Carmella and I, along with my/our friend Michael (he used to be my manager, but now that I don't work for him anymore, I still find it hard to call him Mike!) went on a quick surf trip to Tofino last weekend.
Tofino is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and is a great spot to surf because of its exposure to the Pacific ocean. While a lot of BC and especially Vancouver Island is on the ocean, it's usually protected bays, inlets, and sounds that supply our southern coastline.
Because it's Canada, and the Pacific, it's really cold! Some people call it cold water surfing, thinking that it needs to be differentiated from the other kind, where you don't need a 5mm wetsuit, gloves, boots, and a hood. I think it's all the same.
Here are some pictures. I'm trying to get this written before I go to bed, so I hope to be brief. Pictures say a thou...never mind.
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| Shiffy gets ready to go, Saturday morning while it's still dark. We'd drive to the ferry terminal, and then take off the boards and park the Shif. |
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| We wanted to save as much money as possible, and it was cheaper to rent a car on the other side than bring our own on the ferry, so we walked on with all our gear. |
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| We stopped at a surf shop half way to Tofino, in a landlocked area. We rented great, warm suits for a good price, and didn't have to drive past the surf spots to rent our gear in Tofino. No wasted kilometers! |
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| Carmella checks out the surf at Long Beach, part of Pacific Rim National Park. It was the off-season, so parking was abundant, and we didn't buy a Park Day Use Pass. |
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| We're ready! One board is a rental from a Vancouver shop (you can rent surfboards in Vancouver, surprisingly) and the other is Hiroshi's, Michael's friend. |
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| These suits were very warm out in the water. It was a rare sunny winter day, so that helped also. If I had to buy a wetsuit, I'd buy this one in a second. I don't know how much it costs though, but it sure worked well. |
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| I like the driftwood-laden beach. Different from other surfing areas, and part of what makes surfing here unique. Not that I've been to many other surf areas though. |
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| Carmella and I lasted about an hour, then came in. After getting out of the wetsuit, Carmella goes hiking on a rock island on the beach. She's hoping to find... |
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| What's she looking for? |
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| A cell phone signal. The beach is nice too, but Facebook is a necessity! |
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| The sun started to go down as we were leaving, so I tried to capture it. A rare winter sunset, it was very beautiful. |
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| Another shot. I had to keep the sun just out of the frame or else it gave my pictures trouble. |
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| Part of our cost saving plan was to stay at the local hostel. It's the off-season, so there were maybe ten people there. Here, a jam session beaks out, and Carmella shares a phone showing lyrics with one of the fellow hostelers. At 30ish, we were the average age there. |
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| Carmella grabs the guitar and played a set including hits from Nirvana, Sarah Harmer, and Frente. It was a great moment in time, everyone enjoying new company and old familiar music. |
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| We even had time to Settle! On the left is Alex, who we called Klaus. He was German, and told us tales of his cupboard at home filled with Settlers versions and expansions. Carmella was dominant, beating us all soundly. Michael played his first game ever, and then dreamed about it all night. |
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| On Sunday morning, we were on the water by 9am since we wanted one more session before we caught the ferry back to the mainland. Here, Michael and Carmella head out. |
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| Carmella in the water! We surfed close by mostly, because both of us had to learn all over again. It was great fun. |
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| It was really enjoyable to be in the ocean playing around. It's much more fun than just wading in, or getting in a dinghy. I did enjoy my childhood dinghy voyages at Sauble Beach though. |
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| Carmella is trying out the surfboard that Michael made, and that his kids painted. You can buy a surfboard blank, shape it, cover it in fiberglass, and sand it smooth, all if you're feeling ambitious. Michael was. |
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| Mike rides in the last wave of the day. He was the best surfer of the three, and didn't have trouble getting to his feet. I struggled. In Bali 5 years ago I thought I had the standing part figured out, but not anymore! |
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| Carmella and Michael bring it in for the last time of the weekend. Even after an hour in the water, the cold wasn't the hardest thing; tired arms were the issue of the day. |
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| Classic Tofino surfing shot before we pack up. |
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| Carmella snoozes away the 90 minute ferry ride back home. It was quite the task to haul our boards on the ferry, but we didn't mind. |
Our trip was a great success. We had a few different highlights, and for me, they were
- Surfing, of course! I stood up and controlled the board a few times, so that was satisfying. I also enjoyed being near the trees and ocean, and away from the city.
- The hostel. We made our own supper and shared the leftovers with the others. It was fun to experience some unexpected community. The jam session, the Settlers game, and the short conversations with the other travelers helped bring everyone together in a first-year university residence kind of way.
- Listening to funny CBC radio programs during the drive. We liked one particular show that pretends to be a real news program, but is actually all made up. Callers phone the show incredulous about the various guests and stories on air.
We all had a great time, and plan to do another trip before Christmas. It was a great weekend. Michael said "This trip is tops as far as memories per dollars spent goes. Las Vagas is great too, but it's so expensive and not quite as memorable."
