Day 53 Toronto to Timmins Wednesday 10th June 2015
One of our rules of travel – “Make the first stop the visitors centre.”
So even with barely a dare for our visit, off we hike to the Toronto Visitors Centre to find out what we can fit into our whirlwind tour. Again a helpful person at the centre who made suggestions for our few hours in Toronto today and gave us information on potential Kayak trips for our few days in July.
Planning to walk through the city to the museum we left the centre to discover a torrential downpour – new plan! We went back in and tried to find the PATH underground shopping complex – without success. Decided to get a taxi directly to our end destination the Ontario Museum where we could be dry and spend our time till the flight.
The museum building was a combination of modern architecture and original building. These photos are taken from the original building near where the poles are displayed.
Within the Royal Ontario Museum we chose the First Peoples Exhibition to begin (and as it turned out the only exhibit we got to).
Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples
While it looked small it took us much time and we both had strong insights from the visit. Things like:
Culture is not static. First peoples should not be expected to return to completely ancient ways, just as Europeans would not.
This challenging exhibition, rejigged from its original, showed an early group with original activities replaced with modern tools e.g. a women working a camera, men with an electric drill and another with a mobile phone.
A paddle with a kayak from an Inuit tribe was almost straight – no paddle piece at the end to decrease wind resistance out of the water.
And the sophistication of approach, tools, clothing and environmental care that enabled a ‘light footprint’. Taking only what you need and being thankful for it. Taking up new innovations such as ideas from Europeans and other peoples who arrive in their territory.
Within the First People Exhibition was a challenging and poignant art exhibit by Jane Ash Poitras. An artfu,l and painful exhibition about the impact of the Residential Schools.
As we were about to leave we discovered the Haida Poles. Displayed within the staircase to enable you to walk up to the top of the Pole and view each level.
After the museum our taxi of the morning picked us up and off to the Billy Bishop Airport -an airport within the city accessed by a short Ferry ride. Traffic chaos owing to a walkway /tunnel being built to the airport for pedestrians. Got a touch panicky but made it and found Porter had a lovely lounge for all guests with free tea, coffee and nuts.
Short flight on a small propeller plane to Timmins.
Timmins – we did not see all but neither did we feel we missed out, or needed to go back.
Our motel was right next to the bus station which was a bonus for our early start tommorrow.
Dinner – we read a recommendation in the Porter mag for Don’s Pizza</a>. I was not entirely in the mood for Pizza unlike my dearly beloved. After wandering around deserted, cold streets, and finding not much, we headed there.
Dinner with thin crust Pizza and a wonderful exchange of cultural information and entertainment with our meal. A very funny and friendly server,born and raised in Timmins, from whom we discovered that – gold mining is the major industry, Kayaking has many possibilities around Timmins, and when asked “What do you do here?” The reply = “Nothing!”
