I arrived back in Vancouver from Tofino last night and have a monster size pile of digital photos and film rolls to process. The trip was fabulous and reminded me in spades why I’ve been hankering to get back to Tofino for so long!
It turns out the announcement of a water shortage was a blessing in disguise for us while wreaking havoc with the local tourist trade. It created a very peaceful environment during the Labour Day weekend, but it was chaos and misfortune for some scheduled weddings at the resorts. The kicker for those involved is that Tofino was declared Open For Business on Thursday night, which was already too late for many to change back their plans!
We were really lucky because the ban and subsequent reopening didn’t affect us much — we’d chosen to go ahead with our accommodations regardless, buying enough water in Nanaimo to keep us squeaky clean and hydrated for the weekend. In order to downgrade the official ban starting Friday, Sep 1 to severe restriction/conservation level, some commercial operators got together and arranged for water trucks to bump up the town supply to 250,000 gallons per day. We were allowed to shower and flush toilets and all that City Slicker nonsense, and we left our water containers behind at the Tofino Botanical Gardens and Clayoquot Field Station for others. (If you plan to visit Tofino, check this place out — I’d definitely stay there again.)
The weather was perfect, we ate well, slept well, spotted plenty of wildlife, took loads of photos, and spent lots of time on the beach. What more could we ask for!
We even got a little too close to a BABY BEAR, but we beat a hasty retreat and it was probably the only thing we didn’t point our cameras at — for our own safety!
I’ve uploaded a bunch of cameraphone pics until I can process the rest:
Labour Day Weekend in Tofino
