Nature trail, chocolates, and deer!

We arrive Gore Bay July 18 and plan to stay three nights. What a great stop for transient boaters. It is at the end of a V-shaped, two-mile deep inlet set into the north shore of Manitoulin Island. The marina can accommodate 157 boats at the floating finger docks.

The amenities here far exceed our expectations, with a marine store, two beaches, museum, chocolate factory, craft brewery, and restaurant all on site! A grocery store, shops and five restaurants are within walking distance of our slip.

Young children and teens attend a sailing school on the beach. Canadian Yacht Charters is on site and offers power and sail charters and water sport rentals.

Renie Noble Nature Trail

The boardwalk through the marsh at the bottom end of the bay provides a wonderful opportunity to view local bird and animal life. This is yet another example of how Canada takes such special care of nature’s habitats.

Along the boardwalk are signs explaining local species of fish and birds.

The rain subsides and we enjoy a walk around the water, by the Inn, up the road, and into the woods. We eventually end up at the lookout point.

The photos do not do the scenery justice.

We meet a couple with a five-year-old boy who live in Holland. They are visiting the wife’s family as she is from Ontario. She moved to Holland to complete her PhD in Governance and Sustainability. She fell in love with a Dutch boy, got married, and now is a professor at a university. Captain Pat strikes up a conversation with the husband and I with the wife.

Her voice intrigues me. I’m always amazed by those who speak various languages. I have a hard enough time speaking English.

“Do you speak Dutch?” I ask.

“Yes. But I teach my classes in English.”

“How old is your little boy?”

“He is five. We needed to get him on a hike, to burn off some energy.”

“He is tall for five!”

“Not in Holland. Holland is known for having the tallest people in the world.”

I didn’t know this about the Dutch. When I think of Holland, I think of tulips, windmills, wooden shoes.

“Do you like living in Holland?”

“It has its pros and cons. Every country does. We don’t have access to this!” She waves her hands over the water below. “There isn’t this type of countryside.”

She proceeds to tell me there is a housing crisis in Holland and that Holland is the most densely populated country in the world. I look this up later and confirm “the total land area of the Netherlands is 33,720 square kilometers, giving it a population density of 508 people per square kilometer. This makes the Netherlands the most densely populated in the EU and one of the most densely populated in the world.”

Students can’t find places to live. She and her husband lived “off the grid” in a solar house for two years after their son was born. He got very used to not wearing clothes!

She is concerned with a recent law enacted that requires professors to teach a certain percentage of their classes in Dutch. This was passed under the influence of the Nationalists. She thinks this will lower educational standards and threaten recruitment of qualified talent for both students and professors.

She says the hardest thing about living in Holland is being away from her family. I can only imagine being an ocean and countries away from your family. It’s difficult having family in Arizona and Kentucky and New Hampshire.

As Dorothy says to Toto: “There really is no place like home.”

Visit from Steve

Captain Pat discovers he needs to replace the 12 volt DC (direct current) to DC chargers to the lithium batteries. Steve, a mechanic from Harbour West Marine, drives 4 ½ hours from Penetanguishene to our boat in Gore Bay. He replaces the chargers and confirms that one of our starting batteries is not working. That will require a replacement, probably at Drummond Island in the States. We appreciate Steve taking the time to make this repair.

Purvis Fisheries

Everyone has told us about Purvis Fish & Chips restaurant, which we can see from our boat. We know the fish is fresh. The Purvis fishing boat leaves from the marina every day.

It’s always a good night when we eat out and the Admiral doesn’t have to cook in the galley. The fish and chips here are the best we’ve ever had, and we even have leftovers to take home.

Chocolate Factory

Captain Pat surprises the Admiral and walks her to Finnia Chocolate Factory, located at the end of the marina by the craft brewery. Finnia Chocolates is a ‘bean-to-bar’ chocolate confectioner crafting specialty chocolates.

https://www.finniachocolate.shop/

We meet the owner, Lisa Beth, who is watering the herbs that go into making the chocolate.

Lisa Beth is quite charming, offering us samples of her exotic chocolate bars. It is like a wine tasting. She explains each one and the tastes she is trying to conjure up. She says the company is named after her two children – Finn and Fia. She resides on a farm with her accountant husband and there are always tales to tell. Just this morning he was trying to ring a chicken’s neck until she intervened! We are impressed with her gift of gab and her entrepreneurial skills. We leave with a nice sampling of her products.

Oh Deer!

The highlight of this marina visit isn’t the chocolate though. It is the tame deer roaming the property. When we arrive a boater tells us to be on the lookout early morning and at dusk.

Sure enough, we sight one on our hike through the nature trail. Even better – I spot one on my way to the showers, our last night. She stares right into my face. Unphased, she just resumes munching on the bushes.

The townspeople aren’t too happy with the deer as they eat the garden vegetables and flowers. But to me they are so innocent and fragile.

Here are more photos from our visit at Gore Bay: