In life, I believe everything happens for a reason.
Why did a brand new, ensign of Canada land in my hands yesterday morning? Coincidence? Fate? A message in a bottle ensign? Or just the sweet generosity of the man who found it?
Our conversation went something like this:
The Italian Version
Sweet Man – Boungirono. Ho trovato una bandiera canadese e pensato a te, ti piace?
Me – Oh, buongiorno. Ma, hai trovato una bandiera canadese? Dove?
Sweet Man – In Costa Paradiso. Qualcuno l’ha buttato via.
Me – Perché qualcuno dovrebbe buttarlo fuori? Non e giusto.
Sweet Man – Non lo so, ma vuoi?
Me – Ma, certo. Grazie.
Sweet Man – Io te lo darò a te ora.
Me – Sei molto gentile. Grazie.
English Version
Sweet Man – Good Morning. I found a Canadian flag and thought of you. Would you like it?
Me – Oh, good morning. But, you found a Canadian flag? Where?
Sweet Man – In Costa Paradiso. Someone threw it out.
Me – Why would someone throw it out? It’s not right.
Sweet Man – I don’t know, but do you want it?
Me – But, certainly. Thank you.
Sweet Man – I will give it to you now.
Me – You are very kind. Thank you.
And with that, I am now the owner of a brand spanking new Canadian ensign, for a boat that I don’t have.
Did you know?
To sail from Toronto, Canada to Costa Paradiso, Sardinia, Italy with a pit-stop in Gibraltar is about 7523.02 kilometers or 4062.1 nautical miles. I’m no captain, I just used a cool nautical calculator to measure the distance.
Where is Costa Paradiso, Sardinia, Italy?
On the northwest coast of Sardinia.
These are my questions for the loser, I mean person who lost their ensign:
- Why would you throw out the Canadian ensign?
- Was it a gift you didn’t like?
- Did you lose your ensign along the way?
- If you are Canadian, which passage(s) did you take along the way to arrive in Sardinia?
- Who are you?
- Do you want your ensign returned?
In life, I believe everything happens for a reason.
What is the reason behind this ensign now in my possession? I’d like to believe that it’s a message in a bottle ensign, and now I need to pull out my private eye skills to decode the message. And if there is a message, what is it?
Do you believe everything happens for a reason?
My Sardinian Life 
This is no weirder than seeing a “Free Leonard Peltier” sign in the main piazza of Cagliari!
Reblogged this on My Sardinian Life and commented:
Do you know the owner of this ensign that washed up on the shore of Sardinia?
….now that is a sad end to this story. I would have censored that – or adjusted it – like it belonged to a handsome Candian Mounty tracking down expats lost in Sardinia 🙂
Yes, well, I don’t believe in censorship. But I like your theory much better! 😉
I finally bumped into the ‘finder’ the other day. I asked him where he found the ensign. He told me in the garbage. I asked “Really? In a garbage bin?” He told me, yes. How sad and unfortunate.
Hey that looks like the flag I hang in my classroom in china… On my way back there now, so I’ll have to check and see if it is missing 😉
seriously though… That is a good mystery how it came to be. I also think things happen for a reason. Sometimes they are not clear at the time and frustrate us, but at some point the message becomes known.
Funny how people who find something Canadian always point it out to the Canadian…. Kids at school find trinkets and always give them to me because it is Canadian. The cutest was kids who found leaves and picked them from a tree because they thought they looked like the leaf on our flag. Turns out it wasn’t a maple tree, but cute they made the connection.
Happy hunting…. Keep us posted on the clues as they unfold.
Aw, kids are so cute and thoughtful when the are young! 🙂
Yes they are… I love how you never can expect what will come out of their mouth. My youngest nephew had some great one liners this summer… keeps us in stiches.
…well a good start to solving this mind boggling mystery could be by sorting out the options:
1) it certainly wouldn’t be any item you would find in the local stores;
2) it’s too small to belong to sea going yacht and due to the distance from Canada it certainly didn’t fall off any everyday rubber dingy;
3) It could have re-entered the atmosphere ex ISS orbital lab
4) It isn’t something the average tourist would pack into its luggage
that leaves us with
a) belongs to an exchange student (notoriously patriotic)
b) belongs to a globe trotting Canadian biker or hiker back pack equipment
c) canoing teams have decided to celebrate silver medals in Costa Smeralda
…to be continued
LOL! I like all of your theories. I haven’t seen the guy that gave me the flag yet. The moment I see him I will ask more questions.
I like B the best: Globetrotting Canadian bikers or hikers! 😉
I do like a good mystery. Have fun figuring it out!
As do I, I’ll report all my findings! Stay tuned …
If it’s brand spanking new…it hasn’t done many miles out at sea!!!
LOL! It’s brand new to me! I must ask the guy who found it more about how he found it. 😉 Ill report back.
Good…I like an interesting story
…hmmmm methinks you’re kind of under-estimiting the power of the average Italian “latin lover”…that (to me) looks like some smart strategy to short cut to charming Canadian gal’s heart 😀
Ciao Joe,
I don’t think that’s the case, he swings for the other team! 😉
I also belong to “everything happens for a reason” camp.
I guess the message is that you will have to visit Canada soon! 😉 it’s nice of you to thinking about returning the ensign.
Hope you find the owner!
Ciao Ishan,
Thanks for stopping by. Im just really curious who the flag belongs to. I think it’s a secret message! 🙂
Way stranger than finding something Italian on the shores of Lake Ontario, that’s for sure! How did the flag end up there? Was it found on a beach or on a marina dock? Floating adrift? Good conditions or worn off? Drenched in salty water, encrusted? A Canadian boat changing ensing in mid seas to escape pirates? Or the taxman? Or an angry estranged spouse? A fascinating seaman’s tale for you to unveil…
There are so many questions I must ask the person who found it! Thanks for the comment!
Remember your yacht and helicopter message? Maybe there are more gifts to come? Maybe somebody read that message and left it for you? What a kind gentleman to think of you – maybe you found a new friend.
It was you! I knew it. My number one fan! Thank you! It’s probably quicker to send things this way thrown into the ocean than to trust the Italian postal system!
LOL!!! I was going to say… sounds like a message in a bottle!!! But you beat me to it!
I just had to throw that line in there. 😉
The primary reason for that ensign falling off might have been to provide us with this blogpost! 😉
LOL! I’m glad you like it. And thanks for commenting and reading other posts by My Sardinian Life. Where are you from?
I’m from BC. Sometimes in Surrey just outside Vancouver where my grandparents live and other times from Terrace up north. I’ve been living outside of Canada for more than 17 years now so the whole “Canadian living in Italy theme” of your blog caught my eye! 🙂
So, you’re a Canadian expat living oversea’s like me. Where in Italy are you? I loved BC, if I ever move back to Canada it will be BC.
I’m living in Muscat, Oman in the middle east but it’s always nice to see blogs of fellow Canadians living across the globe! 🙂
Oh wow! I would love to read about your life there, have you a blog I could follow?
Life is great here. http://www.andyinoman.com We are expecting the first Tim Horton’s to open anyday now! 🙂
Tim Horton’s in Oman? How did that happen? I’m off to read your site and maybe I’ll find the answer. 🙂
Message to Canadian boaters: make sure you tie a good knot or your ensign will blow away.
Other message: You’re doing a great job representing Canada in Sardinia.
Thank you kindly! You can take the girl out of Canada but you can’t take the Canadian out of the girl! 😉
As obscure as finding a Canadian flag in Sardinia! 😉
Probably, even if the reason is a bit obscure.