Roadside Surprise

Having lived on Vancouver Island for nearly a decade, I have seen a lot of live animals off the road. Deers and bald eagles are common sighting, but I had never seen a black bear on the side of the road before our trip to Tofino.


We spotted this black bear just outside of Ucluelet, a small town south of Tofino. The bear probably just came out of hibernation, hungry and determined, causing a scene on the only through road to Port Alberni. A few cars stopped including us, hoping to catch his prominent presence on camera. I grabbed my camera and stepped out of the car. Nick thought I was crazy as the bear turned around and looked at me right in the eye. I was no more than 20 feet away from him, and probably wouldn't have a chance to get away if he decided to come after me. I was determined to get a good shot of him. Nothing could stop me at that moment.

A Little African House on the Coast

I've been absent from blogging for a little while due to personal commitment. It feels good to be back to my normal routine. Let's pick up where it was left off.

What you see here is African Beach House Nick and I stayed at in Tofino. I searched for Tofino accommodations online, and very few nice accommodations came up within our price range. At the very last minute, I booked a cabin from African Beach House after obtaining the details from the owner over the phone. The owner sounded very friendly and trusting, and didn't even take any deposit or credit card information for our reservation.


After a 3 and 1/2 hours drive from Nanaimo ferry terminal, we finally arrived at African Beach House Bed & Breakfast. At first sight, "Oh god, we're staying at a run-down house..." thinking to myself. The owner came out immediately to greet us. His welcoming presence made us at ease. He led us to the cabin located behind the house you see in the photo. The self contained cabin was built with solid wood, fully equipped with kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom upstairs loft. Inside the cabin was tastefully decorated with an African influence. The entire property was surrounded with ancient cedar trees, providing tranquil ambiance during our stay. The best of all is its location. it's right across from North Chesterman Beach, easy beach access for morning walks or sunset watch.


I have to say it was quite pleasant to find such a hidden gem along west coast Pacific Rim. We would definitely stay there again.

Finding Waves on the West Coast - Part 2

It was a sunny but rather windy day when we woke up in our little log cabin Bed and Breakfast, and Nick was more than ready to do some surfing. He signed up a surf lesson by himself (I was still recovering from a shoulder injury) with Surf Sister, a well-known local surf school, and they were kind enough to take on a few "brothers" among their students for the day.

Once suit up and hitting the sand with their boards, they were taught the basics techniques and moves. Everything seemed easy enough (from my point view). Nick was doing well at first, hopping onto the board and even managing to stay up there for more than a few seconds. As the wind picked up and the wave got higher, he looked a bit fatigued, especially when attempting to hop onto the board. I managed to take some shots of him during the few seconds while he was on the board.


Didn't he look like he knew what he was doing even though he wasn't quite doing the "Blue Crush" out there? He later told me it was one of the most liberating and satisfying activities he's ever done (probably not as exciting as body-checking people into the boards in hockey). Well, not very fun for me as I was freezing my butt off even with layers of clothes while trying to get a few shots of him.

Finding Waves on the West Coast - Part 1

Having lived on the west coast of BC for years, it is a bit surprising that Nick has never been to the west coastal side of Vancouver Island, the very tip of Pacific Rim National Park. It had been years since I went there, so I was just as excited when we set out for a weekend trip to Tofino.

It was a glorious day for highway driving, and we took full advantage of such a nice break in weather as we drove through lovely Parksville and pass the town of Port Alberni. Upon arriving Tofino sometime in the early evening, we dropped off our stuff and went straight to the famous Long Beach.


The sunset on the vast beach was one of the most striking scenes. The current swept up a steady wall of sea water over the shallow beach, and scores of evening surfers appeared and disappeared on the horizon as we looked on. As we watched the magnificent sun set, Nick anxiously waited for the beginning of the next day when he would take his first surfing lesson in his life.