Tofino - Day 5

It's taken my almost a month to get this trip report published, but I guess there's nothing new in that. I never even finished the one from Paris. I think our trip to Montana will be much easier to capture.

On our fifth day in Tofino we had scheduled to go on a canoe paddle to Meares Island with the local First Nations Tribe. We were pretty excited when our guide showed up and it became obvious we were getting a private tour. Some people scoff at the fact that we do the majority of our trips in the off-season, but because of this, more times than not, group events end up being private tours for Alan and I, or we have the entire area to ourselves.

Before lunch though we ate at local institution, Tacofino, a food truck serving some great tacos. They have other fare, but for me the tacos were it. Especially the tuna ta-tako, which was a seared tuna with wasabi mayo, seaweed salad and other Asian ingredients. It was a feast for the tastebuds (and my belly). I also got your standard fish taco which was good, but the star of the meal was ta-tako.

Our canoe paddle was with the Tla-Ook Cultural Center and I can't recommend them highly enough. Our guide, Giselle, was very knowledgeable, not only about her own people, but also the history of the area and the local wildlife, flora, and fauna. The canoe we took was the smaller of the two, both of which had been dug out by her uncle and her father. If my memory is correct it takes them about 50 to 60 days to make a canoe from a piece of red ceder, and they have to begin the process in the forest where the tree has fallen.

After our four hour paddle/hike excursion, we stopped at Shelter for dinner. I had really, really, really wanted to like it given everything I'd read about it, and how cool the chef seems on Twitter. Unfortunately we both thought the food was just okay. Between the ling cod burger there and the one I'd had days ago at the Wildside Grill, the Wildside wins hands down for flavor. The ambiance at Shelter was good, and the beer from Tofino Brew Co. was tasty, but it just didn't live up to the hype I had created in my own head. I guess I have no one to blame but myself for that.

Since I have no more pictures from this night I can only surmise that we went back to the room, I took a hot bath, and then passed out cold. That sounds like a lovely way to end the day so we'll go with that.