Ocean Village Beach Resort Tofino

... ocean's edge. I sat in the pool and let the hot water trickle down my back. Every so often one of the icily cold waves would crash over the rocks, flooding our pool. Half hot, half cold, it felt wonderfully unreal. Then the wave would subside, and the pool would warm up again, until the next wave broke. I left the safety of that last pool, and sat where the hot stream met the North Pacific. The water from the springs took the ...

Jim and I hired kayaks to paddle across Clayoquot Sound to Meares Island and Lemmers Inlet. It was a glorious day, with a blue dome of sky arching over us, and not a puff of wind to disturb the droopy-tipped hemlocks. We timed out trip so the tides would help carry us. The only sounds were the ripples of our paddles, and the manic quacking of the ducks, who took flight en mass if we got ...

... We drove through the mountains that form the spine of the island, studded with lakes and enrobed in thick forest. Cameron Lake was said to be the home of a prehistoric monster- Nessie's cousin perhaps? It was noticeably absent. On the shores of the lake was Cathedral Grove. Nothing beastly here either- other than Jim, who was desperately in need of a hair cut. We wandered amongst the twisting cedars, glimpsing views of the lake. Life was ...

... and the hot springs. We were very fortunate to see a massive hump back whale jump. twist and preform acrobats for us first thing in the morning.

The natural hot springs are located near Maquinna National Park and offer several hot baths. The springs themselves are refreshed every night by the rising tide and cool off as you get closer to the ocean.

... on local wildlife etc. Kayaked through oyster farm and heard about the controvery of salmon farming. Stopped at a gorgeous remote picnic spot for a break and ate wild berries. Kayaked back past some float houses (literally houses floating on the water - apparently pretty hard to find a spot that fits all the criteria but once you have your home and hosed - no fees / leasing etc). Saw quite a few bald eagles, and our guide pulled out some crabs and starfish ...

... area called Cathedral Walk, which went amongst huge great Douglas Fir Trees. It was a most eyrie feeling as we stepped back into almost prehistoric woods and walked amongst trees several hundred years old. Then we pressed on to the west coast of the island passing spectacular lakes, mountain, waterfalls and roads. The sheer number of spectacular sights was becoming a real challenge to us, not because we stopped ...

... Henning, at vi kørte videre ad en grusvej til endnu en ensom beliggende by. Vi checkede dog ind på byens bedste hotel (og det siger ikke så meget), inden vi drog af sted. Et par ældre lokale herrer havde sagt, at vi bare skulle tage os god tid til at køre til Tahsis. De mente, at det ville tage ca. 1 time. For os tog det dog 1½, da vi også var ude at se på vandfald et par gange. Vi så mange fugle, men ellers ikke mange dyr. Dog så vi elge (Roosevelt Elk ...

... with hot water so it's just fractionally too warm. There were also a couple of rock pools further down which other than the risk of death from being washed oot to sea would be good in the summer as the cool ocean would mix in with the hot water. After an hour or so lazing I slowly pottered back. I did anyway, Graham had seen the sign that warned of bears so had picked up the pace. The journey back was through the inner route through the inlets and it reminded ...

... 70's-era, slightly dim youth hostel feel, until I realized that this meant it was ok to put my feet up on the coffee table, they put some nice acoustic guitar tunes on the stereo, and I started discovering the subtler charms of the place like the open-air hot tub out back, the fresh herbs growing on the deck, and the expansive views of the bay that would occasionally disappear in the mists of a passing cloud. And wow, can these guys cook. As it turns out, one brother is a ...

... have until 9:55. You're trespassing! You can blame your friend!" Johnny and Sean were unhappy with the situation, and they encouraged me not to say more. I wasn't really listening to them, though. I was more interested in telling this guy off. "Lay off the alcohol, buddy!" I said. "You're insane!" "Get a hold of yourself!" "Handle your alcohol better!" He called us punks. I said, "Your hotel's a ****-hole!" He said, "My wife has asked you to leave. Get off my ...