A Western Canada Road Trip – Day 4
I was pumped to go to spend half of a day in Vancouver. I’ve never been and have always wanted to go. Unfortunately this did not happen, because we missed our planned ferry to Vancouver.
Tofino to Nanaimo
It was a nearly 3 hour drive to Nanaimo. This is where we were taking our ferry and returning our rental car. With a few scenic stops along the way, we made it to the ferry terminal.
Callum had to return our rental car, so I bought our tickets for the next ferry and checked our bags while he returned the car.
I just sat on a patch of grass near the parking lot for a bit and wait for him to return. Thankfully it was a nice day. Since it is COVID times, my preference is to be outdoors where I can social distance.
After he returned, we decided to go to the Irish Pub, Carlos O’Bryan’s for lunch. This pub was right by the ferry terminal and had a patio. Great option if you are hungry and have time before the ferry. I had Irish Waffle Fries.
Ferry to Vancouver
We left the restaurant and arrived to the ferry terminal with 10 minutes until departure. I decided I could go to the bathroom and still have time to catch the ferry.
How wrong I was.
Turns out you have to arrive 30 minutes before, even as a foot passenger. We had only 5 minutes until departure and they had already raised the ladder. They told us we couldn’t board, but we could exchange our tickets for the next ferry (apparently this happens all the time).
The problem was, the next ferry wasn’t for another two hours. I could see my Vancouver afternoon park dreams slipping away.
We headed outside after exchanging our tickets and I had a panic attack (which is not like me, but travelling during a pandemic has been stressful). I still worry about catching COVID.
We wear masks indoors, don’t do indoor dining, and spend most of our time outside, but its still stressful.
We headed to the patch of grass we sat on earlier and waited for the next ferry.
Actually Catching the Ferry to Vancouver
We made it smoothly onto the next ferry. We went up to the top deck. It was quite windy, but I wanted to try and see orcas, but no luck.
Even though I didn’t see any orcas, I would go up to the top deck again.
Arriving in Vancouver by Ferry
One of the main reasons we stopped in Vancouver was to visit some of Callum’s friends.
After we picked up our luggage, we took a Lyft to one of Callum’s friend’s places. She was letting us stay in her place, and she slept at her boyfriend’s place cause of COVID.
We had a nice evening, picked up Triple O’s for burgers and sat on Kitsilano Beach, eating burgers and chatting with his friends.
Even though my afternoon in Vancouver didn’t go how I initially pictured it, I still had a great time and think maybe I enjoyed myself more than if we had rushed to go cycling in Stanley Park.
Plus, we were waking up super early the following day so we could book our free passes for the Chief hike.
Prepare for your Trip
Learn
A few books, documentaries, and podcasts I recommend consuming before or during your trip to Canada 🇨🇦. Evolving Pop Culture Guide to Canada.
Itineraries
Discover the beauty of Vancouver Island, with limited time.
