The staff is mostly teenagers or very young adults, often somewhat bitter about their lack of better paying options, and sometimes resentful of the more affluent tourists who come in large numbers during the summer. One result is amateur food preparation by the kitchen staff and inattentive dining room personnel. This poor service, as well as the lack of selection in these restaurants encouraged me to prepare some meals in my room from the simple groceries I bought at the local store. Peanut butter sandwiches, canned beans and spaghetti, and fruit with cheese exhausted my culinary skills. As has become my practice outside of the USA, I drank coffee, soft drinks, and beer - instead of my usual iced tea that is so hard to obtain in other parts of the English-speaking world. I also enjoyed hot cider and sweet pastries as I sat and read and watched the sky, but obtaining them together was a complicated process, since each came from a different bakery. One bakery had excellent donuts, cinnamon rolls, and other baked goods, but only cold drinks. The other bakery had coffee, hot tea, and hot cider, but the bakers were health-food proponents, and the pastries they prepared had little flavor and no sweetness. So, I bought my cinnamon roll at one place, and went to the other for my hot cider. There I sat in a glassed in gazebo and read and watched the clouds, the occasional light rain, and the interesting people that came and went all morning.
My days of relaxation in Tofino generally consisted of a morning walk of less than an hour, then reading for an hour or so over a pastry and hot cider. Then another walk around town, ending up at the small restaurant where I ate most of my breakfast/lunch meals. I would then use the computer there if it was working, or go and read in the library if it was open that day. Mid-afternoon usually found me back in my room for a snack and more reading or just watching the ocean. Late afternoon I would again wander around town, and either buy something at the store to fix for my evening meal or eat at one of the restaurants that was open for dinner. By the time it was dark I was back in my room, reading; sometimes I wandered out again, just before 10 p.m., to get an ice cream bar at the grocery store before it closed.
Again on this trip I generally stayed at a Motel 6 or other modest lodging. In Tofino I stayed in the same room at the same motel as on my previous trip. My room was of adequate size, well furnished, with a modern bathroom and an outstanding setting. The room looked out on the islands in the distance, and the sea. The waves were crashing on the rocks about 50 feet below my balcony. On my first night back in this room I read late into the night, and when I grew sleepy I turned the thermostat down, left the sliding glass door open, and enjoyed listening to the crashing waves as I went to sleep. As the sun came up and the room became lighted, I awoke in a cold room, closed the door, turned the thermostat up, and went back to sleep for a few more hours. Then I awoke again mid-morning in a cozy room with a beautiful view.
The next evening, however, at dusk I was visited on the balcony by a friendly (or at least hungry) raccoon who accepted my hospitality - mostly cookies and nuts from my traveling food supplies. When I ran out of cookies, and retired to my bed to read, the raccoon entered the room through the open door, still apparently hungry. I did not look forward to having my food stores ransacked during the night, so when I returned to the door the raccoon slowly and respectfully retreated outside, and sat by the sliding glass door. I closed it most of the way, leaving only four inches or so for the sea sounds to come in, yet blocking the raccoon. That worked, and the next night there were three raccoons, and on the nights after that I had four such visitors every evening about dusk. I bought more nuts and cookies, and spent nearly an hour each evening watching them eat, scuffle and snarl, and scarf down whatever I gave them.
COSTS
The approximate costs involved were as follows: Category Amount
Gasoline $170
Ferry 60
Lodging 1,100
Food 500
Guest meals 70
Miscellaneous 100
TOTAL $2,000
*Other trip reports are: Tramping New Zealand, 1994; Bushwalking Papua New Guinea, 1995; Waltzing Tassie And Other Tales, 1996; Foaming Nova Scotia, 1997; Neqemgelisa On Vancouver Island, Plus ... , 1998; Fadging Around The Rock, 1998. Available by email for free upon request.
C. W. Lee, February 9, 1999
cwlee@post.harvard.edu
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