On the road again (heading east) part #1

I got a drive to the Nanaimo Hostel with my daughter in law, son and grandson. I could have taken the Greyhound bus but I was glad  for the offer. It was one less thing to worry about. In the next day or so there would be a few connections that I was not sure if I could make, or at least how to make them. It was also nice to spend a bit more time with them.


I "hate" saying goodbye and goodbyes between my son and I are always far too brief - there are a million things that we have not said to each other but I am too close to tears to even start saying them now. We quickly hugged goodbye, say we loved each other and I walk away. There is  always this profound sense of loss when I say good bye to him. It is a loss so deep that it hurts.

The hostel was fine but the owner/operator was perhaps a bit over friendly to the point of superficiality . As I stood around waiting for my turn to check in  it was clear that his little welcoming speech which sounded spontaneous was in fact a set speech. He said exactly the same thing to all new arrivals.But then I suppose that when one greets potentially 100s of people a month, the speech does get a bit set.

The hostel was a new one. Everything look clean and well set up. The larger than usual dorm rooms only held two bunk beds as opposed to the usual three. The beds that were made out of metal and wood looked studier than most (they were not any better. Every time the guy on the bottom bunk turned over, I, on the top bunk, could feel the bed shake). The bathrooms were great as were the showers. There was also what they called the "great room" which was a combination lounge and kitchen. It was well outfitted and a great place to have a cup of tea.  My favourite part of the evening was the large bowl of popcorn that was set out on the counter for all to share. That was a nice touch. Once again however, due to the number of people using their netbooks or laptops there was relatively little conversation between the people in the room. Pity.

After a good meal at a local bar I went for a walk along the water front. The harbour looked almost full with most of the boats being fairly large. The quay was lovely with little shops and restaurants. The park area that bordered the quay was well maintained and people friendly. There were lots of people walking, young couples, families and singles like myself strolling along. I was particularly fascinated by a dock that was reserved for people fishing and crabbing, something I had never seen before.

People had small collapsible nets baited with chicken parts. They threw the nets into the ocean 15- 20 feet from the dock and let the nets sit on the bottom of the ocean for about 10 minutes. They then hauled them out again. Sometimes the nets were empty and other times they had 4-5 crabs.It was fascinating and even a bit exciting as the fisherfolk had to be careful not to get nipped by the crab's pincers.Some were large enough to keep but most of the crabs needed to be thrown back.

I was in bed by just before 11:00 - feeling a bit nervous and excited about the upcoming days.

There was suppose to be a bus connection between downtown and the ferry terminal. But in reading the schedule it appeared as if the connection only worked during the school year. I suppose that there are kids coming from the smaller islands that attend high school in Nanaimo. I had a choice. I could take the bus and get to the ferry terminal 35 minutes early or I could walk. People at the hostel said that it was about a 40 minute walk. I was up early on Tuesday and decided to walk. In hindsight it sounds silly to intentionally walk 45 minutes just so I would not have to wat around for 35 minutes, but that is what I did. I had so much excess energy from unresolved emotions that I needed to burn some of it off. It was an easy walk. A couple of time I asked people on the street if I was going in the right direction, but in fact it would have been hard to get lost. All I had to do was follow the water front.

I got to the ferry terminal in good time, the ferry left on time and I was almost first in line for breakfast. The breakfasts on the ferries are pretty good, perhaps a bit more expensive than in a cheap restaurant but it is pretty convenient. Eating on the ferry is a lot easier than trying to find a place open downtown early in the morning. Besides I walk better with an empty stomach. 

Just after I had finished breakfast there was an announcement that those who wanted to go to Whistler by bus, needed to buy a ticket within the next 45 minutes. This had been one of the connection points that I was worried about. I had searched the web a number of times and had not been able to find the Greyhound bus station in Horseshoe Bay or how to buy a ticket.  They made it so simple. I bought the ticket (using my hostel discount) and caught the bus just outside the ferry doors. It could not have been easier.