Thanksgiving Weekend Continue

Hi all!

Thanks for all the positive reactions. As promised, here is the weekly update!!

The Thanksgiving dinner was more than I could dream of but the story wasn't finished.

After eating more than even I ever ate we went to "The Boathouse", the guestroom that was provided to us. Both sleeping in a queen bed was very delightful after a night of camping. When we woke up there was a beautiful sunrise across the lake. What a dream place to live I thought, and I dreamed away imagining how it would be to actually live here. You might be far located from everything which would be inconvenient but on the other hand, it brings you closer to nature. Maybe in a couple of decades. First finish this Canadian adventure :)

After a quick shower we were invited to have breakfast. Could we be spoiled more? After an amazing diner the previous day, we had some pancakes with HOME MADE!! Maple Syrup and bacon for breakfast. Impressed by the amazing taste of the syrup(served in Dutch Grolsch bottles btw!) I was very curious about the process of how the syrup is made. I couldn't imagine how. With already some culture lessons from last night I was about to become a real Canadian Culture Expert 2.0 :) Apparently it is made in a similar way rubber is made but under special conditions. First of all it has to freeze about 10 degrees during the night and it has to be above zero during the day for about 10 days in a row for the juice to become sweet and for the tree to give as much juice as possible. This juice is collected in buckets. The juice in this state is actually really fluid and not syrup structure at all, it looks more like water. All this juice is placed in a giant boiler. Here the juice gets boiled long enough for most of the water to evaporate. The ratio between syrup and juice is about 1:60! So thanks again to Tristan’s Family for all the info and I hope I didn’t spoil the family secret now! :o

After the delicious breakfast we hit the road again. We asked for some recommendations to do a bit of hiking across the Manatoulin Island and ended up with some spectacular views! The first hike we did was called “Cup and Soucer”. If you ever find yourself near the Island this is definitely worth a drive and hike up the mountain. After just half an hour we were on top of one of the highest mountains of the island. From here we had one of the most amazing views I have ever seen in my life. Standing on the side of cliffs that are over 100ft (30m) high, Jo got a bit nervous and even I had a bit of wet hands after looking down one of the huge cracks were you could see the ground. The view was just a full spectrum of colours all around. With no cloud in the beautiful blue sky, the gorgeous autumn colours and big lakes that crossed around the horizon I felt like being in a dream. It was maybe good that my camera was low on battery otherwise I was still standing there and making pictures. I could definitely imagine some native Indians owning this mountain. The fact that you were not able to see any men maid buildings gave a complete feeling of the beauty of Canada.

After the little but beautiful we continued to a waterfall. We were just in the right time(or maybe a week to late) to see salmon swimming upstream to lay their eggs. This phenomenon was something I always wanted to see. I remember those documentaries where you see this river through the rough wild nature of Canada full with salmon that are struggling to return to the puddle they were born in. Along the way several salmon would be encountering small waterfalls, here they actually have to jump to get to the next section. This obstacle would be a favourite fishing spot for bears and they would simply be waiting for the fish to jump in their mouth.

So far my imagination.

We got to the falls and without parking our car we were able to see the waterfall in the middle of a small village. The smell of rotting fish came straight up your nose. Just a man made stairs down and you could see the fish that made it to the puddle. It was pretty obvious this was the “end point” since the waterfall was around 60 ft (20m) high. Although most of the fish already made their final journey, there were still some left that were struggling to swim upstream. Maybe less beautiful or picturesque and idyllic than I would have imagined but it was still special and I could cross it out from my bucket list. Haha. Saying this, I probably won’t cross this off until I’ve seen something that comes close to what I’ve seen on the documentaries. These spoiled me for life. PEOPLE DON’T WATCH NATURE DOCUMENTARIES!!!! (joke)

 After this we continued our roadtrip towards mainland. Driving through another very scenic landscape around the Kilarney National Park. It was such a pleasure to drive here. Although we were already driving lots the last couple of days it was still a great pleasure. During our trip I had the great opportunity to discover more about Jo’s life. I have been knowing him for 14 years now, but there were still a lot of questions I never had the chance to ask. Talking the entire trip made our band really strong and gave something maybe more precious than all the beautiful things we saw.

The last evening we were very fortunate and finished our roadtrip in a perfect way.

First we had some troubles finding a camp site that was still open in this late season. Eventually we ended up in one of the provincial parks. This was really in the middle of nowhere. The closest “restaurant” was an hour drive away. This was the only thing where you were able to buy some food. We quickly drove down to the restaurant because it was already getting late. When we entered the “restaurant” the kitchen would be closing in 15 minutes. Very relieved we ordered 2 burgers, basically the only things that they served. After returning to our campsite we were regretting that we didn’t accept the offer of buying some firewood. The night was just perfect for a nice bum fire. Because it was technically still Thanksgiving weekend and with the knowledge of Canadians being the friendliest people, I stepped towards our neighbours and asked if they had some spare wood. Within 10 seconds a huge box full of fire wood was handed over to me with the message to burn as much as I could. He asked if I had any tender to start the fire. Unprepared as I was, I didn’t. He grabbed his axe and started chopping down some of the wood.

Very grateful I thanked him a lot and started making the fire. My inner Bear Grills came out and within a couple of minutes we had our fire up and running. I pulled out the flask I received from some friends in Holland and during the crackling sound of the bum fire the taste of whiskey made the ending of the day, and with this also the trip, legendary! 

The last day it was basically driving home. Saying goodbye was hard, but we had a great time and with a smile in my heart I saw him driving off.

To be continued!!!

p.s. Small update for some recent events:

I finished all the lectures last week and now I am in a week full of exams. I really enjoyed all the courses and thanked all my profs for the great experience and the possibility of having me in their lectures. I’ve made 2 exams this week and I will have my last final this Monday. After my holidays will start and I will have a bit more time to write! I will definitely keep you guys posted J

X

Iori