An overcast day on Long Beach, the longest stretch of unprotected beach in the western world
Day One, Part 2: The Details of the Actual Journey Over to Tofino …
Corinne and I are wrapping up Day One of our CirclePac Tour of Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast. Pictured above is our first view of Long Beach (but more on that in a moment).
The journey over to Vancouver Island, on the BC Ferries, was calming, peaceful and wonderful. As there wasn’t too much blustery wind, walking around the upper, outside, deck proved not too hazardous, and a warm gulf breeze helped one to feel that summer is not too far off. Although the weather was a tad overcast, the sun snuck out from behind the clouds, on occasion, creating a sparkling carefree vista of the Island in the distance, mirrored to some extent by the waves which lapped up against the ship.
We arrived in Nanaimo, after our 1-hour and 45-minute ferry trip to Vancouver Island, around 10:15 a.m., stopped by the local BCAA where we picked up some additional maps and brochures, filled up the old Volvo with fuel (at 77 cents a litre, a darn site cheaper than one would pay in Vancouver), and once again we were on the road to Tofino.
As indicated in the previous correspondence, we drove through Parksville (off the main Island Highway), and proceeded east to Port Alberni, stopping off at MacMillan’s Cathedral Grove, where we took a circle tour of the forest, marvelling at the dense, old-growth forest. A few years back, hurricane force winds felled almost 50% of the trees in the Grove, parts of the forest strewn horizontally on the Grove’s floor. Still, as is generally the case with Mother Nature, one set of trees falling has led to the growth of a whole new set of trees stands, and Cathedral Grove remains as magnificent as ever.
We drove directly to Tofino, stopping off briefy at Long Beach, where we witnessed the view which you see pictured at the top of this page. Afterwards, we found our way to the Tofino Inlet Cottages, where we’ve become resident for three days. The owners have changed the name to the Mini Motel, which consists of two A-frame cottages. We’ve got the top part of the A-frame, which looks like this from the inside …
After settling in, we explored Tofino just a bit, and as Corinne was hungry, we looked for a place where we might partake of an early dinner, finally settling on a Big Daddy’s Fish Fry, a little hole-in-the-wall joint where they served Fish (salmon) and Chips, in humungous portions, at only $12 for the two of us, about one-third the price we’d seen anywhere else in town.
The remainder of the day was spent re-visiting Long Beach (where, in season — which it’s not at the moment — one is charged $10 for parking!), and exploring the West Coast landscape.
Well, time for bed.
