We searched over a very wide area, we saw loads of signs of grizzly bears and cubs - from fresh poop full of berries, to bear rubbings on trees with fur attched, to recent scratch marks on trees, to paw prints.

At one point we circled back on ourselves and discovered signs of bear activity that weren’t there the first time we had walked past that spot, so it was pretty obvious that particular bear was tracking us rather than the other way around! We were very close to bears all day, but we never actually saw one - in a way I’m glad they were so elusive as if a bear had smelled and heard us coming and not run off or hidden, then it would have been a bear that is not scared of silly humans and their 2 canisters of bear spray, so it might not have been a very nice encounter anyway. There had been a bear attack early in the Spring just a few Kilometres from Suntree Cottages which had shaken the community a bit.

Next time  (because there will be a next time!) I would make full use of Doug’s 4×4 and explore some of the lovely lakes, waterfalls and volcanoes in the area and forget about bear spotting. But we had a nice day anyway, especially in the morning when we spent a good deal of time walking around the huge old-growth cedar trees in Snootli Creek Regional Park.

We also enjoyed walking alongside the various rivers en-route to the edge of Tweedsmuir National Park.

Doug was a very knowledgable, interesting and friendly guy and it was good to hear about all of his experiences of living in the valley. If you ever fly into Bella Coola in the winter and the plane can’t land at Hagensborg airport  due to the weather, then you will land at Anahim Lake at the top of The Hill and in all likelihood it will be Doug who comes to pick you up in a big school bus and drives you down to Hagensborg and Bella Coola. If you’re lucky (or unlucky, depending on your view of things) he’ll share some of his poetry with you.

Although we had met Frank on the ferry and he had offered to guide us through the petroglyphs, we were recommended by Cheryl at Suntree Cottages to go with twin brothers Lance and Chris Nelson, because it has kind of been “their thing” in recent years. They don’t ask for any money because they are mainly offering their services to share their knowledge of their culture and they take great pride in doing so. Even so, it seems standard practice that you offer them as much monetary compensation as you see fit, depending on what you personally get out of the experience.

We had booked to go on the tour with Lance, but he didn’t show up so we phoned Chris instead, who kindly agreed to turn up on very short notice with a huge hangover - probably as a result of the same party that led to Lance not answering his phone.

He took us to the area where the petroglyphs were, a beautiful spot on a steep bank alongside a river. I know which general direction it is in, but I wouldn’t be able to take you there now if you asked. Then he proceeded to spend two hours with us, talking about his interpretation of the petroglyphs, telling many of the Nuxalk stories which may relate to them, specualting on the possible connections between these and similar rock carvings in Polynesian countries and the fact that no one knows who made these carvings and so no one claims ownership of them.

He also told us many things of an extremely personal nature, telling of the struggles he had been through to become the man who stood before us that day and telling of his excitement as to what the future had in store for him as he prepared to move to Prince George as a cultural ambassador, to teach kids and help them reconnect with their own culture.

Unfortunately, in the rush to get to us on short notice he had forgotten his drum, but it didn’t seem to make much difference to the overall experience as he went on to sing his heart out totally unacommpanied. In doing so he sent chills down our spines and blew out the cobwebs in his head. By the end of the afternoon he was buzzing and so glad that we had called him as getting in touch with his spiritual and cultural side turned out to be the best cure for his hangover! On our part we were very glad that he had come out because it was an amazing experience that we would have been extremely disappointed to miss out on.

Chris singing - set-72157606566605139

Fraser from Brockton House Inn took us out and about on his little zodiac, going in and out of all the inlets trying to spot some wildlife - we were specifically looking for grizzlies. Unfortunately, aside from an otter and a couple of eagles, all the wildlife in the area seemed to be staying out of the bad weather, but it was still a nice experience boating about on that lovely milky green water.

The highlight of the trip turned out to be the visit to the old Tallheo Cannery. Two miles across the inlet from Bella Coola Harbour, it was deserted over 50 years ago but a local man, Jim, bought up the land and hasn’t changed much at all so it is like walking in to a 68-acre museum. A rather dangerous museum as half the buildings are in such a state of disrepair and others have crumbled completely, but a fascinating and unique museum nonetheless.

You can actually stay at the Tallheo Cannery Inn as Jim operates a low-key Bed and Breakfast/hostel/Inn there - we met a couple and their child who were staying in the old bunkhouse.

My favourite part of the place was the General Store - left untouched for 50 years, it was fascinating wandering around all the old items - ancient cans of soda, bars of soap, bottles, screws, nails, the old cash register, sealed shut and the old ledger books full of purchases made by the men who worked there, many of whose names we recognised as being the family members of local people we had already met or were about to meet.

Attached was the sick bay, still with disgusting old bed linen and the old communications room with defunct typewriter and radio equipment and many logs and books pertaining to the fishing industry.

Monkey’s favourite part was the Net Loft - filled with fishing nets that men had been mending by hand for months before just being told to abandon their work. Each net had a tag attached to it saying who was working on it and how far they had gotten throught the repair - again, we recognised a lot of the names.

From the net loft, there was a wonderful view of another building - maybe also a net loft - which had completely collapsed a few months before.

Even still, I was in no hurry to leave this beautifully haunting place.

We popped into the Brockton House Inn in Hagensborg to book a trip for the next day. I wanted to go on a wildlife-spotting float trip down the river but that trip was full so we ended up booking a wildlife-spotting boat tour of the inlets around Bella Coola Harbour with a sidetrip to the old, deserted cannery.

We then headed to Clayton Creek Park  just on the edge of town to have a look at Clayton Falls - a nice little waterfall.

Back in town, we navigated around all the locals with their dogs standing in the middle of the Highway chatting and parked up at Kopas Store, the kind of small town general store that has all sorts of treasures within. Inside we spotted some native art that we liked - we had been on the look out for a paddle, and Monkey found one that he really liked only it was in blue rather than his desired red.  Monkey ignored my scoffing at him and asked the store clerk whether they might possibly have a similar one in red somewhere in the store, and she said “The artist is just over there, let’s ask him”. Thus we met Noel.

It turned out that Noel was very eager to help us out and he would create us the piece of art that we wanted so long as we were willing to wait a few weeks. Then he suggested that we go back to his house to look at his other works of art, to which we readily agreed.  On the way he decided to take us to a very special place - the House of Smayusta.

The House of Smayusta is basically the headquarters of the Nuxalk Nation, where current chiefs meet to discuss matters of import to the band. Unfortunately, because of divided opinion in town over the enviromental impact of logging in the area, the House of Smayusta had been closed up for many months in order to protect the status quo. It was an amazing experience to be invited inside this abandoned place so full of history. The walls were filled with newspaper cuttings of all the environmental protests that the band had been a part of, and Noel told us as much of the history as he could remember.

The big point of our visit there, though, was to see the mask carvings. There were many amazing masks made by members of the Nuxalk Nation over the years, some were really, really old and they are very lucky that they still exist because when the white man came and tried to stomp out their culture they burned most of the masks, and many of the ones left were confiscated and shipped off to museums and galleries around the world. The masks really should be protected in a controlled environment somewhere but the Nuxalk can’t afford it and they are understandably reitcent to part with them. We were in awe, too much awe to take any photographs - it seemed disrespectful.

Afterwards, Noel drove us to his house and showed us his workshop and the many works of art that he had stored in the basement of his home. He really is a talented artist and he is still fairly new to it, having only discovered in the last couple of years that he had a natural talent for it. He is still learning, both the art of carving and all the long-forgotten stories in his culture that inspire the carvings. At the time he was busy working away on a series of masks, rattles and other items that he was making for a Potlach that was to be held at the end of August. During the Potlach the life of his mother was also going to be celebrated and he was also hard at work on the carving that was to adorn her grave in the cemetary.

I can’t ever thank Noel enough for his warmth, openness, generosity of spirit and for letting us in to his life and his culture. Although he is still learning about it himself (since generations of First Nations were subjected to Residential Schools which wiped out their memory of their language and culture), he couldn’t tell us enough about his life and his culture and we couldn’t hear enough about it. The whole experience was endlessly fascinating and by the end of the afternoon we had learned that he was himself a herditary chief and that he was quite sincere in inviting us to the Potlach at the end of the month. We had also found a piece of art that spoke to both of us so much that we snapped it up the next day - not a paddle, but a large panel with 2 orcas, which turned out to be the first panel he ever carved. You would never know. It now proudly adorns our wall at home and everyone admires it.

If you’re ever in Bella Coola and you are interested in the art and history of the Nuxalk Nation then please look this guy up. His name is Noel Pootlass (like the local mountain with the eagle in it) and everyone in town knows him and will be happy to give you his number so you can contact him to see his art. He’s  hasn’t yet had the chance to get a website up and running or any proper gallery space for himself, but he’ll welcome your interest with open arms.

Bear Cottage was wonderfully appointed and had an outside deck which we spent many an hour on overlooking one of the local mountains. It was very hard to tear ourselves away from that view most days.

As well, our hosts - Steve and Cheryl - were great people, very friendly, very helpful and interesting too - and their dogs were equally great. Because they live in such a remote area, they have nature trails behind their house which are used by animals such as bears and cougars. If you go for a walk around there you are supposed to call the dogs to join you, as they are trained to guard you against wild animals. We never actually got round to walking around the property, but we did spend an evening lending our company to the dogs when Cheryl and Steve went out one very rainy night.

It was so calm and peaceful there. Time seemed to run at a different rate and I was so unbelievably happy that I entertained notions of moving there one day. I know the winters are supposed to be harsh there, particularly because of the strong, cold winds that whip through the valley, but it is very easy to imagine yourself holing up for the winter in front of the wood-burning stove with a small mountain of books and a month’s worth of supplies in your kitchen cupboard. The only thing missing was a hot tub!

It might actually be something we attempt later on in life. It would be a wonderful place to spend the first year of our retirement in as it is surrounded by such beautiful wildereness with plenty of trails and backcountry hiking/camping/snowshoeing on offer and all the people who we met there were so friendly.

Many visitors to Western Canada take the Inside Passage ferry route from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, an all-day journey of 15 hours. The Discovery Coast ferry route takes in the southern portion of that trip then veers eastwards to the mid-coast inland port of Bella Coola, a trip of 13 hours unless the ferry also makes stops in the tiny communities of Bella Bella, McLoughlin Bay, Klemtu, Namu, Shearwater and Ocean Falls. I haven’t been on the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert trip to compare, but I imagine that the scenery cannot be much more stunning on that trip than on the trip to Bella Coola.

For the first hour or so on board the ferry I couldn’t take my eyes of the amazing scenery - the ocean full of perfectly  green, mountainous little islands. After a little while I came to realise that the scenery wasn’t going to get any worse and, in fact, was  likely going to get better as it went along, becoming more remote and the channel becoming narrower, so I managed to tear my eyes away for a while and explore the ferry, trying to find a spot to settle for the journey.

The ferry was old and small and definitely in need of an upgrade. After a brief stop in the gift shop and a breakfast in the cafeteria there was literally nothing to do so you have a choice. You can either totally relax, or get bored. We chose the first option. The day was gorgeously sunny and we found a place to lie on our backs - on top of one of the huge boxes of lifejackets and we dozed.

Then we woke up and chatted, taking in the scenery and deciding which of the little valleys in the unpopulated islands we were going to build our cabin in.

Then we dozed some more. Then we took photos of the gorgeous scenery. Then we watched a pod of dolphins play around the ferry. Then we dozed some more - you get the idea? I can honestly say that by the end of that voyage I had never felt so relaxed in my entire life.

It was a fabulous experience and made all the better in the last couple of hours of the journey when we met Frank. Frank is a lifelong resident of Bella Coola who was returning from visiting his family in Port Hardy. He was our first experience of Bella Coola friendliness and hospitality. By the end of our conversation we had learned about his life, seen pictures of most of his family and been invited to call him when we were staying in Bella Coola so that he could open up the local school for us and show us the totem pole and the entire building which he had helped to build. He also offered to take us on a personal tour of the petroglyphs that we wanted to see. On our part we offered him a lift home from the ferry terminal which he politely declined.

When the ferry docked there were about 20 locals on the dock, with 5 or 6 children running around yelling “Uncle Frankie! UN-CLE FRAAANKIE!”. Yep, the man didn’t need a lift as it turned out that all of those people were Frank’s family come to greet him and take him home!

It took us a long time to get off the ferry and we had a very dark drive to our accommodation which was a 30-minute drive away. We were scared that we may hit a bear or a coyote but the nearest we came to seeing wildlife was a local dog running along the side of the road. By the time we got to our accommodation we were whacked out from our tiring day of doing nothing, and I had the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had!

I have dressed in layers and felt very snug throughout the entire period, when everyone else has been shivering and saying “Brrrr” a lot. The first time that word left my lips was on Friday night when we were walking around in -10 degree C weather and my cheeks and nose started going a bit numb. It is heartening to know that, with a balaclava, I could quite happily live in a place where winter temperatures hover around the -20C mark - it opens up lots more possibilities of places to retire to! The problem is that all those places that are usually as cold as Vancouver is now are even colder at the moment - it’s really is coast-to-coast snow and ice and Arctic temperatures right now and it is expected to be the first coast-to-coast white Christmas since 1971.

Edit: December 22, 2008. OK, it can stop snowing now! It was a bit of a hassle getting to work. Never having experienced much snow before I was caught a little off-guard when I cut diagonally across the road in front of my apartment as usual and came across a 2 foot pile of snow between me and the sidewalk. So I had to follow the road around until I could find an entry point onto the sidewalk. Following the channels created in the sidewalk by the nice people who had shovelled it proved rather frustrating in that they are so narrow that you cannot overtake slow-moving people. Hence I missed the bus by 5 seconds. Then I was late, the next bus was really crowded and when I got off there was no where to step except into a pile of snow up to my knee!

All fun and games. I wish I had my camera this morning though as the view eastwards down the Georgia Viaduct with the pale sun rising next to a gleaming, silver Science World framed by big powdery piles of snow on either side and NO CARS was just gorgeous.

We were treated to an early Christmas gift on Thursday when Mats Sundin finally ended the saga that has been frustrating hockey fans since July 1st. He chose to play rather than retire, and he chose to play for the Vancouver Canucks over the New York Rangers - a move that made the most sense but which shocked the hell of a lot of hockey pundits. Everyone assumed that the New York Rangers was his first choice and that he would certainly end up there for the rest of the season, but instead he decided with his head rather than his heart.

The former Toronto Maple Leaf captain claims that Vancouver was his first choice all along, since Mike Gillis offered him the 2-year $20 million dollar contract all those months ago, but I’m not so sure. It doesn’t matter though, because he will play for the Canucks for the rest of the year and play his socks off, then when the summer comes round he can decide if it is really the Canucks that he likes or whether his heart and head take him some place else.

Many people are deriding his decision, saying that he has been selfish, that it is all about the money and calling him a sell-out but this is simply unfair. Firstly, if he had taken less money than his market worth just to play for a team he fancied playing for it would be a dangerous precedent to set for the rest of the league and could possibly drive prices down for other players going into contract negotiations - clearly not a good thing for the league as a whole.

Secondly, if he had gone to New York the Rangers would have had to trade or waive some of their players just to make room for his salary - that would mess with team chemistry and perhaps create ill-feeling towards him in the locker room which would not have been a good starting point for resuming his career. And who is to say that the team would be better with him on it rather than the players that had to be moved for him? Conversely, the Canucks had targeted him from the very beginning as the player that would make the most impact on the team and had kept the money clear for him (and a roster spot open) all season long so that he could sign with no disruption if he decided that he did want to play - Sundin must have admired that kind of patience and commitment to him and maybe that helped him decide as he knew that he was wanted by everyone in the organization.

Thirdly, when he did sign with the Canucks he signed for less than the original offer. He signed for one year rather than two because he wanted to make sure that he would continue playing into next season - he could have just taken the money and retired anyway, leaving the team to pick up the tab. And he signed for about $8.5 million rather than $10 million, leaving enough cap room to add another player before the trade deadline in order to make the team truly competitive. That doesn’t sound like a selfish decision to me.

People are bitter that he will play for the Canucks, but the only people that should feel put out are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who tried to get him to waive his no-trade clause at the end of last season so that the team could get a package of players, prospects and draft picks to really get a head-start in rebuilding for the future. Mats declined to move, saying that he didn’t want to be a rental player, that he didn’t believe in joining a team midway through the season and that he wanted to retire a Leaf. Now that he is not retiring and is joining a team other than the Leafs midway through the season, he has become a hypocrite and traitor in the eyes of Leafs fans. I understand their sentiment, but also want to point out that the new GM of the Maple Leafs, Brian Burke, told Sundin that he didn’t want him this season, so it isn’t exactly like he had the choice to play there and retire a Leaf like he wanted to.

I am ecstatic that he chose Vancouver - there is no way that this signing can be a bad thing for the Canucks. He has been a consistent point-a-game, goal-every-other-game guy throughout his entire career and there is no reason those figures should change too much, but even if he only scores 15 points over the rest of the season, just the very fact that someone of his reputation is on the ice will be enough. He will make his linemates better with his leadership and experience, and he will allow all of the top 6 players to increase their points totals just by drawing defenders towards him and allowing them more space. So long as he doesn’t play with the Sedin twins, he will draw the top checking line to him and the Sedins can work their puck-cycling magic as a second line - and that will be just too much for many opponents. His presence on the power play should also make an immediate improvement.

Mike Gillis, I salute you. In my opinion the guy hasn’t made one wrong move since becoming the GM of the Canucks this Spring and the way he played this waiting game with Sundin showed exceptional patience and foresight. I trust him to make the right decisions for the team and am excited for the future of the franchise under his management.

Of course there are many different styles of pub in Britain and so it is hard to pin down exactly what makes a pub feel British. I would say that there are three main types of British pubs -

1. the traditional pub that serves a good range of real ale and maybe whisky but has a very limited wine and spirits list. The bartender is usually the landlord or landlady and will laugh in your face if you order anything other than a pint of beer or cider, a glass of red or white wine, or a shot of liquor with or without a mixer. These places are small, cozy, often dark and in old buildings with plenty of seating and the locals have been going for years and years and years. Entertainment consists of good old-fashioned talking, along with one or more of darts, pool, bar billiards, table football and a pub quiz. Music, if there is any, is quiet and chosen by the landlord or a local’s request or, in rare cases, a jukebox. Food is usually home-cooked and cheap - whatever can be prepared ahead of time and heated up - lots of soups, chilli, stews, pasta, curry etc. Quite often has a nice little beer garden for the sunny days.
2. Wine bars/chain pubs that focus on wine and cocktails, having a huge bar full of spirits, a long wine and bottled beer list but normally only offering European lager and one or two English brewed bitters on tap. Usually they are large, bright, modern, nicely decorated spaces with not much seating - these places are normally very crowded and full of people standing up, milling around or sitting down at a table drinking pitchers of cocktails. Loud up-tempo music, chosen by the many bar staff, is normally the only entertainment, unless there is a sporting event on in which case it is shown on large TVs. These places are normally patronized by young(ish) people getting drunk before heading to the next pub or a club, though some have dance floors themselves and basically turn into clubs after 10 p.m. Food is normally fairly good and cheap but mass produced - fish and chips, burgers and pasta dishes, and deep-fried things.
3. Family pubs and gastropubs, usually with a big garden, serving a good mix of drinks but focusing more on food. Often the same size as chain pubs and wine bars, but with more traditional decor and more seating. These sort of pubs are pretty much exactly a cross of the other 2 categories, with a total mix of patrons to match. There are usually a couple of pool tables and maybe a darts board, quiet music playing, sports events on TV but a much less rowdy atmosphere than the wine bars.

There are also many pubs/bars that are an exact cross between categories 2 and 3.

There are 3 pubs in downtown Vancouver that remind me of British pub chains - two of which (Rosie’s, The Lions) remind me of more expensive Wetherspoons with music and less choice of drink, and one (Elephant and Castle) reminds me of a Hogshead. The Cheshire Cheese Inn in Kerrisdale is quite like a British family pub, but I’m clutching at straws here! Really there is no comparison - Canadian bars are very Canadian, whatever their style, and the fact that you nearly always must have table service and a tab, that you can’t just buy a beer at the bar and wander around freely is the biggest difference at all. The next biggest difference is that there are always lots of TVs in Canadian bars showing different sports, and the third biggest difference is that you are usually expected and encouraged to eat a meal when you are drinking - if you go into a British pub after 6 O’clock you are not presented with a menu - you have to ask for it!

So, I am giving up on trying to find a British pub in Vancouver because I don’t think one exists and I know that I’ll never feel the specialness of being part of a lock-in again. On the plus side many of the Irish-style pubs are very well done and really hit the mark and there is always the WISEhall, which is very much like the traditional sports and social houses, or clubhouses, that are provided for various company employees in the UK. I must also visit the ANZA club at some point as it seems like it is extremely similar to the WISE, except founded by Aussies and Kiwis rather than Welsh, Irish, Scots, and English.

Afterwards we played like kids, running in and out of the surf, me daring Monkey to follow in my foot prints with the aim of timing it just right to keep my feet dry while getting his as wet as possible. Knowing that we were just 20 minutes from our cottage with its own private hot tub meant that we didn’t care how wet and cold we got!

We capitalised on our one day of sun by hiking down the Willowbrae trail to Halfmoon Bay in the morning (a pretty and secluded beach reached by lots of boardwalks and stairs and, in the wet weather, some areas rather boggy underfoot), and along the Wild Pacific Trail by the lighthouse in Ucluelet in the afternoon. That afternoon I spent an hour sitting on a bench overlooking a particularly scenic view while Monkey took photographs - the sun’s rays had formed a solar flare and it was just gorgeous to spend time looking out at it.

 It was a really nice, relaxing few days in a very special part of the world and I felt incredibly happy and refreshed by the time we left. By the way, if you ever want to eat in Tofino, the brunch at the Schooner Restaurant on Campbell @ Second is fantastic - probably the best French toast I’ve ever eaten and a really good budget-friendly dish called The Beach Bum which consisted of lots of spicy rice, beans and veggies for just 5 bucks.