Supermoon Lunar Eclipse (27 September) from Mount Royal Park in Montreal, Canada
One of things I didn’t plan and expect during my Eastern Canada trip last week was partaking in a live nature show of a rare total lunar eclipse and a supermoon. I have read that the last time this combo happened was in 1982 and is expected to happen again sometime in 2033.
The supermoon eclipse took place Sunday evening (27th of September) north eastern Canada time, precisely in Montreal. It was my niece, AnK who told me about it. She was very excited to witness the event and brought with her, her big camera. On said day, we spent a whole day outing in Montreal and made plans to go up Mount Royal in the evening to supermoon gaze.
After a dinner of the country’s most celebrated dish, Poutine in Old Montreal, we drove to Mount Royal Park (Parc du Mont Royal) and luckily we were there a bit earlier than the rest of the masses and were able to grab a parking spot. A crowd was already developing and were walking towards the same direction, so we took our stride and followed suit and found ourselves in the Chateau du Mont Royal with a lookout that offered a breath taking view of the city of Montreal. Beautiful!
I cannot stress this enough how breath taking this lookout point is. You must visit this place in Mount Royal Park for a panoramic view of Montreal City!
So when we arrived at the lookout, a massive crowd received us. We did not expect the sea of bodies before us. People were literally everywhere, squatting on the grounds, standing and many were already ready with their tripods and telescopes. People claimed their space, some even had a picnic mat spread out complete with food, while others brought some booze with them. Everyone was in high spirits. It’s like a one big outdoor party. Quite cool in fact.
If you are young, you would love this kind of communal somewhat hippie-like gathering. Well everyone is here waiting for the supermoon =)
We didn’t waste time and right away searched for a place. Good enough, after going around and squeezing in between bodies, we found a perfect spot, with the view of Montreal’s skyline! I managed to wiggle myself into this spot while AnK stayed, er I mean towered behind my back. She’s my young niece yeah, but she’s almost a foot taller than me. 10 years ago she was a little girl and I had to bend low for her to reach my cheek and plant a kiss. Aha, times have changed.
So we spent hours waiting and watching the whole spectacular supermoon eclipse. We managed to befriend a few of the guys around us who cannot stop checking out my niece’s pictures. AnK managed to take lots of cool pictures that is why, and she made a collage out of it. She must have shot a hundred pictures but only a few went into the final collage.
Well, aren’t we all so lucky that the weather cooperated? It was a dry evening. A lovely and not so chilly evening.
After finishing the total eclipse, we decided to end the night as we still need to drive back to Ottawa.
But oh dear, lo and behold, we got stuck in the parking! Unfortunately, half of the population that parked in the area that evening had the same idea. They want to go home.
Nevertheless, it took us a lot of patience and lip-biting, and more than an hour of turtle pace, inch-by-inch driving to get out of the parking area which could have taken only a maximum of 2 minutes. *sigh* We still have more than 2 hours drive in front of us!
And to make sure we made it to Ottawa in one piece, we had to make an obligatory stop over at a Tim Horton’s for a cup of hot coffee. I still had the effects of transcontinental jetlag in my system and my eyes were beginning to play tricks on me so I need my veins pumped up with lots of caffeine. It worked. We finally arrived in Ottawa safely at half past 2 in the morning.
AnK said it was worth the long wait and the long night. Glad to hear.
Travel Period: September 2015
Destination: Montreal (Quebec), Canada
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
The supermoon eclipse took place Sunday evening (27th of September) north eastern Canada time, precisely in Montreal. It was my niece, AnK who told me about it. She was very excited to witness the event and brought with her, her big camera. On said day, we spent a whole day outing in Montreal and made plans to go up Mount Royal in the evening to supermoon gaze.
The lunar eclipse as captured by my niece AnK.
After a dinner of the country’s most celebrated dish, Poutine in Old Montreal, we drove to Mount Royal Park (Parc du Mont Royal) and luckily we were there a bit earlier than the rest of the masses and were able to grab a parking spot. A crowd was already developing and were walking towards the same direction, so we took our stride and followed suit and found ourselves in the Chateau du Mont Royal with a lookout that offered a breath taking view of the city of Montreal. Beautiful!
I cannot stress this enough how breath taking this lookout point is. You must visit this place in Mount Royal Park for a panoramic view of Montreal City!
So when we arrived at the lookout, a massive crowd received us. We did not expect the sea of bodies before us. People were literally everywhere, squatting on the grounds, standing and many were already ready with their tripods and telescopes. People claimed their space, some even had a picnic mat spread out complete with food, while others brought some booze with them. Everyone was in high spirits. It’s like a one big outdoor party. Quite cool in fact.
If you are young, you would love this kind of communal somewhat hippie-like gathering. Well everyone is here waiting for the supermoon =)
I did not have a good picture of the walk to the lookout.
The moon before the lunar eclipse above Montreal City and people brought out their telescopes!
This is the chateau on Mount Royal Park.
Lots of tripods and telescopes came out that evening.
My niece AnK and moi.
This was before the eclipse started.
We didn’t waste time and right away searched for a place. Good enough, after going around and squeezing in between bodies, we found a perfect spot, with the view of Montreal’s skyline! I managed to wiggle myself into this spot while AnK stayed, er I mean towered behind my back. She’s my young niece yeah, but she’s almost a foot taller than me. 10 years ago she was a little girl and I had to bend low for her to reach my cheek and plant a kiss. Aha, times have changed.
So we spent hours waiting and watching the whole spectacular supermoon eclipse. We managed to befriend a few of the guys around us who cannot stop checking out my niece’s pictures. AnK managed to take lots of cool pictures that is why, and she made a collage out of it. She must have shot a hundred pictures but only a few went into the final collage.
Well, aren’t we all so lucky that the weather cooperated? It was a dry evening. A lovely and not so chilly evening.
After finishing the total eclipse, we decided to end the night as we still need to drive back to Ottawa.
The lights of the City of Montreal.
Hello there, supermoon =)
Can you see how crowded the place is? This was taken just when we were about to leave.
But oh dear, lo and behold, we got stuck in the parking! Unfortunately, half of the population that parked in the area that evening had the same idea. They want to go home.
Nevertheless, it took us a lot of patience and lip-biting, and more than an hour of turtle pace, inch-by-inch driving to get out of the parking area which could have taken only a maximum of 2 minutes. *sigh* We still have more than 2 hours drive in front of us!
Route Montreal to Ottawa on Highway 40.
And to make sure we made it to Ottawa in one piece, we had to make an obligatory stop over at a Tim Horton’s for a cup of hot coffee. I still had the effects of transcontinental jetlag in my system and my eyes were beginning to play tricks on me so I need my veins pumped up with lots of caffeine. It worked. We finally arrived in Ottawa safely at half past 2 in the morning.
AnK said it was worth the long wait and the long night. Glad to hear.
The traffic in the parking lot where we were moving an inch every minute.
Travel Period: September 2015
Destination: Montreal (Quebec), Canada
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
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