Paddling up Lama Passage and getting closer to Bella Bella was quite a bitter sweet moment. One the one hand, I was ready for a shower, ready for some greens to eat, ready for a beer, and social interaction. On the other hand, I felt reluctant to even turn off airplane mode on my phone. But I had to so I could figure out my accommodation in town. The idea of being confronted with news (or the temptation of them) from the world (relevant or not) made me turn off all notifications on my phone as first action.
The last couple of days — counting them doesn’t make sense, it became a timeless stretch in my life — have been intense. Intensely amazing. Far away. From everything. After that dinner with John and Kristi in Skull Cove I had not seen anybody or (except for the usual “Hey, Mr. Bear, bla bla” whenever walking into the bushes on some island) talked.
Saying its been “pretty” or “beautiful” or whatever more admiring adjectives I could come up with, would be an understatement.
With the help of my two weather wizards Matt & David I navigated across Queen Charlotte Strait, past Cape Caution, through Smith Sound in complete fog, crossing Fritz Hugh sound over to Calvert Island and meandered through a maze of millions of islands of the Hakai Lúxvbálís Conservancy, around Point Superstition, into Cultus Sound and then over to Bella Bella. While the weather was generally good, there were moments of bigger winds or very low visibility; I feel super lucky to having found the right window every day to smoothly cruise through (sometimes with bigger mileage).
I’m still scared of the bears. And so camping on islands has been my strategy on the last leg. I haven’t seen any bears or signs of them; but plenty of signs of wolves (at least their tracks) on the beaches I camped on. Also, the amount of bald eagles everywhere is pretty unbelievable. On Brown Island I counted 20 at one point in time. Then I stopped counting…
I keep seeing tons of otters. Mega cute are the otter moms with their babies, just holding them tight while watching me kayak by. Also realized that they are literally lounging somehow balancing on kelp. Cute!
When I checked into the lodge in Shearwater, someone came to my room to drop an extra pair of towels. Did I look dirty? Quite possibly…
Tomorrow I’m heading out on the next leg towards Prince Rupert, hoping to do another stretch of the outside passage, conditions allowing.
