Tuesday, July 14: Day 41: An Unusual Day on Lasqueti
🥖 Sourdough, Scales, and Shared Burgees
I wasn't sure what I was going to post today until we headed over to Lasqueti Island again. This turned out to be a totally unexpected day!
We started our morning with coffee and toast made from the French sourdough we bought at the Provisions store. What exactly is a French sourdough, you ask? This one has organic spelt, wheat, Red Fife, and rye flours in it. It’s a wonderfully heavy, hearty bread that makes you feel like you've had a really high-quality meal.
After breakfast, I practiced some of the pieces from my Scott Joplin The Entertainer book, and then, of course, Passacaglia, just to make sure I don't forget how to play it. Eventually, we had some lunch—sardines for me, and Greg made a canned ham sandwich. Artemus got to share some of my sardines, so he was one happy cat!
Yesterday, we had watched another sailboat come into the bay. While they were anchoring, we noticed they were flying both Bluewater Cruising Association (BCA) and Power Squadron burgees from their rigging—just like we do! Today, on our way to the dock, we decided to backtrack a bit and dinghy over to say hello.
They were onboard! We met Bruce and Debbie, and after looking them up in the directory, we saw they are new members this year. Their boat is Qiviuk, a beautifully styled Nauticat 42. Although we didn't go onto their boat, we quickly discovered it has some fantastic features, likely because the previous owner was a bit of a neat freak (or happily OCD—I love those people!). Debbie said it had so many wonderful, clever storage containers. While we were talking, we mentioned Bluewater Cruising and it turned out that they knew Dave and Karon who owned Rag Time that had the accident and whose boat was up on the hard back in Lund, (Day 32). It's a small world, isn't it. We gave Bruce one of our boat cards and parted ways so we could head to the dock; they mentioned they were planning to venture ashore soon, too. (I've since looked their boat up online and wow, it's a very nice design inside too!)
🍦 A Cruising Community & Seeking the Dance Studio
We dinghied over to the dock and tied up Big Mack in an empty spot. The setup was a bit different from yesterday, but it seemed okay. We walked up the ramp, which wasn't nearly as steep today since we arrived a bit later. Now that we knew our way around, we headed straight for Provisions for some of their homemade ice cream. Greg got a double scoop of Maple Pecan in a paper cup to go, and I had a single scoop of Chocolate Almond, which was actually quite similar to the Maple Pecan.
Best of all, I got to use their facilities today—yes, they were working, which was a huge upgrade from the outhouse!
Properly refreshed, we headed up the street to search for the famous dance studio. We walked for quite a while but started to wonder if we were going the right way. We turned around and tried a couple of side turns, but they only led to private homes.
As we walked back toward the pub, we bumped into Bruce and Debbie from Qiviuk. They gave us a little heads-up: our dinghy had been boxed in by two powerboats, meaning we were going to have to climb over both of them to get back to ours. Ah, the joys of busy dinghy docks!
🚗 Enter "Shell" and his Lasqueti-Style Ride
Since we were still determined to find the dance studio, we popped into the pub to ask the server for directions. She pointed us toward a group of locals sitting at a table. One of the men, Sheldon, said he could drive us right to it.
Someone at the table warned us that it was an hour’s walk away up a very steep hill, which made us hesitate. But Sheldon was determined to go; he thought the owner, Mark (who built the place), was up there showing some other visitors around. As it turned out, Sheldon had actually helped build the studio some years ago, so he knew Mark and the property.
The only catch? The group at the table was smoking—including Sheldon—and I really can't handle smoke. I was a bit apprehensive about getting into a vehicle with him (and I'm pretty sure it might have been a "doobie" he was smoking!). Still, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, so we walked out to his vehicle.
On Lasqueti, the roadsides are lined with plateless, beat-up cars with a laundry list of things wrong with them. Sheldon’s actually looked pretty good by comparison! It definitely had its own quirks, but "Shell" (as he called himself) knew exactly how to coax it to life. Before we got in, he gave us a few warnings about the car's mechanics that might have scared off most people, but I just laughed. He told me you really need a good sense of humor to live on Lasqueti, so I took it all in stride.
Shell cleared a spot for me in the back, Greg hopped in the front, and off we went! We headed down the road just past where we had walked earlier, and then hit the "steep" road up to the property. Honestly, it wasn't any steeper than our own driveway back in Cowichan Bay which is a bit steep in places!
🩰 The "Eclectic" (or Ramshackle!) Dance Studio
After a wrong turn and a quick backtrack, we finally arrived. There was no one around except for a flock of chickens. Shell figured Mark must have taken his guests to see another part of the island, so we couldn't go inside.
Fortunately, I was able to peer through the windows and snap some photos of the interior. I was just happy to get a view of it!
How to describe this place? I called it "eclectic." Greg called it "ramshackle." It’s a building that clearly grew organically over time without a formal plan, built simply as needs and opportunities arose. I have to agree!
The dance floor itself was beautiful and easily the most expensive part of the building. It was wild to imagine professional dancers coming all the way out here. The building is perched on a rocky, hilly terrain with no real walkway to speak of, making it quite the trek just to reach the front door.
When it was time to leave, Sheldon put the car in first gear. "If we have to veer off the road into the bushes, brace yourselves!" he warned. I just hoped for the best, but we made it down the "steep hill" perfectly fine.
🎹 Pub Redemption & An Angel at the Dock
Back at the pub, we offered to buy Shell a drink to thank him for the tour. He asked for a cider, Greg got one too, and I ordered an IPA on tap.
As we sat down, I spotted a piano. You all know I can never resist a piano! Thinking about my last piano experience at the pub in Comox, I asked if I could play a quick tune. The server said, sure, I'll turn the music off. I sat down and played Passacaglia. When I finished, the entire table of locals clapped (granted, there was only one table of people there, but still!). The server told me how lovely it was and asked for another, so I played Für Elise. It felt so wonderful to have my playing acknowledged and appreciated!
I didn't think to get a photo of the piano - now I wish I did.
After finishing our drinks and saying goodbye to Shell, we started toward the door of the pub and came across this old phone. I just had to take a photo of it.
We walked back down to the dock. To our surprise, some passing angel had moved our dinghy to the very end of the dock, meaning we didn't have to climb over the powerboats after all!
By now, the tide had come in quite a bit, allowing us to navigate right through the rocks and back to Lil' Ollie without any trouble. Artemus was waiting and very glad to have us home.
Now, we are settled in for happy hour: tortilla chips, salsa, a Fat Tug IPA for Greg, and a kombucha with coconut tequila for me. What a wild, wonderful, off-grid day!
You meant Day 41? (M)
ReplyDeleteHello M and thank you! I have made the changes and noted the change in today's post that isn't published yet.
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