We woke up knowing the day ahead was going to be shorter than the last few! It was such a relief and we were so excited to meet up with Coextinction! It would have been nice if we could have gone back for another soak in the hot spring but we needed to get paddling early to meet our friends. As the first sea plane came in, the locals left the hot springs to make way for the tourists, and we paddled away from the cove.

Our original plan was to paddle behind Flores island, it would be sheltered and not effected by the swell. The day was beautiful and the air was still, we made a last minute decision to paddle around the front instead. Our bodies were pretty stiff and paddling around the front was 27km vs 40km if we went behind.

Our change of plan paid off and we had a beautiful days paddle along the front of Flores island. We were constantly looking out to sea for signs of whales breaching, the beautiful image of our humpbacks from yesterday still clearly imprinted in my mind.

We planned to meet the Coextinction team at 1600 on Vargas island. We arrived early to the big sandy beach, we were setting up our tent when we heard a boat coming into the bay. We turned to see the crew waving from the boat. It was the best feeling to see them all again! We unloaded all their gear for the night, tent, fresh food (mmm) and kayaks. We went for a swim in the freezing ocean, because that’s what you do when you’re reunited with friends right!?

We did a bit of filming and interviews in the arvo, the sunset was beautiful and lit the sky a vibrant orange. We had Vege chilli around the fire, complete with beer! We shared stories from our trip and caught up with the team about all that had been going on with the project and their lives. The stories then evolved into First Nation stories of Sasquatch which was really cool to hear about.

This evening was a timely reminder that positive human connection is one of the most important things in life. To be surrounded by kind, generous, passionate people is so inspiring and a true blessing.

Tomorrow we get to paddle to Tofino together, we can’t wait!

GPS Tracker Tips - If you are following Brando & Ngaio on their TRACKME GPS tracker, here's a tip; Once you follow the link, click on the 'Brando & Ngaio' location icon and select 'path'

(If the Brando and Ngaio Icon does not show up on the map click the menu then participant list then 'show all')

(first image and blog via satellite phone)

#kayaking #paddling #kayak #Canada #Nature #FirstNations #expedition #VancouverIsland