250 mL) shortening

4 tsp (20 mL) baking soda

1 pinch of salt

1 cup (250 mL) water

Filling

2 cups (500 mL) cooked potatoes

1 lb (454 g) lobster meat

1 ½ lbs (681 g) of scallops

1 ½ lbs (681 g) quahogs

1⁄4 cup (50 mL) chopped celery

1⁄4 cup (50 mL) chopped green pepper

1⁄4 cup (50 mL) chopped red pepper

1⁄4 cup (50 mL) chopped onion

½ lb (227 g) butter

1 ½ cups (375 g) flour

1 cup (250 mL) milk

1 cup (250 mL) seafood juice pinch of salted herbs or Provence herbs

Method

Mix the pie shell ingredients together. Roll half the dough with a rolling pin. Reserve the other half. Place the dough into a rectangular Pyrex 9- by 11-inch pie plate. In a pot, sauté the vegetables with the butter and flour. Let thicken for a few minutes and add the seafood juice with the milk until the mixture thickens. Put the seafood in the pie shell. Pour the sauce mixture over the seafood. Roll the second half of the dough and cover the mixture in the pie plate. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C).