Cortes island | Wing's World

Actually, Cortes Islanders would probably prefer that “quirky” label, while we found Quadrans (Quadrants?) plenty cordial. Either way, both islands, between BC’s mainland and big Vancouver Island, became big highlights of our British Columbia wanderings in 2018, and we were overjoyed to wander back.

With a week to spend, between our Bella Coola adventures and our visit with our friends in Vancouver, we headed over to Horseshoe Bay for the big ferry to Nanaimo. BC ferries are SO nice. And, unlike Washington State’s they run on time. And they actually run! (#ferryEnvy).

In Horseshoe Bay I was thrilled to see a healthy batch of young purple sea stars.

Since these critters have been suffering through a terrible die-off in the Salish Sea, I was super encouraged by these guys.

…and super thrilled by these Horseshoe Bay treats: seriously the best doughnut I’ve ever eaten!

After our 90-minute ride to Nanaimo, we drove a couple of hours north to Campbell River for groceries, then a much shorter crossing on a much smaller boat to Quadra Island. The We-Wai-Kai Campsite there is run by the First Nations People of the same name. Pleasant place, and pleasantly close to Rebecca Spit, a Provincial Park perfect for short bike rides and strolling.

Why do we call long, skinny points of land “spits”? Anyone?

Much of Quadra, we came to remember, is a bit steep for biking, at least for a couple whose combined age is edging close to 143 years. Since we’d be passing back from Quadra automatically on our return from Cortes…

(Courtesy Wikimedia) Ferry goes: Vancouver Is. to Quadra, then from the opposite side of QI to Cortes

…we put a pin on some hikes for our return , and headed over to our old Cordial friend…

On this 40-minute ride (reminiscent of our Lopez Island commute), we were treated to a pair of humpback whales. (Too far for good photos, but great views through binoculars.)

For our picnic lunch, we defaulted back to Manson’s Landing, remembered from 7 years ago.

Such healthy-looking tidal creatures! No sea stars…

…but I’ll settle for sand dollars. Worth every sand penny.

This trip, instead of springing for the extraordinary, but expensive Hollyhock Retreat Center, The Mate and I stayed in a modest motel with a kitchen. It was a stone’s throw from a set of community trails we’d missed last time…

…not to mention an enormous, clear lake, shallow & warm enough for real swimming.

That huge log and those background cliffs, speak of Cortes’ drama. But its Friday Market, complete with music, homemade treats and upcycled clothing, speaks of its community. “Cordial” indeed. I didn’t want to interrupt the vibe by taking photos.

Next day, The Mate and I went for a hike to immerse ourselves in more natural drama. Not only did we find that same “saltwaterfall” that astounded me in 2018…

…we found purple sea stars! So many healthy specimens!

Recovering from Pisaster Disaster (#LatinNamePun)

Returning to Quadra–the ferry workers kindly squeeeeeezed us onto the boat–

…we determined to find an extra-special way to spend the day, because it was our wedding anniversary.

First we found a fairly level hike to a lake; later, we drove to a deserted cove for another picnic. I could write a whole blog post about Peanut Butter & Honey sandwiches…

…but I won’t. This maple leaf caught my eye, though–emblematic of all the Canadian flags we saw flying across BC (#IWouldTooIfIWereThem)

We’d hoped to spend our anniversary night at the sweet inn we stayed in in 2018, but they were full. So we settled for dinner there.

Meanwhile–on that quirkiness question? Look what we found lurking around the parking lot of our Quadra motel!

There were about a dozen of these, obviously by the same artist who made that campground whale…

…not quite life-size, but close! That’s a LOT of driftwood.

The final piece of “quirk” that caught my eye on Quadra was this sign outside an ice cream parlor:

When you consider that Bowie died in January 2016…well…hard to argue w/ this, eh?

Thanks for traveling along! Next time: back to the Big Island–Canadian version. Keep those maple leaves flying!

I’ve been wanting to visit Cortes ever since reading Ruth Ozeki’s novel, A Tale for the Time Being, one of my favorite books of the last few years, and discovering that one of the two stories it winds together is set on Cortes. It seemed, if possible, even more Lopezian than Lopez Island, where I live.

Although we were only there for two days, I think I can safely say I was right. With under 2,000 year-round residents, Cortes is a quiet place in the off-season. Its beaches and forests looked like ours, only more so.

Looking northeast, toward the Sunshine Coast

Manson’s Landing–such a sweet spot!

Granted, I’ve never seen a 5-fingered Madrona, even on Lopez!

Nor do we have cedar trees anywhere near this old. OK, Cortes, you got us badly beat in the tree department, bless you.

But the thing that REALLY blew our minds on Cortes was…

…You know what? I’ll get to that in a moment. It was pretty jaw-dropping. So I need to save it for last.

Before then, I’ll share a few pictures from where we stayed. Like Quadra Island, the local provincial parks didn’t provide campgrounds, so we opted for the well-recommended Hollyhock Retreat Center. I mean Centre. It’s famous for multi-day classes in yoga and writing and history and, gosh, just about everything, but you can also just stay there. I was amazed at how reasonable their rates were: $180 per night for two people, with a shared bathroom (which we actually had to ourselves), all meals included. That’s Canadian dollars, so it was really less than $150 U.S.–and the meals alone were worth that! Hollyhock is entirely off-grid and produces nearly all its own pescatarian food. I’m not a taking-pictures-of-dinner kind of person, but here are a couple of shots from their garden, so you can just guess how amazing the food was.

Must…eat…kale!

I just could not make myself stop taking pictures of that garden. Anyone want to volunteer-garden there? Send in your application!

The view from outside our cozy room

One of many cool buildings on their forested campus…who wouldn’t want to study something in here?

No classes were going on the days we were at Hollyhock, which was fine with us. We just wanted to hike and bike around and get a feel for Cortes, which is what we did. Well–not so much the biking part. It’s VERY hilly there, and the one day we thought we’d try riding on the flatter parts, the wind was blowing 22 mph. But hiking, yes.

And that’s where we discovered…this.

Oh, it looks like bridge over just another creek. But that creek…

…is no creek at all–it’s the ocean! Rushing at very low tide from an inlet out to the bay…

…in a SALTWATER WATERFALL. A saltwaterfall! Have you ever heard of such a thing?

I’m not kidding! Those are barnacles growing there.

We were so gobsmacked by this, we actually tasted the water to convince ourselves it was indeed the ocean. A little jellyfish only confirmed the answer. Then we were overwhelmed by our luck in just happening to be there at low tide. Had we arrived another time, we might never have discovered this phenomenon.

And speaking of which, how amazing is it that we HAD never heard of this special saltwaterfall? Are they that common in BC? Or is that just Cortes Cool?

Because it is. Cool. Even beyond what I had imagined. So please, everyone–stay away in droves and keep it that way. 🙂