It was this city that four years ago I visited on a whim. I surfed. I kayaked. I hiked in old growth rainforest. The adventure was surreal. The memories were etched in my mind as some of the best in my entire life. So much so, that when I returned to Ontario, I longed for Tofino. I dreamt about it. I researched it on the Internet when I was supposed to be working. I hung pictures in my room, on the fridge, by the TV.
In fact, I can probably attribute that visit to BC as the reason why I live in the province today.
I couldn't possibly hold down a career in the tiny town of Tofino on Vancouver Island, but I can take a ferry and a short car ride there on the weekend and live in my dream whenever I want.
So when the August long weekend came around and I was itching for some time away and with nature, it was only natural that I chose to go to Tofino.
I caught the afternoon ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. Was on the road on the island by 3. And in Tofino before dark. The road to Tofino is one of the windiest, skinniest mountain roads I have ever driven. It's a wild ride, especially when you meet a semi on a corner and he is taking it wide doing 50! It's enough to make you feel alive!
It's also one of the most beautiful stretches of road I've ever driven. Trees hug the roadside so closely that sometimes you think you'll drive right into them. And, on this particular journey, I was even greeted by a black bear cub munching berries on the side of the road. Bliss!
My five-day Tofino agenda was, of course, packed with hiking hiking and more hiking.
In my hostel room I was lucky enough to meet a newlywed couple from Calgary who were lucky enough to meet some Tofino locals who had bestowed upon them (and in turn they bestowed upon me) a secretly fantastic hike that led to a blissful view.
"It's muddy. It's steep. "it's dense." they warned. "But you will not regret it."
Soon my first full day, with my friend Lisa in tow, we headed toward Radar Hill, a popular tourist route, then took our bunkmates' advice and found an obscure little trail. Though unkept, mossy, muddy, and winding, the trail's most unpleasing aspects were also the reasons for its beauty. It felt, two steps in, like we were lost in a jungle or a mythic forest. We climbed up tree roots, over fallen trees, under mossy canopies, and through mini-streams. Branches skinned our faces, thighs, and shins. It was stunning. And then, 45 minutes after we began, we climbed up a final stretch of sandy pathway towards a shining light and THERE. IT. WAS.
Paradise.
I use that word a lot on this blog "paradise". But this time I really mean it.
What we had stumbled upon was the Pacific ocean on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. A huge stretch of untouched sandy beach. Not a single soul. Not a single footstep in the sand (save for me own). The waves crashing and the birds singing were the only sounds to echo. There were no voices, no people, no one. It was our own personal paradise. The rocks that framed this brilliant beach were covered in orange and purple sea stars. The air was salty and sweet.
I've never been anywhere more perfect.
The next day was yet another adventure. One of the local guides urged us to cross the mudflats on the eastern side of the penninsula on which Tofino sits. When the tide is out, you can walk across what is otherwise a deep ocean inlet, across these mudflats rich with shrimp, crabs, birds, frogs, etc. "It's one of the densest, richest eco-systems" the guide said.
"Will we sink?" I asked
"Definitely," he said smiling. "The trick is to just keep moving. And leave your shoes on the sidelines!"
So we headed down to the shore, ditched our shoes, and began "walking" across the mudflats to Racoon Island. Sea urchins underneath the surface sprayed water on us as we passed. Sometimes I sunk as deep as my mid-shin, laughing all the way. Other times I walked straight across. At Racoon Island, we decided to walk around the entire island. On the opposite side, we realized how lucky we were to have this experience.
A large crab sidled up beside my toes for a a gander, while a bald eagle flew overhead and landed directly in the tree to our right. A heron flew and landed in the distance. And the otters played in the shallows off the island as we sat above their den on Raccoon Island taking it all in. 
Like the day before, there were no boats, no people, no sounds expect for a symphony of nature. A musical masterpiece that is, hands down, my very favourite tune.
The next day we caught a water taxi to Meares Island, where some of the biggest trees on all of Vancouver Island exist. The island has a rich environmental history. It was due to be logged in the 80s. To save it, the Chief of a local native band was on the island when the logging crew arrived and he made a land claim. After 20 years in courts, the island is now a public sanctuary and will never be logged. It is some of the only original rainforest left in this stretch of land. Most of the rest is second-generation.
There is a quick hike on this Island called the Big Tress hike, which takes you along a winding boardwalk to, of course, a BIG TREE. So thick around that it might take 100 people or more holding hands to hug it. It is a thing of beauty.
Right past the tree, the "end" of the hike, is a sign that says "trail closed". We quickly ducked under it, and began one of teh most sensational hikes through one of the densest, mossiest, greenest, most fantastic forests I have ever been in.
Up and down. Over and under. And even through, we plodded along. The ground was littered with 6-inch banana slugs, enjoying the dampness of the rain the night before. Small rays of sunlight broke through the thick canopy dotting our journey with sunshine. Some trees, maybe thousands of years old, were falling over and nursing "new" trees, from sapplings to the huge, overbearing trunks of trees that had outlived our ancestors. And I realized that there was so much life before me and will be so much life after me. It was surreal to drink it all in. I felt like I was in Back to the Future. And the car had stopped in a time a billion years ago when the forests were untouched and the life they created was clear.
This is just a snippet of my journey back to Tofino.
It is my most favourite place.
And every time I leave, a little part of my heart stays behind.
