Chillin' in Bella Coola

So, I recently got back from Bella Coola, BC. I spent a day longer there than I'd expected as my plane out was cancelled due to rain/fog/general crappiness. By "my plane" I mean "the only" plane, a 10-20 person prop plane that requires (obviously) a clear look at the runway before it zooms all willy-nilly over and past glaciers and forests. Something about safety, landing in between mountains, deer running at the side of the 3-inch long runway, you know, the usual. Bah - what a pain. ;-)

Not that Bella isn't insanely, well, bella. Still, I was holed up in this tiny place...
You know, your usual Hav-a-Nap Motel type. ;-) And while the place didn't have a bar, I got an extra day to admire the views of Valley, even in the chucking-down rain. It was hardly "Survivor" as my boss pointed out - but I still felt a bit weird being trapped with nothing but the satallite TV, wireless, warmth, a full kitchen, king-size bed, baked goods in the morning and grocery store a full 20 minutes WALK away. Shocking, really, how I had to struggle. The things I do to get good web content. ;-)

The Coola thing about Bella is that it's so bloody far removed from everything. Have a look at the left-hand side of this Cariboo Chilcotin Coast regional map and you'll see where I was, in Hagensborg, near by the bustling metropolis of B.C. Bella Coola itself is pretty high-traffic. Here's a pic from rush hour:

Wildlife count: 1 giant eagle a meter away from us, 3 x deer (2 of which decided to run across the road as we were driving), 2 x crazy squirrels, 1 x fox and 0 x bear. I. Am. Never. Ever. Going. To. Get. To. See. Wild. Bears. Even. Though. They. Are. 10. A. Penny. In. Bella. Coola.

I drove out with the awesome Shawna Ludwig from the CCC Regional Tourism Association. It was a five-hour drive from Williams Lake and to get to the Bella Coola Valley (situated between stunningly coloured "rainbow" mountains of epic proportions), we had to go down a ruddy great big "Hill".

By "Hill" I mean enormomountain.

An 18% change in elevation doesn't read like much on a computer screen, but believe me, after dozens of crazy tight S-bends on a ONE-lane dirt road hand hewn by the locals (apparently - they call it the "freedom highway". Freedom from what? One's sense of calm?). One on side, bits of shale going straight up. On the other? Bits of shale going straight down. After plugged ears for 30 minutes, I was glad to hit bottom in one piece, it has to be said.

And when we did, the rewards were plentiful. We met with the locals - our region-based writer, and various tourism experts who showed us around town. We hiked through old-growth forests, checked out many a river bed (which are normally crawling with Grizzlies) and hiking trail, bought stupidly good fresh prawns from a local fishmonger, ate at the one restaurant, admired the local Nuxalk native art and generally had a (tiring) but good time. Stranded or not, I am lucky to be able to visit some of these spots. Take, for example, this horrible and dodgy campground. Rubbish innit?

In fact, I suggest you check it out sometime. If the plane doesn't make it in, there's a ferry that comes over from the Island. Sometimes. It takes either 12 or 36 hours.

Next stop, the AMAZING AND WONDERFUL suburb of Vancouver, known as New Westminster! WOOHOO! I hear the views are of, umm, Richmond and the Vancouver airport. But stay tuned, I could be wrong!