Instant Holiday

 

Photograph: Porpoise Bay by Kenneth McMillan

On a warm Sunday morning we discover it is not necessary to travel miles away or spend lots of money to find beauty and adventure. We lashed our bright yellow ‘Clipper’ canoe to the roof our car, packed a lunch and headed to Porpoise Bay, just minutes out of town.  Only four other people are on the beach as we unload our canoe and pile vests, paddles and our lunch into it. Low tide, wet, cold sand feels good on our bare feet as we carry the canoe to the edge of the sea. Canada geese on shore cheer the launching and several young ones paddle out to escort us on our way.

Dip and push, we glide noiselessly over clear emerald water, paddles rippling the calmness. Giant kelp fronds hang just below the surface, drooping like flags from ball-like floats. With my paddle I point to an unusual bed of kelp in the distance, like a black partially submerged log attached to a kelp float. We glide closer, quietly slide near and see it is a young seal wrapped in ribbons of kelp, anchored like a buoy, sleeping in the sun. The bow of the canoe touches its tail as we slip past. With a splash and grunt of disgust at our insolence it vanishes into the depths.

Loons call, seeming to enjoy their own eerie echoes. We slide over mirrored images of Mount Richardson and seem transported out of our own back yard into a beautiful and unfamiliar world. Our bodies relax as we breathe in salt air to the rhythm of our paddles.

Returning home as sun blankets the mountains in gold and pink, we feel like we have been on holiday, even though all we spent was our time and the energy to climb out of our usual rut to explore our own backyard.

©Sharron R. McMillan