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  • Day 13

    Good bye to Pender Island

    August 15, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    I have now finished my 5 days on Pender Island. The first day was quite challenging. The north part of the north island is separated from the south island and south part of the north island by a significant hill called the Scarf hill. My accommodation was changed for the first night to the South Island as there had been a death in the family at the BnB I was supposed to stay at and the owners were off to a funeral. I wasn't feeling that well as I think I had picked up a flu bug. By the time I reached the Band B which was quite remote, I was just exhausted. There was no place around to eat and I didn't have the energy to bike back to the commercial area on the north island. The B and Bs owners John and Judith were very kind to me. They made be supper and the next day gave me a ride into town to buy groceries and ferry me to my next B and B. Judith and John were from Port Huron and Judy who was. Canadian had taught in Sarnia. She had gone to Teachers College in London Ontario where I am from so we had a lot in common. With my high level of computer skills and knowledge I was able to help her set up an Air BnB account. I met her later in the week and she happily reported getting her first booking.

    I took a rest from biking that day and did a three hour hike. Initially I hiked up Mt Norman for a commanding view of the Gulf and San Juan Islands. A fellow who was obviously in much better shape then I was biked up the mountain on his fat tire bike. A group of adults at the top starting chatting with him. He was a biologist on the island who studied bats. He also was a photographer who ran photography tours to exotic places and worked as a biologist on tours to the Antarctic. He gave us an in-depth talk on bats. It was all so very interesting. Afterwards I hiked down to Beaumont bay on the ocean which was a very pretty Parks Canada campground. I met Matt and his father Mich who had paddled over from another part of the island. They were economic refugees from Alberta who had left Calgary after the boom went bust. Matt and his brother had got jobs in the trades on the island and were successfully working towards their journeymen tickets in plumbing and carpentry. I guess there is a shortage of tradesmen on the island and unlimited work for those trades here.

    The next day I got back onto the bike and did the south end of the north island and tackled the Scarf hill to get back to the commercial area. I also needed to get my confidence back after the first day. After navigating the hill back to my BnB and having a rest I hiked around Magic Lake to Roe Lake and then down to the very picturesque Shingles Campground also on the water and also run by parks Canada.

    On Tuesday I had booked a kayak day trip with Pender Island kayaking. It was somewhat kayaking lite after the previous multiday trips we have taken but it was still fun to get out onto the water. What was very interesting was that I met some Ex Edmontonians on the trip who had recently moved to Victoria who had been good friends with my neighbour Ray Cislo through cross country skiing. I wondered whether they were also economic refugees from Alberta.They were Emma and her son Will Eckerman. Talk about a small world. The guide Tavin was a 16 year old islander. It was interesting to learn about her experiences growing up on the island and her experiences with home schooling and then high schooling in a one school classroom. It sounded like they had a pretty dynamic teacher and the curriculum was geared towards learning all about the island's history, biology and geology. She was very knowledgeable about all island things because that was pretty well all she had studied. I wonder how she will cope if she ever has to leave the island.

    My last full day on the island I spent on the north side. I biked up to the North island and did a low tide walk starting at Clam Bay along the shore of Navy channel. before coming out at an access point farther down the shore and the walking back to my bike. I don't think I saw anyone for the whole time. Afterwards I biked to the very far north of the island and climbed up George Hill. I think it was the warmest day on the island getting up to 25 degrees. On the way back I swung by the Pender Island chocolate shop for two well deserved chocolates and 2 litres of water. They had a very pleasant area to sit in the shade and I read my book.

    I am slowly getting use to the solitude of solo bike travel on the islands. I have been reading alot including the following books: Midnight in Chernobyl. It is all about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster the severity and magnitude I had never appreciated. It was a bit of a tome but wonder whether you Jack would enjoy reading it. I read The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I am typically disappointed by murder mysteries but this book was excellently written. I would highly recommend it. The last book I have read is Maisie Dobbs another mystery book. It was the first of a series. It had to develop all of the characters so I think that I would have to read the next one before passing comment. It was not as good as the Evelyn Hardcastle book.

    The urban planning on this island is poor. The main residential area Magic Lake was built on the south side in the 70s. The commercial area built in the 90s including a grocery store, pharmacy, restaurant bakery, credit union post office and more was built on the north side separated by this massive hill from the main residential area which made the island not terribly walkable or bikeable for residents. If you lived on the island you would most likely need a vehicle.

    Despite being marketed as a bikeable island I am not sure I would come back here to Pender biking. In addition to the massive hill other parts of the island are also very hilly. There are bicycle racks everywhere on the island including all the trail heads. I didn't meet many other cyclists on the island and I never saw another bike in a bike rack. I think that I would go back to Mayne biking but not Pender. I am now off to Saturna and I am hoping it is more easily bikeable.
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