9th day 29.07.2016 Vancouver Island Tofino - sunny

Today it was time to say goodbye again to the very beautiful hotel complex. After a short, self-made breakfast of Starbucks coffee, cookies, and apples, we checked out of the hotel and now drove along the beautiful 19A coast heading south. South of Parksville, we turned onto the 4A towards Port Alberni. This road leads through the mountains, through the island to the Pacific. Since Anne always panics when a road leads through the mountains, I had made a gas station stop to reassure her. After a short time, we were already in a forested, hilly area and the road snaked up into the heights.

A few minutes later, you could already see several vehicles parked on the side of the road, and we had a feeling that we had arrived at Cathedral Grove. Here, on both sides of the road, there is a very beautiful trail that leads through a very old forest. Here, you feel like you have been transported back in time. There are incredibly tall, wide, and powerful trees adorned with moss and ferns. In addition, there are a lot of information boards about the forest. We walked on the left side of the road, as there should be the thickest tree. It is definitely worth stopping here and admiring this natural wonder.

Then we continued west and arrived in the city of Port Alberni. This city is a medium-sized port city and is located at an inlet to the Pacific. Here, you can find all kinds of shops, restaurants, and of course, several gas stations. We stopped here to rest and refreshed ourselves at Starbucks. By the way, Starbucks is also a good place to check or send your internet messages.

We continued through the mountains, through many curves along Sproat Lake on the Pacific Rim Hwy towards Tofino. The drive took us through incredibly dense forests, even the whole mountains were covered in forest. Here, we realized what tremendous natural resources are available in this area.

About 20 km before Tofino, there were nature-tourist attractions on the right and left. In Tofino itself, it got very crowded again and we could only move forward at a walking pace. Then we looked for Jamie's Whale Watching, as we received a 10% voucher from our tour operator, where I had booked the hotel in Courtenay. We quickly found the station and since the weather was supposed to be very nice again the next day, we immediately booked a tour for a proud 400 dollars. In hindsight, the prices are all about the same and you could have booked elsewhere, but it always depends on luck whether you get to see a whale or not.

Then we passed a cozy ice cream cafe. At Rhino Coffee House, we refreshed ourselves with good coffee and delicious ice cream sundaes.

Then we went to our accommodation for the next 2 days, the Travellers Guesthouse. This is a backpackers hostel, mainly for young people. We were greeted very nicely here and shown around the house. Our accommodation was hidden behind a bookshelf. We had a separate room with 2 double beds, a private bathroom, and even a small private terrace. Nick, the host, also gave us tips for the surrounding area and then shook his head in disbelief that we had already booked the whale watching (crazy Germans - everything must be planned). Well, that's how we are. After unpacking everything and freshening up, we walked on foot through the town towards Tonquin Trail, which led to Tofino Beach. A dreamlike, secluded beach with wonderful sand and ambiance. The sun reflected in the water and we enjoyed the view and played with the waves.

In the evening, we went back and had a delicious dinner by the sea at the House of Himwitsa, with a great view of the bay and the seaplanes.

After dinner, we returned to the hostel and played 5 phases of Phase 10.