China Beach and Mystic Beach
If you believe in Karma, I must have done something right in my life to be rewarded with a summer like this and my time in Port Renfrew. When I was already overwhelmed by the beauty of Sombrio Beach, this was topped yet again when Emilie and I checked out China Beach a few days later, on an unusually hot summer day for the wild west coast of Vancouver Island.
This time we got to go in Tim’s pick-up truck, which I am excited about because I have never driven a pick-up truck before. Now I feel like a real Canadian. Until we get to the parking lot and I have to park the beast. Thankfully, a friendly hippie parked next to us is helping me navigate so we can make our way down the path towards China Beach. This beach is probably my favourite, covered in really fine sand and perfect for swimming because the drop at the shore isn’t as steep as for example at Sombrio Beach making the latter better for surfing.
While Emilie has a nap, I’m going for a walk along this beautiful beach. There are quite a few people but because the beach is so vast, nobody lives in each other’s pocket. The man who kindly helped us park the truck is chilling with his dog. Kids are running around at the shore, splashing in the shallow waters and playing in the sand. I wade through the ocean, enjoying the views and the peaceful scenery, and then turn around to head back to Emilie so we can move on to Mystic Beach, a 2-km / 30 minute walk westbound on the Juan de Fuca trail.
Mystic Beach is a lot rockier and pebbled but nonetheless beautiful than China Beach. With the sun already a bit lower in the sky, and the ocean mist glistening over the water, it definitely warrants its name. High cliffs add to the dramatic scenery however the much-photographed waterfall, which is usually broad and massive, has thinned into a trickle due to a lack of rain this summer.
When we head back to Port Renfrew on an elevated section of the hilly main road later that day, the marine fog has accumulated lower down a cleared section of the forest and over the sea. We stop on our way to enjoy this magical view of the forest and the sea evaporating in the midst of a thick white mass.
Later that evening, when the last guests have left the hot tub and retreated to their accommodation, Emilie and I grasp the opportunity to end this wonderful day with a bath underneath the starry sky.
