August 3, 2009

Left Port Rawley Bay on Tuesday last; proceeded back past Henry's, and on through some skinny channels to the west side of Parry Sound, the body of water. Hee, we headed to, and tied up in, Parry Sound, the town. The largest town on the east side of the Bay, with 6500 residents, Parry Sound was named for an arctic explorer, Sir Wm. Parry. The harbor is busy with excursion and cruise ships, and a large Coast Guard station. Right next to the marina, we found the beautiful C. W, Stockey Performing Arts Center which shares a building with the Bobby Orr Hockey Museum. We spent a delightful hour+ on Tuesday afternoon listening to the music of Brahms, played by Paul Stewart., a Canadian concert pianist, and Mendelssohn, played by the Leipzig String Quartet. The quartet's performance piece was shifted from the advertised program by the fact that when they arrived in Toronto (from a performance in Tokyo) on Monday, not all of their luggage arrived with them. So they played a different selection, for which they had the music, wearing the clothes they had--jeans and t-shirts. We were happy that we arrived during the 30th anniversary of this 3 week concert series, now in its 7th season in the new theater that is acclaimed as accousitcally one of the best concert venues, not just in Canada, but in the world. Hey, you never know. From Parry Sound we made an overnight stop in Killbear so we could check in with Will, the Weather Guy. We'd decided to cross the Bay and acquaint ourselves a bit with the Bruce Peninsula. As the Bay can kick up some pretty hefty weather conditions, the local knowledge recommendation is to check in with Will before setting out. He and Fred agreed that we had a perfect day, and off we went for the 5 hour open water crossing. The sun shone, waves were low, and except for one black cloud that appeared out of nowhere and blew by while I was at the helm (of course) the day was lovely. The Bruce Peninsula is the end of the Niagara escarpment. It's possible to hike the Bruce Trail, if you're so inclined, from Queenstown on the Niagara River in southern Ontario near the Falls, to Tobermory at the tip of this peninsula. We chose to stop first at Lion's Head, a former fishing village (pop. 500) tucked into the limestone cliffs and located on the 45th parallel—1/2 way between the Equator and the North Pole. We were a day early for their August festival, but met a pair of young ladies who were practicing their sand sculpture (on the surprise sandy beach) for the next day's contest. The people were friendly and we were told by one long term resident that she doesn't know what the life after this will be like, but she is sure that for many years, she has lived in Heaven. Nice. From Lion's Head we headed 30 miles or so along the peninsula, to the end of land, where Lake Huron rushes to make it's connection with the Gerogian Bay. Here is the end (or beginning) of the Bruce Trail, the 900 km. hiking trail mentioned above. In the Visitor's Center I found a pair of bronzed hiking boots donated by one of the many hikers who have walked from Niagara. Tobermory is a delightful stop for boaters, hikers and tourists, with lots of restaurants, gift and upscale craft shops and, of course, fish 'n' chips and ice cream! The Chi-Cheemain (Ojibwa for “big canoe”) Ferries can carry up to 638 passengers and 143 vehicles (each) to and from nearby Manitoulin Island, the largest fresh water island in North America. As the only other access to Manitoulin is a single lane swing bridge at Little Current, traffic is constant on the ferry. Also, glass bottomed boat tours are available to see the more than 22 wrecked ships that lie in the waters near Tobermary. The wrecks also make this a very popular destination for divers. Interestingly, more divers have lost their lives in these waters than sailors going down with the ships now being investigated by the curious. I did a very mini hike into the woods to the Visitor's Center, where I met up with some of the animals of Canada (they were stuffed, of course, but we've not seen a single walking critter) and also marveled at the descriptions of the work of the glaciers—solid granite to the north, and here, on the south side of the Bay, sand-pebble-grapefruit sized rocks of limestone, and deep caves complete with stalagtites. Separating these two disparate land forms, the crystal clear emerald colored and very deep waters of the Georgian Bay. As we left Tobermary we passed by Flower Pot Island, where, for no apparent reason, various sized rocks have piled themselves into very unusual—yes, flower pot--shapes. East winds gave us a serious boost along the Bay, and we soon found ourselves negotiating the rocky entrance to Killarney, the gateway to the North Chanel. Until 1964 Killarney was only accessible by boat, so most of the village's businesses are situated along the long channel. Logging and fishing have been replaced by tourism as the main source of business here. The first Monday in August, we learned, is a Canadian holiday. One explanation we were given (tongue in cheek?) is that July has Canada Day, and Sept. has Labor Day, so the first Monday in August is given to the country as a summer holiday. Banks, government offices and many businesses are closed, and many towns, Killarney among them, hold festivals with parades and fireworks. Lucky for us Monday was 'travel home' day, so there was dockage available. We immediately did the obligatory tourist stop at Herbert's Fisheries, a red trailer with a take out window and picnic tables for fish 'n' chips. Just can't get excited about putting vinegar (white or malt) on my french fries, but I did give it a go. Have not yet, though, attempted the culinary delight called Poutine. This Frech-Canadian dish contains cheese curd, french fries and gravy. We were told by one hardy Canadian (as he sprinkled malt vinegar on his 'chips', that sometimes nothing else but poutine will do. So far, not for me. And so, it's goodnight for now. 'See' you next week as we continue our exploration of the North Channel. Be well. Linda and Fred