Vancouver Island

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o About 20 miles outside of Whistler, I see the best view Ive seen yet on the trip! This huge mountain range with a giant glacier on it. I sat on the side of the road and stared in awe for about 30 minutes.(see pics which wont do it justice). Then I headed into Vancouver which is my first big city in more than a month. I passed through downtown, past the stadiums, had some amazing thai food, then I wanted to get out of there. Cities are stressful, wheres the forest again? So I booked a ferry to Nainamo on Vancouver Island with the hopes of doing the whole island the next day before it rained. I got in and stayed in a hotel/hostel.
Next day, im off to do the whole island and it starts raining just west of Port Alberni, so i turn around determined to head south and not get wet that day. Logger guys at he 7/11 say, oh yeah the road to Port Renfrew is all logging trails, but youve got a KLR so you'll be fine!!! Another lady named Mary says, Ive lived here 20 years and never been that way..I hear its bumpy! I start on down and after 35 miles or so, Im in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road with no idea where to go. I proceed to ask the next logger I see how to get to Port Renfrew. "oh yeah, well you got go past the pile of boulders then you make a right at the second tree with the green ribbon, then turn left at the beaver dam, but if you see the beehive on your right, youve gone too far. " That went on for another 3 minutes but you get the idea. After 120 miles on dirt roads and a stray rock to the brow which cut my eye,(Port Renfrew is 50 miles from Port Alberni in total) I get to an indian village where I get directions and snag myself a sweet deal on a salmon. An hour later and Im out of logger world and on to fresh pavement by Lake Cowichan. Ten miles later, my chain breaks are you kidding me!!!(It was a new chain!). I get a ride back to Lake Cowichan and get dropped off at a hotel across the street from the motorcycle shop(its after hours at this point).
The owner is not there at the hotel so i pitched a tent in the woods behind the hotel with one thing on my mind SALMON!!! Got a good fire goin and found a flat rock to perch the salmon pieces on, threw some curry and a little soy sauce on there and before long, I was in Curry Salmon Heaven. One of the guys came out from the hotel, he was a tree planter. It was all planters staying at the hotel and they go from place to place and plant trees after the loggers log. There is a Hatfield/McCoy kinda thing that goes on between loggers and planters complete with name calling and bar fights. Loggers will call them dirty hippies and the planters will say that actually, loggers are the dirtiest people you'll meet. I guess we'll never know.
Anyways, we go out to the bar that night and theres this old guy we're making fun of because he looks like he took ectasy or something. It ends up being the hotel owner. "He says, ye, jussss stay inin' empty room or sumthin, jus get me as beer cuz they cut me off,oh and smoke this" No sir I dont do that.
So I went back to the place with a huge apetite and ate the rest of the salmon. I think I ate like 4 pounds of Salmon that night.
Next day I get the chain and hitch a ride with Alex who helped me fix the bike and get on my way. On to Port Renfrew and then Victoria. I got a hostel n Victoria and went out with two Germans and a Swiss guy named Roman. We had a bloody good time at the sticky wicket and every other place that had music after that.
Next day, I bee-lined it for the Ferry to America...

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