Island Yacht Club - 9 kilometres walked, 3 miles in dinghy
I began the day with a walk around the island, Mugg's Island it's called, and spans 18 acres of mainly wildlife sancturary, including the resident peacock couple Conrad and Bella. The last time we visited here they were strutting around with a number of baby peacocks so I was hoping to find them, or at least traces of them in the form of collectible feathers.
I walked the island, enjoying the peaceful trails, and a sense of tranquility, which is odd considering the close proximity to the largest city in Canada. I did not find the peacocks nor any of their feathers, but I did come across two healthy and large garter snakes, one which had very recently consumed a sizeable rodent, still lumped in the snake like a blocked colon.
Our friends Dave and Kira arrived in Toronto and I took the dinghy across to collect them from a dock at the Harbourfront Centre. They had joined us in Bahamas for an incredible week exploring the islands of Eleuthera back in February and were rejoining the crew of SeaLight again, even if it was only for a day.
There were no grand plans for the day so we improvised by visiting in SeaLight's cockpit for a while, then moved down into the cabin as the outside temperature skyrocketed. I hadn't spent any time with them since returning back from the trip so there was plenty to catch up on.
After a hastily thrown together lunch we walked to the pool, enjoyed a cold drink on the shaded outdoor couches, then soaked for a very long time in the cool water. Daryl and Lydia and Zach arrived and we watched Zach swim around in his inflatable swimming device with a huge smile on his face. The Island Yacht Club pool is a rare gem as the pool area is surrounded by mature trees, lending shade to the loungers and outdoor furniture, and soaking up some of the heat. We were also lucky to be there on a weekday when it is far less busy than on the weekends.
We took the long route back to the boat, traversing the island trails, and lucked out when Dave spotted one of the magnificent peacocks hiding in the shade beneath a dry-docked sailboat. Dave and I kicked the bird back and forth between us like a soccer ball for a while, hoping it would relinquish some of its luxurious feathers, but the plumage held fast. I even did a Pele-styled bicycle kick, sending it rocketing into the side of a weathered 1972 Hughes sailboat, from which it bouced right back and the bird stabbed its sharp pecker right into my forearm in retaliation. We left it alone after that and returned to the boat featherless.
Team SeaLight cooked a remakable dinner together - a luxurious vegetable and shrimp stir fry, pink tuna steaks cooked to perfection in ginger, soy and spice marinade, fresh bread, and a lively cucumber salad, with the cucs originating from the Germann-Hind's own garden. It was a tremendously satisfying meal.
At 7 pm we boarded the ferry and took a ride into Toronto. We first stopped at the Toronto Music Garden for a free public performance from a virtuoso piano player named John Kameel Farah. The waterfront park was full of people enjoying the show and we stayed for a few songs then walked westward then up Bathurst Street to the Stackt Market.
Stackt is a groovy, relatively new urban shopping and entertainment hub built on the grounds of an icky iron smelting plant, later paved over into a bleak parking lot. On the grounds are a series of shipping containers transformed into chic boutique shops, eateries, and drinkeries plus a huge Blue Moon beer hall, a stage, and public art. With the dark skies threatening storms, it was not as busy as usual and after wandering the entire grounds we grabbed a rounds of drinks and a large bowl of Haydn's acai, fro-yo, and ice cream covered in Dave's Eclectic Assortment of caramel, chocolate, almonds, jelly bears, nougat and a bunch of other unidentifiable sugar bombs.
We did not have a long time to linger in Toronto as the last ferry back to the island left at 9:20, so from here we made a quick stop at the Loblaws to pick up a couple of food items, including a sailor-made package of Parmesan cheese rinds for three bucks that held just enough cheese on them to scrape off into budget salads and poorhouse pork ends. As I was fumbling for my credit card at the self-serve checkout, Dave deftly passed his own card over the scanner and paid for it. I abused him verbally for minutes for his uncalled for subterfuge. Now, he's probably going to expect a coating of Parmesan over all the future meals we serve.
The skies were alight with lightning strikes as we wandered back to the waterfront and laid down on the grass to watch the aerial display. I tried my best to capture one of the dazzling strikes but all I got was clouds.
It soon started to pour rain so we hurried back to the ferry pick-up location and piled into the rain shelter to wait for our ride. I again tried to get a lightning photo but missed it every time, though some of the shots were decent.
The ferry arrived right on time and took us back to the club where we hustled back to the boat, had a little snack and a chat then called it a day.
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