Only what you can carry

For years I lived within sight of Tancook Island. Many people had moved off of it and nearby islands to live on land in the same community I lived in. It did not seem that far away. Isolated, for sure, but close.

A couple of weeks ago, we finally went to Tancook island for the day. By ferry, even though it is clearly visible from land, it still takes nearly 50 minutes to get there.

Tancook island has a population of 100 in the winter time. Double that in the summer.

It has has one of the last one room school houses in Canada.

The thing that struck me the most as a mainlander is the fact that the only things that get on that island are by boat. If you buy groceries or get library books or a new mop or chair, you have to get it to the ferry. They put it in a special locked boxed and then you retrieve it as you walk off the boat.

Living on an island without a car ferry (the ferry only carries one car at a time) would really cut down on all the stuff which I surround myself with. I would think a whole lot more carefully about what goes on that ferry and into my home and into my car.

What would I carry and what would I leave behind?

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