Eating Our Way Through Tofino… Again!

Hi Folks:

Back at the end of March we decided to indulge our fascination for beach walking and combine it with a little winter storm watching by heading across the island to Tofino. We’ve stayed in Tofino three times now; as it happens each time was at a different location. We wanted to wait until after the Whale Festival to avoid the crowds, but we weren’t aware that many B&Bs and the like don’t generally open before April. We ended up staying at the African Beach Cabin, and were very glad we did!

Located on Lynn Road, the African Beach Cabin is literally across the road from the access to Chesterman Beach. Our host Baku does not accept credit cards but we mailed him a cheque for the deposit and paid the balance of our stay in cash before departure. The cabin is set back from the road, behind the main house and accessed via a boardwalk.

If you go out to the woods tonight…

The cabin itself is small, two-storey, and perfectly suited to one or (preferably!) two people. NB: There is no television (gasp!) but there is WiFi for those who must connect to the world.

On the main floor is a bathroom with tub and shower, a kitchen area, dining table with seating for two, and a comfortable couch. Off the living room there’s a patio with a small deck, but we didn’t get much use from that on this trip. There’s a spiral staircase that leads to a loft bedroom with a chair/ footstool and a comfortable bed. The dÃ©cor is definitely African, from the photo of the ostrich that greets arrivals to the small carvings scattered around the cabin. In short it’s a quiet, cozy place to escape, unwind, and let yourself be.

On our last trip to Tofino we made the rounds of several restaurants and were quite impressed by Tofino’s food culture, embracing local and organic as much as possible. This time we took a different tack and decided to eat in. Having breakfast provided (more on that in a moment) was wonderful, but since we were there to get away we didn’t want to invest too much time in restaurants. The night of our arrival we stopped briefly at Beaches Grocery to stock up on lunch items for the following day; it’s in the same plaza as the Tofitian CafÃ© (another favourite Tofino stop). At the end of our first day we made a stop at the Co-op Food Store to pick up food for supper. We weren’t sure what to expect but found the Co-op to beÂ thoroughly modern, large, bright and well-stocked.

Onto breakfast! We had arranged a breakfast time with Baku, and our food was brought out to the cabin in two stages. The first course was freshly-baked croissants served with fresh preserves, orange juice and a pot of coffee. About 10 minutes later Baku returned with the hot course; the first morning we had an apple torte and the second morning we were treated to crÃªpes dusted with powdered sugar and served with fresh raspberries. Everything was served on Henry Watson Stoneware, a collection Baku has been amassing for some time.

Breakfast, Part 1!

In between meals ( 🙂 ) we walked, mostly. We also managed to make over a thousand images. It’s pretty easy to do when surrounded by such beauty. As mentioned, access to Chesterman Beach is right across the road from the cabin and this time we explored the southern reaches. We didn’t get the opportunity to walk out to Frank Island, but we quite happily enjoyed the sand and the waves and the wildlife. The weather for our entire stay was perfect. When we were out it was mostly sunny, and when we were in the car or in the cabin at night, it rained. In addition to Chesterman we also enjoy visiting Tonquin Park and beach. There are lots of things to see on the trails and the beach is quieter and more secluded.