VanRamblings has been traveling to Florencia Bay for more than 40 years.
In the 1960s — when we had returned home from our travels to Lloydminster, Alberta / Saskatchewan; Nelson and Courtenay, where we’d worked respectively as an all-night, evening and afternoon radio announcer (there’s something salutary to be said for being a deejay when you’re just a teenager) — when we found ourselves living in Kitsilano, in an apartment on West 1st Avenue with a gorgeous view of the beach and the mountains in the distance, in the summer we hitchhiked out with friends to the west coast of Vancouver Island, over gravel roads (this was before the Canadian government had designated the area as a national park), to Florencia Bay.
Throughout the 1970s, ’80s and 90s with our spouse and children, and following the skilsmisse, with lovers & intended, friends & acquaintances, and all those who feel about the west coast of Vancouver Island as VanRamblings does and continues to feel to this day, Florencia Bay became our ‘country home‘ to which we return annually, when we are feeling just a tad unmoored, and in need of a little peace and restoration of the soul.

We awoke this wintry west coast morning to a light dusting of snow. Temperatures were in the minus range, walks were slippery, as were the outside stairs leading down to the reception area, lounge and restaurant at the Middle Beach Lodge, where we’ve resided the past couple of nights.
Roads were a tad treacherous along the Pacific Rim highway, as were the paths to the various beaches we visited throughout the day (Wickaninnish, Chesterman, Mackenzie, Middle Beach, Florencia Bay), all of which were ice-covered and very slippery, indeed. We stepped very gingerly wherever we went, and were judicious (we believe) in not hazarding the stairs leading to Florencia Bay, instead staying on the path overlooking the secluded bay.
The skies were leaden from the outset of the day til days’ end, the sun nowhere to be seen (the view from our ice-covered balcony was pretty spectacular, though, even considering the inclement conditions). The Environment Canada weather forecast for Thursday currently calls for 20 to 30 mm of rain, and blustery winter southwest winds of up to 60 kilometres of an hour in the early morning hours through til noon, with daytime temperatures of plus 9. We thank the heavens that those leaden clouds were prepared to wait til Thursday to dump their ‘payload’, otherwise we just might be socked in here, in Canada’s west coast winter wonderland.
Apart from visiting various of the beaches today, all bundled and wrapped in our finest winter gear, we spent some time in Tofino, where among other endeavours we visited at the local Co-op store, where we were taken aback at the prices being charged for staples: $3.85 for two litres of milk and $7.85 for a dozen organic eggs, two foodstuffs that cost 30 – 50% more in Tofino than on the Lower Mainland of British Columbia where we shop.
Driving back to our accommodation in the pitch black of 6 p.m., winding roads and no lights other than on the old Mediterranean blue Nissan Altima proved somewhat of a challenge, as we almost drove off the road once at a bendy turn, as well bypassing the unlit road leading us to Middle Beach Lodge. Thank goodness that we arrived home safely, if a little chilled.
Wifi continues to be spotty, even in the lounge area, so we employed our iPhone tethering service to upload the video you see above, and to post this latest update on our west coast sojourn. Tomorrow, we’ll head into Ucluelet (quite a journey, that) for a bit of lunch — warming west coast seafood chowder would hit the spot — and on the way back ‘home’ will stop in at the Wickaninnish Inn for no other reason than we want to, although we’ll probably read the complementary New York Times and Globe and Mail, and perhaps partake of a late afternoon tea as we peruse the newspapers.
For now, though: well, it’s almost time to find ourselves between the covers, with a good book and a warming cup of tea. Goodnight, one and all.

Upon arising this morning, it was a chilly -10 Celsius, and throughout the day it hasn’t warmed up appreciably, so we bundled up — earmuffs, toque, gloves, scarf, winter jacket — for our very cool walk along Long Beach.

In 2004, when Corinne and VanRamblings traveled to Tofino for a brief respite on the west coast, we stayed at the Inlet cottage in Tofino, providing easy access to the town which has become justly famous for kickstarting British Columbia’s then nascent environmental movement.
In 1984, the protest of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples — with significant cooperation from environmental groups (most particularly Greenpeace) — who erected a blockade, prevented MacMillan Bloedel from logging Meares island, traditional native land located just across the harbour from Tofino. Eventually, the Meares Island protest lead to a cessation of clear-cut logging across British Columbia, and the adoption of sustainable practices for the logging of old growth forest across the province, a globally recognized sustainable forestry practice that remains in effect to this day.
As for VanRamblings and family, for more than 40 years we have made the sojourn to Long Beach / Florencia Bay / Tofino, on Vancouver Island’s west coast, an annual practice about which we’ll write at greater length before week’s end. For VanRamblings, there is no more beautiful, nor more serene environment anywhere on the planet than can be found amidst the old growth rainforest and utterly pristine Pacific Ocean on Canada’s west coast.
Over the years, we’ve built lean-to’s on Florencia Bay and hunkered down for the summer, camped with our children, and vacationed in many of the quietening bed and breakfastses and oceanside cabins that dot the west coast landscape. Prior to our 2010 visit, we had never stayed at the Middle Beach Lodge, although we had breakfasted in the Lodge lounge (pictured above). We’re glad we made the decision to stay at the Lodge this time.
Last evening, once we were settled in, had uploaded our videos for the day (wifi is spotty at the Lodge, but in concert with our iPhone tethering met our necessary posting criteria), at 8 p.m. we repaired to the Lounge, where we partook of the fresh-baked cookies on offer (we decided on a couple of oatmeal cookies), had ourselves a cup of herbal tea, and along with the habitués of the Lodge snuggled into a comfy sofa chair by the window and read late into the night, before retiring for the evening shortly after 11 p.m.
This Wednesday morning, we partook of a scrumptious free breakfast (free works for our parsimonious nature): oatmeal with yogurt and a smattering of granola, hot coffee with cream and a bit of brown sugar, a selection of fresh fruit, orange juice and a fresh-baked and warm cinnamon bun, during which time we caught up on the events of the day on our ever-handy iPhone, glancing up every now and then to admire the palatial view through the windows of the restaurant of the storm-tossed Pacific Ocean.
Having posted for the morning, we’re now heading out to Florencia Bay (on the same road which accesses the oceanside Wickannanish Restaurant), about which we’ll write — and hopefully post some video — at some point later today, after which we intend to head into Tofino in the afternoon to do a bit of exploring, visit The Common Loaf and walk down to the wharf.
See you back here later today.