It was gray and foggy today. In fact, we learned that the month of August is so typically foggy in Tofino that they call it “Fogust” here. But we still had a great time.
Our day began the the Tofino Botanical Gardens. Yesterday we had seen a sign in a storefront window about a free mudflat interpretive walk there this morning. It sounded interesting, and the gardens are only a short distance from our condo, so we decided to go. It was a great decision! The Tofino Botanical Garden features plants from this area and from other temperate rain forest environments around the world. The cultivated areas fit perfectly into the existing landscape. Plants are nicely labeled. Bits of sculpture are scattered around the garden.
Despite an official no dogs policy, our canines were in fact quite welcome and Edie even found Petie, the resident dog, to be a wonderful playmate.
Our tour group was quite large today. There is a “field station” in the garden. This is kind of a hostel for visiting groups. This weekend there was a large group of international students who are studying English in Victoria for the summer at the hostel and they joined us for the tour. Our guide was Josie. A Vancouver Island native, she was very knowledgeable about everything connected to the natural environment of this area. She also had an instinctive sense of how to speak to kids and particularly to kids who are still learning the language. She began by showing us just how extensive these mudflats are on the map.
We then moved down to the shore where she pointed out some of the birds. During March and April hundreds of thousands of migrating birds visit the mudflats. There are not many there in July or August, however. She then went out on the mud and began to dig, showing us that the mudflats are filled with the most delicious things to eat – at least if you’re a bird.
There are lots and lots of shrimp and crabs in the mud. These are not as big as the ones that humans like to eat, but if you are a bird they are definitely bite-sized.
She invited anybody who wanted to explore the mudflats to go out and take a look. Most of the visiting students were Asian, and they just stood on the rocky shore. But a group of intrepid Mexican students kicked off their shoes and starting digging in the mud themselves.
I figured there was no reason why I shouldn’t join them, and the dogs were quite happy to get muddy paws. It was mucky, though surprisingly warm. At points I sank up to my knees. The dogs, with weight distributed over four legs, found it pretty easy to move on the mud.
After the students left, we stayed around a bit to talk to Josie. She told us a little more about the geological history of the area, particularly the earthquakes and tsunamis which have shaped the land. She gave us some tips about places to go with the dogs and places to eat. She said that the Wickaninnish Inn, the most expensive place to stay in Tofino, does indeed have a fantastic restaurant, but that it was pretty reasonable for breakfast or lunch. We decided that we would eat our lunch there.
There were not that many people there, so we had a prime table by the window overlooking the beach. The food was great! John’s Crabcakes Benedict was a delight not only to the mouth but also to the eye.
The dogs had to stay in the car while we had lunch, but they were able to get out and romp on Chesterman Beach right next to the hotel. This is not the biggest beach in the area. That would be Long Beach in the nearby Pacific Rim National Park. Josie warned us that the rangers the the park were pretty strict about the leash requirement there, but that Chesterman was where all the locals took their dogs. And our pups loved it there!
Once again we were surprised by how relatively warm the water was. The sand was particularly fine and soft on bare feet. In the picture below, you can see the restaurant on the left side of the building. The picture does not really capture, however, just how big and broad the beach is.
After a couple hours at the beach, we went back into town. We somehow lost one of the leashes on the beach, so we had to pick up another one. Like so many things in Canada, it cost way more than the equivalent item back in the States. But we were amused to find in addition to the coop shops this store. We had noticed that the animosity to Los Angeles, so typical of northern California, is not shared north of the 49th parallel.
There was also a gallery called the Eagle Aerie which was showing the prints of a local native artist. The gallery is so well-known that it is even the subject of local painting!
In the evening, we finally watched Twilight. We figured that since we will be in Forks, Washington next week we might as well know something about this cultural phenomenon. I’ll leave the reviews to others.
