St Pierre is a little archipelago ( 2main islands and a scattering of small ones) A different culture ,different cuisine, and different currency (Euro) Settled by Europeans as early as 1500 with the first visitors being mainly Basque fisherman who used the islands as a seasonal base. During US Prohibition era(1920-1933) St Pierre became a base for smuggling alcohol causing an economic boom . Gangster Al Capone famously visited the islands.
St Pierre has around 6000 habitants. Narrow streets and brightly coloured houses are a reminder of France.
August 12 Wednesday 2009
Bill goes to take a shower -no cold water and the hot is way to hot .The desk says it could be fixed by the time we return from our tour. We go down for breakfast(included) Wonderful French pastry. Bill has toast and Coffee and orange juice . I sin and have 2 croissants filled with chocolate no less yum !A van takes 2 couples -one only speaks English the other only speaks French so the tour guide has to repeat everything. Here are some of the things we learned
-their are no poles as most things power and phone are underground
-all the horses on the Island go to a huge barn for the winter (about 100 owned by young girls)
-The Daulle Square airport has a 1,800 meter runway and can handle a 737
-Their cemmetary is huge-St Pierre has no undertakers ,so they do not embalm or cremate people,they are burried 2 days in a sealed zinc coffin that is placed inside a traditional wooden box. The families each have a plot and everyone is burried on top or beside each other
-The French government supports the economy of the Island to the tune of $65,000 Euros per year. 60% of the workforce is employed by the government either locally or France.
-St Pierre gets all its supplies from Canada, Halifax or St Johns. The odd vehicle was from Europe.
-St Pierre has it's own stamp and license plates.

After the tour(1.15 hours and $20 ea) we return to the hotel. There was still no cold water so we check out . We take a book and sit on a park bench and people watch. I spy a French bakery. Did it ever smell good . I bought a bun- a sub like cheese sandwich heated. Delicious!
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We get driven back to the RV and are on our way back down the Burin peninsula by 3pm. We complete the circle and drive on the Grand Banks side. This is the riches fishing grounds and is why France kept St Pierre and Miquelon and even though the fishing is cut back they are hoping to cash into the oil rights starting in Newfoundland. We arrive back on hwy 1 by 5 and decide to stay at the truck stop for the night. We go to their restaurant for dinner and go to bed early for an early start tomorrow.
Would I recomend on going to St Pierre . you bet as it's the cheapesy ticket to France once one is on the East coast.
REMEMBER- A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you are in deep water.
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