Neqemgelisa On Vancouver
Island, Plus ...
by Chuck Lee
Neqemgelisa (pronounced, approximately, as neckum-ga- lisa) is a term from
the Wakashan family of Indian languages. The various Indian tribes that live on Vancouver
Island all speak variations of this language. The word itself, neqemgelisa, is used both
as a noun and as a verb, meaning either a person who stays in one place, or the act of
staying in one place. The context seems to be that most members of the tribe would move
regularly during the year, as the seasons and the availability of fish and game changed,
but a few people would "stay in one place" for the whole year. These tribes do
not have a written language, and the documentation by anthropologists and linguists is
skimpy; therefore the pronunciation and usage of words is not authoritatively available to
travelers like myself who rely on public libraries and commercial book stores for our
research. In February, 1998, I spend a few weeks "staying in one place" on
Vancouver Island.
Vancouver Island is oblong in shape, about 300 miles long, and about 50
miles wide, off the southwest corner of Canada. The major axis runs northwest-southeast,
and the island is separated from the mainland of Canada by the 25-mile-wide Strait of
Queen Charlotte and Strait of Georgia. The principal urban center of note is Victoria,
located at the southern tip of the island, and home to most of the population and
employment.
Tofino is a small community with a year-round population of perhaps 1,000.
For most of the time that there has been a place called Tofino it has been a small fishing
village. It is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, about halfway up the island
from Victoria, and is the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. Spanish explorers
first noted the area well over 200 years ago, and named it after an admiral in the Spanish
Navy. Only in the last 50 years or so has Tofino been connected with the rest of the world
by a road, and that road has only been paved for about 20 years. The closest other village
(Ucluelet), even smaller, is 20 miles away. One must drive abut 60 miles to find a modest
city (Port Alberni). Commercial fishing has dwindled in recent years, for reasons not
fully understood but basically because there are not sufficient fish in the nearby ocean
to catch. Some claim over-harvesting, others blame global warming, and almost all of the
fishing done today in Tofino is for home or local consumption, or done by the tourists who
are discovering this remote and idyllic place during the summer months. At the height of
the tourist season the local population increases by a factor of about 10, and it is hard
to find a place to stay at any of the many motels and campgrounds nearby. Increasingly
during the fall and spring Tofino has become attractive to affluent people in Vancouver
who make the 2-3 hour trip for a weekend out of town.
Tofino has a public library about the size of a double garage, open
several afternoons each week. Although Internet access is generally available at public
libraries in Canada, it is anticipated that it will be another year or more before the
Tofino library is on-line. I was able to access my email through the use of an
individual's personal computer while I was in Tofino. As I asked around town about
Internet access, I was eventually directed to a person who normally lived on a houseboat
nearby, but for the winter had rented a small, vacant, gift shop to use as his office and
home away from home. His plan had been to use solar power to recharge the batteries in a
laptop, but that didn't work out the way he wanted, and so he needed 110 volts to use his
computer on a regular basis.
Unlike my previous trips* on which I used public transportation or walked,
on this trip I drove my car. In addition to the scheduling and privacy convenience, I was
able to take much more with me than on previous trips, since I didn't have to carry
everything in a backpack. Because I didn't have to carry very much very far, I did not
undertake any physical conditioning in preparation for this trip. I experienced no health
problems while I was gone.
From my home in the Los Angeles area it is about 1,200 miles to Vancouver
Island. I drove to Port Angeles in Washington, and crossed by ferry (a four hour trip) to
Victoria. In addition to the basic 2,400 mile round trip, I drove another 1,200 miles
exploring the island and various other attractions along the way. Some of these are
mentioned under the "Plus" section of this report. I observed no differences in
driving in Canada and driving in the US. Looking ahead to another visit, I investigated
the public transportation system from the Seattle and Vancouver airports, across the water
to Vancouver Island, and by bus from there to Tofino. There is one bus a day to and from
Tofino; it connects with another bus that runs from the ferry terminal. One can take a
ferry from either Seattle or Vancouver, and there is public transportation between the
airports and the ferry terminals. On this trip to Tofino it took me three days to drive,
with two nights in motels along the way. Because of the schedules involved, it would also
take me three days to fly and take public transportation, with two nights in lodging that
one must walk to from various terminals. Therefore my next trip to Tofino will also be by
car.
The primary reason for this trip was to experience days and even weeks of
constant rain. I have lived all my life in California, most of it in the southern portion,
and for me rain has always been an infrequent, but welcome, event, perhaps several hours a
day on a few widely separated days a year. I am no fan of cold weather, so I was looking
for a place of moderate temperatures and very predictable rain. I have made other brief
winter trips to Washington and Oregon, for the same purpose, and have almost always
encountered unseasonably dry weather. Usually, it had rained heavily before I arrived, and
did again soon after I left. So, this time I contacted several meteorologists via the
Internet, and the majority of them suggested the west coast of Vancouver Island in the
winter as the most dependable place to experience daily rain, all day long. Ironically,
the day I left Southern California was the start of the heavy El Nino rains that continued
off and on for almost the full month I was gone. I returned to sunny skies. I was told by
residents of Tofino that the rain seemed lighter, and less frequent, this year, also
attributed to El Nino. It did rain every day I was there, but not heavily, except for one
day when there was hail. There were often several hours during the day when it did not
rain, although the air was heavy with moisture then.
While I was in Tofino, "neqemgelisa-ing," I went for days at a
time without using my car. All of the commercial establishments and community facilities
are located within a 10-minute walk of everything else. Unfortunately for me, only one
restaurant was open during the winter, so I ate most of my meals at the same place
everyday. I was very happy to discover that the restaurant had separate smoking and non-
smoking sections. (Unlike my previous experience in Nova Scotia, almost all of the
restaurants I visited while in other parts of Vancouver Island had separate non-smoking
sections.) The tables in non-smoking all had a picture- window view of the bay and islands
in the distance, so I took my time over meals, often reading between long pauses to watch
the rain. The menu was pretty limited, and basic meat and potatoes fare. I made a quick
adjustment to what I have come to call the Commonwealth Ice Tea Problem (the difficulty of
obtaining ice tea in a place where tea is only consumed hot), and switched to coffee in
the morning, and beer the rest of the time. There was a modest grocery store, and now and
then I purchased some canned goods and ate them cold, or warmed them up in a basin of hot
water in the bathroom of my motel. My own food preparation efforts made me appreciate the
limited menu available at the restaurant.
On the drive both north and south I generally stayed at a Motel 6 or other
modest lodging. In Tofino my room was of similar quality, with a modern bathroom and an
outstanding setting. My room looked out on the islands in the distance, and the sea. The
waves were crashing on the rocks about 50 feet from my balcony. I read late into the
night, and when I grew sleepy I turned the thermostat down, left the sliding glass door
open, and enjoyed listening to the crashing waves as I went to sleep. As the sun came up
and the room became lighted, I awoke in a cold room, closed the door, turned the
thermostat up, and went back to sleep for a few more hours. Then I awoke again mid-morning
in a cozy room with a beautiful view.
Many businesses, especially the stores and other businesses oriented
toward the tourist trade, were closed while I was there. There were two bakeries in town,
and one of them was especially inviting, having a warm, glassed-in non-smoking lounge with
papers and magazines to read as I drank hot cider and ate a variety of pastries. Some of
the people who lived a few miles from town would stop in every day for a cup of coffee
after picking up their mail at the post office across the street. Between 9 a.m. and noon
it was a very active social scene, and then the afternoon was very quiet until it closed
at 6 p.m.
The Canadian Coast Guard maintains a sea-rescue station at Tofino, and I
visited it one afternoon. The Tofino area contains many islands, and of course the Pacific
Ocean. There are small, inland speedboats the Coast Guard uses for inshore assistance, and
one sturdy ocean-going boat designed for the roughest weather possible. When underway in
heavy seas this boat, about 40 feet long and 12 feet wide, is sealed airtight, and is
designed to sustain a full 360 degree roll around the fore-and-aft axis. That means that
in very heavy seas the boat can be swept all the way to either side, and continue turning
until it comes full circle out of the water and is upright again. There are automatic
cutoffs on the diesel engine air intakes that shut the engines off as the top goes
underwater, but the engines can be restarted immediately when the boat is upright again.
The boat is fully outfitted with rescue gear of all sorts, a space to shelter rescued
personnel and treat them for hypothermia, and elaborate electronic equipment to home in on
SOS signals.
After a few days in town, posters appeared announcing the impending
arrival of a traveling magic show. Since commercial activities in the evening consisted
only of drinking at one of the two bars in town, I looked forward to the magic show. The
afternoon before the day the show was scheduled a wildly painted old VW van arrived in
town, plastered all over with photographs of the performers and their animals. The van was
moved around from spot to spot all afternoon and the next morning, so that anyone walking
anywhere would see it. Starting around 5 p.m. the van drove around town, with a
roof-mounted loud speaker announcing all the wondrous feats to be performed that evening.
It reminded me of what I have read about medicine men coming to town to sell snake oil to
the citizens from the back of a wagon, or of a tent revival by itinerant preachers living
off the collections they took up at every service. The magic show was hired by the local
PTA, which sold tickets both ahead of time and at the door.
The magic show was held in the local school, which included only grades
K-8, with older children being bused some distance away to a high school. This evening of
magic turned out to be a whole-family, whole-community affair. Those who had seats sat on
folding chairs on the floor of the gymnasium; others sat on the floor or stood. At least
20 children climbed 10 feet or so up some exercise bars against one wall, and watched
while clinging with one arm and a leg to the bars. The show was aimed at the younger
audience, and not especially polished, but everyone enjoyed the evening. While the parents
and other adults milled around in the back and laughed and joked and renewed friendships,
the children screamed and shouted, babies cried, and everyone enjoyed a very warm and
loving evening.
I found the people of Tofino generally friendly and polite, although some
of the warmth seemed a bit artificial, and perhaps associated with my being a tourist
having money to spend. There is some residual hostility to tourists and other outsiders
who have "invaded" this small community. Some of the old-timers, who used to
prosper through fishing or logging but are now un- and under-employed, look down on the
many minimum wage jobs associated with the hospitality industry which booms during the
summer, and languishes during the rest of the year. I believe some of the old-timers blame
the tourists for the demise of fishing and logging.
I arrived with no agenda, other than to experience the rain. I watched it,
I listened to it, I hiked in it, and in every way except getting wet tried to know it
fully; I liked it, and plan to return to Tofino, or some other place with daily rain. The
temperatures were generally in the 50s and 60s, so no special cold weather clothing was
needed. I was prepared with waterproof clothing for my long hikes in the woods and on the
beach in the rain. One day it hailed for perhaps 30 minutes as I walked along a path, so
the temperature must have been in the 30s; the hail melted soon after hitting the ground.
PLUS, HAULING LOGS IN THE SNOWY SYSKIYOUS, ETC.
While on Vancouver Island I did visit one logging/railway museum, and the
yards of the only railway that currently operates on the island. Although the museum was
closed for the winter, through the courtesy of a fellow railfan I had met on the Internet
I was allowed onto the grounds, and into the shops where a crew of four was restoring and
repairing steam engines. I had planned to visit another railroad at the north end of the
island, but it was closed because of the downturn in Canadian timber harvesting, and it is
unclear if that railroad will ever run again.
Both on my way from Los Angeles to Vancouver Island, and on my way back, I
had the good fortune to spend a long day in the cabs of locomotives pulling trains on a
small railroad in Oregon. The principal freight items hauled on this line are logs, and
the associated lumber, plywood, particleboard, and wood chips derived from the logs after
they have been processed at the mills. The first day on the trains, on my way north to
Tofino, was through relatively flat countryside, often paralleling the highway. The second
day, on my way back to Los Angeles, I rode some of the steepest railroad grades in the
country, up, through, and over the Syskiyou mountains along the Oregon-California border.
Much of this segment is away from roads, and is through some very beautiful countryside.
It was snowing for part of the trip. It was a first- time experience for me to ride in the
cab of a locomotive as it traveled through a few inches of snow on the track. US
Interstate route 5, through the same mountain range and just a few miles away, was closed
to traffic in both directions because of the snow, but the train was not slowed at all.
Both of these trips were, for me, out-and-back. I left my car at one station about 7 am,
and took one train to its destination, and then either returned with it, or on another
train, to my starting point about 14 hours later.
Another nice segment (the "etc." portion) of this trip involved
meeting my son and his family in Sacramento as I returned to Los Angeles. His wife was
attending a conference there, and he and I, with my two grandchildren, were free to spend
time together. We visited the Railroad Museum, a park, and the Capitol, as well as just
relaxing together.
Costs:-
The approximate costs involved were as follows:
Category
Amount
Gasoline
$170
Ferry
60
Lodging
1,100
Food
500
Guest meals
70
Miscellaneous
100
TOTAL
$2,000
*Tramping New Zealand, 1994; Bushwalking Papua New Guinea, 1995;
Waltzing Tassie And Other Tales, 1996; Foaming Nova Scotia, 1997. Available by email for
free upon request.
C. W. Lee, April 20, 1998
cwlee@post.harvard.edu
Zneqemge.doc,4/19/98
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