Typical Day at Les Voyageurs
Get ready for the rendezvous at French Voyageurs!
You become a voyageur as you canoe with your tent partners into the morning fog, eat Scottish scones, learn to pitch a tent, split logs, cook over an open fire, play le chat et souris, paddle, tip and rescue a canoe, sing traditional and modern songs, tell and get jokes in French, prepare roubabou, swim and bath in pristine waters, identify, name and describe boreal plants, carve a spoon or make moccasins, build a fire, slap mosquitoes and flies, kneed bannock, dance la Bastringue, meet fur traders, metis and other fur trade characters, listen to the loons, play "le menteur,"taste your own pemmican, watch the sunset with your friends, stare into the fire and fall asleep to the sound of "la Claire fontaine"on the shore of lakes carved by the Canadian shield.
Explore the Great Outdoors
After five days at base camp you and your brigade team are ready for the "grand voyage" in the Voyageurs National Park. Along parts the historical routes of the fur trade, you will traverse the southern lakes of Voyageurs. As you engage in a five day adventure, you build and strengthen with French words new friendships while paddling with or against the wind, one day in the rain the next in the sun. One the afternoon you are on the edge of a granite cliff 1, 2, 3 "plouff" you are in the lake, on snack break you are on the edge of two countries looking at a U.S. - Canada border marker and the next morning, you are on the edge of history taking pictures of pictographs left by earlier native dwellers of the land. On the layover day for a few hours you are the sole guest of a parcel forest. Later around the fire the brigade debriefs this peaceful moment in the wilderness. During the paddling days your progress is punctuated with pauses during which you partake with water into toasts once declaimed at the Beaver Club in Montreal. After twelve days chez les voyageurs, castor, sac étanche, sac de couchage, chamallow, aigle à tête blanche, gilets de sauvetage have become your new French friends. Back at base camp the last day is filled with stories, voyageurs style competitions and a closing ceremony around the camp fire.
This schedule will vary from year to year depending on the age of villagers and session length, but basic activities remain the same.
8:00 Reveille
Villagers are awakened with a voyageur song.
8:30 Morning Activité
We begin the morning with singing and the Presentation de Repas around the Feu de Camp.
9:00 Dejeuner
Villagers enjoy a hearty breakfast every morning.
10:00 Leçon
A lesson or activity to learn about voyageur history.
10:30 Canotage
Canoeing is our most important activity in preparation for our Grand Voyage.
1:00 Diner
There's nothing like canoeing to work up that voyageur appetite!
2:00 Sieste
Zzzzz...
3:00 Leçon et Temps Libre
Afternoons are dedicated to free time, which includes activities and crafts, as well as French and wilderness skills lessons.
5:00 Preparation du cuisine
Villagers learn hands on how to prepare gourmet meals outdoors at our site.
6:00 Souper
Our meals are often typical voyageur dishes, but we also enjoy French African recipes and a variety of international cuisine.
7:00 Les Tâches
Villagers and staff keep up our wilderness site all by ourselves, and our evening chores include such tasks as chopping wood for the Feu de Camp or helping collect water from our water pump.
8:00 Activité du soir
Evening activities are special treats, such as canoeing on Turtle River Lake at sunset.
9:00 Chansons
We end the day with songs and a fun-filled campfire time.
9:30 La fin de la Journée
Bedtime.
* Une Petite Note:
Times are estimates. Because we live in the woods, we often change plans for weather or as needed! And, on our Grand Voyage, our schedule is always changing.
