Day 26: Rennie to Kenora (96.5 km)

It’s so hot. Too hot.

The heat was making me wilt like an unloved pot plant. I was just laying out my towel in the shade at the side of the highway when the pick up pulls up. We don’t want to hitchhike. But we wander over anyway to the wound down window

“You know just 3-4km ahead the lakes begin. My house is right by the lake and you’re welcome to swim off the dock.”

This sort of thing has happened again and again in Canada. It’s all going downhill (in everything except the literal sense) and then a friendly Canadian pops up, offers us something amazing and the days turns around again. Today this man’s kind offer (and waterslide) saved us from wilting in the soaring mid-30s heat. Tumbling in from the waterslide instantly rejuvenated me.

The “look” for Ontario is this: swim suit, sunglasses, deep tan lines on leg and cleats. It’s a style.

Milan called. They want their fashionista back.

Swimming is apparently good for my knee. As is cold. In Ontario that essentially equates to swimming in cool lakes. Oh yes, did I mention I’m now in Ontario?

You could tell it’s Ontario even without the signpost because of the change of scenery. Gone is the flat, agricultural land. We are now cycling through the forest on endlessly undulating land. The cycling is quite challenging but much more enjoyable than Manitoba (thanks to decent tarmac). There are more bugs, more birds, more… Life. I think I could enjoy Ontario.

Province number 5

After a long splash in the lake the heat of the day had cooled off. We still had 30km to go to Kenora. It was approaching dusk as we whizzed over the steel bridge into Kenora in a tangerine light that illuminated the lakes around us.

We arrived not at the campsite but at the pub. It had been a long, hot day and we needed beer. We pulled up at campsite just before 11pm and for the first time on this trip pitch our tents in the dark.