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Published: October 19th 2013
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Love is.....
Cowichan Lake October 18, 2013 – Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island
I’m listening to this amazing CD we purchased in a Native Art Gallery in Duncan. The artist is R. Carlos Nakai, of Navajo-Ute heritage, playing the Native American flute. It’s not difficult to appreciate the incredible power of music when this starts playing. The feeling of calm and peacefulness that washes over you is almost intoxicating. I’m not suggesting everyone who hears it reacts this way but for me it’s beautifully soothing.
Three CD’s have played a significant part in this trip. This one, the CD we bought first hand from the singer/musician, Joline Baylis who was playing in English Bay in Vancouver and one of my all time favourite musicians, Loreena McKennitt, a Canadian singer whose latest album, “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” Steve gave me for my birthday while we were on Quadra Island.
And what better way to appreciate good music than to listen to it while gazing at the most incredible view. The sun is beginning to set behind us in the west and it’s producing a gorgeous, soft, pale orange light over the mountains of Salt Spring Island across the water from
us. As I look out over the deck, the land to my far left across the sea is still Vancouver Island, curving around to a peninsular with a tiny lighthouse at the end, creating Cowichan Bay, and behind it in various shades of browns, greens and orange are the hills and mountains of Salt Spring. As the mountains meet the sea there’s an inlet and right now it looks like someone has stuffed it with white candy floss. As I watch I can see more mist creeping in slowly but surely from the right. It’s rather eerie but quite fascinating (especially as I’m not on a boat in the middle of it!).
Incidentally did you know that the only difference between mist and fog is visibility? Apparently it’s fog if the visibility is one kilometre or less (although in the UK for driving purposes it’s less than 200 metres). Otherwise it’s mist. I felt obliged to check that out when wondering whether I should describe what I was seeing as mist or fog!
The Southern Gulf Islands off of Vancouver Island are so many and so varied in size and shape that it’s easy to think you’re looking
Cowichan Lake
Vancouver Island, BC out over a large lake instead of the sea. That’s what holds the appeal for us I think. Looking out over the Pacific Ocean last week was incredible and I love the power and sound of the waves that you don’t get with these usually calm waters sheltered between Vancouver Island and mainland BC. But for us it’s the rise and fall, the colours and the contrast of the mountains, hills and waters of the islands that is hauntingly beautiful; an aesthetically pleasing canvas. Indeed the desire to be able to paint this view is quite powerful! I just wish I could do it justice. But where ability with the paintbrush fails me I have the camera!
But anyway, what have we been up to in the last couple of days other than staring out of the window?
Yesterday (October 17, 2013) we found a little walk that took us down to the water near Crofton - Osbourne Bay Beach – that thankfully didn’t have a view of the rather ugly, blot-on-the-landscape, paper mill. The sky was blue and cloudless but as we approached the small town of Chemainus the fog came in and settled so
close to the shore that you couldn’t see beyond a few metres out. It was fascinating to hear the horn of a boat and watch as it slowly appeared, as if by magic, out of the white shroud of fog.
Chemainus was founded as a logging town back in 1858 but it’s now famous for its 39 outdoor murals. We followed the painted footsteps on the pavements, which guided us to each picture. The old street in the town is rather lovely as well, including Hansel & Gretel’s Candy shop where the owner was so friendly, chatting about the similarities between Vancouver Island and the UK while providing the boys with samples. I bought them each a cute little “Mystery Box” containing a variety of little sweets. Well I couldn’t not, could I?
And today, October 18
th, we drive out to Cowichan Lake, passing a magnificent, majestic Roosevelt Elk standing proud on the side of the road, surveying the traffic as it passes by. Whether waiting to cross I’m not sure but he was impressive to look at. There are areas where they have installed Elk Crossing Warning Systems. Elk with their own radio collar trigger
Murals
Chemainus, BC a flashing light on a highway sign when these huge animals come within a certain distance of the road. You certainly wouldn’t want to hit one!
We take in a few walks before treating ourselves to a Diary Queen ice-cream. The DQ was supposed to be our reward for doing a steep hike up a mountain overlooking the lake but for the first time this trip we couldn’t complete the hike thanks to the fact that I don’t think anyone else had in years. We’d found the hike in a book at the house and it looked promising but sadly it wasn’t a BC parks maintained or otherwise maintained trail and was not to be for fear we’d get lost in the process.
We managed a bit of it and found another trail near the lake but strictly speaking neither justified the DQ! Ah well. I keep telling myself this is a holiday even if it’s a really long one!
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