Trip to Tofino and Ucluelet

September 10, 2002 is the day Ibrahim proposed, and it is the date we have engraved on our rings, so we celebrate it every year :)

Luckily, this year, September 10 fell on a Saturday (you can say we are third time lucky!), so we were able to go on an excursion. We went to a resort on the west coast of the Island called Tofino. It is really pretty, and the drive was just out of this world!


The rode..
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The majestic mountains and fantastic greenery
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Lakes surrounded by green mountains on the way
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We took off Saturday morning at around 7:30 a.m. Ibrahim drove the first three hours, and of course, I slept through that time :) romantic, I know! I woke up just as we were pulling over to visit The Old Country Market, in a small town called Coombs. The Old Country Market has been there for 30 years. It is a family owned business that started as a fruit stand, and developed into what it is today: an exotic ethnic market, a great diner and a major tourist attraction. With a goat jumping on the roof of its diner (literarily), the experience could not have been more, how should I put it… well, “county-ish” :)

We spent the next hour and a half in the market where we had the heaviest breakfast of Spanish Omelets and gigantic pancakes, and bought a few souvenirs.

We took a little detour to yet another tourist attraction; the town of Ucluelet. The slogan of this town is “Living on the Edge”. It’s a nice quaint little town on the ocean, very quiet and relaxed.. very suitable for an escapade :)


At a tucked away cove in Ucluelet
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The Wreckage, a funky junk shop at Ucluelet
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The weather was great, so as soon as we arrived at our hotel, Best Western Tin-Wis, and after admiring the view of the open sandy beach from our room, we took a short walk on the beach, then drove to Tofino's downtown and lake area. It's a cute little town, and as usual, the lake views were spectacular, surrounded by the mountains and the blue sky... work of art, really!

Later that evening, we went to have dinner at The Pointe; one of the most renowned restaurants in Tofino, and apparently is an award-winning restaurant for its great food, and they deserve it indeed :) the food was great, and the view was even more rewarding :) The most amusing part of our dinner was, however, Ali Al-Khalafawi. Ali Al-Khalafawi is a waiter at the restaurant, whose father is Palestinian from Gaza! It was the weirdest thing running into him there!!



Best Western Tin-Wis
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Tin-Wis Beach
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Sea Plain taking off from Tofino downtown lake
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Ibrahim and I at the lake
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Sunset at the Tin-Wis
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Next morning, we packed our bag, checked out of the hotel, and headed to downtown to have a late breakfast/lunch. Then we went for a stroll on the open sandy beaches of Long Beach. Unfortunately, however, it was freezing cold, so we could not spend more than 15 minutes there! You would think that after living here for a year our bodies would acclimatize!!!


A brave surfer at the freezing Long Beach
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My happy husband
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Tofino and Ucluelet are really wonderful places to visit, especially if you’re a nut for natural beauty like us! We just never seem to get bored with or get enough of these views! We had so much fun :)