Vancouver Island, Tuesday, Sept 19

Another good night's sleep thanks to the rather heavy rain during the night.

We have a very nice breakfast cooked by the host. The hostess tells us the rain should stop later in the morning and she gives us a couple of suggestions to check out when we leave. This has been a very comfortable B&B except for the flight of 26 steep steps to get down the cliff side to our room’s level.

We are in no hurry as Dick has some bookkeeping that he needs to do and Carolyn wants to get Monday’s blog posted before we leave. Check out is 11AM and the host tells us we can stay longer if needed which is very nice. We get our projects done and are out the door right at 11AM.  Fortunately the rain has stopped and there is some blue sky and sunshine.

The hostess suggested a stop at Englishman River Falls near Coombs. We cross the river on the highway and see the turn off for the park, but never find the bridge or the falls. Oh well, Carolyn’s plan is to drive north on the coastal road and have a nice seafood lunch overlooking the water somewhere.  We have limited time today as we have to be back in Nanaimo and in line for the 5:45PM ferry by 4:45PM, give or take a few minutes.

The coastal road runs along the water’s edge mostly and has very little traffic. It runs through some small villages and past several fishing and oyster operations. We also see evidence of fish farming in the small bays. We are about to give up on lunch overlooking the water as we arrive at Comox, our designated turn around point.

This sign was posted on the walking path above.

Comox has been revived by the tourist trade according to the Vancouver Island tourist guide. It has a nice harbor with lots of fancy boats and guess what...a busy pub, The Black Fin, overlooking the harbor! We get there right at 1PM so they are busy, but there is an open table with a view. The food is excellent. Dick has seafood chowder and oysters. Carolyn has fish and chips....the best so far! We also share a hot spinach dip.  We linger over the meal and send a few texts to family before driving down to the harbor for some pictures. After taking pictures with the cell phone and the camera, it is time to head South. According to the GPS we should arrive at the Ferry terminal right on time to check in.

Don’t know how it knows, but the GPS has been right on the money with our travel time every time. We pull up to the check-in window at 4:30PM, a little early, but we are not the first. We get our ticket, total $99.70 CAD, $89.70 CAD ticket cost for two passengers and a standard sized auto plus a prepaid $10 CAD reservation fee and get in line. We don’t understand the thinking of charging a $10 CAD reservation fee.  One would think that they would want to encourage advance reservations so as to anticipate their demand.

The trip is uneventful  and the ferry is only 75% full. The only hiccup is Dick misses the turn for the highway to the hotel and we have a 15 mile detour. To his credit the highway signs around Vancouver are terrible. There are several main highways that aren’t on the GPS map yet so that is no help.

We get to the hotel at 8:30PM, get our room and unload the car completely. Carolyn needs to regroup a little to park the car for 12 days and get on the ship.

Tomorrow is catch up day....we have nothing planned other than maybe going back over to Richmond’s waterfront area for dinner.

Vancouver Island was worth the visit, though it was not what we expected and it took us a little time to adjust our sights. The west coast is stunning in its ruggedness. The east coast is much more developed than we expected. The Island is a hiker, boater, diver, kayaker, fisherman’s dream! Lodging is expensive for what it is and so is the food. But we would love to bring our trailer and camp for a few days in different parts of the island. Remembering the road to the west coast, maybe renting a cottage would be a better choice!

We didn't see much wildlife, but according to all the information we received, it is here. In Comox, feeding in the tidal pools, we saw Canadian Geese, Cormorants and a Bald Eagle. On the Ferry crossing, the Captain spotted a lone Hump Back Whale for us. Hopefully we will see more in the days to come. 

The other thing is be prepared for rain. There is a lot, as the Island is mostly rain-forest. Even on a sunny day there will be the odd rain shower. On rainy days there will be long breaks without rain. Basically the locals just ignore the rain and go about their business, including hiking and other outdoor sports.