I am not currently at a lighthouse but a place just as beautiful. Pender Harbour is a region midway up the Sunshine Coast. You arrive here by taking a 40 minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver. After passing through Gibsons (famed home of The Beachcombers), Roberts Creek, Sechelt, and Half Moon Bay, you finally reach Pender Harbour--it takes about an hour by car. If you continue on up the coast from here, you will come to Egmont and another ferry will take you to Powell River and finally Lund.
It is a rugged craggy beautiful place defined by ocean, freshwater lakes, wildlife, mountains, and mists. Oh, and yes, people. Wonderfully eccentric creative people (at least the ones I’ve met so far).
The last week was perfect: days and days of warm sunshine, spawning salmon (we think these are chum), mushroom foraging, quiet writing, yoga moments, and rehashing stories with my olde friend. Life does not get better than this. The following short film captures some of the images I encountered. I purposely did not add music, as the silence and the natural sounds really define my experience.
Stepping outside is like entering another world, as the riot of birds on the estuary compete for food. One giant hemlock tree vibrates with a chaos of red-winged blackbirds, while eagles, ravens, and crows cruise the sky, and seagulls swim, bathe, and drag salmon from the slack water.
Mornings are misty calm. Evenings black and silent. Salmon jump splash and frequently dance across the top of the water on their tails. One morning while writing, I glanced up to see the most adorable baby bear walking by my window. Shy and alone, we hope he will manage on his own. And so it goes, as I watch the tide ebb and flow twice a day.
The Sights & Sounds of Pender Harbour
