A Place of Harmony

That is the translation for 'Sointula'. Founded in the very early 1900's by a group of Finns whose influence is still evident over 100 years later.

The marina is a busy place! Small boats in front, and a nice mix of cruisers in the middle,
with fishing boats mainly on the outside dock.

 There are loaner bicycles at the marina office, and it is 2 kilometers to town. It's been a LONG time since either of us has been aboard a bike -- I think about 20 years for me, and Al thinks it's high school for him! These are heavy duty one-speeds and we are grateful for mainly flat going with just one or two slopes to handle.

The former school holds the library and the museum. We just peek into the library.

The museum is small but interesting.

The sunshine makes everything beautiful, even a building that gives the impression of being abandoned,
despite the amount of things stored.

We ride all the way through town to a lovely beach,

And then come back to the bakery. There is very little left on the shelves at just a half hour before closing, but we have carrot cake and a brownie with coffee, and it was YUMMY! (Though we didn't sleep well that night.)

The table and view we shared.

At the ferry dock you can see why it is called a 'stiff' breeze, as the flag and windsock are held out.

The next morning was so calm and peaceful. Al and I got up before 5, after a restless sleep from our afternoon coffee the day before.  There are two eagles atop sail masts, and I catch this one as the sun tops the ridge and lights him up.

We are back at the bakery bright and early. We were looking for cinnamon rolls, but they are still in the works, so we choose breakfast pastries and a loaf of bread and settle in comfy chairs with coffee. The cinnamon rolls are done just after we have lingered and are ready to go. We'll save them for the next day's breakfast.

We visit the Burger Barn at the marina for dinner, then go to sailboat Maia to visit with Laura and Dick, who bought the boat in the spring and have cruised the Broughtons this summer, and are negotiating with their insurance company to be approved to sail down the west coast of Vancouver Island. They have been buddy boating with another couple we met in Viner Sound when they came to us by dinghy -- they were from Portland, and Viking Star had looked familiar to them! Anyway, we had a nice evening of conversation and Dominoes with the crew of Maia (including dog Ellie), and were happy to hear the next morning that they were approved and could continue with their cruising plans.