I slept until late. Goodness me, after camping with a thin mattress, you appreciate how great it is to have a bed to sleep on.
The hotel receptionist last night found a great spot to keep the kayak behind the bar on the outdoor patio. “No one can see it here and it will be safe. You have to keep an eye on things in this town. Bicycles, and sometimes even surf boards let out on the porch grow legs at night and wander off never to be seen again.”
My morning priority was to find a laundromat and get my clothes washed. The heat from the three previous days meant that, by weight, they were now more sweat than fabric, and I had to hold my breath to toss them into the washing machine.
“Well, now to find some breakfast while these clothes are washing.” I thought.
There was a coffee shop a block away with a friendly look and a line spilling out the front door.
“This must be a good place.”
When it was my turn I ordered a hot chocolate, a kitchen sink cookie and a four-egg omelet with cheese and bacon.
“Oh, I’m sorry, we don’t take credit cards.”
“Really? Is your machine broken?”
“No, we just don’t accept credit cards. We are a cash business. The bank branch is next door, so we just deposit the money at the end of the day. It saves us from having to pay credit card fees.”
“I don’t have enough cash on me. Can you make an exception?”
“Nope sorry. You can use the bank ATM.”
I went to the ATM at the bank. It charged me 5% currency conversion fee which got me a little mad. Not with the bank, but with the coffee shop. When I paid my bill, I made it a point to hand them a hundred-dollar bill.
“Sorry. That’s all the ATM gave me.” I lied. “Oh, and by the way, would you mind giving me 20 loonies? They’re for the laundromat. I have a lot to wash.”
The cashier opened the register and handed me all his coins.
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I made a short excursion on my kayak to Meares Island, where my guidebook said there was a grove of ancient spruce trees. Getting there was challenging. The low tide exposed a maze of mudflats and sandbanks. When I arrived at the island dock, it was the trough of the tide. I looked for the high-water mark but there was none. “Don’t leave your boat on the sandbank. Put it on top of the dock. The water rises fast, and it will be floating before long.”
The voice was from a kayaker that had just appeared from around the channel bend and had spotted me walking on the tidal beach uncertain about what to do. He was a guide leading five other paddlers.
“I was wondering about that. The dock is a little high to lift the kayak up there on my own.” I said.
“I’ll help you get it up there.”
His words could not have been more prescient. I went for a walk in the trail to see the spruce trees and returned after less than two hours to find the entire sandbank covered in knee deep water.
In the afternoon I took a stroll through town. When I went by the docks, I came across a curious billboard. “The Smoked Fish Store.” It said, and under the main sign was a catchy slogan, “Follow your nose.”
Indeed, the air on the boardwalk was saturated with a delicious scent of smoked salmon and I reeled through the walkway to the shop’s front door like a fish on a hook.
“I hope there’s a strong padlock on your door. This is where the town bears hang out on the porch at night.” I said to the shopkeeper who laughed at my joke.
“They keep the drifters away,” he said. “What would you like?”
“You have candied salmon?”
“Of every kind.”
I looked through the glass case. There were indeed salmon sticks of every kind. Some ruby red, and others with deep pink hues. One was chopped into cubes encrusted with a glossy layer of brown sugar, and another was flakey and covered in black spices.
I chose a cut of cherry red sockeye smoked in maple syrup and another that smoldered with teriyaki sauce and black pepper. Both had a flavor that you could feel in your tastebuds recalling the experience in your thoughts.
“This is fantastically good! I wish I could take some home with me, but I don’t want to share it in my tent with a bear.”
“Since Covid, we’ve been delivering everywhere in North America. It’s vacuum sealed and guaranteed to arrive fresh on your door. If you want next day delivery, we do that too.” He handed me a business card; and I stacked it in my wallet for when I am back home in Florida.
Sea Kayak Vancouver Island Circumnavigation
