North America 2022 : Saturday September 10 Day 12 Lakes, Islands and Ottawa

It was cool in the morning when we got up, but we decided to have breakfast outside in the garden anyway. We had a boat cruise organised for later that morning leaving from Gananoque, 20km or so down the river, so we had to get moving.

A better photo of the B&B

With the car packed we left early and drove around Kingston a bit, checking out some of the sights we’d seen the previous day again, before heading off to the boat.

We found a parking place in Gananoque and went for a walk prior to cruise time. It was a lovely little town. We hadn’t stayed there the previous night because the accommodation was way too expensive. We had about an hour to kill before the boat left so a quiet walk in the morning sunshine gave us a look at the local marina and a chat with a local Lions Club setting up for a sausage sizzle (though they didn’t call it that) associated with a public event happening on the green later that day.

But it was the 3-hour boat cruise – and we heard all of the Gilligan’s Island jokes – that we were looking forward to. I’m no sure if there were a thousand islands in the area, there were certainly a lot. The commentary on the boat informed us that the definition of an island was a piece of land that stayed, mostly, above water, was at least 1 sq foot in area and had a tree growing on it. The analyst side of my brain wanted a definition of a tree, but I figured it best not to ask that question.

We meandered through the islands along the various water channels that form that part of the St Lawrence River, straying over into US waters from time to time, gawking at the houses dotted on the islands, some big and some small – both houses and islands.

And before long we were back at our starting point and disembarking. It had been very informative, giving us a view of a way of life we were unfamiliar with and were never likely to experience. Capitalism run rampant? Most certainly.

Then it was off to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, where we aimed to stay for a couple of days. We checked into the hotel, and then took a wander down towards the centre of town where we had a pleasant drink in the bar of the Fairmont Hotel. Expensive? Yes, but an excellent way to finish the day, especially when it was topped off with a walk through the central market area.

Day 4 driving map: