Thursday, June 28, 2007
The scent of manure hit my nostrils and instantaneously carried my mind to my childhood, living on the farm. Duty bound but not always in the mood of surrender, I went out into the dew seeking out our family cow in the fog-bound pasture. Once spotted, she knew I was there ready to milk her and with more enthusiasm than I could muster, she raised her hefty body and took to the worn cow path with me in pursuit behind her. This happened every day at 5:30AM.
It was 5:30AM today, just north of Liskeard when I started this reminiscence. The area is a clay belt and accomodates some farming, but is also interrupted by mining- gold and now silver. Cobalt is the silver capital of Canada but like most mining towns, it's glory is short-lived. One hundred years ago silver was discovered. The area grew to a town of 20,000 but is now reduced to 1,500. It has haunting a haunting aspect to it. Over one hundred mines were active with some rusty old house shafts as ghost signals. Yovany, Doug and George were intrigued and our pilgrim mode shifted to tourist mode for an hour or two.
The people there reminded us who we were. The individual reception was overwhelming. A van load of eager walkers from Toronto joined us- Dr. Vikas Pandith, Raj and their sons and friends came to get a taste of northern treasures- a look at the wild vegetation along the highway, a rushing pristine river, the Montreal River, a climb up rocky steps, a crack at constructing an inukshuk, and a brief glance at a moose. This is all a breath of fresh air for a bunch of suburban dwellers.
These boys were with me to spend some time with a guru-type figure- me. At least I am trying to be a guide to them.
40 kms
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