Caution: Drink at your own risk!

This was a bit of advice posted above the famous St. Mary's Spring here on Haida Gwaii. Why, you may ask, would there be a sign cautioning against drinking water at this site? Well...you can thank the legend for that! It is said that, if you drink the spring water which flows into a pool at the bottom of the trail, you will return to the islands. Now, I can't tell you if there is any scientific evidence to back this up, that's not my job, but I can tell you that it has been known to work...I'm back! Haha.

I took the risk of drinking the water last year, while pregnant, and I do not regret it. Why not give in to the magic on the island and let St. Mary lead me back to the island. I knew I would be leaving to have Noora, also I wanted Willie to experience the East Coast, and I knew I would probably, most likely, eventually return to Haida Gwaii. But why not seal the deal!

 Nine months later we returned.

I had not been back to the Spring since returning to the island. I had it on my "to-do" list but we just hadn't found the time. One day we drove to the bakery in Tlell, which is past St. Mary's, but we did not stop (thanks to the rain on the way there, and the hitchhiker on the way back).

The day we decided to drive to Masset to visit Willie's family, I was in the driver's seat. In true Karyn-fashion (i.e. slamming on the brakes spontaneously and pulling over, even IN the pouring rain), I decided to pay St. Mary a visit to say thanks.

She looked much the same as she did last summer. She had some new trinkets and coins tucked away in the cracks around her. Some more shells adorned her feet. She stared out to the ocean with the same mysterious smile. 

 The trail above her seemed just as mysterious as it was the first time I saw it. I have not had the chance to hike up and experience the view from above, but I've heard it is beautiful (even if it is a bit steep and slippy). There are so many treasures here on the island. There are also so many magical qualities that sometimes go unnoticed. St. Mary's Spring is on the main stretch of highway past Skidegate but if you don't know it's there, you might just miss it. If anyone else is lucky enough to visit Haida Gwaii, I challenge you to also drink from St. Mary's magical pool of water and see if it brings you home again.

 ** There was a poem attached to a tree next to St. Mary's statue but it was gone. Thankfully, I found an almost-complete replication on another website (http://www.queencharlotteislandseh.com/parks/st_mary/index.html).

A Little Spring by Charles MacKay

A little spring has lost its way
Amid the grass and fern;
A passing stranger scooped a well
Where weary men might turn.

He walled it in. And hung with care
A ladle at the brink.
He thought not of the deed he did
But hoped that some might drink.

He passed again. And ?? The well
By summers never dried.
Had cooled ten thousand parching tongues
And saved a life beside.