Canada update
It's been a busy time, as Cathie's family make sure our Canadian experience is as full as it can possibly be.
During last weekend we were in Burlington, 45km south of Toronto, staying with Mark and Diane, Cathie's brother and sister-in-law. Diane is flat out with the current election, so Mark took us for a visit to see Wilma, their mother (and my new mother-in-law), at Albright Manor, a further 15-20km south.
Admission for visitors to the rest home is provisional on a negative RAT test, which is reassuring. A temporary cabin has been erected outside and visitors need to undergo a quick test before being allowed inside.
Wilma was full of beans and very cheerful. With 95 years coming up, she's remarkably spry and easily survived a bout of Covid earlier in the year. Mark stayed with us a short time, then left us to a thorough chat.
After an hour or so, we said our goodbyes and headed out for a solid walk. There are many long challenging walks around the world. We're heading for the 800km Camino, but that's pure luxury when compared to walks such as the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest in the US and the Te Araroa trail in New Zealand, all of which require you to carry everything on your back with sketchy prospects of a comfortable spot in which to lay your head each night.
Canada has its own version - the Bruce Trail. Here's the Wikipedia description: "The Bruce Trail is a lengthy hiking trail that spans roughly 900km, following the edge of the Niagara Escarpment (one of 13 UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves in Canada). The most southern point of the trail begins in Queenston, Ontario (Niagara Falls) and it ends far north in Tobermory, ON".
As it happens, the trail passes within a few hundred metres of Albright Manor, so we set off for a walk of about 14km to Grimsby. Just the name 'Grimsby' sends a shudder down my spine, seeming to evoke icy orphanages and windswept moors. This Grimsby, however, is not that grim. In fact, it was a pleasant day as we set off. The trail was easy enough at first, with easy gradients on relatively good surfaces. It got a bit confusing when the white paint marks indicating the trail were joined by red ones and blue ones for the local dog-walking trails. We had the Bruce Trail on our All Trails app, but it didn't seem to have been updated, so at times we were scratching our heads over our direction, but we muddled along.
At times the trail left the elevation of the escarpment and descended into muddy, sticky hollows, slowing the pace, but at other times the trail joined paved roads and we made good progress. As always, we worried a little about making some unfortunate move that would result in a twisted knee or ankle - some of the descents were uneven and slippery.
We could see from the app that the trail often left the road, descended down a steep bank, meandered along for a while and then climbed back up to the very road we'd left a kilometre or two ago. As we grew more tired and the day wore on, we got a bit impatient with this. The moment of truth arrived when we were approaching Grimsby and found ourselves on the brink of a precipice. We could see that the trail plunged all the way down to the township, but then climbed right back up to rejoin the road a kilometre or two further along.
We had things to do, so abandoned the tricky trail and set off along the road until we reached the final corner where the road ran down to our destination. As if heaven-sent, Mark drove by at that very moment. He'd been following the trail on his phone and figured out more or less where we would be.
Here's a video of our walk: https://www.relive.cc/view/
By then it was 4pm. At Mark's the temperature was rising as the sun came out. We sat on his deck in the sun and had a beer while he cooked a great turkey barbecue and then we were back in the car and heading for Joe and Deb's in Toronto, ready for the next expedition.
Monday came with the promise of higher temperatures and we piled into the car for the 250km drive north to Eagle Lake. Cathie's grandmother had a small cottage there, which had been left to Joe. Less than 2km away, their Uncle Dick had built another cottage and cousin Margaret now lived there with her husband Dale and another family member, Tom, next door. As you'd gather, there was a lot of family history there.
Halfway through the journey we stopped off at Webers, which seemed to be a bit of an institution.
I thought the hamburger was pretty good, although Deb declared that the standard had slipped. I was introduced to Poutine - chips and cheese curd with gravy. It was ok (enough said).
Most of the journey north was on a four-lane highway. As you'll see in the photo, a bridge has been built so you can access Webers from either side of the road.
The cottage seemed to me the quintessential Canadian lake destination - with a charming (and very clean) outhouse.
We settled in for a lazy couple of days. The contrast with our first weekend in Canada couldn't have been greater. Suddenly our five layers, including raincoats and puffer jackets, had been exchanged for shorts and T-shirts.
The first task was to reinstate the wharf. Because of the frozen winters, all the cottages have removable wharfs. The shifting ice knocks them apart. It was interesting how simple the techniques were.
On Tuesday, Cathie started to put the pressure on - we had to have a swim. A fortnight earlier, Joe had sent us a photo of a great mound of snow in front of the cottage. Only a month before, the ice was still leaving the lake. During the winter it's possible to drive all over the lake in a snowmobile. The question of swimming seems unlikely.
Later we decided a brisk walk was in order https://www.relive.cc/view/
We were heading to Margaret and Dale's for a quick visit. It was interesting to me because that was where Cathie learned to swim, nearly 60 years ago. Their dog Jagger gave us a demonstration of technique after he dropped his tennis ball into the lake and was forced to retrieve it.
That was Tuesday. On Wednesday we started slow but despite plenty of experience with kayaks I'd never paddled a canoe.
That was soon remedied. After that, we were in packing up mode and after lunch, with the temperature climbing towards 30, we hit the road back to Toronto. We tested out the Webers overbridge, but this time it wasn't for hamburgers. We had the largest ice creams you could imagine and had a good look around the various railway wagons (and used the splendid toilets).
And so back to Toronto. During the day we'd had the news that Wilma's rest home had gone into lockdown after more Covid cases. That put a bit of a damper on things, as it meant Cathie wouldn't see her mother again on this trip. We decided to change plans. At Mark and Diane's we'd be in the suburbs, relying on Mark to drive us places (including to visit Wilma). The plan was changed - we'd stay in Toronto with Joe and Deb. That way we'd be independent and travel within the city either on foot or on public transport.
We ended the day with a walk to Bloor St for felafels and beer - not a bad way to finish.
So here we are. Thursday morning, with a trip planned soon. On Monday we fly to London and Paris then travel by train to Bayonne. The Camino is getting closer.
Fantastic adventure… so far!
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds fabulous.....apart from not getting back to see Wilma. Lovely though to be fated by Cathie's Toronto extended family!!! You must be pinching yourselves after such a long lead up!!!
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