We decided to visit the downtown area, which was so small, that it’s more like a village core. We heard that despite the influx of tourists, the local folks prefer to leave the town as is, without the invasion of franchised establishments. I am glad they stood on their ground against commercialism. The town has retained its village charm and it actively promotes local shops and Indigenous artists, since it has an active artisan community with many renowned painters, sculptors, and craftsmen.
Walking along downtown is like an immersion in Indigenous culture. One can see and feel its influence in every shop, boutique, or art gallery that dot its streets. Most notable is the Eagle Aerie Gallery, constructed in the style of an Indigenous Longhouse that houses the works of Roy Henry Vickers, one of British Columbia’s best-known artists.
We also checked out this large wooden cottage by the waterfront that houses an art gallery, a smoked-fish store, and a lodge. The House of Himwitsa First Nations Art Gallery features fairly traded Indigenous products such as masks, carvings, textile, jewelry, and art work by prolific Indigenous artisans. The Dockside Smoked Fish Store sells all-natural Wild Pacific Salmon products – sockeye, chum, and chinook, as well as other local seafood products such as crab and lobster paté, smoked oysters, white albacore tuna in olive oil, clam chowder, clam nectar, and many more. The Lodge offers four spacious suites with the best views of Clayoquot Sound, the surrounding mountains, and magnificent sunsets.
Beside this building is the Tofino Harbour where we stayed for a bit to watch seaplanes take off and land. Around the area are more artisanal shops, co-op trade stores, cafes and bakeries, small restaurants and breweries, and neighbourhood grocery stores.
We picked a spot near the waterfront to have a picnic lunch of deli sandwiches. Once sated and rested, we went for an easy afternoon hike.
My housemate took us to Shorepine Bog Trail, an almost-one-kilometre hiking loop that consists entirely of boardwalks. The main attraction is the bog itself, which is a unique ecosystem because only a few plant species survive in its acidic, nutrient-less soil. Aside from the fact that it was a short and easy walk, what I enjoyed most about it is the surreal experience it evoked.
The path is lined with stunted and dwarfed shore pine trees that sort of morphed into interesting shapes. There are also a few yellow cedars, red cedars, and hemlock trees estimated to be over 300 years old. But the most distinct vegetation found there, aside from the irregularly-shaped shore pines are the patches of Sphagnum moss which covers most of the surface. The signs indicated they could be between one to two meters thick and are approximately up to 400 years old. I felt like being transported into Dr. Seuss’ cartoon world and some sections reminded me of the magical path in the movie, "Labyrinth," that I half-expected either a "Who" character or a goblin to pop-out from one of the trees.
After our hike, we decided to head back to our B&B. We ate some more rice and some more chicken barbecue for dinner (and of course, some more of the wine and the homemade desserts), watched a little bit of TV, played a board game, and went to bed. My housemate reminded us that we were to check-out the following morning because we had to move to another B&B. Due to our late booking, it was hard to find a B&B that was available for four straight nights. Her friend suggested we boil some eggs to take along for lunch and snacks the next day, since the fridge had at least three trays of eggs available for us. I decided to make some omelets as well, just to give us some variety.
Photo Credits:
My friend and former housemate - Jenny, tofino.app/dockside-cannery-smoked-fish, himwitsa.com, travelfootprints.ca
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