Thursday, 22 June 2006

A "rest" day at Ingonish Beach

I allowed myself the luxury of a lie-in until 6:30, but wouldn't have been able to stay in the tent too long after this anyway as this was when the sun first hit the tent, and with no clouds to weaken its strength it would soon be too hot inside. From the campsite I cycled the short distance to the start of the Franey Trail; this included a steep climb on a gravel road that I soon gave up trying to cycle - this is supposed to be a rest day dammit!

There was no respite from the mosquitoes on the trail. Again I had to cover up in spite of the heatbut I soon felt like a human pin-cushion as it seems they can easily bite through any thin clothing. At one point I turned aroound to see a cloud of dozens of them behind me, their wings glinting in the sunlight, like a squadron of little fighter planes. I ran.

The trail climbs from 95 to 430 metres and once again there was plenty of evidence of moose, but no moose in the flesh. From the top of the trail there were some great views of the Clyburn River Valley and out to the Atlantic Ocean shimmering under the low morning sun. The trail forms a loop that takes about 3 hours to walk.

I leapt on the bike to escape the mosquitoes, then headed to the libray to type in my long-winded blog. Cathy and John arrived to do their blog too. It's amazing how much seeing a familiar face can cheer you up. By now it was early afternoon - I don't know where all the time goes to. I had a less strenuous afternoon; I visited the Ingonish Beach (too windy) and toured the Freshwater Lake Trail, and then in the evening I cycled out to Middle Head and hiked the trail there. The sun was getting low and the day was cooling down, so the mosquitoes were getting active. Any spot not covered with DEET would get bitten. They can even land on you hand while your walking along, arms swinging, and start biting. Brutal.

I had picked a campsite out in the open as I think this is better for avoiding the bugs, and there was enough breeze in the evening to make it bearable while cooking dinner. Later on I dropped in on John and Cathy in their RV for a social visit, sitting in comfort, and drinking English Breakfast tea that never tasted so good. I'm getting spoiled.

Distance: 30.3 km
Cycling time: 2:09
Total distance: 2231.0 km