Woke up at my usual time this morning – just before 6, though I had also woken up at 2 and read for a while. A bit into the morning, Rod asked me what I’d like for breakfast – oatmeal, cream of wheat, or granola. A bit of reflection and I responded, “It feels like a cream of wheat day” and Rod replied, “Me too.” Of course, on Quijote, food is never quite that simple, so it was cream of wheat with two kinds of berries, yoghurt, banana, and something else which I don’t remember now.
A bit later in the morning we rowed the dinghy over to the dock for a hike up the waterfalls. Unfortunately, I’ve let myself go, and only made it about 1/4 of the way before starting to feel a little lightheaded and told Rod to go ahead, I was turning back. It turned out to be a good idea as I was fatigued enough to get a little sloppy on the way down, 1/2 rolling my ankle. I can’t imagine how sloppy I’d have been if I had pushed myself to go to the top.
I started a timer to wait for Rod, deciding that if he wasn’t back within 4 hours, I would see about either going up to look for him or sending up a search party.
While waiting, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the docks and the fire lodge. I also got to talk to a charming couple who had been coming here for years and were now in their 80s, plus two tour guides doing boat tours. One, a charming young lady from New Zealand was here on a work permit, and another captain, a more leathered gentleman. They both talked about what it was like to be a tour captain here, and the young lady also encouraged me to visit New Zealand as well.
Rod made it back after a few hours, so no need to send in the cavalry, and I rowed us back to Quijote. While rowing, a cruiser came along, dropped anchor and started to back into us. It was a bit concerning and we got a lungful of their exhaust, but no contact, no foul, right?
Climbing aboard Quijote, I was drenched in sweat, for it was a warm day, so a dip in the water was definitely on the agenda, despite the warning about jellyfish at the dock. It was a bit cooler than I remembered, but still a welcome refreshment.
Nap time in the afternoon – about three hours worth, and then dinner, left overs from yesterday. Both Rod and I gorged ourselves as it wasn’t really going to be enough remaining to make a meal plus there really wasn’t room in the refrigerator to put the pot.
Tomorrow is going to be a very lazy start as we can’t get out of Malibu Rapids until approximately noon. That’s an hour away, so we are anchors up approximately 10:30. After the rapids it’s approximately 8 hours of travel time, so I’ll be making dinner while in transit and we’ll eat on the go. It won’t really leave much time to enjoy Thunder Bay, but according to Rod, there’s really not much to it anyway. It’s merely convenient.
We are 5 days/4 nights from Campbell River where we’ll restock and then turn south for a faster trip back to Seattle.
Oh, did I mention that we’re sharing this inlet with not only a few other boaters, but also at least one humpback. The fluke size says that it’s a juvenile, and the pectoral fin is too long for an Orca. Humpbacks are the only other whale species that I know frequent these waters. We’ve seenit lifting the flukes out of the water and the pectoral fin, but not any of the aerial acrobatics that are so exciting to watch.
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