118 To Tofino

Canada
Québec & New Brunswick
Nova Scotia & Newfoundland
Québec & Ontario
Manitoba to the Pacific

91 To Winnipeg
92 Winnipeg
93 Wasagaming
94 On to Yorkton
95 Manitoba Beach
96 Wanuskewin
97 To Edmonton
98 Edmonton
99 To Hinton
100 To Jasper
101 The Rockies
102 Snowy roads
103 To Drumheller
104 Dinosaurs
105 To Banff
106 Banff
107 Banff
108 Lake Louise
109 Farewell Rockies
110 To Vancouver
111 Go Canucks
112 Morty & Harry
113 Where next?
114 Visas and Picasso
115 Downtown
116 Catch up
117 Vancouver Island
118 To Tofino
119 Pacific Rim
120 Surfers and big trees
121 Last Legislature
122 Farewell to Morty
123 Mile zero, again

Canada: British Columbia

Tuesday 29 November 2005

Contemplative mood

Made it to the Pacific! (again...)

The overnight forecast had turned out to be right - we woke up to a blanket of snow about five centimetres deep. It was very beautiful but odd to be curled up under our sleeping bags looking out at the snow. As we had breakfast all we could hear around us was the dripping, slushing and sliding of melting snow. The shower block was on the way out of the campsite so we were very American this morning and drove there rather than walking. A snow plough had been round to clear the road but even so it was still a bit slippery.

We left the campsite and headed for Tourist Information to check the road conditions across the island. We wanted to head for Tofino on the west coast but this would take us over high mountains so we need to be sure we can get there and back. The people at the information centre were incredibly friendly and helpful and phoned to check the conditions for us as well as looking on line. They confirmed we should be OK.

Leaving Nanaimo Stef was in search of coffee. As we pulled in to go to a Tim Horton's we saw a sign for Nellie's Dutch Deli and the temptation was too great so we stopped off to have a look. A sign on the door said that Sinter Klaas and Zwarte Piet would be stopping in on Saturday for St Nicolas day celebrations, a bit of a Dutch tradition. Inside, it was like an Aladdin’s cave of all the Dutch treats and specialities that you have as a kid – gevulde koek, speculaas, drop, chocolade letters, hagelslag to name a few. It also had a good range of Conimex “Indonesian” foods and a wide range of Dutch cheeses.

From here we carried on across country, deciding not to stop and sight see today but expecting to stop on our way back. Our route took us through Coombs and Port Alberni before winding across the mountains. The views here were stunning again. To me they combined the majesty of the Rockies with the tree covered beauty of Quebec and Ontario. Lakes inevitably traced our route. The water was so still and calm it looked like glass reflecting fabulous views of the snow capped mountains either side.

We stopped again at Port Alberni to check the road was OK and were told it was clear but there was some snow so to take care. The “some snow” was a light dusting in the corners of about three bends so we had a clear route all the way. We passed one part called Cathedral Alley/Grove which is about a one hundred metre stretch of road lined on each side by huge redwood style trees creating a very tall green canopy above. It was stunning and had a mystical quality to it.

A short but steep downhill brought us out alongside Kennedy Lake, a huge still expanse of water. This, and other sections we have passed today, is typical of the images you see of Canada. Beautiful scenery and lakes reflecting the surroundings stretching away as far as you can see. When we were in Newfoundland we bought a CD of Newfie folk songs. One of them really sums up Canada in its title “Thank God we’re surrounded by water”. Everywhere you go, even in the cities, water is never far away.

Out of the mountains we turned north again towards Tofino. A few miles south of town we pulled into the Crystal Cove resort and RV park and got a spot for a couple of nights, the only RV in sight! They mainly have log cabins that they rent out and they look really cosy from the outside. We resisted the temptation to take up the offer to have a look inside one as I doubt we would have wanted to stay in Morty if we had.

With an hour or so of daylight left we headed down onto the cove to watch our first pacific sunset since we left South America. There is a wide sandy bay with beachfront cabins and apartments from the next two “resorts” further up the coast. To the left is a smaller bay that leads up to the beachfront cabins for the Crystal Cove resort. This bay is more rocky with outcrops of rock on either side and a mound of rocks at the (current) waterline. Clinging to the rocks are trees that have been shaped and twisted by the winds coming in off the pacific.

Clouds marred a clear night sunset but they somehow always add their own dimension with the sun playing games against the clouds as if they were a big kaleidoscope. We stood and “oohed” for a while watching the sun, the clouds and the waves. There were a few other people around but not many. It seems that its only recently that Tofino has stayed open as a resort all year round. People now come here in the winter to watch the storms and resulting high waves they bring.

As the sun went down and the temperature dropped we abandoned our plans for a campfire and barbecue, opting instead for dinner cooked inside. By about seven o’clock it was a pitch black night. Stars were out, but they seemed faded and dim compared to night skies we had in Newfie and South America and they were not bright enough to light our way. We were treated though to the sight of a shooting star. Even though I have seen quite a few now I still feel they are something pretty special.

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