Canada

Canada is new country to us. A couple of times over the years we’ve spent a few days here, passing through really so no time to get an impression of the place and the people. The accepted stereotypical view of the country seems to be boring but nice as well of course as being a sane version of the United States - gun control and free health care for example. In addition British Columbia alone offers a few lifetimes of outdoor adventure opportunities of every conceivable type. Just on those first impressions what’s not to like?

On the day we arrived we’d driven from Vancouver to Port Hardy at the northern tip of Vancouver Island and rushed into the supermarket to grab some food. As I was trying to figure out the different coins at the checkout I apologised and mentioned we’d barely been in the country 12 hrs. “Oh, well, welcome to our little town” was the very genuine response from the woman at the till. In our admittedly very brief drive through Port Hardy it looked like a dump to me, rundown and tatty with a number of closed and boarded up businesses but can you imagine having such an interaction in a small town in Tasmania?

We’re camped at Masset’s Hidden Island RV Resort, the first night here we were heading in to town to eat so Lynne popped into the office to ask where they would recommend. Within seconds they’d poured us both a glass of wine, and were passing dips and cheese platters across the table to us. 

We like Canada!

Monday evening we caught up with Meredith and her family who live along North Beach not far from Masset. A Tasmanian friend put us in contact and we had a wonderful evening getting a feel for living on Haida Gwaii, drinking wine and solving all the world’s problems. Meredith is the skipper of the inshore rescue boat based in Masset and has roamed the world on boats and ships of all sizes. Great times. She lent us an old battered rusty Mercedes which enabled us to roam a little wider than otherwise and made the shopping and carrying everything back to the kayak so much easier. Thank you Meredith!

Just about everyone we’ve met on Haida Gwaii when they’ve learnt of our circumnavigation plans have reacted with overwhelming excitement and enthusiasm. Then usually they go on at length about where on the West Coast they’ve visited and the places we just must go. There’s often a note of caution, which is fair enough but in a positive way and it’s all forgotten when we mention we’ve done a bit of this before and that we’re West Coast junkies here for a fix.

Yesterday in one of the Haida art galleries in Old Masset Indian Reserve we got chatting to a fella in front of a map of Haida Gwaii. He recounted at length Haida creation and other stories relating to the people as a whole but also his own Raven clan. He pointed out islands, bays and beaches where his ancestors lived for thousands of years. He told us contemporary stories of his visits to the West Coast by boat and helicopter. If we both had not been dying for ‘the washroom’, desperate for some lunch and he hadn’t had an appointment we’d probably still be there now listening in fascination. 

We’re back on the water tomorrow morning with a couple of weeks food on board, plenty, hopefully, to get us back to Queen Charlotte. It’s approximately 300km, less than a week’s paddling in settled conditions but..... 

The next few days, at least in Masset, look relatively tropical with temps up into the high teens and moderate 10-20kn NW winds so maybe just maybe we won’t get blown off the water for days on end.