I waited all summer and it was so worth it! Nevermind September showers, nevermind the fact that money hasn’t been very good lately, we couldn’t let summer go without going to Tofino and surf and least once this year…
It didn’t start off all that well. On Friday, we arrived at Horseshoe Bay at 11.30 for the 12.30 ferry but it was full already. Note for later: always reserve the ferry (if you go with a car that is) and pay the $17 fees, unless you are willing to turn up at least 2 hours early….
3 hours later we got the following ferry (lucky that Horseshoe Bay is a nice place to hang out) but as a result, by the time we arrived at the campsite it was raining and dark and we still had to put the tents up. Luckily we had tarps, rain coats and rubber boots and we completed the task with hardly any water inside the tent. And on the plus side, the temperature was pretty good.
On Saturday we woke up to a beautiful sunshine. A little bit of rain here and there but by midday it was completely clear. Chesterman beach was busy (mind you, as busy as Tofino beaches can get…), the waves were kind of messy, and it was difficult to get through the break but it was so good to be in the water again.
We stayed in the water for about 3 hours and then headed back to the campsite. Talking about campsite, we were pretty set on camping at Green Point because we had been there before and loved the wilderness, Long Beach just down the stairs, and the fact that it is so cheap. But we (ok, I) gave it more thought and weighed the fact that they don’t have showers which is not good if the weather is not on your side (i.e. if it rains non stop and the temperature drops and you are just damp and cold the whole week end). So I convinced the boys to go to Bella Pacifica. It’s a little bit more expensive (about $10 more a night), but when you are going with a group it’s nothing. And it’s got showers ($1 for 2 minutes of hot shower, I am proud to say that I showered, washed my hair and conditioned all in 4 minutes!). And it’s right by the beach too, but which campsite isn’t by the beach in Tofino?
On Saturday night we went down to the beach to check out the stars. We took beers, camera and torches and one thing leading to another we started experimenting with long exposure and light painting. No photoshop retouching, promised!
Sunday was glorious too, sunny from the moment we woke up until the moment we left. We got another couple of hours of surfing in the morning, the waves were much better, with proper pauses between sets which allowed us to go over the break quite easily.
I filmed quite a bit and I am hoping to put a little video clip together this week, stay tuned!
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