Courtenay: The Journey to Victoria Via a Little Place Called Home

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Courtenay (on Vancouver Island) is actually a place we could call home.

This post was originally published in 2007. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content.

After a few rainy days in Ucluelet and Tofino we decided to make our way back towards the eastern side of Vancouver Island and homeward bound. After spending a night at Gary & Michelle’s home (Gary being a friend we just met on the ferry to Vancouver Island – how’s that for BC Friendliness!) and a wonderful evening of live music and good food at a local Grill, we got great vibes off the place.

Courtenay is apparently the fastest growing city in Canada, believe it or not. I’d have put my money on Edmonton, but the town (yes, they still call it a town with 30,000 people) of Courtenay is experiencing some explosive growth.

Any why wouldn’t they? They’re nestled in between the ocean, mountains, and lush green-all-year-round rainforest. They have a thriving arts community, rife with writers, musicians, and artists alike. Lots of festivals come through the place, and many musical and artistic tours even go out of their way to put Courtenay on their roster.

Even the weather is perfect in The Valley (as the Courtenay-Comox area is known); while we were driving across the Island from Tofino on that cold rainy day, the skies magically opened up as we got close to Courtenay and we had nothing but sun and warmth for the next two days.

After a riveting coin toss and then a decision that we’d veto the outcome (!), we planned to extend our trip by a few days.

The original plan had us heading to Nanaimo and catching a ferry to Vancouver, but we decided to check out Victoria for a few days and head to Vancouver from there instead, catching the train to Edmonton later in the week.

So we left home (Courtenay) to head home (Edmonton) via Victoria (definitely not home)! Stay posted…..

More about Courtenay here.

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