City of Dogs

Wabush Surrounds

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To be honest, i didn't know what i was getting myself in for when i accepted to do some training in Eastern Canada, and things didn't start well when my luggage got lost on the way to Quebec City. My fault, of sorts, because i didn't pick my bags up upon reaching Montreal. Apparently you have to get your bags rechecked in - pity the check in desk didn't give me this nugget of wisdom in Edinburgh!

My bags finally arrived at my Quebec City hotel around 2am, just in time for my 6am flight to Wabush.

Flying into Wabush gives you a lasting impression of endless pine trees and lakes, hundreds of lakes. A polar opposite to the desolate Australian outback i was used to seeing on similar flights.

Checking into my rustic looking hotel i was greeted by Ramsay, my contact for my training at the Wabush Iron Ore mine. The training was to go for 5 days and went relatively smoothly. The mine offices were straight out of a badly designed 70's movie, but they sufficed.

Thankfully, my guests looked after me well. After picking up my monster Chevrolet truck i was taken for dinner and shown the sights of the twin towns of Wabush & Labrador City. The towns themselves were typical mining fare, basic but comfortable enough - they had everything you could need.  I was taken out to a lakeside cabin one evening, the cabins that were strewn along the lake shores reminding me of Grizzly Adams. This was a focal point of summer life in Wabush. The weekends away in the cabins kept most people sane.

Another night i was taken for dinner to Fermont, just over the border in Quebec, and one hour behind! This was an amazing French speaking community who had designed their town so as to shelter the homes in winter. All the homes were huddled behind a vast shopping/appartment block shaped like a wedge. The winter winds were stopped by this building, leaving the homes unscathed, though still bloody freezing no doubt.

All in all i enjoyed my little stay in Wabush, it was just a pity my mobile wouldnt get any reception - my hotel phone bill, company paid of course, was a few hundred dollars by the end. Ooops!