How indeed? Literally and figuratively. After all, I have never gone away on a experiential vacation like this alone before – I’ve always had a friend (or two) to join me. See here and here for my last one, with my friends Joanne and Judith.
It started with this book….no wait…it actually started waaaaay back in my ocean-deprived childhood in southern Ontario. When I would read picture books about exploring the tidal pools of the sea shore, and the gorgeous, strange (to me) sea life to be found in and around those waters. That led to me trying to replicate the experience in the many lakes and rivers in my home province. It wasn’t summer unless I was in the water somewhere, exploring the shoreline with my kiddie-version mask, snorkel and fins. Mom had presciently signed me (and later my sisters) into swim lessons as early as humanly possible, so she could rest easy while I disappeared into the water for hours on end, only to come back ashore when my stomach begged for food.
Now that I’ve gotten settled on Vancouver Island I’ve been thinking about how to explore the rich (and cold) ocean waters of my new home, safely and year-round. Snorkelling in Barbados is great fun, but what about the other 50-ish weeks of the year, hmmm?
As I was saying, earlier this year I came across this book one day at my local grocery store:
Can you hear the choir of angels singing? I can.
If you are at all interested in exploring the rich waters surrounding Vancouver Island without having to invest in uber-spendy scuba lessons and gear, this is THE BOOK you need. Sara covers gear, safety and destinations around the island in a way that is easy for even a relative beginner to this type of snorkelling like me to understand.
In the summer (I think), I came across a Facebook page in my online travels, called Snorkellers of BC and immediately signed up. I’d been living vicariously through enjoying seeing what people were posting about locations and their underwater finds. I’d done a few snorkels with the grandkids at local beaches and a river by this point, but none of the locations from the book as my garden chores (amongst other things) were keeping me ashore. Note to self: design Garden 2025 to be better able to withstand my absences!
Then I saw a fabulous post – loaded with stunning underwater pictures of marine life – from someone who was staying at a place called Outer Shores Lodge, in Bamfield. I googled Outer Shores Lodge so fast I didn’t even register that the poster was THE Sara Ellison until much, much later. And that is when I came across the description of the upcoming Stars and Sea Stars featured lodge stay, and I was hooked! Snorkelling AND learning about the night sky?!? Yes, please!
After a few email conversations with the lodge’s very personable owner and host, Scott Wallace, I was booked. And counting the days until my departure in early October. I had decided that this trip was going to be my 65th birthday gift to myself – after all, it is kind of a momentous birthday, isn’t it? 😉
The drive from Port Alberni to Bamfield was pretty spectacular, and I only came across a couple of other vehicles on my journey along this newly-paved logging access road. I felt like I had it almost entirely to myself. No cell service, and my GPS had no idea this road existed… but it was well-marked and the day was fine so I wasn’t worried. Only a short couple of weeks later during an atmospheric river event, 2 people lost their lives on this road when they were swept (in their vehicles) into the then-raging Sarita River – a sombre reminder to respect the weather because Mother Nature ultimately rules, especially on the remote areas of this land.
View of the Alberni Inlet from the Bamfield Road.
After a relaxing 90 minute drive (3 hrs in total from my house), I arrived in East Bamfield and brought my luggage and gear to the dock, as instructed. Here I met most of the other guests (aka my new best friends!) for this stay, as we awaited Scott’s arrival with the Zodiac, to take us to the lodge. You might notice in these posts that I tried to take pictures that didn’t include my fellow guests whenever possible as I didn’t want to encroach on anyone’s right to privacy or make people feel otherwise uncomfortable and I wanted to use the photos for my blog later, natch!
Bamfield Map, at the dock. The lodge is located at the the tip and left side of Aguilar Point.Captain Scott pointing out West Bamfield as we head to the West Bamfield dock and then the short walk to Outer Shores Lodge.My first view of my home for the next 4 nights.
I was paired with a very lovely lady from Chemainus as my roomie for our stay. Our room was large and consisted of 2 parts. Upon entering the room, there were twin beds in a little nook directly across from our bathroom.
Dark and cozy sleeping nook. The beds and bedding were top quality.Well-appointed with heavenly-smelling soap, shampoo and conditioner from Saltspring Island Soap Company. Plenty of hot water too!
A step up from the sleeping nook led to this amazing area of our room!
My roomie decided she wanted to sleep in one of the bunks (Can you blame her? They are magical!), and I decided to take over the twin bed area.This was the view from our room.
I’ll end this post here. Stay tuned for the next one(s)! I promise they will be much less wordy and much more visual as I show you some of the wonders of the lodge and area.
When your oldest friend calls you up and says “Whatcha doin’ the end of August/early September?”, the only acceptable response is “Nothin’. What are WE doin’ then?”. Thus the fabulous road trip to PEI (Prince Edward Island, a Canadian province) began, in our heads, at least.
Cath (aka CJ – my friend since Grade 2 and my Barbados buddy) had purchased an RV about a year ago. It was only a matter of time before either she showed up at my door in it, or I joined her for a road trip. Here is what happened. First things first – the itinerary Cath drew up for us:
The basic sketch of our adventure, which was followed for the most part. Catch-22 is a fabulous restaurant in Wasaga Beach – had the best halibut meal of my life there, that night. We didn’t go to the Big Apple store/bakery/restaurant (too crazy busy) but we did go to Reid’s Dairy and Taste of Country in Belleville, ON. We did not end up at Richard’s for lobster rolls, instead it was the Lobster Barn (delicious food) – in Victoria-by-the-Sea. Nearby Hampton Beach is where our friends Brenda and Ted have a beautiful place, on PEI. What’s not on the calendar is an amazing show we saw Sep 7 at Harmony House (Hunter River, PEI): The Leonard Cohen Songbook, which blew me away….even more than seeing Lennie Gallant (and that’s saying A LOT.) More on my experience at The Table, in my next WOYP post!Cocktail hour at McLaren campground, on the Long Sault Parkway, Ontario. That’s Mini Winnie, in the background.Cath’s miniature poodle and our traveling companion: the lovely Miss Juliette. St. Lawrence sunrise.Miss Juliette can get a little barky 🤣. Especially if she is missing her mommy. At a Walmart parking lot on a supply run, in Rimouski, Quebec.Stopping to take in the views of a covered bridge – Routhierville, Quebec.More great views – Tide Head, New Brunswick.Standing on the dock in Kouchibouguac National Park, New Brunswick. Admiring the views AND the kayak ramp. Kouchibouguac means River of the Long Tides, in Mi’kmaq. This is where the Kouchibouguac River empties out to the Atlantic Ocean.A very quick exploration of Kellys Beach in Kouchibouguac National Park as the rain begins to pelt us.(Miss Juliette stayed in the RV as dogs are not allowed here.)First view of the Confederation Bridge (12.9 km, links PEI to the mainland). The last time I visited PEI (at least 2.5 decades ago) this bridge was only a dream. We had to take a ferry, back then. The home of our wonderful hosts, just off the beach.It was our hosts’ birthdays while we visited. One day after the other. Two separate celebrations were planned and executed so each had their special day. Cath whipped up a joint chocolate birthday cake per request (one of her many culinary specialities) for them. I even had a (very small) piece and it was delicious, although chocolate cake is not my thing. Some of Cath’s family was on the island at the same time (staying nearby in a beachfront rental) and they joined us several evenings for meals, cards and general merriment.Most days involved at least one walk on the beach!Sunset on the beach in front of Ted and Brenda’s house, with the Confederation Bridge in the distance.Going for a hike at a local park. Ted is holding onto Juliette’s grandmother: Chloe. Ted and Brenda are also parents of another poodle – the aptly named: Ginger. Who can be pretty spicy, for her size! 🤣Little Miss Ginger. Our hair colouring kinda matches, I just realized.Waiting for Lennie Gallant at the Souris Show Hall. Lovely, intimate show.Trying the capture the beauty of the night sky in Souris, after the show.Early morning walk along the shore, Red Point Provincial Park in Souris.Typical red cliffs (and sand, soil) found on the island – Red Point Park, Souris.Interesting sea weed growth on a rock – looks like it’s wearing a wig! Red Point Park, Souris.
One thing I didn’t remember to photograph and wish I had: I had a reunion with an old friend who lives on PEI. Kim and I started out as pen pals many decades ago – before the internet, even – when you actually had to write out your thoughts on a piece of paper and mail them to each other. Can you imagine such a primitive form of communication? 😉 It was truly heart-warming and inspiring to see her IRL – and to take in all the beauty of her home and gardens and all the gorgeous artwork she has created. Seeing her creations on Facebook is one thing, but seeing those pieces hanging around her cozy home is quite another!
As foretold in the itinerary, the adventure had to come to an end eventually. After an informative and exciting last walk on the beach with a geologist where we looked for (and found) the fossilized remains of 330 million year old trees and plant life, Cath, Juliette and I headed back over the bridge to the mainland. We revisited our route and campsites for the way back to Ontario: ending in Wasaga Beach for the first two, and the airport for me.
Another gorgeous morning at McLaren campground, waiting for the sun to rise.Our last cocktail hour. My big goal for this trip was: that we are still on speaking terms at the end 😉. Achieved! 🤣
My flights were blessedly uneventful. Which is about the best thing one can say about air travel, anymore. The airline did not give away my seat on the plane and deny me boarding; no one parted me from my luggage; nothing was stolen from me; no one asked me to give up my window seat so they could have it instead because of their poor planningclaustrophobia 🙄 (Really, girl?!?! Uhhh, NOPE.)…see here for my woeful previous air travel experience, if you care to.
Longtime readers may remember that I took a Basic Kayak Skills course almost a year ago. You can read about that, here. Even though I gained much in knowledge and confidence from that course I knew there was still much more I needed to learn, and further training was definitely going to be on the agenda.
After all, my aim as I am aging and adventuring is to “Be an inspiration, not a cautionary tale!” 😉 🤣
To that end it was a no-brainer to go back to Caroline Ross and her company CrossCurrents Kayak to grow my sea kayaking knowledge and skills.
Caroline Ross, owner of CrossCurrents Kayak – ready to school us in trip planning via a marine chart. Photo taken at Brickyard Beach Community Park in Nanoose.
After Basic, the next rung on the Paddle Canada ladder for skills certification is Sea Kayak Skills – Level 1. In this weekend-long course I practiced all the rescue skills and strokes learned in the first course plus I learned the basics on how to read a marine chart and navigation, where to find weather and tide information and what it means to paddlers, and even more rescue techniques and strokes (including the all-important self-rescue).
All photos from this point forward were taken by Caroline and generously shared to our group.
First day of practice and I am heading to my boat – At Westwood Lake in Nanaimo.Our group rafting up, including someone you may know on the far left – Jude of the North aka Dr. Sock Writes Here. As you can see, the weather was not ideal (or was it, since we were going to be wet anyways? 🤔). Rain, rain and more rain. Look at how comfortable Greg and Kirsten look in their matching drysuits…hmmmm.Practicing edging my boat.Practicing pivot turns.First of many planned capsizes of the day, while Jude looks on.Practicing a self-rescue using a paddle float.Beginning a heel hook re-entry. Thankfully Caroline stopped snapping at this point, leaving the graceless heaving of my carcass back onto my boat to your imagination 😉.
By close to the end of that day, I was a shivering, teeth-chattering mess. And I was starting to think that a dry-suit might not be that fuckingdamnprohibitively expensive after all.
Second day – Brickyard Beach, Nanoose Bay
Marine chart on deck for navigation, I am heading to Southey Island with our group, for a lunch stop. If I remind you of the Michelin Man, it is because I am wearing a merino t-shirt under a Farmer Jane wetsuit, topped with long-sleeve merino base layer and followed by a full wetsuit topped with a paddling jacket. I did not want a repeat of the previous day’s shivering!Practicing a contact tow rescue maneuver with Jude.Going in to rescue Greg.Securing mine and Greg’s paddle before he practices using a “stirrup” to get back in his boat.Securing Greg’s boat with my body while he works with stirrup (the yellow band) set up.
As you might have noticed, the weather was much more favourable on Day 2. Even though we were in the colder ocean, I stayed warmer due to all my layers and the rise in ambient temperature.
Once again, I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and confidence in such a short period of time. I also learned that I’m going to stop at Level 1 Certification. Level 2 involves building skills for activities that I don’t anticipate ever doing – such as choosing to kayak in rougher waters than I’d ever be comfortable in. Level 1 was plenty hard enough on my body and I have the bruises to prove it!
Thanks to this course, on my shopping list as if I didn’t already own enough gear is:
January 12 – I boarded the plane in Nanaimo at shortly after 5 am…anticipating the next 3 weeks of fun and relaxation with friends. Winter had finally arrived on the island, and our pilot announced he wanted the plane to go through a second bout of de-icing before we took off for Calgary. This meant arriving in Calgary and at the next gate breathless from sprinting through the airport, where the jet to Toronto waited.
Only to be told that we (there were more guests than just me needing that Toronto plane) were to step aside as the gate agent continued to check in guests arriving AFTER us. Spouting some policy about needing to be in the airport 45 minutes before take-off, the gate agent told us we were being rebooked. (Which was BULLSHIT. I’ve been on WestJet flights where they held the plane to accommodate passengers making tight connections.) Yep, they gave our seats away – probably to crew – and I was booked to fly to Toronto AT 6:30 PM THE NEXT DAY. No discussion except to tell us that we were on our own and WestJet was doing nothing for us as it was deemed a weather event that we “missed” the flight, and they weren’t liable.
FINE. Shit happens and this wasn’t going to ruin my trip. After making sure an underage guest was not left to twist in the wind by the heartless gate agent (they managed to get her out the same day once they realized she was only 16), I went to find myself a hotel room and make the best of things. Getting on another flight was not going to be an option for me as the Departures board was full of delays and cancellations due to the extreme cold weather Calgary was experiencing. The airport Marriott managed to get me into my very expensive room by 10am.
I’d only been there for an hour and already my eyes and nasal passages were inflamed and burning from the lack of moisture in the air. I went to look for eye drops and nasal spray in the airport – found the eye drops only – and also found an oasis of moist air:
This was a photo I sent to my daughter, showing her I had found a source of moisture in the airport (water feature on Arrivals floor). I hung out here on several occasions, during my imprisonment stay.From my room in the airport Marriott…slathering my face with Vaseline before heading for bed. It helped. I also soaked towels and threw them around the room to add moisture. They were all bone dry by morning.
The next day my 6:30 pm flight time came and went. Delayed until 10:45pm, eventually. I was cheered when I finally saw the plane come up to the gate. That didn’t last long, as the gate agents announced they were “just waiting for some crew members to arrive”. This dragged on for a bit until they finally announced the flight’s cancellation due to the lack of crew. We were told we’d be booked into hotels, transportation would be arranged, be given food vouchers, and rebooked to fly out the next day. All this information to come via email to our devices. The only emails I got were the food vouchers and a rebooking to fly into Hamilton, not Toronto. By now it was around 1 am, and my fellow passengers were drifting off to fend for themselves.
So I did the same. I booked a flight out with Porter for 730am the next morning and cancelled my WestJet flight. Then I decided it was not worth finding a hotel room anymore and tried to get some rest in the terminal, instead.
Trying (and failing) to get some sleep overnight at the Calgary airport. Hearing my fellow passengers blissfully snoring all around me, and burying my nose in a book on my phone. Yes, here I am in the wee hours of Sunday morning still in my Friday outfit (my only non-summer one). Ugh. (I did get to wash out my socks and undies in my hotel room and they dried in mere moments it seemed, thanks to the lack of moisture in the air – one silver lining!)
Sunday morning came eventually, and I gave up on any sleep myself a wet-wipe “bath” in one of the family washrooms and went to find my gate for the Porter flight to Toronto.
As promised, I got these notifications EVERY HALF HOUR until it was finally warm enough to de-ice the plane (at -33 degrees C) at 2 pm. To say I was a wreck by this time would be a gross understatement.De-icing fluid: I have never loved thee more! My Calgary airport ordeal was finally over. From 9 am Friday morning to 2 pm Sunday afternoon, and I was finally on my way to Toronto (after contemplating trains, buses and rental cars).
I must tell you I was an unwilling witness to snippets of so many peoples’ sad travel experiences during the time I spent in the airport. I heard people on their phones talking to family, hotels and travel agents about having to cancel their vacations/travel plans altogether due to the delays. It helped stopped my own personal pity party put my own woes into some kind of perspective. The travel clusterfuck caused by the extreme weather made the news, and I vowed to never grace this airport again if I could help it.
Unlimited wine (IN A GLASS) and beer and first class snacks, on Porter airlines. Also: free wifi and no middle seats. WestJet should be worried.Moon, as seen through my window on the airplane.
Joanne and I had a teary reunion at the Toronto airport and tried to make the best of my now-abbreviated stay with her. I think we succeeded! Laughs and good meals were shared, as well as a spa day at the Elmwood, downtown.
Why was this the only photo I took during my time with Joanne?!
And – in the blink of an eye it seemed – I was on another fucking jet with CJ, and we were heading south, to Barbados.
Back to my sunrise walking routine.One of my friends captured this perfect shot.Another picture-perfect sunset.Just before sunrise – full moon over the water.Dramatic skies with the moon behind the clouds on another early morning walk.We got to see sailors practicing for the Round the Island race, which took place during our stay…More sailing action, as seen from the shore.Another racing team.Lovely to see so many sailboats, from our beach.
One of the racers happened to be CJ’s nephew – whose team took first place for their class of boat. Woohoo!!! After the race, he and his wife graciously took us on a tour of the island for a day. We stopped at Earthworks Pottery, Animal Flower Cave, Limegrove Mall, and other island must-sees during our day out. Although we have been to many spots on the island during our years of coming here, these were all new to us and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. CJ’s sister Marilyn also joined us (and got a room at our same hotel) and it was lovely to spend time with her again, not having seen her since she and CJ visited me in the fall. CJ and I have been friends since we were 7 years old and I’m always happy to be folded into her clan.
Tremendous wave action at Animal Flower Cave area, at the north end of the island. Taken from the restaurant where we ate lunch.We explored the area, which is stunning. That’s the restaurant, in the background. Unfortunately the waves were too high to allow us to go to the actual cave. Trying to look angelic at Limegrove Mall in Holetown, where expensive retail therapy happens. I didn’t buy anything, which was just as well considering what happened later.
My friends Jackie and Adrien had also come down to Barbados (first visit for them) and I tried to divide my time such that I got to hang with everybody, equally. Jackie and I booked a catamaran cruise for one of the days we were both at the hotel, and it was a lot of fun to swim the wrecks and observe the sea life there, again.
On a catamaran day trip with my friend Jackie (who took this shot). In Carlisle Bay.
We also snorkelled off of off the beach at the hotel. A fellow guest educated me on how much tropical fish loved to eat bananas! Here is a 2 minute video (watch as much as you can stand) of me (with Jackie) feeding the reef fish:
Jackie (and Adrien) and I out to dinner at Tapas restaurant. I think her husband was off looking at the sunset at the time.Night shot, taken while walking the boardwalk back to the hotel after dinner.Out for a sunset dinner at Champers with CJ (and fam).
For an introvert like me, this vacay was incredibly people-y. And thus, over before I knew it. It was a bit of blur. An enjoyable blur, but a blur nonetheless.
Soon (too soon) I was back on a plane to Vancouver (bypassing the Calgary airport, deliberately of course). I had a very long layover before my flight to Nanaimo was scheduled so I decided to cancel that leg and grab a ferry to the island instead.
And, when I went to Arrivals to retrieve the carry-on bag that I was forced to check (due to a very full flight), I was informed they didn’t have my bag. WTF?!?!?!
I had an AirTag in the bag so I called up Find My app on my phone, and it told me that my bag had already left the airport and was travelling (probably on the SkyTrain) far away from me. For the next 12 hours, I held onto the delusion thought that someone had mistakenly taken my highly distinctive bag and would return it to the airport at their earliest opportunity. I did also make a police report, in the meantime. Long story short, after a couple of days of angst and many conversations with many lovely police officers (truly, I was impressed by their diligence), my luggage seemed to settle on Hastings Street in Vancouver, and I disabled the AirTag. My stolen luggage was irretrievably LOST to me.
AirTags are great, but seeing your luggage travelling around Vancouver without you is not.
So, all of the beach clothes, swim wear and jewellery (and much, much more) you see in the above photos are gone forever. And I am waiting (not so patiently) to hear from WestJet about the claims I have made for the cancelled flights and the stolen luggage. Not the best travel experience, but I had been reminded on this trip how many had it much worse than me.
Will I travel by air again, after this series of unfortunate events? Not soon, but eventually is inevitable I suppose. Road tripping and stay-cationing is looking very good (and so much less stressful) to me right now…
How about you? Have a travel tale of woe to share? Let me know in the comments, if you care to!
As mentioned previously, Joanne and I were invited to partake in a 3 day/2 night ocean kayaking trip by Jude. This happened the first weekend in August and we had a blast! Other than us 3 (who knew each other through blogging and are now fast friends), there were 5 others on the trip – all friends of Jude, who knew her from her academic life. Those folks, and our two fabulous guides made a contingent of 10 kayakers on this adventure.
Our two amazing guides from Majestic Ocean Kayaking: Jeff and the aptly named Marina! Learned so much from them. 💕
Captain Gary dropped us, the kayaks and all of our gear off at Moon Snail Beach on Dodd Island.
Moon snail on its namesake beach.We each received a laminated map of the area, to carry with us while kayaking. X marks the spot we were dropped off (and later picked up) at Moon Snail Beach on Dodds Island. In the upper right (under Crawford Lake) is the location of the Broken Islands Lodge. Broken line indicates Captain Gary picking us up at the lodge and depositing us on Moon Snail Beach for our last day of kayaking.Joanne and I in all of our kayaking gear (including spray skirt). I think Jude took this picture of us. One of our first stops, at the tiniest of the Tiny Islands. That’s Marina (L) and Joanne (R) in the shot. Joanne in her trusty boat (with Jude in the background).Eventually we made it to our cozy, comfy lodge for the next 2 nights. Where we were amply fed and watered. Our boats in the foreground, awaiting tomorrow’s adventure.Apres kayak. View from my Muskoka chair.A young black bear came to forage at the lodge’s beach every morning.Our mornings started out calm and foggy.But soon enough, the fog lifted to reveal stunning views.We took many breaks, allowing us to explore different islands and their beaches.Jude and Joanne (and one of Jude’s friends) relaxing during one of our lunch breaks on yet another island.Guide Jeff made sure we made it to Willis Island, to experience a giant cedar tree growing there. Jude in front of it. I used panorama mode to try to capture the whole tree (and Joanne) in this shot. I think I took this shot just before we headed into the roughest waters experienced yet, on this trip. On the last day. Some of our group were quite shook up by this experience (especially the newbies). Guide Jeff had said it was nothing we couldn’t handle, so I felt quite safe and enjoyed being tossed on the waves. Was I too stupid to be scared?
I used my happy-birthday-to-me new GoPro camera to take some video and GoPro made me a short highlight reel. Yay!!! The clouds and fog started rolling in on the afternoon of the last day, and it was perfect timing to load the kayaks (and ourselves) back on the boat and head “home”: to Majestic’s headquarters in Ucluelet.
And I wasn’t home too many days before this happened. Many thanks to our guide Jeff for giving me great advice on what type of sea kayak to look into.
Meet “Libelle” (lee bell uh). Dutch word for dragonfly.
I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride on this fabulous adventure of mine (and Joanne’s and Jude’s). It was challenging and thrilling and contemplative and awe-inspiring and, and, and….it was a wonderful experience that I feel so grateful and privileged to have been a part of.
It all started last January, when Jude casually mentioned in a Zoom call that she was booking a 3 day/2 night ocean kayaking trip in the Broken Islands for August with some friends and would I like to join their party? WOULD I?!? Is the Pope Catholic? Do bears poop in the woods? And most importantly: is it OK if I ask Joanne if she wants to join us?
The answer to all of the above was a resounding YES! (And a resounding HELL YES! came from Joanne as well 🤭.) Who immediately started researching flights to the island.
We had to be at Majestic’s headquarters in Ucluelet the night before, to get sized for our wetsuits and lifejackets so that meant booking an overnight stay in town.
Actually, we could not find a hotel, resort, AirBnB etc., that would allow us to book only one night so we had no other choice but to book for 3 nights at the Black Rock Resort. As one does.
It was quite the hardship 😉, but we screwed up our courage and made the best of it (including starting our visit with a trip to the Drift Spa, visiting the Ucluelet Aquarium, noshing at the iconic Tacofino, AND enjoying the most delightful restaurant meal I’ve ever experienced at Pluvio). Making lemonade out of lemons, ya know? 😜
Morning view from our balconyFull moon view from the balcony (right before I scared Joanne to death as she independently decided to ALSO step out on the balcony at 2 am 😂).We brought provisions to sustain us.We explored the local trails…View from the Wild Pacific Trail as the fog was lifting.Joanne snapped this beauty from the side of the road in Ucluelet.We visited the beaches.
We made friends with the locals:
And then (in a heartbeat, or so it seemed), our time at the resort was over…and we were departing for the Broken Islands.
All of our group’s gear on the tarp, waiting to be loaded onto the boat.
Some of you may have surmised from Bowser’s complaining recent posts on ye olde blogge that I have been away on a holiday. Yes! For the first time since the pandemic started in 2020, I left Canada once again for Barbados. But first I spent a lovely bunch of days with my friend Joanne in Ontario. Who graciously lent me full use of her closet and laundry facilities so that I could travel with only carry-on luggage despite needing to dress for full-on winter as well as full-on summer temps.
My whole world is in these bags for the next 3 weeks.
Of course we hiked!
How I have missed this view! 😉Two colourful rascals, together again!Good adviceWhere our feet are was definitely where we were!
One of many exciting things (to me, anyways) we did while I was at Joanne’s was drop into her local library to get me a Toronto Public Library membership. I’ve been wanting one for years, ever since I saw what my Barbados buddy (CJ) could borrow online.
Wheeeeeeeee! Best $120 ever spent.
As a non-resident of Toronto, I had to pay (gladly) yet also appear in person in order to get my card. Which makes no sense to me…why couldn’t I just subscribe online since I am paying for the privilege anyways???? Why do I have to show up and prove where I live?!?! Just SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY. Hopefully now that I have the card I can renew online since the volume and access to digital items far surpasses what my local library has on offer.
All too soon my time with Joanne was over and I headed out to meet up with CJ, to catch yet another plane, this time to Barbados!
View from our patio. Our room was on the pool deck level of our hotel this year.There is nothing like that first icy cold Banks beer. Taken at Mama Mia’s, the delightful Italian restaurant across from our hotel.Sunset on our first night.I immediately fell back into my Barbados routine of sunrise and sunset walks on the beach.The full moon at 550am.Moon behind the clouds on another early morning walk.Sunrise with palms.Sunset with palms.
New this time: a decrepit, abandoned hotel along the boardwalk had been taken down and the property cleared for redevelopment. The privacy fence along the property has been turned into a beautiful, beachside outdoor art gallery. Which provided me with inspiration and additional food for my soul every morning.
Sign explaining the galleryApproaching the gallery
Unfortunately, one week into our two week stay CJ needed to fly back home due to a medical emergency involving a family member. I offered to fly home with her but she wouldn’t hear of it. (Thankfully the crisis passed and the patient was successfully discharged from hospital after CJ returned. Still, CJ was glad she cut her vacation short to be in attendance and provide support.)
This left me on my own for the 2nd week of the vacation. I kept myself busy with snorkeling, beach walking, exploring, and plenty of people-watching!
Wading into the ocean daily to swim and snorkel.Walked to Pebble Beach early one morning to see the racehorses take their sea bath, as I do every trip.I chatted up the friendly visitors to our catio patio.
Another visitor to the patio:
Whistling frogs – not native to Barbados. Who knew?This little guy was about an inch long.
And just when I thought the whistle frogs couldn’t be any tinier, this guy showed up:
That’s my index finger for size comparison.Here’s the same frog, with an ant in the frame too. The white spots on his back and legs are grains of sand.
After seeing this guy, I was very careful to watch where I walked, lest I accidentally step on one of these frogs (who look a lot like tiny pieces of debris!).
I had a very good second week. Except for all the rudeness I witnessed from hotel guests directed at hotel staff. I don’t remember so many people being so rude and such whiny ass entitled complainers from previous visits. Perplexing, to say the least. You’re on vacation, people! CHILLAX.
Readers who have traveled since the pandemic: have you noticed the same thing? I let it suck a lot of the joy out of me (my bad). I can’t even imagine how the hotel staff put up with this shit. These workers all deserve instant sainthood.
At one point I was able to actually intervene on behalf of a manager being treated abominably by a guest. I knew she couldn’t say anything but I certainly could AND DID. I told the man he was being rude and asked him where his manners went, and he slunk off. I was kinda proud of myself because I am usually slow to react when these things happen around me, due to shock and surprise.
I was primed this time by all the rudeness I had been witnessing I guess, and when he barged into our conversation to make his stupid remarks about the manager’s long braids (Is your hair real? Is it a wig? If I tug on it, will I pull it off your head?) I let him have it. Definitely not sorry about it, either.
Here’s a couple more pretty beach pics to take the bad taste of that guest away…
Colourful sunrisePerfect sunset
Overall, it really was a wonderful 3 weeks! Two days of plane travel back to back (and 4 time zones) on the way back home proved to be quite exhausting though. I haven’t been that tired for a long, long time. So tired that I noticed my thinking was impaired enough to make me afraid to drive my car for my first couple of days at home.
It was great to go away and also great to come back home, even if I traded the warm sands of Barbados for this:
Walking with Bowser after a late February snowfall on Vancouver Island (and more predicted on the way!!!).
Have you resumed travelling abroad? Have you seen people who have apparently forgotten decent behaviour and manners like those I encountered on this trip? Let me know in the Comments please!
Yesterday was one for the books! (My personal history books, I mean 🙂 ) My sister and Donna and her husband had arrived in Campbell River, BC the day before in order to be on time for our early morning Homalco Tour’s Great Bears of Bute adventure. (You might remember we were in Campbell River earlier this year…so of course part of the agenda for THIS trip was to revisit our favourite Indigenous woman-led businesses there and to stock up, which we happily did!)
On the dock at 7 am, a bit bleary-eyed and raring ready for adventure! L – R: my sister, me, Donna and Richard.
We eagerly boarded the beautiful Klohoy (Homalco word for chum salmon), a comfortable aluminum boat with 2 seats per person on the tour (1 in the indoor heated cabin with onboard loo, 1 on the viewing deck). After a brief safety lesson (including being instructed to wear our masks at all times), we were off on the 2 hour journey to Bute Inlet!
Words and pictures cannot begin to describe the beautiful views we encountered at every step of the day’s adventures.
We weren’t too far into the trip to the mainland when Captain Flavian noticed whale blow. Which meant of course we had to stop to investigate.
Humpback whale blow – photo by DonnaNot the greatest photo of 2 humpback whales. For better shots of these magnificent mammals, please go to an older post, here.
After enjoying the whales for about 15 minutes, we continued on to an inlet where Captain Flavian had grown up, to learn some of the more recent (last 200 years) history of the Homalco people. Our guide Holly also tried to teach us some words in the Homalco language.
From Donna’s notes, here are the English translations from top to bottom: 1. The language of our people (4 tribes); 2. Grizzly Bear; 3. Chum salmon (name of our boat); 4. Whale; 5. Seal; 6. Sea Lion; 7. Eagle; 8. RavenHolly and Flavian.
Holly told us to notice that the waters of the inlet were the most beautiful colour, due to glacial sediment from the rivers that feed it. And that the boat’s colour scheme had come from the colour of the water. See for yourself!
Orford Bay, Bute InletA pretty good match, don’t you think?Orford Bay welcome signWell, actually I am kinda hoping there are lots of bears in the area 🙂
After docking, we made our way to the cultural centre to get a safety briefing from our bear guides: JJ and Ian. Basic takeaway: Listen to your guides! When they say “back on the bus”, this means NOW, not 2 more photos first! On the bus, JJ also regaled us with stories involving bear spray…er…misadventures from his childhood, and cultural stories of what the Homalco learned from observing grizzly bears.
At our first stop, a bear ambled into view even before we were all able to get off the bus. And there were bears at every stop thereafter. Holly mentioned she has yet to be “skunked” on any bear adventures she has hosted. Please check out my Instagram for the many videos I posted of this adventure!
Of course the bears were there for one thing only: to fatten up on the many chum salmon in the stream! Unfortunately the fish – although plentiful and easy to spot – were very hard to photograph through the running water.
Where there are bears, there are also many birds (including bald eagles – no good photos to share, unfortunately) – also there for the salmon…both for the eggs in the river and to clean up the fish who had already died on their journey to spawn.
Everybody’s gotta eat!My sister and I are beaming, under our masks. Taken while visiting one of two specially constructed bear viewing platforms.Donna, my sister and I in front of the bear sign. We asked and were granted permission from our guides to move to the sign for a photo. The Homalco word for grizzly bear is pronounced “howgas”. (I hope I am not butchering the language too badly.)
After 3 hours of being awestruck in the presence of the magnificent grizzlies, we were as hungry as the bears themselves.
Eating our delicious boxed lunches in the world’s most beautiful outdoor “restaurant”.
Once back on the boat for the journey back to Campbell River, even more wildlife was spotted.
Harbour seals sunning on a log in Orford Bay.Orca! My first sighting!!!! This male is T11A, and you can read more about him and wild transient orcas here.Steller sea lions having a bit of a bro fest.Adult males can weigh up to 2500 pounds.The stunning views just never stopped on this trip.
After over 8 hours on the water and the mainland of British Columbia, it was time to head back to the dock in Campbell River, and from there back to home in Nanaimo.
Today I received the following (excerpted, from the email) from Homalco Tours:
Thank you for joining us on a recent tour from Campbell River. We sincerely hope that you enjoyed yourself!
By travelling with us, you are contributing to the growth and preservation of Homalco First Nation culture, Indigenous employment, and to the restoration of wild salmon populations in Bute Inlet. “I:mote” means “it is good” and is the word for gratitude in the Homalco language. We extend that gratitude to you.
I don’t think there is a big enough word for me to express my gratitude to the Homalco people for providing me the opportunity to partake of this adventure on their land. IT IS and WAS GOOD.
Black Rock Resort, UclueletNo need to sacrifice the view in the name of cleanliness or relaxation.Sequoia candle. Indigenous women-owned and operated company.Watching the sunset, moonrise from my deck.The Wild Pacific TrailTrail viewsTouching branchesTree topsPlenty of benches for ocean-watchingInteresting looking clouds. Dinner guestTreatment room for my massage/facial package. 90 minutes of uninterrupted bliss.Seaflora products used. Locally made in Sooke. Organic. Sustainably harvested by hand. Kennedy Lake Provincial Park, nearbyKennedy Lake views. See you and Ucluelet again, in July!
One year of waking up to seeing this view from my balcony while sipping my morning latte.
Dawn over the Salish Sea, with mainland mountains in the background.
One year of enjoying the freedom and…ahem…adventures that come with renting an apartment. Update: the Stompy McStompersons moved out at the end of February…and though others have since moved in, the noise from above is almost non-existent, in comparison! Heavenly….
Crazy M has been mostly quiet – so quiet that I wondered if perhaps she had finally been committed or incarcerated somewhere. But no…I have seen her driving in and out of the complex recently.
S (“Good Neighbour S”, I have dubbed him) continues to offer assistance and lets me know he is “on guard” and ever watchful of strange goings on in the building as well as Ye Olde Parking Lot. Speaking of…
About the only complaint I have currently is of meeting the same couple of old men in the hallway – enroute to the parking lot where they like to unfold lawn chairs in the shade of the arbutus trees, and take in the fresh air, daily. They continually apologize (4 times now!) for not wearing masks (as they are supposed to) when encountering me in the hallway.
Wearing as mask (as mandated, in apartment common areas) means never having to say you’re sorry, too.
One year of missing my family, and friends-that-feel-like-family… left behind in Ontario.
Surprise flower delivery this week from “The Boys” – my good friends Kenn and Jonathan – who moved into my old flat at my former building, back in Ontario.
One year of being able to spend more time with my daughter and her man.
One year of soaking in the stunning beauty of my new home (too many posts to link – feel free to explore on your own, by looking back at my posts of the last year!)
One year of walking down to the beach (5 minutes away), and finding treasures like this:
Sand art, artist unknown. At Departure Bay in Nanaimo.
One year of getting used to a much more relaxed vibe amongst my fellow citizens of Vancouver Island.
Graffiti seen, on one of my walks to and from the local shopping plaza. I’ve heard BC called the Left Coast and the Wet Coast, but Leaf Coast is a new one to me. It fits actually. Just ask the Party Bros. 😉
Two things that stood out for me immediately upon moving here:
There are SO MANY LIQUOR STORES here. Seriously, there is one a 10 minute walk up the street from me, and another one a 5 minute walk down the street from me. And there is one on just about every shopping plaza on this island! They are open from 9 am to 9 pm, seven days a week. And they offer loyalty programs!
The pace of life is so much slower and nicer here. It’s like stepping back in time about 50 years. People actually stop to talk to you (yes, even in a pandemic)…from random strangers to clerks in stores. They make eye contact and engage you in genuine, unhurried conversation. Once the shock wears off it’s actually very, very pleasant.
So many things have changed for me since I retired and moved here. Yet despite it all, I have remained the same as ever. Steadfast, unchanging…
Bwahaha!!!! 😉
I love living here. It was the right move at the right time, for me.
Rock on,
The WB
p.s. next week brings the June edition of the What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge, on Wednesday June 2nd, hosted by Donna and yours truly. Mark your calendars. Can’t wait to see what what’s on your plate!
