Blogs from Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 2

The floathouse was much bigger than I expected. There was Crystal's family home, and several small chalets for paying guests. The one we stayed in had room to sleep 6 as well as a kitchen, living room and bathroom. The nearby fishing lodges are also floathouses,and when they are closed in the winter they are brought down to Dawson's Landing to be looked after by Crystal's family. The surrounding area is no longer logged. Until recently some patches were logged and the logs were flown out by helicopter. The morning sunrise at Dawson's Landing was other wordly, as you can see from the photographs. I woke up proclaiming that I had been speaking american in my dreams, and didn't understand why my US colleagues found this funny. According to them I still sounded the same when ... read more

By this stage in my trip my dreams were getting vivid and weird. People who know me will know that I like to relate my dreams. I told Kristi about how Roland and Cindy had left the expedition in a sports car, and she had gone off off in a taxi with her cat in a basket. I also told her that in my dream I had lost a lot of weight. To this she replied quickly and emphatically, 'That WAS a dream.' Thanks Kristi- you can talk after all those smores you ate... That day all the volunteers would go on an 11 hour trip to River's Inlet with Will and Jackie. Crystal would also be coming, but we would leave her at River's Inlet, as this is where she lives with her family. Her ... read more

At last we arrived at camp after a three and a half hour journey. The other scientists were eagerly awaiting our arrival. We Had the supplies fro the week- fresh vegetables and yoghurt. Of course they were eager to meet us too. We anchored in Skull Cove, disembarked into a small dinghy, and eventually formed a chain to get all our luggage up the steep wooden steps. We had been issued with wellies by this time and were told we would have to wear them everywhere in camp, it could get very muddy. We were shown around camp after being allocated our cabins. I was to stay in the luxury of Killerwhale Kottage with Kristi, and yes I am able to appreciate the alliteration, and it didn't annoy me once that they had spelt cottage with ... read more

After breakfasting with Maureen and Marcel, we left Parksville around 10 am, headed northward. We chose to take highway 19A almost as far as Campbell River, and really enjoyed meandering through tourist country along the water. The traffic was light, and we drove leisurely, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the oceanside communities between Parksville and Campbell River. While this is a prime tourist destination, it hasn’t been developed to the nth degree as so many places have these days. There is room for wildflowers to grow between the well-groomed gardens, and there is a casual friendliness in this area that makes me feel guilty when I lock the car door behind me before going into a café or shop. I imagine it must make me look like someone from a big city, and that ... read more