After all this, I’m in need of a rest, so I catch a bus towards the Old Port, to sample the city’s sustainability at its most soothing. In the 1950s the Arthur Cardin was a ferryboat; now, in a nifty bit of recycling, it’s been revamped into Bota Bota, a floating spa powered by energy extracted from the St Lawrence River. Even eco-warriors can relax here.
The design is super-slick, a nautical-meets-Scandi vibe that flows through the hot pools, cold pools, steam rooms, saunas and chill-out garden. I move around, variously cooling and broiling myself, enjoying the prime views across the river and skyline, and up to the hulking industrial silos, built when Montréal was the biggest grain port in the world. However, for all the spa’s fancy areas, I like the simple deck where no one else was; here, I descend the caged-in steps for a dunk into the St Lawrence itself, watched only by the ducks.
Actually, it’s possible that the passengers aboard the Petit Navire see me too. When, a little later, I take a trip on this pleasure boat myself, we steer close to Bota Bota – without disturbing the spa-bathers inside. Petit Navire’s fleet is entirely electric powered; super-quiet, zero-pollution and carbon-neutral certified.
“It’s equivalent to running two hairdryers,” remarks Captain François as he steers around the old port, along the shire of St Helen’s Island and into the Sainte-Marie current. This fast-flowing undertow was historically an awkward obstacle for ships trying to dock here. For us today it is just fun. The fizzing water picks up the boat and, whoosh, we are speedily propelled towards the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Those hairdryer batteries have to work considerably harder to get us back again.
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/canada/montreal-north-america-quebec-sustainability/
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Publish date : 2024-03-10 04:00:00
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