Day 12 - July 21, 2010 11:30 PM

July 21, 2010
11:30 PM

The awesome power of nature.

We got up and out by 9:00 in Tofino. We found a breakfast place right along the water and were fascinated by star fish and watching fishers as they brought their catches out. Some of the fish were 4 or 5 feet long.

We then stopped by for info on scuba diving information for the 4 boys. A 9:00 AM session to last about 4 hours has been scheduled. Even though this will make us leave later than we preferred we will be flexible and take advantage of this opportunity. I wonder how much different the boys will find it. Here they will be diving in full wet suits including hoods and boots. This will be quite different from the diving they did in the Caribbean.

Then it was time for whale watching. We got suited up in snowmobile-like suits covered by a rubber jacket. Mine was extra tight and I began to sweat immediately. I couldn't really raise my arms. Everyone found the suits extremely uncomfortable.

We made our way to our 30 foot zodiac boat. This was much bigger than the zodiac J and I rode to see whales in Hudson Bay. There were benches to fit 3 people across the boat. Overall the boat could hold 30 people.

We were off. The boat would ride the waves and slam down. Many times it felt like a roller coaster ride. When not moving, the boat moved up and down with the waves. We made 4 different stops to see various marine animals. Sea sickness took its toll on our group. I felt somewhat sick when the boat was not travelling from place to place. P felt quite ill, and D was as close to losing her lunch that I've seen in quite a while. The boat driver offered around ginger to chew on for those who felt sick. His explanation? It usually helped 90 percent of people; either by making them feel better or making them throw up sooner.

During the 2.5 hour tour we saw: hump backed whales, grey whales, harbour seals, sea lions and harbour porpoises. We also saw a pair of bald eagles and a bald eagle's nest. We were very close to the whales, close enough to hear them blow and jump. We even were able to smell the horrible smell that occurs when a whale blows. These are massive animals and it was amazing to see them out in the powerful ocean. It sure made our little boat feel very small.

When we got back D was feeling so under the weather that instead of walking back, B went to get the van to bring her back to the hotel, about 2 blocks, admittedly all uphill.

After 15 minutes to recover S and I went to do some grocery shopping while D continued to recuperate. We bought enough supplies for a very late lunch and enough for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

About 5:30 we headed out for a 1 KM hike through the rain forest. We kept finding these large gross looking things called banana slugs. They were the largest slugs we had ever seen, about the size of a finger but 5 inches long.

After the hike we went and checked out South Beach. Here we saw people surfing. The boys fooled around on the beach while the tide came in. They would roll a log which took 3 of them to lift, and the ocean would simply throw it back toward the beach. The roar of the waves was amazing and the force of the tide was relentless.

Seeing the force of the ocean both while being bobbed about in the zodiac today and witnessing the wave and tidal action really gave me pause to think about the BP oil spill. Why are we fighting against such forces to try and drill oil from under the ocean. There is an unlimited supply of kinetic energy in the waves and tides. We should be building more generator stations to harness this energy. It has to be a better way to get energy from the ocean.

For a late supper we went for fish and chips at a stand by the side of the road called Big Daddy's. I got my grease content for the week.

Tomorrow we will pack up while the guys are scuba diving and try and make a quick get away when they are finished. It is unclear whether we will make it to Nanaimo or Vancouver by tomorrow night. It depends on how we can catch the ferry.

Both D and I agree that although Tofino is a beautiful place and the rain forest was very interesting to see, we prefer our ocean experiences to be more tropical in nature.