Island getaway
Reading Break – the one week that university students have off to read, catch up on assignments, get ahead in courses and effectively use their time to ensure academic quality; however, many students decide to use their time in a different way. Some go back home, some take trips and some catch up on their favourite TV shows. This reading break, my roommates, friends and I decided on an island getaway, heading to the surf capital of Canada, Tofino!
There were 7 of us packed in two cars, road-tripping while making stops along the way to see the beautiful sights that the island has to offer. Tofino is about a 4 hour drive from Victoria so after a morning of car seat dancing and sing-alongs, we arrived at our hostel, Whalers.
The owner was incredibly kind and booked us into a 7 bedroom suite, complete with our own full washroom. I highly recommend staying there! It was clean, friendly and homey. We met a lot of cool people from all over the world and got some neat insider info on the coolest spots to hit.
The next morning, we rented our surfing equipment from Pacific Surf Co. and hit the waves at Chesterman Beach. I have never surfed before and, although I was constantly eating the waves, I have never had so much fun! I even stood up a few times and actually surfed! The weather wasn’t beautiful, but hey – what’s a little rain when you’re in the ocean anyway? After a full day of surfing, we decided to check out some local restaurants for food and soon after, hit the Tofino Brewing Company to relax and let loose!
Day 2 of surfing was even better! By this point, most people had left the city and it was pretty quiet at the beach. We even started a little fire and roasted Pop Tarts (they were s’more flavoured, mmm). As the sun began to set, we enjoyed some music, laughs and even some ghost stories, boo! I am the biggest chicken ever and I didn’t appreciate this part.
All in all, a fantastic mini get-away to refresh our minds! Upon returning to Victoria, we used the rest of the time for some actual reading and caught up on school work. I had a fantastic time and can’t wait to go back. For anyone on the island, I recommend checking out Tofino!
