Paddle Boating at Eco-Odyssee

Our second day in the Outaouais Region of Quebec included more outdoor activities that allowed our group to feel fully immersed in autumn fun.

The weather was chilly enough to warrant layers during our trip, but it wasn’t bitter cold and the sun was always out which added some welcomed warmth. It was perfect fall weather!

Paddle Boating at Eco-Odyssee

The first activity we had on our agenda during the second day of our trip was paddle boating.

If you’re anything like me and have been paddle boating before, you might feel like it leaves a lot to be desired. When I think of paddle boating, I picture pedaling around aimlessly on a lake which inevitably leaves me feeling tired and frustrated. I guess my paddle boating experiences in the past have been pretty horrendous because the experience we had at Eco-Odyssee was completely different. The boats were secure and very responsive to steering and my legs never felt tired even after an hour on the water.

When we arrived at Eco-Odyssee, I knew we were in for a treat when Michel Leclair pointed to a map of an amazing water maze on the wall of the welcome center.

He then passed out animal identification books, compasses and walkie talkies to our group and explained that it was our job to follow the directions and navigate our way through the water maze in our paddle boats.

Outdoor challenges like this are right up my alley so I was psyched! Our group paired off and, after watching a brief instructional video, boarded our boats and headed out.

Anne was my paddle boat buddy and we immediately went into navigation mode.

We laughed because neither of us are particularly good at directions in our day-to-day lives, but we somehow managed to stay on course and didn’t get lost in the labyrinth once which I consider a serious victory considering there were 64 different junctions. Go team!

The directions provided to us had us looking along the banks of the maze for clues and animal figurines that would allow us to fill in the blanks of the worksheet we were each responsible for completing during our time in the maze.

Anne and I chatted away throughout the experience and got a little side tracked and forgot about steering on more than one occasion which put us in a bush a few times.

While we pedaled through the maze, we saw frogs, fish, a turtle and birds.

The scenery was so picturesque and it felt great to simply be outside enjoying nature during such a beautiful time of year in the Outaouais Region. 

It took us about an hour to make it through the maze and we returned to the dock raving about the adventure to Michel. It was a great way to spend a sunny fall morning and Anne and I agreed that a trip to Eco-Odyssee would make a fun date or family activity. It was such an engaging experience and our group really enjoyed it!

Once we thanked Michel and said good bye, we hopped back in the van and headed out to lunch at Cafe Soup’Herbe. (What a cute play on words, right!?)

The cafe is a vegetarian restaurant located just a few minutes from Gatineau Park in Chelsea and after dining there one time, I can assure you that if this restaurant existed in Ocala, I would be a regular visitor! The country-style decor was quite cozy and we all welcomed the warmth of the restaurant after a chilly morning on the water.

I ate a piece of warm bread with butter from the bread bowl and sipped on a cappuccino while we all perused  the menu. The espresso at the cafe was fantastic and I loved every sip of my cappuccino.

At the urging of our friendly waitress, I ordered the Soup’Herbe signature salad.

It was topped with cashews, sesame seeds, the most delicious, garlicky croutons, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, carrots, sprouts and a wonderful dressing. Everything was perfectly fresh and it felt good to get some vegetables in my system.

Part two of our second day in the Outaouais Region is coming up this afternoon!

Question of the Morning

• Have you ever been paddle boating? Did you enjoy the experience?