Vancouver Island: From Port McNeill to Port Alberni

Tuesday, 10 July

I wake up at half past six and get up leisurely just before 8. Breakfast is of course served today and it's really good with oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and good coffee. I leave at 9:00 am in drizzling rain, quickly get stamps at the post office, and receive a free shopping bag! Then I head south. First, I drive on Highway 19 in the mist and at about 60°F (approximately 16°C), the same highway I took to get here. It's the only road that goes from north to south. Crossroads either lead into the bush or to a house, but not to the west coast or further south.

After about 45 miles - the sun has come out by now - I drive to a parking lot and take a short trail. It looks like no one has walked here for 100 years.

Beautiful views of the other shore about 700 meters away and the snow-capped mountains behind it. The path is often lined with tall birch trees. Today, I bravely wore my sandals and find out that they are not the best footwear here.

From Campbell River, I continue on the old coastal road and pass through nice towns and have beautiful views of the coast and the islands as well as the snow-covered mountains on the mainland. Of course, this route is slower than the highway, but it's beautiful. I pass a post that marks the 50th parallel of north latitude, so I'm actually not as far north as I thought.

Comox is a nice, clean place where apparently a lot of money is. The beautiful town is surrounded by a fertile valley and is located on a bay with a pretty marina.

I walk around on the boardwalk for a while and then continue south and at Qualicum Beach I take a cross road west to Highway 4, which ends at the Pacific. But I'm not driving that far now.

Now I'm driving through the mountains, but not very high. I check into the Howard Johnson in Port Alberni at 4:30 pm, drop off my things, and go to the office of the shipping company where I will take an 11-hour boat tour tomorrow through the Alberni Inlet, the Broken Islands, and to Ucluelet. I quickly pay for my ticket (74 CAD) and get a parking pass for tomorrow morning. This way, I can sleep at least 10 minutes longer tomorrow and don't have to do all that anymore.

All the shops along the small harbor are unfortunately closed. One booth that is open sells fish & chips and I get a piece of fried cod, which tastes extremely good. I pick up raspberries, bananas, and yogurt at a supermarket so that I have something to eat on the boat tour tomorrow.

My boat for tomorrow

In my room, the Wi-Fi doesn't work and I crouch on a chair next to the reception desk where the connection is somewhat decent. When I return to the room after half an hour, the TV doesn't work. So, I go back down to the reception and the nice lady comes to my room and sets everything right on the remote control with 8,000 buttons. I open the wine I brought from the US and charge all the batteries I have. Tomorrow, I will also wear all my jackets again. After I had a look at the boat for tomorrow earlier, I decide to take my blue beach chair with me. There seems to be a maximum of 30 seats on benches on the open deck. However, the ship can accommodate up to 200 people. I have no idea how many will show up tomorrow, but I at least want to be able to sit in the sun, if it does shine.