For over 25 years, Magella Landry, once a commercial crab fisherman with several boats who spent his winters in Montréal, was involved in the tourism development of Natashquan and the Côte-Nord. Today, he has returned to a somewhat less hectic life, managing and promoting the Auberge Port d'Attache, which he built and has operated since 1995.
Located at the western entrance to the village, directly on the shores of the Golfe St-Laurent, the inn offers eight individually decorated rooms, each with a telephone and television. Guests can also relax in the reading room or simply admire the stunning view. In the morning, guests have breakfast with other travellers in the dining room, lovingly prepared by the chef, who takes pleasure in serving eggs, pancakes, or French toast. All of this is included in the room rate.
Like many other villages in the region, tourist accommodation is rather limited in Natashquan. The issue has been addressed in recent years with the aim of providing housing for workers and newcomers. A stay at the Port d'Attache is filled with fond memories, as the place is beautifully decorated with antique furniture, historical images, and paintings depicting local scenes, among other things.
Magella Landry remains an important figure in the Macacain scene*, having been vice-president of Tourisme Côte-Nord and president of the tourism and cultural development organization that recently became Destination Natashquan.
He also became involved and coordinated, in the mid-2010s, along with about a hundred other citizens, a movement dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Gilles Vigneault heritage site in Natashquan, or, in other words, to ensure the survival of "La Source." The aim was to prevent the sale of this site to private interests, which would spoil these places steeped in history, and to halt the deterioration of the buildings, which will soon be irreversible.
The people of Natashquan wanted to save these buildings (two houses and three outbuildings) to create a living memorial, a place to share the poet's source of inspiration, a welcoming space for creation, and an artist residency. A national fundraising campaign was launched to raise $500,000 for the Natashquan Fund for the Preservation of the Source. "A very small sum considering the scope of the act of remembrance and transmission of the source that the people of this tiny village are committed to carrying out for the entire province," said Magella Landry at the campaign launch.
After all these years of dedication, and in order to better care for his family, the innkeeper is considering finding a buyer for his inn. With no family member to take over, he must look elsewhere. He hopes a local or regional buyer will come forward when the time is right. The inn is open year-round and has an exceptional location, ideal for both those who appreciate beautiful scenery in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter.
And a word to the wise: the water in the bay at Natashquan is sometimes warmer for swimming than the surrounding air during the summer.
Auberge Port d'Attache
aubergeleportdattache.ca70, rue du Pré
Natashquan (Québec) G0G 2E0
418 726-3569
* Macacain: According to some, the demonym "Macacain" is said to be derived from "Acadian," the people from whom the inhabitants of Natashquan are descended.