Ios - A gem if you avoid the late night Younglings

We arrived on pleasant Ios on Thursday afternoon for a four night stay at the charming Brothers Hotel located just outside the port of the island's main town, Chora.  The hotel was simple, clean and perfect for our needs. 

The owners, Nikos and his English partner Lisa, were very attentive (and Nikos was pleased with Christos' Greek) to the point that Lisa made sure we had bacon every day with our fresh eggs on toast breakfast!

It was about a 15 minute walk into the main port area with restaurants and stores or a 30 minute walk up and over the hill into the town of Xhora itself so certainly a relatively isolated spot which after the crowds of Santorini was a welcome break. 

It was also a completely different price point, being about 1/3rd of the price of our spots in Santorini and including breakfast and room cleaning (as it was a hotel, not a VRBO). 

After checking in we had a drink (and salty tarama) at the Allo bar in the port and checked out a few stores before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and prepare for the walk into Chora. It was certainly a hike and we both worked up a bit of a sweat. Chora is lovely with its thin winding pedestrian streets, whitewashed buildings, short covered passages, cats around every corner and lovely views from many spots. 

We wandered about for a bit before grabbing a traditional Greek dinner of keftes, giant green beans in tomato sauce and potatoes at the "The Nest" before opting to head back around 10:30PM. 

On our way out of the town we noted that it just seemed to be opening up (when we arrived at 7ish it seemed almost deserted) and we soon realized that Ios, or Chora itself in any case, is a bit of a mecca for university aged youth to party. 

All the bars and clubs don't open until 10PM or later and go quite late into the wee hours. By 10:30PM the streets were filling up with with groups of young men and women seeking music, dance, libations and each other's company.  

We were just about out of town when we heard some sweet sounds and discovered some wonderful live music, a bouzouki and guitar combo, doing songs from a Greek songbook where half the crowd sang along. 

How perfect! We stayed for a 1/2 litre of wine (which we really did not need at that time!) before stumbling back to our hotel in the late hours.

The next morning, after a wonderful breakfast of oh so fresh eggs on toast and English bacon (with good coffee to wash it down), we decided on a trip to the nearby ancient archeological site of Skarkos! 

Skarkos is a short walk ten minute from the hotel and is one of the earliest known settlements on the islands, dating from between 1000BC and 2000BC.

The site is fenced off and costs 4 euros to enter; a government employee sits watching TV in a ticket booth certainly taking in less daily revenue than his cost (ah the Greek civil service). One can see the buildings of the modern port while standing where people lived almost 5000 years ago.

After wandering around Skarkos for a bit we walked the 2km back to the port and shopped for lunch basics (like dodonis feta!) and a few local products for use on our trip or taking home. 

After a little relaxation back at the hotel we headed out for the hike into Chora as we wanted to see the sunset from the renowned Panagia Gremniotissa.

The sunset was lovely, although a bit crowded by youngsters seeking the perfect selfie, with a view over the port below and and accompanied by a perfect breeze. 

Our hotel is to the right of Lisa in the sunset picture while the main part of the town of Chora is behind Christos (taking the photo).

After a little wandering we made it back to the port for a decent fish dinner at Enigma before heading back to the hotel for a good night's sleep as we had big plans for a driving tour the next day.

The next morning the rental car we had booked showed up at our hotel and we toke possession of it for the next 24 hours. 

We spent the next lovely day touring Ios with stops at (the reputed) Tomb of Homer, the Diaseli Cheesery and the site of Palaiokastro before getting back to our hotel around 4pm. 

To get to the "Tomb" one drives east over the island from Chora to an isolated spot (past some off half finished statues) where one can park and make the short walk out to the small ruin that houses the "Tomb". Who knows how real it is but the view is worth the drive alone!

The Cheesery was quite fascinating as the proprietors provided a sampling of their yummy wares and not all the good cheese in Greece is feta! Otherwise it was a day of perfect blue skies, driving along meandering roads through the hills and amazing views of the sea and the land!

Palaiokastro is an old ruined castle on a hill that one reaches by parking by the roadside and walking  along a narrow path (without a guardrail!) out to the castle ruins and the functioning (albeit closed up during our visit) church there.

After getting back to the hotel, we rested up for a few hours before hopping back in the car for a much anticipated dinner at "Vilaeti Taverna" located about a 15 minute drive from the port. 

It was opening night for the season at the taverna which it turns out is quite a popular spot with locals. 

We arrived early at around 8:15pm and already many of the tables were taken; fortunately we had a reservation! 

As the evening progressed the place just got more and more packed and the two young waiters were worked off their feet. 

At the table next to us, a foursome of Italians settled in for dinner seemingly oblivious to the madness going on around them and the spokesperson for the group started to become more frustrated with how long it took to order and then receive wine let alone to place their food order! 

It certainly didn't help that both the Greek waiter and Italian spokesperson were conversing in English as a lingua franca. 

With it being opening night of a (mostly) BBQ joint, the local cats mobbed the place, the poor workers being too swamped to do anything other than offer a token shooing away!

We had placed our order early, mixed grill for two, early and when it arrived we dived in to the lamb, pork, sausage, meatballs (keftes like but much more moist) and chicken all washed down with local white wine from the barrel. Al the food was amazing and very reasonable priced. 

It was much more than we needed and we ended up with left-over meat for later lunches! The sun had now set and the evening was getting long but diners were still arriving when we left well after 10:30PM. Perhaps live music or some such occurred later but by this point we were beat and still had to drive back to the hotel. 

We left with the Italian foursome just starting to receive their food order which, given our portion size, was likely going to overwhelm them (I watched the spokesperson order many things from the menu!). 

Our final day in Ios had a bit of rain (?!) and was a Sunday so we took it easy, watched some TV, read a little bit, walked into the port a couple of times for fun (and a libation) and into Chora for one last visit before opting for a lovely fish dinner at the port (where we saw the Italians again) at Akrogiali. 

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by one of the beachside bars where it every seat was filled and all were entranced watching a basketball match between Greece and Real Madrid. It was very passionate and who knew basketball was now a thing in Greece!

The next morning after our final bacon accompanied breakfast of the trip it was off to the port for the ferry to our next destination; the island of Paros!

Santorini - The Island of Crowds

We arrived by plane (via Athens) on Friday afternoon and soon found our way to our little bungalow with a view of the back-side (not the much more popular, pricey and crowded) of Santorini stretching away from the small village of Oia. 

After settling in we went for a quick tour of lovely Oia with its marble streets, white washed buildings and amazing views over the Caldera of Santorini (or Thera as it is known in Greek). 

Even with the less chic digs (ie no caldera view), Santorini is still ridiculously expensive! 

As it was our first day and already late, we grabbed a decent if unremarkable dinner of gyros and after touring the main drag of Oia a couple of times (each time taking less than 20 minutes) we retired to our hot-tub to enjoy white wine and TV while looking out over the island to the sea.

The next day (our first full day in Greece) we opted for the renowned hike from Oia to Fira along the Caldera route after a modest breakfast of spanokopita and coffee. 

The hike was more challenging than we had anticipated (or we were still more jet lagged than we thought) and we struggled over the hills a bit. 

When we reached the village of Imervogli, about 7.5km of the 10km to Fira, we opted for a cold beverage (8 euros each for a small bottle of bubbly water!) and then a short diversion to Skaros Rock! 

Skaros was inhabited in ancient times and during the Medieval period housed a ramshackle castle from which the Venetian lords ruled. 

Skaros is to the the left of Lisa in the picture below with the trail leading to it while the village of Oia can be seen behind Lisa and to the right of her in the distance.

The short diversion was fun except that it claimed the life of one of Christos' sandals! 

The strap on his Teva gave up the ghost on a bad rock and so we ended the hike a little early at Imervogli and took the bus back to Oia. 

Still an amazing hike with views like no other. The only negative is that it was much busier than anticipated; foreshadowing our entire Santorini experience! 

That night we dressed up and went for the long climb down the stairs to Amoudi Bay, the fishing port below the village of Oia. 

We had to traverse the entire main drag of Oia, past the ruined castle and down the old main stairs where one can pay a fee to take a donkey to the top. The ancient stairs are made of stone and polished marble and can be a little treacherous in bad shoes. 

Given that it was approaching sunset, Oia was jammed with people, particularly near the ruined castle, trying desperately to get the perfect selfie. It was a slow descent.

Dinner was at the "Ammoudi Fish Tavern" and where we had an amazing tuna tataki and then split a 1.5 pound fish that was delicious. 

All washed down with a decent, albeit expensive, bottle of Greek white wine. Super expensive (our most expensive meal of the trip) but an amazing meal and top notch service.

The entire waterfront is dominated by two or three restaurants and everyone is cheek to jowl but the views of the harbour can be quite amazing and the lively bustle of the scene is invigorating. 

With the night having fallen by the end of the meal, many of the diners preferred to take the long way in a cab back to Oia for 20 euros instead of the stairs straight up but not us! 

We huffed and puffed our way up the stairs, dodging the donkey poop liberally spread on the lower levels, for half an hour before getting back to our hideaway and repeating the previous night's hot tub oriented activities. 

Our second day in Oia was a Sunday and thus somewhat slow. Christos had a visit to the maritime museum and we wandered around Oia a bit but much of the day was spent chilling in our bungalow. Dinner was once more at Ammoudi Bay but at a different restaurant, "Dimitris Ammoudi Tavern". Decent meal but not as good as the previous night albeit 30% cheaper. 

After another evening relaxing in the tub we got some sleep before waking up Monday morning ready for the next destination, Fira, the main town of Santorini. 

While Oia is stunningly beautiful, it is about as far from authentic Greece as one can get and even in mid-May was far too crowded for our liking. 

To top it off, Oia is famous for its beautiful sunsets but for all three of our nights there the sunsets were not what they can be due to the dust and clouds. 

Still worth the visit if one has never been but not worth returning to in our opinion. 

Our VRBO host picked us up around noon and we were settled in to our new digs in Fira, the island's largest town, about 1/2 an hour later. Our accommodation in Fira was quite a bit larger than that in Oia and included both an indoor and outdoor hot-tub! Of course we used both during our stay! 

Unlike our last spot which was literally 20m from the main drag of Oia, this new spot was on the edge of town about a 15 minute walk into the main part of town, all through built up tourist housing which was likely open field when Christos was here in 1984! 

We were in one of a set of three new suites, all quite well designed and built. 

Our view from the interior tub was into a donkey inhabited valley and beyond to the sea and the (what I believe was) island of Anafi.

After settling in, we toured Fira which was even more crowded than Oia and we soon discovered why! 

The cruise ships come to Fira's lower old port and disgorge several hundred (thousand?) tourists into ship's boats who come ashore and swarm up to Fira in the cable car (the cable car line at 5PM to go down to the port was astounding) for a day trip. 

Some make it to Oia or other places but most stay in Fira making the tiny streets thick with people to the point of frustration. 

After an afternoon of dodging tourists and seeing the town we got back to our spot in time to try out the indoor tub prior to dinner at the restaurant "Pelican Kipos" (Kipos being Greek for garden). Our dinner of lamb, fava bean spread and salad was good but the highlight was a bottle of Greco Di Tufo; the same vintage that Lisa keeps our cellar stocked with. 

After dinner we wandered through a much more empty and sedate town enjoying the wind swept views out over the Caldera before making it back to our place to try out the outside tub; it worked quite well!

Our first full day in Fira started with the quest for new shoes for Christos. After visiting several shops (Fira is thick with mid range and fancier boutiques) a pair of Tom's was found and although radically different from the sandals (being instead a closed toe espadrille type shoe) these were soon embraced as being perfect! 

The remainder of the day was spent touring the town, shopping (water, wine and salad/snack material) and relaxing until it was time for dinner at Tholoto where we ordered too much and ended up taking a pork chop home with us after dinner.  

The next day we opted for an adventure ("peripetia" in Greek) and hopped on the bus to Exo Gonia to visit the Santorini Brewery as well as a nearby art-space and the well regarded restaurant "Metaxi Mas". 

The brewery was a fun (short) visit with a couple of brews sampled but nothing purchased as we knew we would be coming back the same way later. 

The visit to the art space was brief as well as we had no reservation and a tour was just arriving (and we did not appear to have money) but rewarding as we saw a set of lovely bronze olive tree statues (by Angelos Panagiotidis) which we did not buy but inspired us. 

We then wandered through the lower outskirts of Exo Gonia eventually leading to a solid but short hike up to and through the village to Metaxi Mas where lunch was simply amazing; Lisa had an arugala salad that made up for all the previous meals with no real salads and Christos had dolmades and other Greek delights.  

We hiked back down the hill, bought some beer at the craft brewery and hopped on the local bus in time to get back to our pad around 5ish. 

We opted for dinner in this night consisting of some items we had picked up in town and the leftovers from the previous night. 

That evening a tiny young mom cat visited us and she received the remains of the pork chop (devouring even the bone splinters) as well as some sliced turkey from a sandwich we had for the next day before departing.

The next morning our host gave us a lift to the new port of Fira where the large ferries arrive and after a slight bit of confusion with our tickets we were safely on board and headed to our next destination, the nearby island of Ios!

Birthday NOLA!

 One of the worst things about a birthday just after New Years is that everbody is partied out. Not only that but if you are born in the Great White North during January the weather is usually not conducive to having a great outdoor party (although snow parties can be fun).

With that in mind, and given the lack of travel fun since Covid began, it was time to do something different for Lisa's birthday in 2024 and it turned out that something different was New Orleans, or NOLA as it is known!

We arrived on Friday night around 9ish and checked into our cute hotel, The Peter and Paul, enjoying a stiff Sazerac before we bounded out into the night and Frenchmen Street. 

What a blast! Our first stop was the Spotted Cat where the band was bangin' and the room was jumpin'. 

A couple stiff drinks later it was down the street to some place with a DJ that had yet to get going before we popped into Bamboula's (no cover!) for some good grooves and dancing times. 

We popped back into the Spotted Cat after for another few tunes before heading to Dat Dog for a late night alligator sausage hot dog! 

Finally as we wandered along Frenchmen, heading vaguely towards our hotel, we stopped to listen to a truck based street corner rapper lay down some sweet rhymes during which mentioned his Toronto Crew (that would be us!)

What an evening and how we paid for it the next day.

Saturday was a day of big plans and smaller realities. While Christos awoke with a mild hangover, apparently its greater cousin was Lisa's for the day. A breakfast of lovely pastries and strong coffee from the Ayu Bakehouse helped to restore somewhat but not enough for Lisa to make it out. 

So Christos had a day alone to explore with a visit to the New Orleans Music Factory for vinyl purchase as well as a tour of the smallest jazz museum and lunch at Lil' Dizzy's (both in Treme, the first neighbourhood in America where free black people owned property). 

It turned out that it was the first day of Carnival so there was much buzz in Treme as well as the rest of the city. Many fancy outfits were observed! Christos passed on an invite to a party as it was time to check in on Lisa. Unfortunately she was still rough in the mid afternoon so Christos did the pre-booked Sazerac House tour by himself.

After the Sazera House tour and the walk back to the hotel, Christos was also tired out so we opted for dinner at a local hole in the wall called Coop's Place. Simple food but good and hearty, the gumbo was awesome! Just what we needed to get over the last of the hangover and go out Saturday night for more music on Frenchmen Street! 

So it was once more off to Bamboula's for the night and more great entertainment from a Joplinesque performer who engaged with the audience and had a few special guests pop by. Another night of too much fun but we took it a bit easier.

Sunday started with Christos grabbing coffee from Ayu bakehouse before we hopped in an Uber to take us to the Commander's Palace for Jazz Brunch (our slot 10:30AM). 

Brunch was wonderful but huge and as we had not walked over (our original plan but kiboshed by all the late night revelry) we were unable to finish it; truly sad. The live jazz trio during brunch was wonderful but the highlight was Christos' dessert, bread pudding souffle with whiskey cream sauce! 

Filled with a hearty brunch and now being in the Garden/Central district it was time for a wonderful Sunday afternoon meandering stroll. Our perambulation took us past old mansions (some gated and guarded by fell beasts) and gardens and into quaint boutiques along the way (Christos bought another record along the way).

It was a long walk, well over two hours with much meandering. We passed by the WWII museum (Lisa knows who won WWII so we skipped it) as well as the restaurant we had a reservation at (Peche) for Lisa's birthday dinner that night; it passed inspection so we kept the reservation! 

We made it back to the hotel with enough time to take a much needed break with a little downtime before we Ubered to our 8PM reservation at Peche. Dinner was a delight of seafood with tuna tartare, ceviche, oysters, fish sticks and more. While it was all quite yummy we both agreed that our East Coast Canada oysters are superior and that upon our return home a case should be ordered post haste!

After dinner it was time for a stroll back to the hotel with the obligatory stop on Frenchmen Street. 

Being exhausted, we decided that just a quick pop in at Bamboula's for a song or two and one drink was all we could do ... of course it turned out differently as Bamboula's was hosting a wonderful Blues trio and we ended up staying for the entire set and the end of music for the evening.

We finally made it back to the hotel just before midnite for some serious sleep!

The next day we had a late flight scheduled and it was a rainy Monday ... Christos went out to get baked goods and coffee int he morning and got caught in a downpour so we spent most of the day chilling at the hotel watching old episodes of Below Deck and recuperating from a weekend of excess. Our flight was delayed a bit and we finally got home at around 3AM Tuesday morning to pass out into our own bed!

Eastern Adventures Again!

With the end of summer looming it was time to head out to our favourite part of Canada (well in the summer months anyway) .... the West Coast of Newfoundland or more specifically Benoit's Cove and environs!

Our first eastern foray of the year saw us arrive on a Sunday afternoon late in August loaded with victuals from the St. Lawrence farmer's market in Toronto including many fine cheeses, steak, pork chops, fresh Ontario peaches and much more. With our visits usually being four or five nights we like to provision as much as possible in Toronto to minimize on shopping time and provide an alternative to the more limited foodstuffs available in Corner Brook. 

We hopped into Aare's car and after a quick stop to see his parents, with a light lunch of cheese and tomato toast, we found ourself at Aare's by mid afternoon with a gorgeous blue sky, warm weather and soon beverages in hand. After a couple of drinks (and much chatting) while enjoying the wonderful view over the water it was time to start thinking about dinner.

We had packed food for all four nights but ended up not needing dinner for the first two nights as the Rock provided a bounty in the form of some fresh cod (caught Saturday) for dinner on Sunday and Monday nights. It was, quite simply, the best fish ever! Cooked simply with butter, salt and pepper yet so tender, delicious and delicate. Lisa thinks it has ruined her for "Toronto" fish. Truly a wonderful meal and memory.

After dinner the bonfire was lit and by the end of the evening so were we! Clearly the long absence from Aare had been impacted us and the drinks and conversation went deep into the night until we finally stumbled into bed in the wee hours.

Monday morning it was absolutely gorgeous, with a clear blue sky and temperatures in the mid 20s celsius, so we shook off the drowsiness from the day before and jumped in the car for a drive to Gros Morne! We opted for the wonderful "Lookout" trail behind the discovery centre as it offers stunning views from the peak and we were not disappointed. 

After a good trek up and down, we decided that a second hike in the same day was not in the cards so after a bit of browsing and shopping at the tourist stores we hopped in the car for the hour and forty-five minute drive back to Aare's. 

Dinner was once more fresh cod and other victuals followed by another evening of fireside frivolities set to an amazing summer evening sky and including a cargo boat sighting.

The next day was still lovely but not quite so lovely as the day before as clouds now wandered the sky and the temperature was a bit chillier. 

We opted to stay closer to home but still get out for a hike and so we headed off to the OBIEC area and undertook the Bottle Cove hiking trail. 

Aare had a feeling we might get lucky on the trail and indeed we did as a hillside known for its chanterelles was fruitful and we managed to collect about a pound and a half of fresh ones! 

Once back at the end of the trail, a bit of kiting was attempted but the wind was evasive and so after half an hour we gave up and drove back to Aare's to prepare a dinner of pork chops and chanterelles! 

That evening by the firepit we were joined by a local toad whom we soon named Craig. He spent the entire evening enjoying the heat from the fire and studiously ignoring our boisterous behaviour. We did note at the end of the evening that we appeared to be one beer short and we all agreed that Craig was the likely culprit!

The third day was the worst of the bunch from the weather perspective with some light rain and a chill. Such is to be expected in Newfoundland! 

We opted for a trip into Corner Brook to visit a couple craft brewers (three of five stars for both) and pick up provisions, including a frog shaped solar powered light we took to calling "Green Craig" as he was covered in green plastic fur, before heading back for a low key afternoon of old TV (some A-Team and others) before dinner and another evening, this time a bit bundled up, at the firepit.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast followed by coffee at the firepit, it was time to head to the airport and we undertook an uneventful flight home.

Our second trip out East was a month later, arriving on a Monday afternoon and leaving Friday afternoon just before Storm Fiona hit the island and wrecked Port Aux Basques. Our flight somehow arrived early and Aare was still half an hour out from the airport by the time we had deplaned! No worries as soon he arrived and we once more popped by Aare's parents' place for lunch, good conversation and of course some gift exchange. 

Once we arrived at Aare's it was down to the firepit for chit chat over drinks before preparing a lovely roast beef dinner (with plenty of left overs for sandwiches!) and then back to the firepit for frivolities into the wee hours.

With a month having passed since our last visit, the weather had turned more autumnal and with the exception of the first 36 hours it was pants, as opposed to shorts, weather.

The first day was full on summer with a clear blue sky and warm weather and we opted to revisit Bottle Cove hoping to find more chanterelles and while there were none, the wonderful hike and a successful kiting expedition made up for the lack of fungi. 

Aare and Lisa managed to catch a good wind on a lovely day so we spent around forty minutes enjoying the peace and quiet of hiking far away from anyone else in the world!

After Bottle Cove we undertook the nearby Cedar Cove trail which offers lovely views of the bay, albeit not from sea level rather than at a elevation, at its end. 

Our second day of the second trip (Wednesday) was a bit more overcast but still decent so we opted for one of our favourites, the Copper Mine Trail.

A good hike up and down, Copper Trail offers wonderful views over the Inner Bay of Islands as well as a great way to spend a few hours! 

Unfortunately, we had a slight challenge this time as Lisa had a bit of a slip (she insists that sandals are for hiking) and managed to pop her toe out on the way down, putting an end to her hiking for this trip!

Still there is always the firepit, good times and late nights!

Our final day saw a visit from Bernard and Corynn (and their dog Jasper) who had been driving east from Ontario for several days and had just made landfall at Port Aux Basques to the south. 

After a pitstop and breakfast they continued on their way to Rocky Harbour.

The next day we were on our way to the airport for the return trip. 

Good thing too as we got out on basically the last plane to Toronto before the Hurricane hit!

Western Wanderings - Port Renfrew!

Our next and last place visited on Vancouver Island was the charming Port Renfrew, located in the far south and west of the island near one entry to the Juan De Fuca trail.

Our friends James and Ria had arranged a rental cabin with two bedrooms for three nights at Wild Renfrew on the pier. 

The cabin was simple but lovely with a small cooking area and an amazing view from the veranda/deck. The only drawback was the adjoining neighbour on one side and the other nearby neighbours. Oh well, not completely private but still a long way from the sights and sounds of old Toronto!

We arrived in the late afternoon before James and Ria and settled in to enjoy the view and a cold beverage. Christos procured some smoked salmon from the next door First Nations fishery outlet and we enjoyed a dinner of salmon salad, having done some stocking up (beer, wine and other basics) in nearby Lake Cowichan on the way to Port Renfrew.  

James and Ria arrived after dusk and after much embracing the four of us relaxed on the deck until the wee hours draining most of our immediate alcoholic resources! 

After much catching up it was finally time to hit the sack and get ready for our first full day in Port Renfrew.

We awoke groggy but happy to all be together on Thursday June 30th and, after James set up his crab trap off the local pier, managed to get out for an early visit to a section of the Juan de Fuca trail at low tide  as well as enjoyed a lovely hike on the trail in and out. Giant driftwood, amazing views, no bugs and 

Then it was back to the cabin for a lunch of avocado toast and super yummy hearty salad courtesy of Ria! Crabbing had at this point yielded no results so James moved the trap. 

After refuelling with lunch we hopped in James and Ria's car for the 20 minute drive to Avatar Grove and more adventure!

The Grove is two paths leading away from either side of the road and is a short hike through a copse of old growth forest. Christos had seen giant trees once before in the US but the magnificent trees were a first for Lisa. 

The four of us did both hikes, taking perhaps an hour and a half to complete, with numerous tree hugs as we hiked. 

On the way back we stopped off at a local beach within the territory of the First Nation. Gorgeous beach and perfect for an album cover photo! We checked in on James' crab trap and he had two crabs in it but alas they were two small for eating and were returned to the sea. 

That night we had a decent dinner at the local pub before drinking on the cabin deck which led to chit-chat with our neighbours. 

These neighbours turned out to be from Alberta and were on the anti-vax train! 

Chatter got heated and first Ria bade an Irish farewell and then James got a little belligerent (rightly so) with our Albertan neighbours before it was time to head to our rooms for some drunken slumber.    

Our final day in Port Renfrew was Canada Day! We started the day with another visit to the Juan de Fuca trail with a particular focus on the area around "Botany Bay" with its numerous tidal pools. 

We spent a good portion of the day there before returning to the cabins, doing some more fish shopping (as the stand was now open) and checking on the crab trap (one crab still not big enough for eating). The afternoon was spent resting and puttering before Ria and James prepared a wonderful dinner of morel gnocchi and salad. 

That night witnessed a massive fireworks display at the end of the pier and we had access to the best seats in the house! 

Western Wanders - Chemainus

With the wake of Barbara behind us it was time for Lisa and Christos to explore Vancouver island, something Barbara had always encouraged us to do. So we hopped in our rental car and headed off to Chemainus on the east coast for the next two nights. 

Along the way we stopped off at the Raptor Center in Duncan for an hour and a half of wonderful and informative fun visiting various birds in their aviaries and watching flight demonstrations for four birds of prey, the Bald Eagle, the Harris Hawk, the Peregrine Falcon and the (absolutely adorable miniature) Screech Owl pictured here.

Our diversion complete it was back on the road, with a pit stop for lunch subs, to arrive at the Eagle Cove B&B in the late afternoon.  

Our B&B was run by a lovely couple who kept a very clean and tidy, as well as comfortable, establishment within their home just meters from a park on the water. 

Dinner was at the local craft beer restaurant where a simple but hearty meal was served with several tasters of Vancouver Island craft beers. After dinner on the walk back to the B&B we spotted several wild bunnies and encouraged them to be careful given our knowledge of the local birds of prey! We then spent some quiet time down on the waterfront looking out over a calm bay from the comfort of a park bench. What a lovely view to have from one's home!

The next day, after four days of glorious sun and heat, the weather returned to the norm for the Island. After a hearty breakfast we drove up top Nanaimo to check the town out. The weather was a bit inclement and managed to cut our trip short but we did visit the local museum (complete with new addition on First Nations relations) as well as a photo op at "The Bastion" and the ibligatory Nanaimo Bar purchase.

Then it was back to the B&B for a quick refresh before heading back to north Nanaimo for dinner with a work colleague of Christos' at an amazing sushi place. Christos' colleague ordered everything and it was all fresh and delicious. Dinner included scallop sashimi (wonderful), amazing tuna and salmon sashimi, sunomono (totally new for us) with a soft shelled crab for dessert all accompanied by copious amounts of sake. Lisa sadly had to keep it relatively tight for the early drive back to our B&B (dinner started at 4:30pm as it was the only reservation available and went to 7:30pm). Back at the B&B it was time for a quick trip to the water's edge (with wine) before retiring for the evening. 

 

Western Wanders - Victoria

With the anniversary of the passing of Barbara upon us it was time for a visit out West to Vancouver Island. 

We arrived on a Friday afternoon in June apparently having brought the summer weather with us from Toronto! 

We checked in to the lovely Fairholme Manor for three nights, encountering the resident doe and fawn being fed apple scraps from the kitchen window. Sylvia, the owner, informed us that the fawn (named Fairholme) were living in a grove on the property and we encountered them several times during our stay. 

After dropping our luggage at Fairholme, we popped in on Gary to say hi before heading downtown for a stroll through the old city and a visit to our favourite streetfood vendor in Canada, the amazing Red Fish Blue Fish!

With it being the most lovely day of 2022 so far for Victoria, the line at Red Fish Blue Fish was longer than any we had seen before. We opted to wait the 45 minutes for service and it was well worth it; two lovely pieces of fresh fish deep battered and fried as well as chips and deep fried pickles! Now that is a lunch worth waiting for! 

A stroll back to Redfern was followed by dinner and drinks with Gary and fond remembrances of Barbara. After an evening of freely flowing wine it was time to head back to our B&B for a good night's rest in our cavernous lovely suite.

The next day started with an amazing breakfast at Fairholme and a stroll through the gardens next door before heading over to Gary's later in the afternoon for tea with the family. The lovely Hanna brought all sorts of goodies which were enjoyed by Martin, Gary, Lisa, Ingunn, Hanna and Christos. 

More remembrances of Barbara and family, as well as a look through some of her wardrobe for the ladies, ensued followed by a visit to the Marina Restaurant for dinner. Lisa and Christos opted for a stroll over while the rest of the party walked. Dinner was wonderful with fresh fish all around served with yummy accoutrements. 

Martin had to depart after dinner but the rest of the group was back at Gary's after dinner for more chit chat and catching up in the lovely back Sun room. Finally in the weeish hours it was time to head back to to Fairholme to collapse into bed for another sound sleep.

Sunday in Victoria involved some down time as well a buying a new pair of sandals for Christos (and saying goodbye to the ratty old ones!) and another lovely garden stroll through Governor's House before meeting up with Gary for a dinner of delicious burgers. Bedtime came earlier after several late nights!