July 21: Kouchibouguac

122km to Saint Louis de Kent
We started today by cycling 10km west into Miramichi, then over the bridge, through Newcastle, and another 10km east out along the coast road (Water St which merged with 117 10km further up), and after about 25km I was on the other side of the river looking across to the campsite where we had stayed - kind of pointless, but there not being any boats to take us across the river that is what we had to do. Today we went around the coastal road through Bay St Anne and Escuminac, with lovely views of Miramichi Bay around to Pointe Sapin on the Gulf coast and finally through Kouchibouguac (Koosh-uh-buh-wack) National Park to Saint Louis.

The landscape around the peninsula was not what we expected - very flat, huge bogs (we past a peat-moss factory) with weird carnivorous plants (the bucket-type ones that trap flies) and scrubby alpine forest.

In Kouchiblahblahblah we met Jean-Guy from Saint Louis, who is a teacher (almost retired) who cycles and hikes every day and is super fit - he told us all about the park and guided us on the bike path through the park to the camping right outside Saint Louis. What a great guy! We hope to see him again tomorrow as he says he's interested in cycling down through Bouchtouche with us.

In the park we had noticed a few agressively anti-government signs on a house there, and Jean-Guy told us how when the park was created in 1971 there was a bunch of houses expropriated and one guy stayed and is still there, fighting in the courts to not have his land taken away (I guess he didn't think the compensation was enough?).

Tomorrow we'll be heading for somewhere near Shediac.

Mark