Sunday 19th July

We made a road trip to Vancouver Island and boarded the ferry - we had to wait about 4 hours in the ferry queue with (like everyone else) and the ferry took about an hour and a half. We had a walk around top dec admiring the moutains and the forests and said goodbye to Vancouver the City - we dislike city's and imediately felt an air of calmess upon us. It was late so we pulled up at the side of the road and spent another night in our new van. We parked near some public toilets and in the morning cleaned our teeth, made our breakfast and washed up by the sea. We then started our 5 hour journey to Tofino where the beautiful sunshine followed us all the way... until we arrived in Tofino. Not good weather - it has had a constant cloud covering it with morning chill and slight rain every morning. Its hard to buy surfing gear when its England weather and the sea is cold! We are simply waiting for the sun to shine....

We have got into a bit of a routine at the moment where we park up on a side road for the night near the supermarket in Tofino - then use their toilet facilities which are nice and clean in the morning to brush our teeth, hair, and wash our face. We then buy milk for our cereal and make our breakfast... Tofino to be honest is not as great as everyone is describing. Yes it is beautiful but it does not stand out about any other place? I have heard it compared to Byron Bay in Australia but I dont think it comes close. Maybe its because we are viewing it through great cloud we will see when it starts to brighten up.

The trip we booked through James Whaling today to the hotsprings was good. It hurt the pockets thought at approx £100 each. This tax and exchange rate is cruel to the £! We started out at about 11.30am and went round in the boat Bear Watching although unfortunately we did not spot any bears. We then arrived at the glorious hot springs which was a soothing change from the chilly weather. The hot springs if I recall correctly for the information board is hot due to a fault in the earth and it being right next to the core of the earth. It is actually over 100 degrees but as it seeps up through the rocks it cools down to just the right temperature for us to massage our muscles! It was a nice walk from the boat to the hotsprings through forest and old trees. We ate our lunch on a big rock and looked out to sea to try and spot some whales and otters - we saw an otter laying on his back bless his little cotton socks! On the boat ride back we saw whales, otters and sea lions - I wanted to burst into tears when we saw the first whale it was amazing - I wish my eyesight was better I'm going to look into buying some binoculars for future sightings! We also spotted some wild deer on the road chomping on some grass yesterday which was amazing... our wild life encounters continue...

Ooooh we have also found a camping ground where we have snook into to have showers - camping here costs $45 a night just to park your vehicle! So we just park down the road and sneek into the campsite which isnt difficult and have a shower and do our washing up. You still have to pay for the showers which $1 for about 2 mintues so we have to be quick! Oh the joys of sleeping in a van not knowing where your next shower is coming from...