Confidences of travelers | A large family reunited thanks to travel

Traveling is like riding on a mountain road. But among the ups and downs, there will always be those indelible memories that you carry with you all your life. Once a month, The Press recounts the adventures, big or small, of fearless travellers. Today: a father who likes to bring his children together by organizing unforgettable trips.

Laila Maalouf
The Press

When she thinks of her father, Michel Labrecque, Marie-Hélène Côté describes him above all as a great traveler. A passionate man who has trained his five children, from three different unions, on his wanderings while transmitting to them the sting of travel.

A doctor, he first traveled for his job – in the 1980s, he notably worked in the Comoros. As the years passed, the list of countries he visited grew. “When he gave conferences all over the world, one after another, he took us with him,” recalls Marie-Hélène.

But everything was born in this first trip to Europe, in 1997, the four teenagers traveling alone with their father (the youngest was not yet born). A month to visit France, Belgium, Germany… An “initiatory” trip, emphasizes Marie-Hélène.

“What’s a little funny, when I think back to that trip, is that we had done a large part of Alsace and my father took us to the vineyards. He was tasting wine and we were asking him “When are we leaving?” because it was boring! she recalls laughing.

Nevertheless, the journey had had the merit of bringing them closer.

Then came this “second big trip” to California: “It was another fairly initiatory trip because we had all become adults, we had all traveled one on one with him. It kind of bonded us as siblings with him. »

As time passed, the group grew around Michel, with new unions and births.

In 2011, he rented a large house in Costa Rica for 11 people: Marie-Hélène, her spouse and daughter, Marie-Hélène’s half-brothers and half-sister (Pascal, David and Isabelle), Michel’s spouse and their son Gabriel (then 4 years old), the son of his spouse from a previous union and his girlfriend.

The family being dispersed, travel indeed seemed the best way to bring the whole “tribe” together around their common passion.

Logistic challenges

Traveling in a large group obviously comes with its share of challenges: in Morocco, in 2018, Michel Labrecque had the idea of ​​renting a bus with driver to transport everyone – their record of 12 people. A journey riddled with beautiful discoveries and that the youngest – Marie-Hélène’s daughter and her half-brother Gabriel, who are the same age – still evoke with wonder.

However, even if harmony reigns within the group, “you end up wanting your little quiet moment”, says Marie-Hélène, smiling.

So the following year, when Michel rented a cabin for a family ski trip to Revelstoke, British Columbia, Marie-Hélène’s spouse took the initiative to rent a small apartment next door to his family of four.

But fate may have wanted to see them all under the same roof since, on the day of departure, a snowstorm nailed them to the spot and they found themselves at 12 in the small apartment, the chalet having to be vacated!

“When my father initiates a trip, he invites everyone. In Western Canada, even his ex-wife [la mère d’Isabelle, David et Pascal] came with us. It shows how much my father has progressive values. Parents who separate, that does not mean that the children will be unhappy. We have four different last names, but that’s okay. It’s unique,” ​​says Marie-Hélène between two laughs, proud of her values ​​and her unifying side.

Next year, his father will be 70 years old. And the mystery still hangs over their next family destination, even if Marie-Hélène already has some ideas. “As my brother Pascal is in Singapore, I have the impression that he is going to tell us that we are all going there in the next few years,” she exclaims, laughing.

One thing is certain, it will certainly be a trip that will once again leave them with happy memories.