A Short Getaway: Tumbo and Cabbage Islands

 

In my last post I wrote about my longing to travel, especially to France. The culture and the history of Western Europe and the British Isles are astounding, but I live in an amazing part of the world, too. On this recent long weekend, Tim and I set off to explore part of it in our "hippie boat", as we call it. It's an old boat, imported from Sweden in the 1970s, and it's sturdy and reliable and completely lacking in glamour, but it allows us access to some incredible sights.

Once we push off from the dock, it's as if we leave our daily lives behind. All the things to think about drop away, for there is nothing that can be done about them while we're bobbing on the ocean. The essential ingredients for a good getaway are the two of us, the boat, good food, water (both salt and fresh), and land for hiking. Sunny weather is always appreciated and we had two days of that. 

Our destination was Tumbo and Cabbage Island Provincial Marine Park, about 3.5 hours at our 7-knot speed. From this little park we could see, far away across the Strait of Georgia, the ferry terminal and seaport of Vancouver (Tsawwassen). The islands are connected by a reef that is covered at high tide. We anchored in Reef Cove, a bit surprised at all the boats already there. It was a long weekend, and although we are still restricted to travel within our own health region, people just want to go somewhere, and with boating it's easy to be physically distant. I've written about this place before here. 

On Saturday morning we took the little dinghy to the rock where a yellow rope hangs down from a tree to mark the start of the trail. This island was home to a lot of dreamers over the years, as well as to the First Nations people who fished in these waters. Farmers and miners tried to make a life here, but in the end, the islands became parkland and are left to drowse in the sunlight, or to lie stoic against the wind and rain. 

We walked from one end of the island to the other, around the marsh and cleared farmland, then back along the trail to the dinghy. We take our time, stopping to look at interesting sights, to talk, and to admire the views. 

A long curving beach marks the south end of the island and here a large river otter made short work of a fish he'd caught. 

In the field an abandoned horse-drawn disc is left to rust. While we were talking about it, 

a deer leaped out of the brush and bounded across the field, not even noticing us. Something had startled him and we assume it was a dog for boaters bring their dogs to walk on the shore. 

Around the abandoned farmhouse, a huge rosemary plant threatens to engulf the structure. I think of the woman who planted rosemary there beside the kitchen door, and wonder what became of her. Several old wooden rowboats lie crumbling, nurseries for trees that have grown up through them. More witness to discarded dreams. After several hours of walking we return to the boat ready for a late lunch and a relaxing couple of hours with a good book. On this trip I read "Three Women and a Boat" by Anne Youngson, and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Last time we visited Cabbage Island we noticed an eagle's nest high in a tree overlooking the water. It was occupied again this year by just one eaglet. We watched the mother swoop in and begin to feed her baby, probably with some gruesome thing we don't want to know about. Bald-headed eagles are quite common here, sitting in trees or swooping down in search of prey. 

In the evening we grill something on our little boat barbecue and watch the sunset over the islands to the west. It's truly relaxing and we never get bored. 

I know a lot of my readers explore their own backyards and write about them on their blogs. I always enjoy seeing the different ways of recreation we all experience.