Days 45-49 Tofino (West Coast of Vancouver Island)

What is there to do in Tofino? Lots! But mostly, it's enough just to BE there.

If you need an occasional break from just BEING, in one of the most beautiful places on earth to BE, you can walk along the beach discovering all the forms of marine life, from tiny hermit crabs hiding in seashells in tide pools to grey whales spouting off shore and eagles soaring overhead.

Starfish and algae in a tide pool on Frank Island, Chesterman Beach

Bald eagle returning to its nest on Frank Island

Or you can go surfing, the principal pastime here at Chesterman Beach and at nearby Cox Bay. Sara gave it a try with a surf lesson from Surf Sister - her second; the first was 12 years (exactly half her life) ago on our first visit to this spot together.

Surf Sister Sara!

Just south of Tofino is Pacific Rim National Park, where we went camping many times as teenagers and went on countless nature walks, with and without naturalist guides from the park. This time we went back to one of our favourites, the Shoreline Bog walk, and visited the visitor information centre at nearby Wickanninish Beach, where one of the park naturalists loaned us binoculars to watch grey whales spouting not far off shore.

The Shoreline Bog boardwalk

The Shoreline Bog boardwalk

Tiny carnivorous plants in the bog

Whalewatching at Wickanninish Beach

With grey whale skull in the visitors' centre.
Just to give you an idea of the scale

We spent some time (and a lot of money) in the town of Tofino, which has lots of interesting shops selling beachwear and outdoor gear, First Nations crafts and designs, pottery and paintings, smoked salmon and other local and natural foods, and so on. All just a short ride away on a free shuttle bus - complete with surfboard rack!

A bus with a surfboard rack! 

Satisfied shoppers disembark the free Tofino shuttle bus

But mostly we just spent lots and lots of time on the beach.

When I'm in Italy I always find it hard to explain to people what the beach is like here, and why you don't need a bathing suit to go there, even in July!

Seeking shelter from the wind at Long Beach

It's super-windy, especially in the afternoon; the water is freezing cold and even if it weren't, the sea is so full of little animals and sea vegetables that it would be like swimming in soup, and the waves and rip currents are so strong that even if you didn't risk hypothermia, it would still be dangerous to venture into the water for a swim!

This is the ocean! The next body of land is Japan.

And that's not all: there are more hazards on land!

In short, this is not a beach where you go for carefree suntanning and cocktails, as on the Mediterranean shores!

After everyone else left on Tuesday, but the two of us stayed on to get in one more day of surfing for Sara, and meet up with our current and past home exchange partners for dinner by the dock in Tofino, at kilometre zero of the Trans-Canada Highway!