I started with a day in Nanaimo, staying once again at the lovely Copper Kettle bed and breakfast. I planned to visit my usual haunts, but I started by taking in some of Newcastle Island, which is just opposite much of the city of Nanaimo. It was once a coal mining operation, and the name echoes the coal mining of the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. Since the 60's it's been a wildlife park. There's a regular ferry service to the island.
It's about 7.5 km to walk around the entire island, so I skipped some of it, heading straight to the lake, then around about 2/3 of the exterior. A highlight for me was Kanaka Bay. The water was really warm there, like Hawaii warm, I'm guessing due to the shallow water and the rock underneath, which must soak up the sun. Several others were enjoying dips, and I got a bit wet myself.
After two hours of hiking on Newcastle Island, I returned to the harbour and walked through downtown. I made my obligatory visit to Fascinating Rhythm, the music store that has such an amazing collection; I keep finding albums I've never found elsewhere, or even knew about (the day's catch: Widescreen by Rupert Holmes).
Then it was off to explore a pub I'd been reading about for over a year, Fibber Magee's, owned by the same people who run another favourite of mine, Fox and Hounds. This occupies the former rail station (I was sad to see that VIA Rail no longer runs trains on Vancouver Island) and just may have the most taps of any pub on the Island. The four taps of Fullers (from London!) are real long-handle pulls - I believe the first time I've seen these outside of England.
Before and during my fish and chips, I enjoyed the Red Brick IPA from Nanaimo's Wolf Brewing, then the Bengal Lancer IPA from Fullers (which I'd never known existed!), and the Heritage Brown Session Ale from Nanaimo's Longwood Brewery, brewed especially for these pubs.
Later I had some Delerium Tremens strong ale from Belgium ... because who knows how long it will be before I see it on tap again?
The next morning I walked back to the ferry terminal and boarded a bus for Tofino, on the western shore of the island. I'd never visited before and was eager to see it.
Travel brings me joy, especially the slow kind, where you don't have to wear a seatbelt. Trains, ferries, and comfy buses like this are a pleasure for me. I plug in my earbuds, sit back and watch the scenery go by. And wow, what scenery. I'd never explored the island beyond Nanaimo and Victoria (and one lovely wintertime train ride between the two), so it was great to get out of the city, to see smaller towns, and to go down a road that's just a thin strip of civilisation in the sheer wilderness.
We passed the village of Coombs and its famous market building with the grass roof and munching goats. We went through Cathedral Grove. We had a rest stop at Port Alberni, which I'd been curious to see some of. And I thought Kennedy Lake was awesome:
The road through this mountainous area was quite narrow and wind-y, with lots of dips and rises. It might be fun in a little sports car, but in a big coach it was a little frightening at times.
Soon we reached the coast, and after a quick stop south to Ucluelet, were arrived in Tofino. The town is at the end of a peninsula, so most places you look, there's ocean and mountains nearby. This is the view from one of the piers.
Here's the mobile visitor information centre.
I had booked a room further back down the peninsula, near Chesterman Beach, about 5k from town. (Apparently the serious surfing is done at Long Beach, about 20k from town.) I'd done some research when planning the trip, and was happy to discover that, though there's just one road (highway, really) up the peninsula, it's paralleled by a multi use path, so I rented a bike in town, and that's how I got around for the rest of my stay.
My first stop was to check out Tofino Brewing and sample their beers. My favourite was their IPA, tasty and strong at 7.5%. Unfortunately they do not sell bottles or cans, only growlers and kegs, so I contented myself with tastes.
Next I went down to my home for the night, the enchanting Emerald Forest bed and breakfast. It's in the forested interior but is a short walk to the beach. I had a nice chat with the hosts, left my bags, and prepared for a visit to the beach itself ...
Chesterman Beach is two crescents of beach with a little island on the tip in between. (I was surprised to find private residences on this little island ... what a bother it must be to bring groceries home!)
I took a few panoramas also ... here's one of one of the two cresents.
I got a good fill of sun and sand, then biked up-peninsula a bit to collect provisions for dinner. Back at Tofino Brewing I got a "growlito", a smaller version of the two-much-beer-for-even-me growler bottle, filled with their IPA. Next I visited a cluster of shops, many selling food without indoor seating: one can eat there on picnic tables, or take it home. At the Wildside Grill I ordered fish tacos, then when asked if I wanted anything else, I paused, looked, asked for a half order of poutine, then changed it to a full order. (Sometimes when I'm traveling, ordering food is like playing blackjack - I keep asking the dealer to hit me until I fold.) Then I got a few chocolates from Chocolate Tofino. Then, back to my room to feast!
After I was done with my imitation of a boa constrictor, I walked back to the beach to stroll and sit and ponder and stroll some more until it was nearly sunset. Back at my room, as darkness fell, I had no trouble falling asleep.
It was a highlight to wake up the next morning, watching the forest gradually lighten around me through the room's big windows. I particularly enjoyed watching a slug slowly traversing the glass roof of the patio just outside. I showered under the outdoor tap - why not? Nadine brought me a tasty breakfast at 7, which I enjoyed while reading news. Then I packed and started booking up-peninsula to return the bike and catch the 8:00 bus - which I made with less time to spare than I'd have liked (should have started earlier!).
The rest of the day was in transit ... a long day that didn't see me getting home until 4. I did have a bit of misfortune as, on part of the bus back to Nanaimo, the parents of a screeching toddler decided to sit with her next to me. (But with my Shure 535s deep in my ear canals, the world disappears.) The trip was filled with beautiful scenery, and with my private soundtrack playing, it was pretty blissfull to watch it go by. I'm continually reminded of the beauty of the region we live in, and consider myself fortunate to be here.
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