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Duncan to Nanaimo

7/23/2018

3 Comments

 
​Cities: Chemainus, Ladysmith
Route: https://www.komoot.com/tour/r39759052?ref=atd 

After packing up early, headed North to my destination, Nanaimo.  It was going to be a hot and sveltering day with temperatures forecasted to be in the high 80s.

This was to be my fourth visit to Nanaimo:  twice by car, once by sailboat, once by bike coming from the North and, currently, approaching from the south. 

Chemainus, once a mining, forestry and fishing village, now has a population of about 4,000 and thrives on tourism.  It became famous because of its murals and it sunk a salvaged 747 airliner off the coast for scuba divers.  I arrived mostly by following the scenic but hilly Richards Trail.  

Ladysmith with a population of about 10,000 was next along the way.  The town was originally built to house coal miner families but today it depends on agriculture a d tlurism.In 1900, James Dunsmuir named the town in honor of the British lifting the siege of Ladysmith in South Africa during the Second Boer War. 

I arrived in Nanaimo late in the afternoon and checked into the Painted Turtle Guesthouse which is near the waterfront. The ride today was grueling due to the heat and hills.  I drank several quarts of water to prevent debydration. 

The Painted Turtle is a classic, European-style hostel which opened in July 2004 in a renovated 1913 heritage building. It is conveniently located in the heart of the arts/harbor district downtown.  The facilities are very clean with a well-equipped kitchen and fast Wifi.  Highly-rated, it is a 9/10.
3 Comments
Gyongyi
7/24/2018 10:31:33 am

Scenic places! I see you are staying in a lovely hostel...but you made me stay in that friggin' tool shed with the toxic paint when we were touring the Sunshine Coast...

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Steve Szirom
7/24/2018 10:56:36 am

Time to let go of that challeging sleeping situation.

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Gyongyi
7/27/2018 11:02:19 am

I was very traumatized by that shithole...as well as the campsite at Cannon beach where I nearly froze to death because you did not get me a 4 season sleeping bag (I remember seeing ice on the ground in the morning). Maybe there's a support group for survivors of horrible accommodations their brothers subjected them to.

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