Cyclostravaganza 2008 - Espanola to Tobermory

After Espanola, I travelled south on Highway 6. This stretch, from Espanola to Little Current, was one of the most beautiful parts of my trip. I think it's called the La Cloche mountains. The road takes you through all sorts of different geologies, including a marble mountain. I picked up a chunk from the edge of the road (white with pink) as a souvenir.

I had been planning on spending a rest day on Manitoulin Island to go hiking, but the nice hikes seemed far from campgrounds - plus it was a sunny day and the weather forecast was dicey, and I thought it was best to make hay while the sun shone, so on I pressed on Highway 6 through Manitoulin Island. It was pretty enough but not remarkable. Perhaps if I'd turned off the main road there might have been nicer stretches.

I took the Chi Cheemaun ferry from South Baymouth to Tobermory. It's about 1.5-1.75 hours across, and you are never out of sight of some island or another. A very sizable number of the crew were Newfoundlanders or Cape Bretoners - surprise!

I was hoping to camp in the national park on Friday evening, but when I arrived that evening, there were no spots left, so I camped in a private campground in Tobermory instead. Private campgrounds are generally cheaper but often less scenic.

I had scheduled a day in Tobermory to explore the park but I wasn't sure what exactly to do, and again wanted to press ahead while it was clear. Wahoo: between the tailwind day on highway 17, and the two foregone rest days (Manitoulin and Tobermory) I was now well ahead of schedule.