Parry Sound to Hopewell Bay

August 4^th. Monday

We are enjoying our new way of travelling. Get up at 6am, coffee and breakfast per usual,  prepare the fly deck for leaving and pull the anchor…off we go! It is usually 7.15 - 7.40am by the time we ease our way out of the anchorage, and on the track to our next anchorage, which Waz has programmed the night before.

This morning we leave with grey skies and a report of threatened thunder storms, but the weather is going west to east, and we get only a small sprinkle of rain before coming out the other side of the shower into bright blue skies.

Waz washing down the anchor as we pull her up...a daily chore.

 Hazy out there...but the water was almost flat, again.

 This looks like my kind of kayaking! pedal-power.

This home is rather stunning.

 This one still being built. There was a road leading into this part of the country, so there were more homes and larger.

 

This doesn’t meant warmth, however, and we are similarly attired in our sweaters, scarves and long pants, as we were yesterday. Having the front windows open means we will get the wind, of course, but we don’t like to travel with them closed, due to visibility, so we put up with the cold. Waz hasn’t tested out his new jacket yet! We are heading into Fall, in the not so distant future, so I’m sure that will get a workout then.

There were plenty of fishermen out early on Parry Sound, whereas yesterday the only other soul on the water was an early kayaker.

Waz and I had been over the charts before starting the engines, so that I knew what to expect in the shallow/narrow/rocks, department, and I was well prepared today, without much fuss. Phew! I still handed the wheel over to him to go through these places….my confidence took a hit when we hit that prop bending rock….and I wasn’t trusting myself just yet. Silly, when I think about it, but that’s just the way it is. Confidence will return.

The scenery hadn’t changed much…more large cottages, some fantastic architecture and money where there are roads, we decided. We could see the infrastructure on the chart. Still lots of cottages on their own little islands, and we marveled at the annual trek made to these isolated places, but at the same time envious of their summer retreats.

We saw something…well, two somethings crossing the water in front of the boat…we originally thought it was birds, but there were too low in the water, or too small. We were surprised and delighted to see they were Otter playing and I was just a bit too slow with the camera to record their play, as we passed them. This is our first experience with them in the wild.

You can just see the tail of one of them at the bottom...the other dove under the water, on the right.

 

We are going in and out of the Small Craft Channel, to minimize our exposure to the really tight situations. We are still seeing plenty of places, and enjoying what we thought might be isolated anchorages…except that we keep being joined by others who think they are nice, tooJ

Waz has been very thoughtful in his planning through this area, careful not to avoid all the special places we might see and enjoy.

Leaving an anchorage so early means we have the rest of the day to enjoy the new one when we arrive three hours later. By 10.30 we were parked in Hopewell Bay…along with a small yacht. They got here first! By 4.30 there are four of us, and it is entirely possible that we will be joined by others before the light goes.

Going into Hopewell Bay...

 The Islands on our right were all privately owned, by the look of it.

 Look what we found in the bay!

 Parked already, and it is only 10.45am:)

 

We enjoyed a cup of loose leaf tea (real tea vs floor sweepings in a t-bag) and a re-heated cinnamon scone from the other morning at 10.45am. Morning tea was necessary as we were about to embark on an expedition.

 

Looking on the chart, we discovered that the bay extends beyond where we are parked into some very shallow water, that MAY have a way around into the next bay, and we were bent on proving that we could get there by dinghy.  Hmmmm….Looked better on paper than it was in actuality. The way around is crowded with reeds, and we had to turn back, dipping the oar into the water to prove it was deep enough for us to put the engine in drive. We could easily see the bottom!

 

We carefully rounded a corner into yet another bay with cottages on the rocks. Some of the situations they are in defy both logic and gravity

 

 

 

 

 

 Waz has the oar at the ready to check water depth, should we need to.

 

 This cottage was opposite the boat.

 

J Remember how the song goes….House built on rock foundation, will not stand, oh no!...I think Harry Belafonte sang that one. Sheesh...does that age me, or what? Lol.

I had prevailed so far in wanting to ‘slowly’ observe our surroundings, take photos of the rocks et al and just enjoy the ambience. Waz however had a twitch on the throttle and had to blatt out of the bay. Fellas! We spent a good hour exploring the little bays and then came home to make some lunch.

That roasted pork came in handy for his Ciabatta filled with meat and cole slaw, and my plate with the same minus the bun. Tasty! I cut up the Canteloupe I had been saving, and we had that for dessert. It was most fragrant and delicious. Perfectly ripe! This brought on a conversation about growing fruits…especially if we decide to settle ourselves in a warm climate. We will keep you in suspenders about the rest of the conversation on THAT topicJ

A nap was an imperative after so much excitement, and we both dozed for an hour…him upstairs and me down. The wind was a bit cool, and we both decided it was time to get up and get warm…tea time! Not only tea time, but I was craving something a little exciting to eat. I had unearthed some dates, the other day and they were sitting out on the counter waiting to be put away in a pantry drawer. I have always loved Date Loaf, and decided to make one. No recipe, and certainly no internet to check for one…how hard can it be? NOT! Baking basics are always the same.

1 stick of butter (1/4lb/120gms ) –soft

1 cup of brown sugar

Blend the two together to make them creamy.

Add

1 egg

Beat all three together well…I like to do this by hand, lifting the mixture to give it levity.

In a sep. bowl…place 1 cup of chopped dated with ½ cup of boiling water. Let stand and soften. Can add lemon zest if you like that.

Sift 1 cup flour, 1 tspn ground ginger (only if no lemon zest) , 1 tspn baking powder and ¼ tspn salt and mix together in a bowl.

Fold the flower mix a bit at a time into the butter/egg mix, until it is all integrated.

Mix half a tspn of baking soda into the date/water mix and mix together.

Add the date mixture to the other mixture and FOLD it all together, making sure to integrate it fully, without beating too hard.

Place the mix into a loaf pan, or as I did because I don’t have a loaf pan, a round cake pan.

Heat oven to 375F, and bake the cake/loaf until it bounces back when pressed lightly in the middle. Approx 30 mins for a loaf, and slightly less for the shallow cake pan. This is entirely subjective…so make sure to test the loaf/cake as suggested.

It requires no frosting. It can be eaten (cold) in slices (loaf) buttered, or as is (cake) in a wedge with some lightly whipped cream. Delish! Store in a cake tin or cover and place in the fridge. Warm slightly before serving, if you wish.

Chopped walnuts are also nice in this loaf.

 

We will sample the dessert after dinner with a cup of coffee, me thinx…and whipped cream, for sureJ

 

We have thoroughly enjoyed our anchorage, but wish the other boats were a little more thoughtful of each other…sounds carry so well, in these parts. It appears that some of the other boaters are here because they are travelling together. We hope they don’t party all night.

 

Time to go and enjoy the last of the sun on the fly deck and read a little more Scarpetta.

We are lucky with the weather…and moving on to Killarney tomorrow, all going well. We should be there for a couple of days. Laundry to do, supplies to purchase and the town to visit.

Ciao for now.