Day 67-68 2nd year. July 27-28. On to Killarney and Covered Portage and Lay Day at anchor. 11 miles. Total miles 3634
After raining most of the evening, we woke to a beautiful sunny day to weigh anchor and visit the small town of Killarney. As we turned north out of Collins Inlet, the La Cloche Mountains dominate the view to the northeast.
Traveling along the coastline we came to the Killarney lighthouse which marks the entrance to the Killarney channel.
Along the channel we slowed to take in all the sites. First is the largest paddle in the world and the Killarney Mountain Lodge. Here Jody and Mike who were traveling with us, stopped to take a slip. They will join us for lunch later.
The rest of the channel is filled with a few cottages but mostly marinas and four stores/restaurants each with their own dock. The cottagers all come to town by boat and tie up to the store dock or the public dock to get supplies in town.
We pulled into the liquor store dock(LCBO) to wait for a fishing boat to leave the larger dock behind Herbert’s Fisheries. After they pulled away we moved up to tie to the restaurant dock.
We are here early, so we wandered around the small town and got groceries at the General Store before having lunch. Managed to get the few things I needed at the small store and got my letters mailed.
Herbert’s opens at 11:00 so we were their third customers, ordering fish and chips their speciality.
After lunch we walked with Jody and Mike back to their marina to check out the lodge and all the amenities. The conference center at the lodge is a true log structure
Also checked out the lodge lobby with its large fireplace and moose head!
The lodge has its own helicopter and sea plane. Unfortunately the sea plane was out but Bill had to take the opportunity to investigate the helicopter.
And also found the large paddle. Even met the craftsman, Mike Ranta, that made the paddle. He posed for pictures and we enjoyed listening to the why and how he created the paddle. The paddle was to publicity for the town, Killarney, and to raise money for a youth camp and school.
The lodge also had a very large Rockman!!
After our tour of the lodge was over we walked back to the boat, saying good bye to Jody and Mike. We left the dock and stopped further down the Killarney Channel to top off the fuel tank.
Next we headed out to find our anchorage at Covered Portage . As we left the Killarney Channel, the La Cloche Mountains loomed up before us and the Partridge Island lighthouse guided us past some rocky shoals and into Killarney Bay. The waters are now green and clear so you can see about 20 feet down into the water.
We traveled up the bay and headed into the Covered Portage Cove. Was very crowded in the inner harbor, but we managed to anchor near a Canadian couple we met previously, Tim and Gina. This cove is almost totally surrounded by white limestone and granite cliffs which are up to 90 feet tall.
There is a trail to the top of the cliff that surrounds the cove and that is what we tackled next.
Here are some drone shots.
Day 68 Lay Day in Covered Portage
Slept in and did some chores, before we met up with Jody and Mike who joined us in the anchorage. We decided to hike up the trial again with intrepid Bill leading the way. Enjoyed the panoramic views and exercise. The white granite cliffs and forests are amazing.
