Day 5: June 30, 2011; Distance covered today: 50 km; Distance so far: 353 km.
I woke up many times, shivering with cold. Normally, when you are tired, you wish for a long hours of rest, a long night, but I was cursing the long night: "Why is this f... night so long?"
When it got bright enough to see outside, I crawled out of my tent and made breakfast--not because I was hungry, but because I was cold. After breakfast, I tried to rest for a while, but I had to get going. So, I packed and sneaked out of the bush. then, I went to the Visitor's Center. There was a museum there. They showed me a documentary on Bruise Peninsula. Afterwards, I took a hike in one of their trails. There was a short and a long trail. I took the longer one. It took me two hours to complete it.
After the Visitor's Center, I went downtown to take a ferry to Flower Pot Island. I missed the boat by one minute! So I went to the Princess Hotel to eat Soflaki which Mahyar had strongly suggested. I ordered a beer, a salad and a Suflaki. I had just started my salad when I saw a long hair in it. I wanted to call out for the waitress and ask her to change it, but I didn't. I ate half of the salad, and then I called her. She apologized and came back with another full plate. I am sure she would have trashed the salad had I not eaten the half.
After lunch, I went to Flower Pot Island. It was really beautiful. The rock formations on the shoreline were stunning. I completed the hike to the lighthouse and back very fast and had a lot of time for myself to sit by the Flower Pots and relax my feet in the pristine cool water.
It was about 3:30 when our boat ducked back in Tobermory. I decided to get going. So I bought two bananas, some water, some muffins, some yoghurt, and hit the road. The wind was not so bad so I soon riched Lion's Head where I checked the only campground. It was disappointing--crowded, small, noisy, with no privacy. I decided to see the possibility of bush camping, somewhere close to Bruise Trail. I biked to the trail , but I couldn't find even one small clearance to pitch up my tent. As I was wheeling my bike on the trail looking for a spot, the mosquitoes where eating me alive. I was slapping my face, head, laps, everywhere for the bites. At the end, I escaped the trial. I had gone into the trail for quite a distance, but no dice. As I was giving up and debating on the camping in the horrible campground, I stopped to check one narrow path diverted from the trail into the forest. It lead me to a farm, and there I saw a possible spot for my tent. It was a private property, but I had no other choice. I had less than 2 hours of daylight.
Now, in the sanctuary of my tent, I am away from the blood suckers, satisfied with my gourmet food with yoghurt and lots of tea. Apart from that, I have a minor stomach bug, which is normal among cyclist.
I so much need to get some sleep tonight. I hope it is not cold.
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