I’ve come up with a solution for island-homesickness. Here it is. Ready?
Find another island!
I dedicate this post to Bowen Island, my home for a summer and destination last Friday. Bowen is just the best. If you don’t believe me, I’ll give you ten reasons to.
1) Kayaks
Bowen has kayaks. So what?
Well, on Bowen you can rent kayaks and paddle wherever you choose. It costs to rent the kayaks, but the million-dollar scenery is free.
If you’re not up for doing a long hard paddle around the island, do as we did when we lived on Bowen: slide a pack of chips and a bottle of wine beneath your spray skirt, paddle into Deep Bay, and chill out in the middle of water and watch the ferries go by. Bliss.
An afternoon paddle, featuring Phoebe
2) Tuscany restaurant
Okay, this is a bit of self-promotion, because I used to work here. But Tuscany is seriously great. There’s pizza (their Tuscany flavour is to-die-for), pasta, and an outdoor patio surrounded by lilacs and fresh herbs (not exaggerating). It’s right in Snug Cove too, so you can easily walk there from the ferry. Plus, they have really friendly, good-looking staff who are very deserving of your tips. *wink*
3) Most big grey beards per capita in the country
Alright, I made that statistic up to catch your attention. But it is true that Bowen is home to a remarkable amount of men aged 60+ with big grey beards. The amount of people on Bowen who fit this description is so significant that my roommate and I coined a term for their unique demographic: the Bowen grey-beards (BGBs for short).
BGBs aren’t like the wispy-bearded Vancouverite men whose facial hair is driven dry by excess Starbucks consumption and fluorescent cubicle lighting. Oh no—these beards are as legit as the guys who sport them. BGBs are best spotted on the baseball field playing a game for the Bowen league, sipping their glass of on-tap jager-bomb at the Bowen Island Pub, on the side of the road hitch-hiking, or out on the beach fishing or skinny-dipping. Best thing about the BGBs, aside from their awesome beards? They’re friendly, just like everyone else on Bowen.
Classic.
4) The marina
I’ve spent a few years on the West Coast now, and although I have a lot more exploring to do, I have yet to find a more picturesque marina than the one in Snug Cove on Bowen Island.
One of my favourite places to take photos
5) The museum
More self promotion, because I used to work here too! It’s almost entirely fuelled by volunteers who are passionate about the history of the island. They almost ran out of government funding a couple years ago, but managed to survive. It may be low-budget but don’t let that you turn you off—the Bowen Island Museum is held together by looove.
6) Artisan square
There are nine different artisans in Artisan Square, which means you could spend all afternoon looking at artwork if you’re into that kind of stuff. It’s not all visual art, though—one of the artisans is actually a chocolatier. Now that’s an art form everyone can appreciate. Yum.
7) Baseball
Baseball on Bowen is quite the thing. You see, there are several different teams on the island, each with a long history and decades-old rivalries (I’m serious. You learn things, working at the community museum). Each year, there’s a tournament that begins sometime in May and ends sometime in July or August. On most nights during the summertime, you’ll find the locals gathered at the baseball diamond to watch the game.
When a player hits the ball outside the fence, all the kids race to find it. Whoever brings it back gets 25c (50c if it was a home-run), to be promptly spent on candy.
Excuse the lens flare.
8) Regular liquor laws need not apply
Beer in the grocery store. Enough said.
9) No need for keys.
When I moved in to my new place on Bowen, I asked my landlord for the keys. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Keys? I don’t think I have any.”
He had no idea if his house had any keys, let alone where to find them. It had literally been years since he locked his doors.
That’s just how things are on Bowen. In fact, if you’re staying somewhere on the island (a lodge, cabin, or B&B, for example) and ask your host for keys, the response from your host will probably be “You don’t need keys. This is Bowen!”
Apparently there has only been one documented instance of theft on Bowen Island, and that was when a couple of doped-up teenagers with a bad case of the munchies stole a tray of nanaimo bars from the bakery.
10) Sun
Fact: Bowen gets more sun than Vancouver. That means more flowers, more rainbows, more happiness.
For the context of this photo, see my above description of our kayaking antics
Taken at Tunstall Bay. That's Phoebe again in the water.
I’m fairly convinced this island has magical qualities.
