Alberta and BC trip (part 7) - Tofino & Leaving the Vancouver Island
One of the classic touristic activities in Tofino is Whale Tours, and it is great! Usually the boat is tiny, for just about 8 people, it jumps on huge ocean waves like crazy, so beware if you tend to get sea sick :) On these tours in Tofino there’s almost 100% chance to see a Whale, as, compared to Atlantic ocean, there are still many of these magnificent creatures remaining in the Pacifics. In fact, luckily, it applies to all animal species - on the Pacifics all animals and plants are much more abundant than on the poor depleted Atlantic ocean. So, right before leaving Tofino we finally did take one of the Whale Watching tours, and we did manage to see the Grey Whale, which I still cannot believe in :) He did the fluke 3 times!!! But every time he would appear from a completely different direction, and the flukes were happening so fast, so …alas, no pictures of that incredible show. Plus it was so cold that my camera refused to work anyway, which on the other hand allowed me to focus on viewing the world not-through-the-lense, for a change. That all again made me appreciate the work of photographers that do get those pictures, it takes great patience and fast as lighting reaction.
On the rocks in the ocean there also were some sea lions, seals, as well as amazing orange-beak birds called puffins. The tour was really great, and I’d really recommend taking it on a small boat vs a larger vessel, as the tour is more personal that way and also it’s much more fun and scary to jump on crazy huge waves, gets you some adrenalin. Here's our green Marine Adventures tour boats:
The most fun place in the town is at the docks - there were always some sea lions or otters or bald eagles or some other amazing creatures to watch. In the mornings the local sea lion was swimming around docks waiting to get his breakfast from fishermen. And each time there were tons of people gathering to watch this process.
Here are 3 otters that came out on the docks, but got uncomfortable with my attention and escaped in a seconds, luckily leaving me with some cool shots of them.
Another otter and some star fish hanging at the low tide. Is it just me or otters really look like a sea version of dachshunds?
I'm meeting a local start fish.
A couple of sea lions swimming by the docks.
Love is in the air.
The plants in coastal BC are all giant!
We were lucky to be in Tofino on a weekend - they have a great market on Sundays at the park. Winston was there too, very popular with little kids.
This totem pole stands at the entrance to Ucluelet. It’s so amazing to see this art where it naturally belongs, in the native lands, rather than seeing them in museums. In BC you really do get the idea of totems, after you witness all the great creatures depicted on them, and you see how it all comes together craved on those poles.
After spending 3 days there we left for Nanaimo, and from there the next day to Vancouver to spend another 3 days there. Leaving Vancouver Island is never easy…
You can find other parts here:
Part 1 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/1686.html
Part 2 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/4254.html
Part 3 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/5472.html
Part 4 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/9022.html
Part 5 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/10052.html
Part 6 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/19373.html
Part 7 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/22438.html
Part 8 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/31352.html
On the rocks in the ocean there also were some sea lions, seals, as well as amazing orange-beak birds called puffins. The tour was really great, and I’d really recommend taking it on a small boat vs a larger vessel, as the tour is more personal that way and also it’s much more fun and scary to jump on crazy huge waves, gets you some adrenalin. Here's our green Marine Adventures tour boats:
The most fun place in the town is at the docks - there were always some sea lions or otters or bald eagles or some other amazing creatures to watch. In the mornings the local sea lion was swimming around docks waiting to get his breakfast from fishermen. And each time there were tons of people gathering to watch this process.
Here are 3 otters that came out on the docks, but got uncomfortable with my attention and escaped in a seconds, luckily leaving me with some cool shots of them.
Another otter and some star fish hanging at the low tide. Is it just me or otters really look like a sea version of dachshunds?
I'm meeting a local start fish.
A couple of sea lions swimming by the docks.
Love is in the air.
The plants in coastal BC are all giant!
We were lucky to be in Tofino on a weekend - they have a great market on Sundays at the park. Winston was there too, very popular with little kids.
This totem pole stands at the entrance to Ucluelet. It’s so amazing to see this art where it naturally belongs, in the native lands, rather than seeing them in museums. In BC you really do get the idea of totems, after you witness all the great creatures depicted on them, and you see how it all comes together craved on those poles.
After spending 3 days there we left for Nanaimo, and from there the next day to Vancouver to spend another 3 days there. Leaving Vancouver Island is never easy…
You can find other parts here:
Part 1 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/1686.html
Part 2 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/4254.html
Part 3 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/5472.html
Part 4 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/9022.html
Part 5 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/10052.html
Part 6 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/19373.html
Part 7 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/22438.html
Part 8 http://vegantravels.livejournal.com/31352.html