To Port Alberni and the Wild Pacific
Warm autumn nights on Vancouver Island
After several years of sporadically contemplating a wee getaway to Vancouver Island, we finally packed our duffels, daypacks and English-Canadian phrase book, eh, and headed off last week to beauteous British Columbia. Destination: Port Alberni, Tofino, Ucluelet and the wild pacific coast. (This installment sums up the journey there, with the rest coming in a follow-up post.)
The Blaine border crossing was smooth as a warm flask of Canadian rye (I don’t actually know that for sure), as was the two-hour B.C. Ferry sailing from Tsawwassen to the city of Nanaimo on the inner coast. The funnest part was spotting two spouting Humpback whales, both starboard and port.
We opted to explore Nanaimo later, so for now we skidaddled north to Port Alberni, with a brief stop midway to check out Englishman River Falls. An easy hike, quite intriguing. From the high footbridge, it seemed almost as if the river fell into a crack in the Earth. Even with the low flow of autumn, the sight was captivating. The trail led us downriver to a second bridge and a deep pool where we watched a school of hefty trout, apparently on patrol duty, circling around boulders, into the shallows, then to the shadows and back out again.
Rolling into Port Alberni, we easily located our digs for the next two nights: the MV Songhee, a beautifully converted, 100-foot long tugboat with seven tiny cabins and a spacious lounge. The bunk beds were sufficiently dozable lengthwise, head-bumpingly tight whilst sitting up. But an excellent breakfast in the galley, plus lazin’ in the Moroccan lounge and on deck made all the difference, as did our most amiable hosts, Daniel and Bouchra. They’ve been at this nautical dream for a decade and have developed quite a following. We were lucky to get a space near the end of the season.
I’d passed through “Canada’s Ultimate Fishing Town” a couple of times in the past, but hadn’t stopped to appreciate what a great little community Port Alberni is. Nice people (because this is Canada, eh), laid-back harbor and downtown, and plenty of distractions and attractions to keep visitors like us meanderingly happy.
In the morning, I hiked up the view tower that overlooks the town and harbor, wondering if this place is always so warm and sleepy in September. Or was it just another Monday? Kris had rambled off to find a coffee shop where she could hang out a bit. I found her later and checked out the inspired Reading Room there. Nicely done!
We walked the brand new waterfront path along the marina and around the site of a major sawmill in the midst of demolition and redevelopment. A woman we passed said she grew up there and was more or less okay with the transformation. Whatever was coming, she said, would probably be fine. We hoped so.
You gotta like boats to fully appreciate the maritime beauty of the place. There is plenty to see in that regard, with a little museum and some historic wooden craft augmenting the abundance of salmon-fishing vessels. Morning and evening light made them shine so bright you wanted to know their stories.
Our first three days out of Bellingham passed far too quickly, as usual, and we were determind to visit again with more time to explore, perhaps in the spring. For now, it was time to move on. Tofino, Ucluelet and the wild pacific coast were already calling.
