On Jan 3, 2003 we left winter in Canada and traveled to the South Pacific to
authenticate our book, West of Wisdom. The goal was to travel through the
islands on the Aranui, an interisland freighter. We took a train to Albany
and left our heavy winter clothes with Ed's cousin Jane. We flew to California
and left more clothes with Morton Jones, another cousin. The flight to Tahiti
was over miles of ocean, then over scattered islands which we tried to trace on
our charts. On Bora Bora and Moorea we stayed in elegant huts made of woven
pandanus leaves and walked out the door to swim in crystal clear water.
The air and water were so warm we found it hard to believe it was still cold back in Canada.
The Aranui carried 80 passengers through the mountainous Marquesa Islands, but its main job was to supply the islands. Airplane fuel in barrels was floated to the beach close to the airport. Trucks, cars, mattresses, food, goats, horses, and passengers were off-loaded by whale boat onto concrete docks that offered minimal protection from the ocean swells. We traveled through the low atolls of the Tuamotus and on to the high mountains of the Marquesa Islands. In these beautiful islands, the friendly people are proud of their heritage.
Our French is minimal, but with a mix of hand signals and laughter we communicated effectively. They express their tradition in beautiful dances with beckoning hands and swaying hips.
On the way back, in February, we stayed with cousin Morton and Maxine in Southern California. The land of perpetual spring with camellias blooming a riot of color. It rained in Death Valley.
Then back to snow, snow, and more snow in Albany, NY to be with cousin Jane and Lou. On another island, Manhattan, we visited son Bruce and family and knocked at the doors of some publishers.
Mid-march found us back in Baddeck where the lake was frozen 2 feet thick and cars and trucks were crossing on the ice.
Sadly, Wendy's brother died in April after a long illness. He was so much fun and will be missed terribly. Wendy flew to Florida to visit with Marianne, her sister-in-law. On the way, she stopped in Atlanta to enjoy the May flowers and visit her two sons.
At last summer came to the north on June 15 and brought four months of good sailing. We launched Spaceship and the marina mechanic did a super job on the engine which had been leaking fuel.
August found us sailing around Cape Breton. At Ballantyne Cove a 700 pound blue fine tuna was sold for $12,000.00 and flown to Japan. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence we sailed to PEI and then on to the Magdelene Islands which being part of Quebec, are delightfully French. The people were friendly and very helpful, a man drove us to the grocery store. There was a rowing contest, a tent with everyone sharing tables and eating mussels. We soaked up an afternoon in the Le Pas Perdus, a pub with an internet cafe, a library, some artists, as well as pizza and beer.
We motor-sailed to Newfoundland with little wind. The purring engine spoiled us, so when we headed back to Cape Breton Island, we motored against a strong wind rather than wait for a fair breeze. You guessed it, as we entered the passage into the Bras d'Or lakes, we ran out of fuel in a narrow channel with a fast tidal current and no wind to sail by -- we were in trouble! Jack Allen came in his fishing boat and towed us to a commercial dock, filled our tanks with diesel and restarted the starved engine. What wonderful people up here.
Except for the near miss of hurricane Juan, we had a beautiful fall with flowers everywhere, warm lake sailing and waterside walks until Halloween when it snowed.
With our third winter bearing down on us we hauled Spaceship, people switched from cutting their grass to walking their dogs, the tourists left the streets empty, shops closed for the season and we settled in.
What do we do in the winter besides shovel snow? We went to a dinner theater to see "Aunt Jane's Last Supper" where a large bag of pepper is confused with Aunt Jane's ashes. Guess who spiced the church meal. What a riot, and we enjoyed the dinner too. "Christmas in November" is an annual community carol sing. The Lions Club served a lasagna dinner at the Yacht Club party room, and Christmas carols at the Catholic church brought out the whole town.
We are looking out our window at six months of winter winds and a frozen lake. As mother nature covers our view with a blanket of snow, we wish you good health and happiness in the years ahead.
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