Whales? Whales!

Friday, August 04, 2006

We’ve spent the last six nights on Vancouver Island in search of some sun and sand and whales.

Having driven up the “sunshine coast” we caught an evening ferry from Powell River over to Comox and camped at a place that referred to itself as a “resort”. The Resort was really just a tenting and RV camp but we found a satisfactory site and friendly people on either side. From them we learn that we must stop in Coombs and check out the goats on the market roof. We do, the goats are there, and so is Darlene’s favorite dressmaker. While she’s buying, Ian gets trapped by a enthusiastic iridologist and is informed that lettuce is bad for the bowels and that flies excrete all over black peppercorns. This man is extremely friendly – and would like to sell me some “silver water”, guaranteed to kill germs as they enter my system.

Monday night we camp in Stoat Lake Prov Park, home to some ancient petroglyphs and two very impressive water bombers. (These planes can scoop up 23 million tons of water when fighting forest fires!) We have been very clever and actually made reservations at a campsite in Ucluelet for Tues and Wed. Although our site is rather close to another couple, we rarely see them – and we have a great view of the harbour. Tuesday is spent hiking, checking out Tofino and arranging for a whale tour on Thursday. On Wednesday we hike some more – through a rainforest trail – and then grab a few hours at Long Beach, sunning, reading, and watching the surfers. What a beautiful part of the world!

Thursday we pack up quickly, full of anticipation, and head for Tofino and the whale tour. Darlene and I have chosen the small Boston whaler – 20 ft – rather than the huge enclosed launch. This means we get suited up in thick, warm all-weather gear. We get great seats – right at the front – and the day is sunny. In fact, the only thing that was missing was whales. NO WHALES! ( OK, not quite true. We saw a fin here and a tail there and the odd blow or two, but this was a really disappointing trip.) My best photo of the day was of a kelp bed!

We left Tofino about 3 p.m., soured on whales, and headed for Victoria. And as we drove, things got progressively better. There was sunshine in Cathedral Grove, a beautiful hike through old-growth Douglas Fir, and we took the time to see the murals in Chemainus and the totem poles in Duncan. We arrive at Goldstream Campground in Victoria about 9 p.m. and get the last tent site.

We had pretty well given up on the idea of another whale tour but the German couple beside us extolled the virtues of “Prince of Whales” and their Orca tours, so Friday morning saw us up early and into Victoria. This time we chose the larger boat so that I wouldn’t spend the whole trip cradling the camera in a plastic bag to keep it away from salt water. And what a great trip! We saw lots of whales as they swam by our boat and we came away happy that we’d tried again.

We caught the 7:30 p.m. ferry to Port Angeles and managed to find a cheap and cheerful motel – The Flagstone – where I now sit and write.

Karen, Happy Birthday!