Pixmin

Yesterday, after dropping the hitchhiker downtown Prince George, I drove South for another hour before stopping. It was getting really foggy and dark so there wasn’t much to see.

The car was all frosty when I woke up but the night was warmer than any other. I’m peeling my layers as I get closer to Vancouver.

The morning was simply a photo treat. Low warm light, fog, it snowed during the night but there were a few patches of blue sky, just perfect.

I’m not sure if it’s easy to see on this photo, but most of the trees burnt, ashes leaving the face of the mountain all gray.

Today’s stop is by 100 Mile House, a little town along the highway. I stopped there for no other reason than its name. And again I managed to find a nice place full of locals, free wireless internet, and most importantly: a great pecan pie. It’s called the Chartreuse Moose.

I’m then going to continue getting closer to Vancouver, as tomorrow I’ll have to give the car back. I think I’ll spend the night near Hope, not too far from Vancouver to be able to get there quickly tomorrow morning, but far enough to feel that I’m not there just yet. There’s definitely some melancholy in the air, but a possible trip to Whitehorse keeps me smiling :)

Back on the road, feeling refreshed and cleaned from the surfing, direction Ucluelet, Tofino’s sister. It’s supposed to be less touristic than Tofino, but don’t get it wrong, it’s still a surfer’s town. Houses do have their numbers written on surfboards.

I slowly drive through the town. Another place that seems to be expanding really fast, with everywhere newly built allotments taking over the forest. I’m trying to get a good spot to capture the sunset (which again is amazingly beautiful) but the tasks revels itselft rather tricky. I see signs on the road saying something like “pull of the highway to see the wildlife”. Sure, I’d love too! But each time I do pull out the ‘road’ (no way this is a highway) it’s to end up in the driveway of someone’s house. I just can’t seem to get close enough to the coast (well, unless I go to the port but I’ve already done that too many times).

As I decide to leave Ucluelet and drive to Port Alberni I see a sign “Sea View Properties”, as in, there is land to build your property on, and with that name, how could you not get a view on the sea? So I turn around and take that road which brings me where I’d never thought I could get, at least not by car, opposite Ucluelet, on the other side of the ridge. Now I can see the very spot I took the photo from, and I’m standing right where I was pointing my camera to less than an hour ago.

I continue driving and make a turn where the sign “Sea View Properties” goes. The paved road becomes a dirt road. It brings back memories from Iceland. Everything in the car starts to shake and vibrates. I am finally going find out what the Jeep is made of. Pretty good driving I must say. The direction is just perfect, not to stiff, which is tiring when driving for long periods, but stiff enough so that there’s nothing lost between the hand turning the wheel drive and the wheels. Anyway, I drive, drive, drive, and never get to see the ocean, only pine trees touching the sky.

The sun is setting down and the fuel going low. I give myself another 20m on that road and I’ll have to turn around and get back to Port Alberni. The further I go and the closer I think I’m getting to a fantastic view point, which in addition probably has yet to be seen by many. And suddenly I’m back where I started. Back on the paved road. So where is the sea view? I wonder.

And Im back on the number 4 road that connects the East side of the Island to the West side. And again, I have to repeat it, this road really is one of the best I’ve driven on.

I can see really dark clouds in front of me, so I know I have to hurry if I want to take some shots before the rain. I sometimes get to see the mountains on the other side of the lake, but by the time I stop (when I can stop) it’s gone. Or there is an horrible electric/phone/whatever cable spoiling the view. I climb rocks and sometimes manage to get high enough to get rid of the cables. And bang, the road gets white and it’s haling again. And the night comes.

I’m just starting to think that I’m now “just” driving, as in, to go from a point to another, rather than enjoying the ride, when, switching from the overheard CD to the radio, I get some really nice songs. Now you’re talking. And after a couple of really good songs, I switch the station to skip a crap one, and I end up on 105.7 (the locals from Port Alberni will now what station that is). They’re airing a concert of Jill Barber, recorded in Halifax, in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, with the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra.

“A young version of Edith Piaf in english”, that the first though that comes to my mind. And songs after songs, I just love her music and can’t wait to get back home and listen to it again. Or maybe I’ll be able to get a CD in Vancouver, if there is one, and play it while driving.

I’m now a few miles from Port Alberni, where I stopped to listen to the rest of the concert, parked in the rest area where I’ll spend the night. I’ll go to Mount Arrowsmith tomorrow, enough driving for today.

Four days. I’ve been fasting for 4 days now. I have little energy but enough to walk around town most of the day. I can keep going. I’m fine but starting to wonder what this is all about.

I try to remember why I’m doing the fast. I have this bad habit to eat food, not because I’m hungry but for pleasure, because I love it. What’s wrong about that you may ask? The thing is, I will eat until all the food I have around me is gone. Usually not a single nut survives. I just don’t understand why I don’t feel full and stop after a certain amount of food.

So after fasting for four days, I think I understood something. Maybe I just don’t pay enough attention to how I feel while I’m eating. So tonight I decided to eat again.

I started with an apple. Then a carrot. Then I took a bag containing mixed nuts and dried fruits. I started eating them slowly, but soon I realized that half of it was gone. So I got up to get another carrot, which I think is probably better than nuts. The thing is, the fridge where the carrots are is nearby the cupboard where the peanut butter is. So before I know it, I’m dipping a carrot in peanut butter. I try really hard to feel that sensation one should get when full, but it’s not coming.

How can I get rid of the hunger by eating when I’m not hungry in the first place? So really food is a pleasure, and eating an addiction that I can’t seem to be able to get rid of. We tried to stuff ourselves, then we fasted, but none worked. What’s next? Suggestions are welcomed!

Today was the Brick Rail Jam at Mount Washington. After about a week of sun and clear blue sky, today came the snow, so visibility was reduced and fingers very cold. At last though, the ho-so-awaited back flip arrived, with a perfect landing, just in time as I think that a few minutes more and my fingers would start freezing.