7th day - Tofino

April 14, 2023

This morning, we inspected our suite in light and discovered that we not only have a fully equipped kitchen, but also a washing machine and dryer. We will definitely make use of the latter two.

After a quick coffee, we set off by car towards the small town of Tofino, where surfing and whale-watching are the dominant themes.

Of course, Brigitte had another idea for how we could make good use of the time until our whale-watching boat departure. Namely, by visiting a circular hiking trail through the rainforest, the "Pacific Rim Trail". At first, I wasn't too enthusiastic about walking through some silly forest, but of course, the wife was right again. Because this circular path on wooden planks through the completely natural forest with its huge trees, its watercourses, and the various bird species was absolutely amazing and very impressive. And on top of that, the weather was perfect (even though the forecast was so bad). On the parking lot, we happened to meet a German family from Frankfurt, who later joined us on board.

And since walking in the fresh air makes you hungry, we stopped at "Long Beach" shortly before Tofino and went to a small café on the Pacific beach for breakfast with a view of the sea.

When we arrived in Tofino, we took advantage of the remaining time for a stroll through the main street, including enjoying two cappuccinos 😋😊.

At 1:30 pm, after a brief instruction from the captain and putting on the obligatory life jackets, we set sail on the "Chinook Princess" in search of the gray or humpback whales. And truly, after a short ride of about 30 minutes, which was quite rocky, we saw the first spouts go up. Of course, they were all far away (you're not allowed to get closer than 100m to the animals), but still visible. Gray whales! And even though each surfacing and diving only lasted for seconds, and you only briefly saw the humps of the whales with their bright spots, it was absolutely fascinating. However, taking photos was not possible because first, everything went too fast, and second, you had to hold on very tight with both hands due to the waves. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable experience of a special kind. Also, because in addition to sea lions and cute sea otters, there was also a magnificent landscape all around that is very difficult to describe in words. Brigitte was in seventh heaven and I was simply speechless... in addition to the fresh sea air mixed with the emissions of the diesel engine... simply fantastic ☺️.

And because a boat trip is not only fun but also makes you hungry, we stayed in Tofino for dinner and visited "The Bear Bierhaus" (yes, that's really what it's called ☺️), where you can get seafood as well as schnitzel and German beer.

Satisfied, content, and tired, we returned to our hotel in Ucluelet, which is about 40 km (approx. 40 minutes!!!) away from Tofino.

And now we are sitting here in our living room in front of the fireplace, I am writing my daily report, and Brigitte is still indulging in the memories of a great day with wonderful impressions in glorious sunshine. She also has a map in front of her and is probably thinking about what we could do tomorrow. I have a feeling it's going to be terrible 😱