July 13,2024 Sonora Resort, Canada
Retirement is a gift we gave to ourselves eleven years ago. Being able to travel the world is a gift on top of that gift. When we began traveling, we were obviously younger and pretty relaxed …now we are older and even more relaxed. We do not feel the need to fill every day with activity, nor to experience everything in every location. I’m happy to just “be”. I love waking up in a new place with no agenda … no plan other than “let’s see what the day brings”.
Here’s what July 13 on Sonora Island brought us…
First photo of the day…taken at breakfast…lots of sailboats coming and going.
Yogurt and berries…because I can’t have French Toast everyday 😊
Timmy is sticking with his eggs♥️
After brunch I set out to hike the blue trail. The resort’s Trail Guide describes the Blue Trail: “A gradual, steady incline.” The map indicates that a portion of the trail is through “mature forest”. Distance: 4.5 kms Estimated hiking time: 1.5 hours Difficulty: Medium (The Yellow Trail was also described as Medium.)
I passed by the Arbutus lodge …
Lots of signs at the beginning of the hike…
….and I’m off…
There’s a bug that’s killing trees in Stanley Park called a Looper moth…I’m not sure if it’s the same one here…but this is definitely not good…makes the forest more susceptible to fire.
Nice wide trail, steady incline…
Beyond peaceful …only sweet birds for company.
Still climbing…
Looks like I’m on the correct trail…actually it’s the only trail…and now it’s substantially narrower…
…hmmmm…
…what the actual heck?
So there’s a yellow star with a “you are here” indication …but on the ground in the forest …it looks like 3 choices … not 2 🥲…
I take a few minutes to orient myself and off in the distance, I spy this tree. Please note..the white symbol is way more recognizable than the blue…. whatever.
Just when you think you’ve lost the trail…because, hello? It’s no longer “wide with a steady incline”…you come upon…another trail marking…
Okay then…
At this point I realize what “mature forest” means…
…it means almost complete silence, except for a far off running brook, the freshest air and the most amazing sense of well being and peace…
Occasionally, I came upon these fire hoses…
…and then I was finished…and back at the cabin with Timmy.
These are the waters below our cabin…I’m trying to capture the colors… almost like the Caribbean…so translucent.
Tim was communing with the sea lions and eagles so I set off for the Spa…(I actually feel a keen sense of obligation to experience every Spa everywhere we travel to.)😉
On the way to the Spa, I passed by the indoor Tennis facility.
This place jumps at night …because the teenagers are banned from the main lodge after 9 pm. Can you see the basketball hoop…way in the back. We also saw folks playing Paddle ball.
The Spa is beautiful…I wish I’d taken more photos.
Although small, the women’s locker room has all the amenities you’d expect.
I had both the sauna and steam room all to myself 😊…the scent was amazing…
I had time before my treatment to relax in the pools…mineral, hot tub and cold plunge.
Heaven on earth…
This is the pre-treatment waiting area…views over the mountains … while waiting, an attendant dabs your wrists with essential oil and bathes your feet in fragrant warm mineral water.
After a wonderful massage and facial, I relaxed in the treatment room, with this view…I love that there is no need to leave immediately upon finishing…my therapist said “stay as long as you like, some people take naps afterwards”.
I didn’t nap, although I felt like it, but I did enjoy the beautiful calming music. One final photo as I dressed.
…Then it was back to our place…can you believe we had all this space? Larger than our Sarasota condo. No lie.
When I caught my fish yesterday …we had several choices…the Resort would freeze it and send it home, arrange to have it canned and send it home, or Chef would make us dinner. Well guess which option we choose? When Wes was cleaning our fish, we asked him to cut enough for a meal for us and to take the rest for himself.
Here’s the meal:
Foie gras and truffle ice cream with caviar. Bread=focaccia with Parmesan
Killian took the best care of us…
Compressed watermelon, grilled onion, fennel and horseradish.
That yummy Okanagan Pinot Noir.
Best sashimi ever…
Obviously way too much…so wait til you see what chef does with it tomorrow …
…Ta da!…my Chinook with broiled squash, beets, broccolini, and carrot purée.
No words necessary.
Timmy had his Apple tart again and I repeated the deconstructed baked Alaska. Because lord knows we couldn’t possibly be feeling sated…
Timmy with Killian and Colin…I can’t believe this is my only photo of Colin… he is the other half of our amazing dinner service team. Colin’s the person who helped us spot so many eagles and saved our favorite table for us. You know …the one with the view of Dale and his tree. Speaking of which, it turns out that “Dale” isn’t really the “house” eagle…Dale is the name for any eagle that occupies that one tree overlooking the outdoor dining space.
Sonora’s mascot
Sunday’s activities …
Back at our room…another present on the bed.
Such a perfick day.
Thanks for following along.
