Day 1 – Thursday June 30, 2011

My friends and I started our trip with a long drive to Tofino located on Vancouver Island. We woke up at 6:00am and drove to Horseshoe Bay to take the 8:30am Ferry. Sadly, since the ferry was first come first serve, we missed it by three cars and had to sit around for the next hour and a half.

We roamed the surrounding village area and I had my first foodie stop at a local bakery –Coconut Crème Swiss Roll. It was good but nothing special. We also went to a vistor centre where we saw a brochure for a place near Nanaimo for Bungee Jumping. I was pumped and somehow agreed “Let’s do it!”

The ferry ride was only two hours but had some great views of the mountains.
We were hungry after the ride and made a stop at “The Thirsty Camel” in Nanaimo. It was middle eastern food and it was very flavourful.

We continued our 4 hour drive through one of Canada’s top three scenic routes. The road was windy and the weather was tempermental. One minute its sunny and the next it was pouring rain.

We stopped at Cathedrel Grove and did a quick hike to see the gigantic trees in this forest. We got to Tofino and it was very peaceful and quaint. The seaview was spectable and had such a north American charm that I’ve never seen before.

We arrived in Tofino and checked into Paddler’s Inn. Since it wasn’t dinner time yet, we hiked around the small village and along the coast.

Then, we ate dinner at a highly rated restaurant called SoBo and it was great. The Brie Cheese wrapped filo was our favourite and my halibut dish was good. The fish itself was a little dry but overall with the sides, it was still great. We had a wonderful debate that night with Gautam, about feminism and how women still want men to do things traditionally such as a marriage proposal. It was a great time and we called it a night after that.

Day 2 – Friday July 1, 2011

We woke up early to a free breakfast, which I was very impressed because everything they were serving was organic! Three of us headed to our Whale Watching Tour in the cloudy and rainy weather.

The 2.5 hour tour was fun and different but I had expected seeing more whales –jumping out of the water or their tails going up in the air. It was rainy and freezing but we still had a good time and it was a unique experience.

It was lunch time and we went to TacoFino which was another highly recommended place. It was a small truck in the back of a shopping area and it was AMAZING! Best Mexican I’ve ever had. I had the Baja battered-fish taco and then I ordered a chicken Gringas, which is like a quesadilla.

Our next stop was at Incinerator Rock and Long Beach. All the cool surfers were chilling here. The water was freezing!

Luckily the rain was stopping and we went for a 1KM hike in the rainforest trail. It was very impressive as I’ve never seen a real rainforest before. Not much animals except for these huge slugs, that I apparently I kept talking about and they all laughed at me.

Next, we hit up Wickaninnish Beach, which people highly recommended and it was wonderful. It was so unique from all the other beaches I’ve seen –like it wasn’t a Caribbean beach but a beautiful North American beach.  The sun came out and we went for a long walk on the beach with our shoes off. Yes, the water was freezing and the waves were huge and went quite a distance.

We had dinner at the Spotted Bear Bistro which was great food but bad service. My salmon was great and better than the Halibut I had the day before. It was good on its own and better with the sides.

We ended the night with the Tofino fireworks for Canada Day. Nothing special but great way to close Tofino.

Day 3 – Saturday July 2, 2011

We checked out after our organic breakfast and started driving towards Nanimao. We originally had planned to go to Victoria but ended up skipping it instead for Tree Trekking and Bungy Jumping.

It was insane. I freaked out and was so scared when I first saw the height even before buying a ticket.  I was like “OMG, I can’t do this… I’m scared” After of 30mins of the view and convincing me to do it, I bought my ticket and waited in line for maybe another 30 minutes. I was like “OK! I can do this. I’ll regret it if I don’t. It’s a great story to tell.  We missed Victoria for this. It’s now or never. It’s not too high. I did roller coasters before including Behemoth, Canada’s tallest coaster in Wonderland.” I had calmed down and continue to watch other do the jump. It was my turn and the staff strapped my feet in. I was on the ledge and was regretting this like no tomorrow. Holding onto the railing, I was filled with fear as I see below and knowing I’m going to fall down in a few seconds. People cheered me on but I stalled and complained like “OMG I cannot do this. I’m so scared” The staff counted down from 3… and they pretty much gave me a light push as I kinda just was like JUST DO ITTTTT and FALL!!! I leaned in, spread my arms out and fell down so fast towards the water. I screamed and partially closed my eyes. The following bounces weren’t as bad but it was higher than I thought and I was still scared. This time I kept my eyes opened but still screamed. It was over and I was shaking and hanging upside down. The raft person below came and I could barely hear her or pay attention.

Sorry, youtube disable the sound!

My heart was still racing but I was so proud of myself because I just bungee jumped.
After this crazy thrill, we got lunch at Thirsty Camel again for lunch and we were interested in getting a good authentic nanaimo bar since we were in the city it originated from. We roamed around and asked a bar owner who told us about Nanaimo Trail which was a map of downtown with all different varieties of the dessert offered! There were Nanaimo cheesecake, martini, ice cream and more! We tried the ice cream which was mehhhh… Tastes like Nanaimo bars but nothing special. We wanted to try the Nanaimo cupcake but the shop sold out. Instead, we got to try the Nanaimo ice cream sandwich which was amazing! There was a layer of coconut cake/cookie bottom with a layer of ice creams and then a layer of harden chocolate!

We headed back soon after and made way to Vancouver.