HORNBY ISLAND 2: day 11
Paid a loonie (Canadian for $1) for a 2 minute shower, leading to the fastest hair wash in history. Forgot my towel. Putting dry clothes onto a wet body is very annoying.
Isaac picked us out a biking route; it’s time for my first blue trail, apparently. Having a trouser dilemma though. Too hot to wear my trackies and I don't have any long shorts. My only option is some leggings I can roll up, but the VPL is real. I know thongs are not advisable when biking, but a girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do.
Biking is like a really hard, real life spin class, but you can't cheat on the uphill climb and turn the gears down when the instructor isn't looking. I also immediately regretted my choice of underwear. In retrospect, a VPL is better than being a sweaty mess who is slowly getting sliced in half from the butt cheeks up.
We biked to the top of Hornby and ate a sandwich on the ridge; that was nice. I was pretty impressed at myself on the way down, but whenever the trail turned into a ridge, I felt like I was going to vomit. I wouldn’t say I'm afraid of heights, but I definitely would rather not be standing too close to any edge with a sheer drop, let alone ride a wobbly bike down it. I wish I’d looked at the trail map before blindly following Isaac down, but it was easy enough to get off and walk when it got too scary. Overall I would still rate the experience an 8.5/10.
On the way back to the town, we saw a sign that said ‘tasting this way’. We assumed it was for a winery, so naturally, we followed it. Turned out to be a meadery?!! Even better. It was the most serene setting. We sat on the balcony overlooking the garden of wild flowers, full of bee hives, then all the way down past the forest to the ocean.
The guy brought us 8 different meads to taste and lots of info on the history of mead. It was idyllic. I never want to drink regular wine again. He was an excellent salesman and we left with over $100 of mead in our arms. A very expensive, unexpected turn of events, event but worth every penny.
Drove around for a while to find a spot for this night. Some insane views but all accompanied by aggressive no camping/overnight parking signs. We pulled up at one beach spot and decided to chill there for the evening and cook dinner, then find somewhere sneaky after. We got the rug out, both did some crafting. I did some more macrame net (this thing is taking freakin’ ages) and Isaac chiseled a hair chopstick out of driftwood. Saw a dog play with some seals in the bay and watched the sunset. It was glorious.
Found a carpark for a trail head and slept there; quiet enough. Will just head out early in the morning.