Magic and Madness. Or something in between.

Prince Rupert in August is a fair bit more pleasant than Prince Rupert in December. For a town that get’s 229 rainy days a year it was surprisingly sunny, and I got to catch up with Ben & Kerem!

Whom I met as they were riding down Vancouver Island last December as I was heading north.

They got stopped in their tracks by an aggressive tick but have every intention to continue their ride to South America as soon as possible.

We made FIMO-art.

They lovingly looked after my bicycle while I was living it up on Vancouver island.

Oh yes. 

I went to Sunfest.

Or, more precise, I volunteered at Sunfest.

By sheer luck my ‘job’ was to take pictures of other people doing actual work. I had a blast!

And my pictures were being shown on the big screen. Yay 🙂

It was getting pretty hot though, the temperatures soared up into the 30’s°C and bush fires sprang up all over the place.

This is what the sky looked like in Port Alberni.

So I shot back to the other side of the island where the wind was more favourable and the air a bit clearer.

And stayed with Carla for another while. At 30 weeks pregnant she’s looking great! Her belly still hasn’t surpassed the size of mine, then again she’s ‘only’ 30 weeks pregnant, up against 30 years of drinking beer ( ok, this might be a slight exaggeration )

We had lots of fun checking out what happens in and near Parksville in summer.

Like an impressive sand sculpture contest,

an animal conservation park where big heads lurked in the woods,and French Creek, the place her man and his dad arrive and depart on their quest to fish the seas between here and Prince Rupert.

Talking about, it was time for me to head back to Prince Rupert to be reunited with my bicycle, so I made my way to the Airport in Vancouver where, in line to get on a flight to Terrace I hear: “ Mirjam..?”
Imagine that! I had met Juliene last March in Inuvik! About 4000km further north!
How’s that for a coincidence?

Another coincedence was Keith from Quesnel. We met through a mutual friend (Hi Darren!) and when I first arrived in Quesnel I had sent him a message asking where about in town he lived.
Only a few doors down from where I was staying, as it turned out.
Now, in Terrace, I send him another message as I knew he was about to travel through. Again his reply came, I’m just a few doors down…
Now how is THAT for a coincidence…? And beer continued to flow freely.

I stayed with Dave & Mary, they’ve hosted me when I cycled through last December.
This time I wasn’t on my bike, but Mary was!I was keen to get my ass back into gear and do some actual moving.

Apart from just lifting beersthere’s a real good brewery in Terrace..

My friend Terry took me Totem pole carving. Artist Joe Mandur likes 3000 people to help carve his totem pole, so if you happen to be in or around Terrace, do pay him a visit!

I picked up my bicycle at Ben & Kerems and hopped on a ferry to Haida Gwaii.
Ever since I arrived in Canada people have asked me if I have been there or if I’m going. So I guess I had no choice but to go and find out what the fuzz is about.

On the ferry across I was happily minding my own business when I heard the PA system calling me.
“Can CyclingDutchgirl come to the bridge…” It said.
That was Larry, Larry is a friend of Rory. Rory used to be the Captain on this very ferry and I happened to dance with him at the Williams Lake Stampede…

It’s a small world.
Or maybe I’ve just been here way too long.

Either way, Larry was happy to show me around and let me hang out on the bridge.

Terry from Terrace hooked me up with his friend Eric.

Together with Gilda, who happened to be on the same ferry and on a bicycle, he showed us a little of the area.

Like this rope swing.

He lives in a gorgeous little cabin on a hill.

After sorting all my stuff out I finally hit the road!

Luckily (well intentionally actually) my arrival coincided with the annual Edge-of-the-world music festival.I had volunteered here too and that turned out to be a great move as not only did I get to talk to just about everybody,
I also got fed breakfast, lunch & dinner.

The food should have a special mention as it was truly suburb!I camped with warmshower hosts Susan & Warren, 

who live only a kilometer from the festival grounds in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

From the deck you look straight over the beach and the Ocean. There is hardly a better place for morning coffee!  

(Have you noticed..? I’m on Instagram too these days) 

My job involved sitting at the VIP-tent and making sure people were wearing the right wristbands.

Here I am. Looking all tough and security-dude-like… Right?
I had a nice view of the stage so I enjoyed watching the music too.

I particularly liked the local dance groups with their beautiful dress.

And the special Haida-hats, woven from spruce-root or cedar-bark.

They did a great job at getting everybody involved,

One of the people I got chatting too was Dave Unsworth, an interesting character, born and raised out here on the islands.

He invited me out on a tug-boat ride whenever I would cross Port Clements. So I made sure to stop by!

But first I headed North. 

Past Tow-hill, where a leisurely walk takes you up this hump and treats you (if you’re lucky enough to get a sunny day) on a spectacular view over this 24km long beach.

The sand is hard packed so if you’re careful and keep an eye on the tides you can drive a vehicle all the way to the spit.

Or ride a bicycle,

as was my case.

It was a little windy and a little wet on my way out. 

But after I found a lovely little spot to pitch my tent.

(Thanks Eric for the tip!)

it cleared up and I enjoyed an amazingly golden sunset.

In the meantime Devjeet had joined me,

He had cycled by earlier in the day and decided this was indeed the best spot to set up camp.

That night, as it was totally clear, we oohed and aahed over the meteor shower that happened to strike. 

It was truly magical.

It was still clear and sunny the next day,

so I leisurely made my way back along that beach.

Stopping at Tow-Hill and running around the woods with no shoes on.

Don’t worry, I haven’t gone (totally) mad (yet).

Tyler & Falon live in Massett.

And let me crash at their place for a few nights.

They’re also totally adorable as this picture clearly shows.

He happens to work for Dave, 

who kept his promise to take me out on the tugboat.

It’s real interesting to see how people live and work in these far flung places at the edge of our world.

The day I was here I got to see how the logs are collected on the water and taken to a large barge to move them to a mill in Vancouver and onwards. 

I even got to go up in the cranes and have a look.

I think I might just stay around a little while…

To be continued… 🙂