Georgian Bay, Ontario

Our next two ports were on the rugged, forested coast of Georgian Bay, which is on the northeastern arm of Lake Huron. The first day was on Killarney, a huge expanse of protected land with dramatic cliffs, marshy wetlands and mixed forest. We explored a tiny section of it by kayak.

We took a Zodiac ride out from Octantis to a sheltered cove area where our kayaks were set up for us, ready to board.

Our guide Romy explained to us that the white stripe cutting through the granite was an intrusion made of quartz.

We oared our kayak through the reeds of this beautiful marsh.

Several kayaks, including ours, had to be pulled out of the shallow marsh mud by Romy. Fortunately, he wore good water boots and seemed to have no problem dragging us along.

Our guide Elsa was waiting to help us reboard the Zodiac for our return to Octantis

Our next port was Frazer Bay, another scenic stretch of land next to the North Channel in Georgian Bay. We again used the Zodiacs for transportation (always a fun way to ride). They took us out to Okeechobee Lodge, a rustic lodge in the forest. There we had a presentation by a Native American family dance troupe. Through generations they have preserved and taught the stories, regalia and dances of their people.

This elder explained that her regalia and dance were traditional. The movements were slow and fluid.

This dance, done with a young boy, is the Grass Dance. The story is about a young boy with a disability was kept out of tribe activities, so he went on a traditional 4-day spiritual fast to find a way he could participate. The elders saw him doing his own dance of stamping on the grass and thought it was great. They gave him the honor of being the lead person as the tribe moved from one site to another and he stamped on the grass to clear it for them on the way.

The Fancy Dance, below, is a lively, free flowing, create your own movements dance once reserved exclusively for men. Then a woman, disguised as a man, won a contest doing the dance. When the elders discovered who she was, they decided women could do the dance–but only compete in contests with other women.

The Healing Dance, below, is inspired by the story of a young boy who had a dream where he was able to heal a young girl with a special dance. Many, many years later he discovered the girl was his own granddaughter, whom he was able to rescue by showing the others the dance from his dream.