Savary Island across the Strait and to Nanaimo

After a magnificent nights rest on the beach on Savary I arose early to make a breakfast of burnt eggs and stale english muffins before packing up and catching the water taxi back to Lund on the mainland at 8 o'clock. Above is my bike off the beach waiting to be loaded. I met some real characters on the ride back to Lund, folks who had been living on the Island for many years bringing all their goods in tubs by boat and taking their waste out the same way. They all seemed happy to be living off the grid but within the reach of civilization. One fellow named Dallas offered me a ride back to Powell River where he was getting some tires fixed. I had already ridden the road to Lund and had not been looking forward to riding it back so I gladly accepted. We spoke the whole way back and he gave me the impression he didn't often get a chance to talk that much as he lived alone on the Island and hadn't many friends as he didn't smoke or drink. Below is the view off the dock from Lund to Savary Island and as you can see it is much darker on the mainland than on Savary.

Once back in Powell River I looked up an aluminum welder whom to which I was referred as I had broken my rear rack some time back. Probably on the miles of off roading with two heavy bags hanging off it. Larry the Tugboat showed up at his shop after I had waited an hour at the door. He jumped out of his van drinking a beer and after taking a look at my rack said it wasn't worth fixing a cheap piece of aluminum like that. He proceeded to wrap some zip-ties to hold the broken struts to the top portion of the rack, and the rack has held fine since. He recommended steel in the future.

I caught the noon ferry to Comox from Powell River(the shot at left is on that crossing) and after taking a wrong turn that led me 15 miles out of my way I finally got on to the Old Highway that runs down Vancouver Island. My legs were well rested as I had only done 20-30 mile days for two previous days, and I made good time to the Denman Island ferry averaging 11 mph despite the head wind. After stocking up on food at the market I took the ferry over to Denman Island. I had intended to go over to Hornsby Island from there but I was late for the last ferry. The park on Denman was fine though and after a short stroll on the beach I soon fell asleep only to be awoken by the steward who collected 17 dollars from me for the site. This was my first time to pay to camp and was a little sore at the fee as I can stay in hostel for not much more. I was soon fast asleep and slept a good 12 hours that night.

The next morning I had planned to catch a bite at one of the local cafe, unfortunately one was closed on Tuesday and the other had shut its doors permanently the week before. Instead I made a breakfast of coffee and a pastry from the local market where I was approached by a salty old sailor who filled my ears for tips to stay warm and safe on a salmon troller where he had spent many a season until the B.C. fisheries collapsed. After our talk I promised him a postcard and set out to catch the 9:30 ferry back to Vancouver Island. Its a short ride and I was soon on my way to Nanaimo. I made good time again as the land is more flat going down the island than it was going up the Sunshine Coast, and I was in Nanaimo checking into the Painted Turtle Hostel before 5.

The ride was over 60 miles and I was right tired. After showering, a trip to the grocery, and a stop at the pub round the corner (where some surly sailor tried to get me going), I was ready for bed.

I awoke the next morning and made eggs over cabbage. A poor rendition of a dish from Smokey Joe's in Berkeley that is sadly no more. I split my day between the local cafe reading The Dubliners and the local internet spot catching up on this blog. A lot of work I'll have you know. I strolled the streets of Nanaimo a bit but hardly left the four block area around the hostel.

In the evening I met a girl named Tara who was staying at the hostel and we went out for drinks and dinner wandering around the harbor and eventually taking a short water taxi over to Protection Island to the Dinghy Dock Pub were sailors could moor their sailboats right in front before coming in for food and drink. The weather was wet which precluded photos. The good drafs and easy conversation made for a pleasant evening.