Tidings of Joy: Putzin Around Peterborough

We never left. Nope. Tomorrow will be 7 days in Peterborough, Ontario. We woke up last Thursday all ready to go and the port engine wouldn't start. It gave a warning that the fuel pump had an issue. We decided to play it safe and not risk leaving on one engine. The Trent River is very narrow in parts and very shallow as well. On our way to Peterborough I held the paper chart while Jeff drove and I told him to stay closer to one side depending on depths and hazards. No way we would risk being dead in the water in that scenario. Fortunately Peterborough is a very charming city that offers both city life of shops, restaurants, music and night life with vast amounts of parks, nature and bike paths. For the past 6 nights we have been tied up at the lock wall in the park which I showed you in the last blog. Just this morning we moved over to the marina across the lake and got tied up in the slip, plugged into power (which always makes me feel better), filled the water and I have laundry going. Our fuel pump which is being shipped over night from NY since Thursday is supposed to arrive today. The part has been sitting in customs since Friday trying to get cleared. Neither of us would advise breaking down when out of the country. It has been a real pain just to get the part here - endless phone calls, paperwork, fees. Jeff and I have made a good team while one is talking on the phone the other is looking up the next information that we have needed and somehow we have managed to not loose it (too bad) and keep our spirits up despite the delay. We have been staying pretty busy while we are here. First day we did a major cleaning inside and out of the boat. We went to Home Depot to get parts to do some little projects on the boat that have been on the "to do" list. We went to a very charming local farmers market where there were hundreds of vendors, live music and lot of great things. We bought some local maple syrup, honey and of course the beloved butter tarts. We rate Peterborough tarts second best to those of the bakery in Trenton. We have been going on long extended bike rides every day and visited the canoe museum yesterday. The biggest in the world. It was actually surprisingly impressive and interesting. Saturday night we rode our bikes into town and listened to a free rock concert outside in the grass along with hundreds of other locals. All in all it has been the best place we could have gotten stuck and we are making the most of it. Next step will be getting our part delivered and the local mechanic coming by to install it. That is all supposed to happen this afternoon and assuming all goes well (fingers crossed, knock wood) we will be on our way tomorrow. The plan was to go to Lakefield, Ontario but with the delay here in Peterborough we might try and go further onto Mont Julian/Stoney Lake. We'll see how we and the engine are doing as we go.