I recently accepted a new job and really wanted to travel somewhere in between my jobs as I haven’t had a chance to go anywhere in quite a while. There were a few factors in deciding where I wanted to go. It had to be somewhere that I could feasibly go on short notice. It had to be somewhere not too far so I could fully experience the place within 5 days. Lastly, it had to be somewhere I haven’t been before and I wanted it to be something special because who knows when I’ll get some time to travel again with a new job. I’ve always been in awe of the surf videos/photos I’ve seen of people surfing in ice cold waters (see Chris Burkard’s photography) and after ruling out all the tropical places to go to during this time of year, I thought why not go the opposite extreme and go somewhere cold that actually has seasons for a change. Tofino was the first place that came to my mind.
I’d say 95% of people I’ve told where I was going didn’t have a clue where Tofino is. This was confirmation to me that I made the right choice. What’s really special about some place where thousands of other tourists have gone, right?
It took about 12 hours of total travel time to arrive in Tofino. 4am Uber to LAX, 7am departure to Vancouver, 1230pm departure to Nanaimo, and then another 3 hour drive to my final destination in Tofino. That drive was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever done. I highly recommend it. You constantly see tons of tall green tea and beautiful lakes/rivers. On top of that, I thought it was wild that I was seeing signs for campsites almost every 20 mins.
Upon arriving at the resort I’m staying at, I only had a few minutes of sunlight left so I went straight down to the beach and was met with an awesome view. It’s amazing how beautiful nature can be when it’s left untouched and unadulterated. In contrast, I think back to Niagara falls and how sad that place is thanks to all the lame casinos built around that spot to cater to tourists. Left untouched, that place would be light-years more profound than it actually is.
By now, I was really hungry as I hadn’t had any real food since the morning so I naturally went to the most reviewed place on Yelp here, Shelter. The food was aite but the bartender and the manager were both really cool people and I ended up chatting (aka getting intel on cool spots to go to) for a while with them. Bartender said she’ll get me drunk next time I’m there – major plus. Will update later to confirm if this actually happens 😂.
I wrapped up dinner and decided to go back to the resort I’m staying at to decompress from all the traveling and also to explore the grounds. By now, it was already pitch black at 630pm – prime stargazing conditions. The stars here are way more visible without much light pollution. I could even see the Milky Way, which was yet another amazing sight all within the first few moments being here. I can’t wait to get more time in the sunlight here tomorrow. Stoke level is high.
