Impulsive trips are sometimes the best ones because you don't know what is going to happen!
I had a whole weekend with no work, so to fill it, I impulsively decided to visit a tree planting friend in Squamish!
I had so much fun! From night caving, trying my hand at bouldering, hiking the Chief, and meeting some really cool and fun people. Other then the rain, it was a super fun trip. I don't think I could have done anything more enjoyable with my weekend!
It was too wet to climb the boulders, but not too wet to go under them! Squeezing through tiny cracks was a bit of a challenge; What you discover beyond them was incredible though!
The above photos are of the trail leading to the first peak on the Chief! It was pretty foggy at the top, but eventually, it cleared and I could see the whole of Squamish.
I only accomplished the first peak out of three because it was raining and getting late, but it leaves me something to do for my next visit. Although the trip from Comox to Squamish is relatively long, it's not hard to accomplish, so hoping to come back here again really soon!
"Add life to your days, not days to your life." - Anonymous
My trip plan had never included Nanaimo, but with an extra day to spare traveling I'm glad it occurred!
Nanaimo first won me over while waiting for my bus to get to Tofino. I got to witness some children hand-feeding the harbor seals! At the docks, there is a contraption where people clean the fish they catch, and the leftover guts are thrown into the bin. I saw a few River Otters taking from the bin, and the locals will often come down and feed the remaining guts to the very curious harbor seals that reside there.
I wasn't sure how I felt about feeding the wildlife since it is usually discouraged. However, after talking to a local it reconciled the idea to me. "We take their food source," he explained, "It is only right that we give back to them what we don't use so it doesn't go to waste."
My first night in Nanaimo I spent in the Cambie hostel. It was $30 a night; Rightly so, since it is situated right above a pub and there is no soundproofing in the rooms. However, it was comfortable and I had a room to myself for the two nights since no one else had booked in there.
Nanaimo has a beautiful urban art wall that I discovered. If you ever go down there you should definitely check it out. They even have a part of the wall you can contribute to yourself!
I decided while in Nanaimo that I really wanted to go sea kayaking. I absolutely love to kayak and kayaking is a great way to see wildlife and explore the shore. I took a ferry to Newcastle Island, also known by its native name Saysutshun. There, I rented a kayak for three hours and kayaked around the entire island.
Newcastle Marine Provincial Park is really cool since it is surrounded by artificial reefs and is home to white raccoons. As I was kayaking I also spotted river otters playing on the rocks, and the occasional harbor seal would pop its head up beside my vessel.
Sadly, halfway through my adventure, I started feeling very tired and dizzy. I discovered since then, that my iron levels are currently pretty low. Thankfully, I had stayed along the shore and the rocks were a perfect place to lay down and take a little nap! There is nothing quite as nice as laying on a cold rock on a hot day alone, listening to the waves lap across the shore, and tasting the salty breeze in your mouth. I rested for a good half hour, then felt strong enough to paddle back to the harbor.
After kayaking, I headed back to Nanaimo and went whale watching!!!
I've always been very interested in conservation and wildlife. Vancouver Island Whale Watching offered a three to four-hour tour through the Salish Sea, and if you didn't end up seeing a whale they would offer you a free trip again in the future.
Of course, we saw whales though! Humpback whales, about seven to eight of them! I learned that each humpback whale can be distinguished by the patterns on the back of their tails. No two tails are alike! Our guide showed us in his identification book all the different tail patterns and the names they had given to each whale with those patterns. We had to keep 100 meters away from the whales so getting good pictures was pretty hard. It was super cool to see these big creatures looming out of the sea! It is weird to think of the variety of wildlife that lives in these waters.
Part of the tour also included seal watching! We found these rather amusing Steller Sea Lions floating about on a weather device.
If you peer closely at this cliff above the water you will see that it is home to hundreds of cormorants; And yes! The white stuff is their poop!
I ended off the day with an amazing dinner at Aladdin's cafe! If you like Lebanese food, I definitely recommend it!
On my way back to Comox the next day, I stopped again at the harbor where I had hand-fed the seals. There was no leftover meat to feed, so the seals didn't show their face much. However, there was this rather beautiful Herron that I got to observe hunting its prey. Nanaimo is a wildlife jewel and I barely scratched the surface of the things you can do in this seaside town. I'm definitely coming back someday!
Now I'm chilling in the Comox Valley for awhile. I have a lot of family here, and there is a lot to explore too! I have some part-time jobs lined up, but thanks to tree planting I don't need to stress too much. As I mentioned earlier, I've been feeling rather weak and dizzy, but hoping that with some iron and taking it a little easy for a while, I should feel back to normal and ready to explore again!
