Owen and I visited the Toronto Islands. The hostel rented us bikes, and we cycled to a ferry which took us to Henlan Island.

The ferry departed, and our field of view widened until the whole coast was visible, the low buildings to the west rising to taller towers before breaking for a bridge, then finally ascending to skyscrapers and the titanic CN tower. Henlan Island itself comprises a mile-long stretch of lawn surrounded by a thin forest, then beach, then Lake Ontario. Two asphalt paths cut across the island.

We began biking the path, and although the temperature was a little warm, the lake breeze cooled us just enough that we were in heaven.

The island is home to Toronto's only nude beach. Being that we had never been, we had to go.

There were no large waves on the beach and the water was transparent. The depth increases very gradually, so you can wade out 50 feet without trouble. Away from shore, patches of small rocks appear in the sand and grow until there are just little trails of sand winding through mossy stone lawns. The water was cool on the skin, refreshing but not distressing.

There were, of course, nude people on the beach. About a quarter of the hundreds of people out that day. Mostly men, and in my estimation, mostly gay. Signs informed us that this had been a hub of the gay community for decades, and the nearby road was painted rainbow.

Owen and I got to feel the warm summer sun on our whole bodies for the duration of a dip in the ocean and a walk down the beach.

Then we biked the island some more and returned to the hostel where we ended the day.

Now, my mother has brought to my attention that the blog has been suffering a shortage of photos of the author.

Unfortunately, I only took one photo today, the view from the roof of my hostel at night:

Sorry, ma. I'll do better next time.

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