Flat seas and a speckled sky greet us. We are off before 7:30 this morning. Today we are heading for Hotspring Island. It’s a beautiful cruise down De la Beche Inlet. Even the sound is calm as we cross.
Many small islands (or large rocks with trees?) dot the area with higher mountains reaching up behind.
Hotspring Island has a Gate Keeper program so we radio ahead to ask permission to go on land. This is the routine here and a good idea as it limit’s the number of people on shore at one time.
There never was a permanent village on the island. Apparently there was a fear of hot water though there are stories of the Haida using it for cooking at times. There are also stories that the chiefs would drink the water until their sweat smelled of it, then they would drink fresh water to flush it out of their systems. This cleansing ritual was probably very effective. Most likely visits to the island were seasonal.
Again I can’t imagine a more perfect day to sit in the cleansing, healing waters. With the calm seas, high overcast and cooler temperatures it is more than picture perfect.
Each of the three pools is unique. The first one, largest of the three, is the hottest Needless to say we began with the coolest, then the smaller warmer one before finishing off in the hot pool.
Sitting in the rocky pool, warm water and an ocean view (to die for)the setting is stunning. A blue heron came to visit, nattering at us from a nearby tree as eagles flew overhead. Lush vegetation borders the pools that were, apparently, mud for years. It wasn’t until the least number of years that locals began to replace the mud with buckets of gravel and build up the sides using mortar and large rocks. It was a long process but the result is breathtaking.
The clear hot water has no sulphur smell. No one knows for sure but it is thought that rain water seeps through the rocks, is super heated and returns to the surface providing nature’s perfect bath.
The group of us hauled our super heated lazy asses aboard the skiff to return to the Anvil Cove and have a bit of a sleep. What a life!


After lunch we got in our kayaks and headed away from Hotspring Island to Murchison Island meandering through smaller islets to a cove where we stopped for the night. The rock formations are rough and unusual. Even the most barren looking rock seems to have a tree growing out of it. The mosses blanket the forest floor and the kelp (in all it’s varied varieties and colours) blankets the shoreline. There are so much wildlife here though not as much as I expected. Even here the numbers have been depleted .

Tomorrow is a low low tide and this area is, apparently, one of the places to paddle.

Though there is a threat of rain we are up early and ready to don our skirts to discover just what’s under this clear water.

Absolutely breathtaking to see the different varieties of starfish, anenomies, crabs, kelp, snails, sea urchins and on and on. From deep purple to florescent orange and everything in between. The burgundy reds, greens and oranges of the sea here are stunning. We spent a couple of hours just kayaking through the exposed rocks and exclaiming. “Oh look Donald” and “Did you see that?” and “Amazing, simply amazing!” were just some of the sounds we added to the call of the cranes, gulls and eagles.

As the tide turned we were able to do a little river type paddling in to the strong current. The tides here are extreme with differences, at times, up to 24 feet. Playing around in the current is a lot of fun as long as there are no hidden rocks or kelp threatening to grab your paddle.

Eventually the rains did come but that just added to the adventure. Watching an overturned sun star struggling to grab an abalone while also trying to gain purchase on the rock was one of the amazing sites I would have missed if I had gone in out of the rain.

Often when we travel there seems to be a rush to get on to the next thing. There is none of that here. We came back to the boat when we were ready…. When we were full. Came back to rest and to take in all we had seen.

Heading north towards Darwin Inlet we saw a good sized shark plying the waters.

Rain is persisting in to the afternoon. Still motoring north through Hoya Passage with a pit stop to fill up the water tanks. Lots of seals in these waters.

Just outside a hidden bay Barb gets us in our rain gear and in to the skiff. The pinks are starting to run which means there may be bear looking to catch lunch.

The bay is a very picturesque with wild grasses and old growth. Eagles sit patiently watching and waiting as the skiff makes a turn north.  A small creek trickles in at the end of the inlet. Sure enough a small black bear (2 or 3 years old) is staring intently at the silver take out food trying to make it’s way up stream to spawn. We are content with this scene when another, larger, bear comes in to chase the little guy off. She is successful and settles in to fish. Glancing back and forth, muscles taught she lunges (a few times before) successfully grabbing lunch. Just then Colleen points and manages to say “Baby Baby” (and it wasn’t about Don). At the same time I can hear the sound of a bear cub crying. Sure enough two babies climb down the tree while Mama brings them food.

The drama isn’t over. The black bear returns which brought Mama running and the fight was on. Eventually the little bear is chased off probably to watch from the bush and return when, fully sated, the other three wander off. What an amazing experience and Shane got a great video of it. It took a while for the motor to start on the skiff….good thing the little bear didn’t try to take out his frustration on us.

This afternoon we are heading to another Watchman site… the Indian Reservation of Tanu.

T’aanuu Llnagaay is the village site on Tanu Island. At one time 50 people lived here. Now there are only moss covered remnants of long houses returning to the earth. There are two mass grave sites for the people who succumbed to small pox as well as a lovely memorial to their last great chief and the burial site of Bill Reid, the famous Haida carver. He was a member of the Raven Wolf clan who once inhabited this village and was very much a part of the resurgence of pride that the Haida feel today.

At the end of the day I lost (twice) in crib yet felt very much a winner. Experience, shared experience, is a rare gift. Opening yourself up to the growth of that experience is a gem to be cherished.

Tomorrow we return to the real world and Keith and Barb prepare for their next guests.

Life goes on.