Home for the night: Driftwood Beach Cottage!
Distance: 0 kms
Weather: overcast to start the day, calm and peaceful. Clearing to sunny and hot, eventually socking in with thick fog
B: granola, coffee, apple sauce
L: sardines on toasted crumpets and WATERMELON!
D: tofu curry on rice with quinoa chocolate, tea
a day to be still
mind and body are at peace
sofas are the BEST!!
No early morning storm on the beach this time! Nothing but gray tranquility and just enough of a gentle breeze to make laying in my tent very pleasant. Two hours went by...I'm always amazed at how long I can simply lay still for, awake, happy and content to let whatever lazy thoughts surface come and go. Knowing that I could have easily been incinerated if the day started off sunnily, I was grateful to simply rest.
The sun started to cut through the clouds eventually and I went about my morning as slowly as I wanted. A nice change! Nowhere to go, nothing in particular to do. I made breakfast on a fire....the beach is made out of an incredible amount of wood that is believed to come as far away as New York. It washes up on the beach and winter storms pile it into a natural wall, protecting the land behind.
I wandered the beach, the pebbles massaging my tired feet from the hike. I swam, I wrote in my journal. Having built in a rest day was a very wise move on my part, and I relished how simple my day was.
Knowing Harish and Monica were saving a cottage for me, I went to see if I could charge my phone and move my stuff. I battled with myself a little bit about how indulgent it seemed, sleeping inside...a shower, sofas, lights, the whole nine yards...but it would give me a chance to wash/fix some things and catch up on communications/logistics for the Fundy Footpath part of my trip.
My little home was ready and I had that same experience as a kid in the rare occasions we would stay in a hotel. Check the entire place out, from stem to stern...open all of the cupboards, look at the funny art on the walls and wander around trying to decide what to do first. There was a whole stack of plates! And mugs! And frying pans, a kettle and my most cherished: a TOASTER. I love toast. So much...and I had a pack of crumpets to eat!
I plugged everything in and spread my junk out all over the floor. I hadn't noticed how stinky it all was until I found myself inside...where everything was very, very clean. I opened all of the windows. I realized as well that I was in the very same state as all of my gear and headed for the shower.
Squeaky clean and ready to eat lunch, a knock at the door announced Harish and a bowl of watermelon for me. I could have cried!! What a treat. I would loved to be eating salads and fresh everything, but all of the food I had organized ahead of time had to be stable enough to sit for almost two weeks with no refrigeration. I also could have gone in search of food in Advocate, 4 kms away but I felt more strongly about not moving than I did about salad.
I gobbled everything down in the shade of the deck. I was feeling a little crispy from being on the beach, but felt like I couldn't go inside on such a beautiful day. The fog rolled in, right on cue, dropping the temperature ten degrees and sending me inside for a blanket. And THEN my butt made contact with the sofa and there it remained for most of the rest of the evening. I drank gallons of tea, enjoying how simple it is to fill a kettle and flick a switch.
I digested my food wrapped in a blanket and reflected on my journey so far. So many sights, people, emotions and little gifts along the way. This whole region is quite special, and the presence of the Bay truly sets the rhythm of life. Even if you're not one who fishes for a living, there is a constant awareness of what the tide and weather are doing. I've started noticing a correlation to Great Blue Herons flying out to the mud flats at low tide. Several of them, hoarsely "gonking" overhead seem to head offshore at the same point in the tidal cycle. I'm realizing that I've spent enough nights by the shore to see these patterns...and it feels amazing to be this deep into the trip.
Eventually it was time for bed and after a long, hot soak in the tub I crawled into a cottony cloud of comfort. A quilt on the bed, a breeze blowing through the window and a clean body sent me off to dreamland in pure bliss. A lone coyote howled not far off and the fog dripped off the metal roof onto the pebbles around the cottage. I couldn't have been happier if I tried.
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