Anna at the campsite, Arrowvale Campground, Port Alberni
Canadian horse breed, Arrowvale Farm, Port Alberni
Andrea, a gardener at Arrowvale Farm Port Alberni
Chesterman Beach, south of Toni
Boardwalk to Schooner Cove, Pacific Rim National Park, south of Tofino
At Schooner Cove, Pacific Rim National Park, south of Tofino
Indian Paintbrush at Schooner Cove, Pacific Rim National Park, south of Tofino
At Schooner Cove, Pacific Rim National Park, south of Tofino
At Schooner Cove, Pacific Rim National Park, south of Tofino
Arriving Beaver floatplane, Tofino
Salmon on the fire, Long Beach Golf Course Campground
THE TRIP to Vancouver Island, began on Wednesday. By evening we set up our tent at the Arrowvale Campground, just outside Port Alberni. Our campsite was well situated between friendly neighbours. The campground was actually only one component of the property, owned by Bob and Ann Collins. For the most part this was a farm with goats, beef cattle, and where horses (plus a few Sicilian donkeys) are also bred. Anne Collins showed us her breed of horses called Canadians. In the stable she demonstrated how she could easily communicate with these large gentle creatures, getting them to step back, step sideways, etc, simply through touching them a certain way. In the vegetable garden, Andrea showed us around too and we selected some heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, kale and garlic to enhance our next couple of nights of camping.
Elizabeth, Isla, Ryan and Ewan at Clayoquot Retreat, Tofino
Anna with a rented boogie board and wet suit, at Cox Bay, near Tofino
Welcome to Arrowvale
We arrived in Ucluelet, on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, around noon. Loaded up on more provisions at the Co-op, before driving to the campsite, by the tiny airport and adjacent to Long Beach. Friends Elizabeth and Ryan had booked for all of us and we found our campsite, for the next three nights, situated next to theirs. Anna phoned Elizabeth and we joined them on Chesterman Beach, south of Tofino, after we set up our camp. In the late afternoon we caught up with them enjoying themselves on the sandy beach. Ryan was out surfing, the children Isla and Ewan had donned wetsuits, just like their Dad, and were playing at the water's edge. Late afternoon sunshine played off the waves and Frank Island appeared as a forested silhouette just off shore. That night we combined our cooking into one, which became the model for the following nights too.
Woke up Friday morning absolutely freezing. A cold clammy fog had engulfed the coast and it felt like it was hardly over 10ºC! Joined our friends next door for breakfast, before we left on our outing to Schooner Cove, within Pacific Rim National Park, and only just down the highway. For one kilometre we followed a boardwalk, up and down, across stream gullies and through dense rainforest. We finally emerged on the beach, to the muffled crashing of distant surf. The long sand stretches were bordered by rocks and forests. Here and there, heavily treed islets, just off the beach, were partly concealed by drifting fog. By early afternoon we could go no further, cut off by a rocky headland ahead. We returned to the car, finally emerging in bright sunshine, as we approached the parking lot.
On Saturday we had all had a pleasant morning in Tofino before going to Cox Bay. Elizabeth helped Anna to rent a wet suit and a boogie board. At the parking lot we joined up with a couple from Port Alberni named Jen and Ryan, who were friends of our friends. Once again we entered fog as we approached this serious looking surfing beach. I left Anna with the others to play in the waves and returned to Tofino to e-mail, read and buy groceries. That evening we at fresh sockeye salmon as well as little desserts of Bisquick and pie filling cooked in pie irons, also over the hot embers of the campfire. All this was accompanied by salads and washed down with lots of red wine.
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