MONTREAL'S OLYMPIC PARK

                                  A Great Place to Spend the Day

We needed to venture out on the Metro the day we spent at Olympic Park. In Montreal, Canada the subway system is very easy to navigate. The trains are fast, frequent and efficient. We used the system several times, transferring occasionally from one line to another with no problems. We left early as we wanted to be at Olympic Park when it opened. 

The park was created for the 1976 Olympics. I knew this visit would occupy most of the day, and knew what I wanted to see. We bought our combination tickets and because of poor visibility decided to visit the Biodome first, leaving the observation tower till later in the day.

A Biodome derives its name from the Greek bio meaning life and domos meaning house, thus a life house.  The Montreal Biodome  sprawls over 10,000 square meters and includes four of the most striking natural environments of North and South America. The rain forest is filled with high humid heat, screeching birds and chattering monkeys. The Laurentian Forest surrounds a huge beaver dam. The centerpiece of the St. Lawrence Marine Ecosystem is a massive tank filled with cod, halibut, striped bass and sharks. The Arctic and Antarctic Polar Worlds, where there is as few as 6 hours of sunshine in June and up to 20 hours in December, is inhabited by four species of penguins. You move from one ecosystem temperature to another via laser-prompted glass doors.

At the Biodome I remarked, “This is the strangest structure. Any biosphere I’ve been in has been a geometric design.”  Later we were to learn that the biodome was the Olympic bike race stadium. Created in 1992, with some controversy, it is shaped like a bike helmet and  has turned out to be a major tourist attraction.  

We started out in the lush, humid tropical rain forest. It was not as humid as the Eden dome in England that was so hot and humid you could see steam. We slowly strolled through the forest stopping often to watch animals and birds. When we exited we could not believe that we had spent a little over an hour!  We saw a capybara where my friend explained, “This is the largest rodent in the world. Look how long his face is. I wish he’d get in the water.” He was nearly the size of a small pig!

 We enjoyed watching spoonbills, bright scarlet ibis and a pair of gorgeous scarlet macaws. A pair of green macaws were preening each other. We watched frogs hop about and caimans sleeping. There were several small black monkeys, called a callimyco, playing in the trees. We learned they are fruit and insect eaters and are expert jumpers.

I have visited several similar exhibits but this was my friend’s first and she was amazed saying, “This exhibit is great. I’ve never seen anything like this and is not at all like I expected. I’m so glad you wanted to come.”

In a dark aquarium we saw lots of fish, piranhas, and a giant colossuma. We spent a lot of time watching several golden lion tamarins—small monkeys from South America.

Leaving the tropical rain forest we moved into the Laurentian Forest where we watched otters playing near a beaver dam, lots of ducks and frogs. A porcupine was in clear view perched in a tree. A pair of small lynx peeked from behind some rocks.

A special exhibit housed several ring-tailed lemurs from Madagascar. They were playful and a lot of fun to watch. We had a lengthy conversation with the guide stationed inside this exhibit.

In the polar region we sat on a bench and watched four species of penguins play and swim about. Many little puffins, with their bright orange webbed feet and orange bills, were preening and drying their wings. Or were they just posing for photographs. Sometimes it makes you wonder!

We spent only minimal time in the St. Lawrence River ecology exhibit. By the time we finished the biodome it was well past lunchtime. We rested during lunch before going back outside to ride to the top of the observation tower. The sky had cleared and we had wonderful views of the park. It was here we had a good look down on the bike helmet where we’d spent so much time. The afternoon warmed so we could really enjoy the lovely large park and gardens

We had such a wonderful time in the biodome that we returned at the end of the day, just before getting the train, for another, albeit shorter, walk-through.   It was a delightful day—one I’d recommend to anyone visiting Montreal.