Yuri,
if I have told this tale before, to those who have heard it, I apologise.
'Christian Island' has always held a fascination for me, ever since Gord's song captured my heart, so when I was in Toronto - way back in the 70s (I was very young
, I took the opportunity to go to the island. I remember it was a foul day. Blustery and wet but as I took the ferry from Cedar Quay (I think that was the departure point), I imagined I was setting off to find my Garden of Eden. I was actually quite young so I even dreamt I might find Gord up there. Duh! The crossing in that storm filled morning was quite an event. The ferry was crowded with Indians returning from the mainland. I was inappropriately dressed for the torrential rain and the only non-Indian aboard. I have to tell you, I was just a wee bit nervous, trying to ignore all the dark scowls coming my way. But I was going to Christian Island. My fantasy was about to materialise.
However, on landing, disappointment hit me like a brick. I must have been expecting something from the still to be produced 'Dances with Wolves' but this was more like a ghetto. The beach was full of rusting car skeletons, discarded refrigerators and empty cans and bottles, it was a dump!
Looking inland, I saw that all the houses all carried tv aerials! Somehow that offended my idealistic sensabilities more than anything else.
I did not get to see the actual reservation. I was being pursued by a drunk native and
that coupled with despair and disappointment, urged me to return to the ferry point to wait for the next ferry back to the mainland. What had I expected? Millionaires cottages in the lea of Christian Island maybe. Not so. Well, not on the side I landed.
Had I not been alone, I might have been braver and explored more but I was young, blonde and scared of the drunk watching me.
However, my love of the song remains and the fantasy lives on within me. One day I will go back for another more indepth look.
When I arrived back at my hotel in Orillia, I was reprimanded for taking such risks. Risks?
'You could have been raped, or killed even' squealed the receptionist who was to become a dear friend (now sadly passed) 'those people up there are all out of their heads on booze and worse'.
But I was already a Lighthead and I could not have NOT visited the Lea of CHristian Island, once I was that close, could I?
(Do not let my tale put anyone else off from going. I plan to return. Somewhere I have some photos. I will try and locate them and get someone to post them.)