Tobermory

We're back from our 4 day trip to Tobermory. We set out Monday morning for the 3 hour drive. The traffic was fantastic as Monday was the last day of the long weekend, so everybody was on their way back to the city leaving us with an open road. I had booked our hotel room in advance after exploring it on the Internet. It was one of the largest room they had, with a kitchenette that included a stove, fridge, microwave, toaster and a coffee maker. We had 2 double beds and a pull out couch. I think the room was originally designed to suit 6 people. The reason why I picked this hotel was because it had a balcony with a gorgeous view of the harbour.
Peter and I spent our evenings sitting out there watching the sunset and the boats coming in for the night. The next day we booked a cruise to visit 2 local attractions. The first one was to visit the remains of a sunken ship that was visible from the surface. Our boat had a glass bottom for better viewing. The ship was located in a bay that was surrounded by enormous sized cottages and equally large private boats.
We also got to see the lighthouse and many more small islands. The second attraction was the famous Flowerpot Island. It was named that because of the 2 huge flowerpot shaped formations that stood on its shore. We were dropped off at the island so we could explore it on foot. We set out on a 5 km hiking trail that took us deep into the forest. There we discovered several observation decks, a cave, a carpet of rare flowers, squirrels, chipmunks and a small snake. We visited the lighthouse and the lighthouse keeper's residence.
Behind the house we found the coolest washroom in the world. Its window had an unobstructed view of Lake Huron and its many islands as far as the eye could see. They called it "A loo with a view". From there we walked down to inspect one of the flowerpots and see how it was formed hundreds of years ago, when it was still under water. What made this place even more special was knowing that there were only 6 of us on the entire island. It was just us in the huge forest, enjoying the peacefulness of undisturbed nature, green trees, wild animals and the chrystal-clear water surrounding us. After getting to the end of the long trail we were picked up by a small, but really fast boat called The Zodiac that took us back to the harbour. That evening we had dinner at a pub close by, then watched the sunset from our balcony. The next day we decided to go for another little walk, a second 5 km trail on the main land.
On this trail, we had the opportunity to observe the lake from a few different "outlook points". It was beautiful from all angles. This adventure also included a visit to a museum and a short movie about how the scenery became as magnificent as it is today. Later that day I went out to a different part of the harbour to wait for the arrival of the M. S. Che-Cheemaun.
A short wait after it'd arrived on time and I was able to capture the offloading process of its cargo. It is a ferry that travels between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island, a 30 mile route, which takes less than 2 hours. It's capable of carrying 143 vehicles in its belly and 638 passengers. It has a restaurant on board, a large open air viewing deck, and an elegant air conditioned lounge as well. The bow part slowly opened up as it approached the harbour to allow vehicles to disembark. That evening we had dinner at a small restaurant, where we had the opportunity to try the famous local delicacy, whitefish from Georgian Bay. For best flavour, they had the fishermen bring in the new catch every morning. It was very delicious. We spent our last evening watching the sunset from our balcony again, reviewing pictures taken, and talking about our adventures and experiences on this trip.