Vargas Island – Adventure in the wilderness

Canada, you definitely got me under your charm now! To link to the other four Germans was such a lucky shot. We found our paradise on that island.

The first day we got brought to the east side of the island by a Tofino-Water-Taxi. At first, we were a little bit disappointed because on the island were several buildings on the beach as well, but those were only vacation homes which weren’t occupied at that time of the year. More relevant was the fact, that we first had to fight our way through two hours of rainforest to get to the west coast of the island.

Therefore it could be equal to us if there was some civilization on that island. We were in the wilderness! After those two hours of arduous walking, we reached the west coast which presented a long bay with a huge beach. This bay was our home for the next three days.

We built our tents in the forest behind the beach, far enough away from our fire pit and the food containers, as we were not alone on that island. Next to us, the island provided habitat to numerous species and wolves were among them. We haven’t seen one in that time, but they were definitely there. Paw prints and fresh dung were obvious signs of them.

Less shy and more present were some eagles and other interesting birds, which controlled the island from the top of the high hemlocks, Sitka-firs, and red cedars.

Ideal weather conditions allowed us to do several exploration trips over the island so that we could investigate many beaches and coves around the island. From wild cliffs over long beaches to protected lagoons everything could be found on Vargas Island. From the cliffs, we could see the whale-watching boats in our bay, but we didn’t see any whales at any time.

The beaches were populated by many crabs and other sea animals and were a rich depository for firewood and other useful stuff, that the flood was bringing there. The most beautiful spot was the remote lagoon, which we discovered on our third day on the island. It provided protection from the wild Pacific and was, therefore, an ideal habitat for many species including sea otters.

The evenings we spent by our campfire on the beach, which we surrounded with an extravagant wind blocker and some sitting opportunities built from driftwood and which kept us warm till late in the night. The night presented a breathtaking starlit sky, which got me behind the lens of my camera to take some marvelous shots.

Our stay got perfected by a wonderful sunset on one of the evenings.

Then, on the last day, the rain which usually dominates this island brought us back to reality. It felt really uncomfortable and cold when we made our way back to the other side of the island to wait for our boat. In the end, we were so happy to be back at our vans where we could dress in some dry clothes. To each adventure belong also situations like this one, where you have to fight. The trip to Vargas Island will definitely stay in my memory as one I will never forget in my life.