To Tofino

Thursday Nov. 26  (posted on Nov. 27)

For the first time since we arrived there was no rain. The sky started off clear and then clouded over a bit. After a good breakfast of muesli, OJ and Coffee, John and Gerald set out. The first place that Gerald wanted to visit was starbucks. John had a green tea latte and Gerald a regular coffee. Going down the divided highway north from Nanaimo the mountains became visible. They were awesome! And after turning onto highway 4 west to Port Alberni they became even more awesome. Stunning with snow on them. We stopped at Cathedral Grove and walked amongst trees some of whom were little saplings in the year 1206. They let any trees that are blown over by the wind stay there as nursery trees for the new trees.

Then it was on to Port Alberni for Tim's. John had a strwberry, banana, coconut doughnut. Gerald had a tea biscuit. The road after Port Alberni was another wonderful experience. Twisted and winding among the mountains, trees and lakes, the road took the car on one direction after another all the time.

There was a bank of cloud alongside each mountain as if it had a feathery white necklace. They took the fork to the right to go to Tofino. Going through the Pacific Rim National Park they went immediately to Tofino. It is a quaint little village really. Very picturesque. They had a drink and a snack at a little restaurant. John said he enjoyed his veggie rolls (like sausage rolls with veggie stuff inside). They walked all around, going down to the waterfront and seeing what seems ubiquitous on the island - float planes, fishing boats and water taxis. They stopped into an artist's gallery. It reminded John of the artefacts he had seen in the Royal BC Museum.


Returning down the same road - Tofino is the end of the road - we stopped in the Park, bought our day passes and went down onto Long Beach to see the waves. They were rated as extreme today and it was a magnificent sight. We also went on a walk through the rainforest where Gerald told John the colour was green, green, green. A highlight was seeing two coho salmon mating in the small rainforest stream.

Finally we arrived in Uclulet where we found our cabins. Incredible place. Three stories with a living room, kitchen, a loft bedroom upstairs with a hot tub, and a bedroom in the basement. Gerald insisted thet John take the loft. Then it was off to dinner at a nice little restaurant before heading back to the cabin. I wrote the blog while John took his bath. After three days of walking, his legs are getting mighty sore.
 
TBD