I’m back to recap the second part of our west coast holiday, which was a very chilled week spent with family on Vancouver Island. I took my little film camera around everywhere and have lots of photos to show for it!
Obviously being an island, we started the week by taking the ferry in from Vancouver. We got super unlucky with weather on our ferry days and couldn’t see much of the view, but I’m sure on a clear day it’s amazing!
First up, we explored Nymph Falls and Seal Bay which are both short walks and lead to a fish ladder and the beach, respectively. Both of the trails were lined with old growth trees and ferns the size of which I had never seen.
After a couple days of relaxing, Jonah and I went inland to see Cathedral Grove, which is one of the most easily accessible stands of old growth Douglas Firs on the Island. Since it was a bit of a drive, we decided to make a day of it and stopped a few times along the journey. Originally we had wanted to visit Tofino but because of roadwork we weren’t able to make it work, so instead we stopped off in Qualicum Bay, which is another beach town. I imagine during peak season the beach fills up quite a bit, so it was a treat to be able to get a walk in while it was entirely empty.
Then we stopped off in Port Alberni for some of the best fish and chips I’ve ever encountered. Port Alberni is known as the “salmon capital of the world” and the seafood did not disappoint.
Cathedral Grove was unsurprisingly amazing. The entire trail takes only about 30 minutes and there were signs along the way describing the different sites, which I really appreciated. Definitely a must-see on any Island trip.
Next up, we made the trip down to Victoria which is about as urban as the Island gets. The city is known for its historic architecture but because of the wet weather, we didn’t get to explore as much as I would have liked. Instead, we went to the Royal BC Museum which ended up being such a great way to spend the afternoon. The museum was focused on the history of BC and had a few different exhibitions on ranging from orcas to Indigenous languages. I didn’t realize how much I missed spending time in museums, jumping from placard to placard and leaving feeling like I learned something, so it was a real treat.
During our last couple of days, we explored the Comox Valley a bit more, browsed some shops, and ate some sushi. Overall a very low key week! I had been wanting to visit the Island for forever and it definitely did not disappoint. The nature was just incredible and it was exactly the sort of slow week I had been needing.
Photographs taken on Olympus MJU-I with Kodak Portra 400.
