Dave through the Americas - 9.7.02 Alert Bay, Cormorant Island

I think I lost some important stuff! My Servas Canada book and more importantly, my letter of introduction. I must have left it at the Java House in Prince Rupert, which is the last time I had it out. So, unless I miraculously find it, I can forget about Servas visits on the Island. Not a huge disaster, but disappointing nonetheless. I ate a hot breakfast at a café, a delicious Spanish omelet, and went to the bike shop in town to see if I could get a replacement for my small chain ring. It turned out they didn’t have anything for parts in the shop, so I moved on. I called up the coffee house where I thought I might have left my Servas info and it turned out that I did. Fortunately, they agreed to send in through mail to Vancouver where I can pick it up down the road. I’m kind of bummed that I won’t be able to get in touch with these Servas hosts, but I still plan on some nice detours as I make my way down the Island. As I was riding away from Port Hardy, a green pickup stopped on the side of the road after passing me. My buddy John Justus gets out of the car with his girlfriend Nicole. I can’t believe I ran into them up here. John trained with me for my observer job almost 3 years ago and we took a cool road trip half way across the US about 2 years ago. We haven’t been in close touch recently but it was nice catching up with him and Nicole. I hadn’t seen Nicole for an even longer time and it was her cycling trip through Asia with Misty, another co-worker, who encouraged me to thing seriously about doing a big tour of my own. John and Nicole were just getting back from an instructional expedition kayak course out of Port Hardy and were about to head back to Seattle. We met for an early dinner around 3pm at a café in Port McNeil and spent some time catching up. On my way into Port McNeil, I spotted a black bear feeding by the roadside bushes. It quickly ran off as I slowed down to perhaps catch a photo. I found out the ferry to Alert Bay left at 4:45pm, so we said goodbye, as John and Nicole had to get moving as well, and I headed to the ferry terminal. It was a short but pleasant ride to Alert Bay. I met a backpacker named Phillip from England. He and a friend were traveling up from the South of Vancouver Island. When I got off the ferry, I spotted a couple of familiar faces, Kevin and Miel, who had been in Alert Bay since this morning. They gave me a map of the island and I took off down the road. I stopped to chat with Alfred, a friendly native man who told me a bit about his life on the island. He pointed out an old school he used to go to 40 years ago as a child. I cruised over to the largest totem pole that stands 176ft tall. I started looking around for a camp spot and found one at the end of a campground on the water. I set up my tent and took my bike out to look for a shower. I noticed there was a recreation center nearby and lots of cars so I inquired to what was going on. There was a community potluck going on in honor of some local young athletes. The food was plentiful and everyone was invited. It was here that I realized the amount of First Nations people on the island. I’d say about 95% of the people at the Potluck were Namgis First Nation. I considered myself to be pretty lucky to have stumbled in on this event. I left with a full belly and continued my quest for a shower. I ran into Alfred again. His hands were stained purple and he was carrying two buckets of blackberries. I walked through town with him and he showed me where to score a free shower. I showered up at the campground and it felt oh so nice. When I returned, Alfred had sold his blackberries to a woman living a couple blocks away. We continued walking around talking and sat down for a puff. It was dark and beginning to rain, so I said goodnight to Alfred and hurried back to cover my tent before it got too wet. I crawled in and had a good nights sleep as the rain fell from the cloudy skies above. (45 miles)

Peace

Dave

Pic: Leaving Port Hardy

Pic: A view of the Coast Mountains leaving Port Hardy

Pic: Cool architecture of a school on the First Nations part of Alert Bay

Pic: Alert Bay potluck celebrating the success of young atheletes