| Chapter 13 -- Octopus Islands, Grace Harbor and Westview |
| Wed, 29 Aug 2001 19:17:00 -0000 (GMT) The forecast for today is for hot and sunny weather, which we like the sound of. At the moment, there is a high fog, same as yesterday, and it did turn out beautiful yesterday... We spent yesterday in Westview, doing the laundry-groceries routine. David, Craig and Lynne also found the recreation center which had a nice pool, with sauna, hot tub, etc. (I took a nap...) Pretty civilized. (On both accounts). David had forgotten his swimming suit, so we made a run up to Wal-Mart -- too civilized for words. Lynne and I had gathered a big bucket of oysters in Malaspina Inlet (Grace Harbor) before we left there on Monday. Upon arrival in Westview, we took turns sitting above the swim step of the boat, shucking oysters. Lots of people walked by on the dock and wanted to know where we got them, whether we were worried about PSP poisoning, and one fellow wanted to know whether we wanted some chanterelles to go with our oysters. He was back a few minutes later with a big bag of chanterelles which he had gathered in the woods here. We haven't died yet of PSP poisoning or poisonous mushrooms, so it was altogether quite a good culinary experience. Last night David made paella with the oysters (yum!)and this morning we had chanterelle omelettes (yum!) |
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| Grace Harbor was an interesting place. It's now a provincial marine park, but formerly there were one or more homesteads. We went ashore and investigated a one-room shack covered with graffitti. We gathered blackberries for a blackberry pie, and lamented the extremely underripe apples. (There were at least ten apple trees hidden among the blackberry vines). David gathered sea asparagus for a wonderful curry dish he created that evening. |
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| Meanwhile Craig went out and caught several rockfish, one of which had the temerity to puncture the floor of the rubber raft with its sharp, spiny fins. (The rubber raft is managing to take its fair share of hits in the last couple of weeks. You'll recall we managed to rip out one and three quarters of the two towing rings when it turned turtle on the exciting, stormy trip between Gorge Harbor and Campbell River last week.) Fortunately the rubber raft is very repairable, although the towing rings may require professional assistance. |
| Before Grace Harbor we were in Octopus Islands Marine Park. The tail end of that nasty storm continued while we were there, so we did lots of reading, cooking (clams -- yum!), and played several games of scrabble. We went ashore in the rain to visit an unusual cabin we first discovered on our last visit. The island is covered with discreet little signs saying "private island," but if you land, and walk to this little cabin, you will see that the owners welcome you. Really, it's just a shelter, with all the windows and doors open to the weather. Inside there is a guest book for visitors to sign. A picnic table is covered with found driftwood, rope, shells, dried seaweed, and other sorts of flotsam, together with scissors and pens. People are encouraged to make artwork, and leave it for subsequent visitors to ponder. There are mobiles hanging from all the beams and sculptures on the walls and floor. Some people obviously create art in anticipation of the visit, and leave it. (David says he wants to do that for our next visit). Poetry is posted, including one poem inserted in a wine bottle, and another inserted in a gas lantern. We spent a half hour or so examining the artwork, while the rain dripped outside. Last night I discovered to my horror that our digital camera was nowhere to be found. It's not so much the camera, as all the pictures we've been taking! We wracked our brains and finally figured out that we had to have left it in the airport shuttle in Campbell River after we saw the Neunteufels off to Vienna. So this morning, heart in mouth, I phoned the Campbell River airport shuttle. Indeed, they have it ("It didn't have a name on it -- we were wondering when you might call") and they're going to send it south on the Laidlaw bus for us to pick up in Nanaimo on Saturday. Whew! |
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| David, Craig and Lynne soaking up some welcome sunshine between the cloudy bits. |