Crossing the US/Canada border at Sault Saint Marie, the cultural and environmental changes were immediately evident. Julian's jokes were not answered with confused frowns and it was obvious the landscape had not had the burden of sustaining a much larger and more demanding population.
We had spent the day with Julian watching the massive coal and grain ships pass through the locks, like a school boy at the zoo.
By the time we crossed the border, the sun was setting and we drove as far as we could into the Canadian wilderness. When we awoke in the morning, the yellow, orange and red Birch leaves welcomed us to the new leg of our trip.We skirted the north shore of Lake Huron, crossing onto Manitoulin island and spent the day thoroughly enjoying being surrounded by nothing but jaw dropping landscapes and the occasional lovely, friendly Canadian. The days are cool here and
the nights are becoming crisper as everyday passes. Looking around the lake, my eyes were constantly scanning for mussels, barnacles and the normal seashore life, it was only the wave-less horizon that constantly reminded me that I was in fact looking at a massive lake, not the open ocean. From Manitoulin Island we took a 2-hour car ferry through Lake Huron to Tobermory, where we would continue SE to Toronto the next day.
