Southern Inside Passage BC West Coast

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An eerie common greeted us at Fredricks Bay and a distant sound of pneumonic breaths signaled the presence of whales. We watched their gliding dance around us, they were Humpback whales, the first I’d seen in the wild, Wolf took repetitive  pictures, always a second or two behind the display. Somewhere in a foggy Haiki Passage I prepared dinner while Wolf kayaked through the island homes of the rock spirits.

I kept myself busy crafting jewelry while he fished, rushing out occasionally with the camera in hand to capture the latest conquest.  My favorite time was hiking around the island shores finding patterns and textures that I could incorporate in some future design scheme. At Scooner Retreat the balmy 16 degree C didn’t keep me from fantasizing that we were really at some tropical local.

The goal of this trip was to visit Namu. Wolf worked as the welder between 1973 and 1978. He had many fond memories of the fishing there and was looking forward to seeing the place again. The care taker kindly took us around for a quick tour of the old BC Packers Cannery, which operated in the 1950’s. It would have had over 1500 workers at it’s peak. Shut down in the 1980’s the place had a kind of retro charm, now dotted with the humble gardens of the locals. The distant buildings still whispered of a life long gone and the ghosts echoed on the planks of the boardwalk, all casting a shadows on the sienna stones and iron scraps that still lingered of  environmental mayhem.

At Bella Bella it was time to refuel but it was rumored that they were out of fuel and boaters were scrambling for another port. We were so stress free at this point that it wasn’t even a glitch in the radar. After a few more referrals from some seasoned faces it was confirmed that the shipment of fuel had arrived that morning and the store doors were about to open. Synchronicity they call it, but a reminder that we are at the mercy of varied forces both man and nature that control the source of energy on the planet.

On the outer coast a pod of Orcas’ passed us while Wolf circled the perfect fishing hole, finally bringing up an ugly beast (Ling Cod). Even there the calm water made me eager to kayak into the islands for day treks. Only the occasional evidence of the inhabitants caused us to reconsider the length of our stay,  :) . The black bear was clearly running from us, but we preferred to leave him to his race and find another island, where the character and sort of resident was still a mystery.

We felt like contemporary pioneers, exploring the land and sea, feasting on the catch of the day. Crab legs steaming in a heap, piled high on the causally set table, while the Yellow Eye cod, (a giant goldfish of crimson orange) now revealed a white flesh, which sizzled lightly in the frying pan. A place of where the harmony of beauty that surrounded us revealed a deeper inner peace. The calm of mind, body and spirit linked as one that will make us seekers again.