Right from Day 1, we have had to adjust to the way of life here on the island.  Not only have we had to adjust to the remoteness and the physical/social isolation, we have also had to adjust to aspects of day to day life that were different without the conveniences of modern amenities that we are used to, like indoor plumbing and electricity. 

Reading and cards by candlelight, and use of solar panels to charge our devices has made adjusting to no electricity relatively easy. It only took me a few weeks to stop reaching for the light switch when I walked into a room. 

The lack of electricity also means the lack of warm water. While we can boil water to warm up the water for dishes, not having access to a warm shower has been one of the harder adjustments for me. Our work means that we spend the majority of our time outside, bushwalking through the forest and a warm shower at the end of the day would go a long way. 

We have three options to get clean, each with their pros and cons, and I will go through them in from least to most desirable. 

1. The shower in our house - Since there is no electricity to heat the water it means that, without a proper shower head, it is just a stream of Lake Superior water coming from the wall. 

Pros: It is in our house. 

Cons: Almost everything else. It is very cold, and not in the refreshing kind of  way. More in the it’s so cold it hurts kind of way.  

2.  The camp shower- For anyone that doesn’t know, a camp shower is a little black bag with a nozzle on it that you fill with water and leave in the sun to get            warm. 

Pros: The water gets warm, and generally only takes a few hours to warm up.  I can use it right off our back porch (nice view included).

Cons: I have to do it out on the porch of our house, so I try to plan it around when I know tourists won't be walking by. Not an option on cloudy days. 

3.  The sauna- With such a big Finnish population in the Thunder Bay area, sauna (which I was informed by a new Finnish friend that the proper pronunciation      ‘sow-nah’, unlike how the south say - ‘saw-na’) are very popular. People have them at their camps (the Southern Ontario equivalent of a cottage), in the                 basements of their homes, and on small islands like Porphyry.

Pros: It is the only way to feel really warm and clean out here. One of the only ways I can bring myself to get in the lake. Lake Superior is not for the faint of  heart.  

Cons: You must plan ahead a little, as you have to start a fire to heat it up. Pronounce the word sauna incorrectly and people will immediately know that you

are not from around here. 

I will go into other aspects of Island Life in future posts, but I figured I would start with something that everyone does and can relate to. Who knew just having a shower would be so much of a choose your own adventure type of situation. 

* I just want to note that with all the options above, I am using biodegradable products to lessen the effect that I am having on the environment.  When I bathe at the sauna or the camp shower  for instance, I soap up with the warm water and then rinse it off outside, but while I am still on land. Even if a product is biodegradable, it doesn’t mean that it is intended to be used directly in the water, as they can still have adverse effects on the water ecosystem.  There is a ton of information online with respect to biodegradables, so make sure you do your research ahead of time.  One website with some useful information on biodegradable products and ways to protect the waterways we rely on is the Muskoka Watershed Council. 

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