Alright, things seemed to be happy-go-lucky. The plane was indeed 54 years old and noisy as hell. The pilot did look like Paul Newman and I did sit in the co-pilot’s seat since for the next half hour, this was my plane. The scenery for an adventure was set.

The take-off from the water was very smooth and soon we climbed steep up – only to drop into the next air pocket. I saw whales and two sharks. The islands around Tofino were beautiful, the water around the riffs greenish-blue. 

After the landing I realized: I am in paradise (only later I should find out that I had some sort of misconception about what kind of Eve would be waiting for me). I was dropped on a green island with huge trees, waterfalls and a rain-forest like ambience. Following a path wish seemed to be cut out of the “Jungle-Book” and where you had to bend your head in order not to hit a long hanging branch I reach a stony small beach. Well, here my bed-and-breakfast should be. Or rather – from here some 50 metres over the water it was. A boat! In fact, a wonderful 80 years old freight steamer! Only problem: there was not small boat to row over in sight. 

Luckily, after some minutes a couple in a rowing boat turned up. Later I learnt, that this was their honey-moon and that that the tried to row together (one left, one right) in order to install a sort of team-spirit into their marriage. I did not say, but to me it was obvious that their marriage would be sort of a stormy experience.

However, they informed the host about my being ready to be picked up and soon I was on board of the “Innchanter”. A lovely boat. A living room with a fire-place, a colourful yet quite easy to use kitchen… Sundecks and a very bright dinner room with big windows all around. David, the 22 year old host welcomed me and it seemed that he was happy to have me on board. After some minutes of small-talk he informed me about the other guest – the lady I have already heard about. He said that it was pretty bad. That she started drinking in the morning right after breakfast. That she kept criticizing his ability to make pancakes. And that she never stopped talking…

This was paradise, and since this other guest was not on board yet and could not be seen on the island I decided to make the most of the remaining hours of peace and to paddle over to the island in order to find the hot springs.

Just when I wanted to leave the Innchanter, David told me that there was a search going on for a person having fallen of the cliffs. He assumed it was his guest and seemed to be quite upset. There was a coast-guard helicopter in the air now and I wondered whether I would be able to enjoy some quite moments in the pools of the hot springs.

Walking through the rain forest I enjoyed myself. What a beautiful nature! GREEN! The trees were huge and probably pretty old. The path was well kept and I started to understand why tree-hugging could be fun. After some 3 kilometres I reached the forest and some 5 tourists. Above my head was the helicopter. The girl who had fallen off the cliffs was already safely on board (it was not the other guest of the Innchanter) and soon enough the helicopter left again. The nature got quiet again and I jumped in the first pool. Hot! Some tourist who had come in for a day trip informed me about the danger of the incoming waves and that his group had been told not to go too close to the ocean. How wrong he was!

This was the best thing, the most wonderful experience I have had for quite some time: the last pool. Down on the Ocean level. You sit in the pool and it is hot. Water from above is purring over your back and filling the pool. Just when is getting a bit too hot, a big wave of cold sea-water is coming in, cooling down the hot pool to just the point when you think “oh, now it’s maybe a bit chilly”. Right then, the water is moving out again and the pool starts to fill with hot water again. Perfect!

The view you have while laying in the pool is perfecting the experience…. You see the waves coming in on eye-level… they grow bigger and bigger and break just in front of your pool. Wow!

I was sitting there till my skin started to get lobster-red and in a happy mood I walked back to my B&B. And now I was surprised.

This was not the drunken monster I had imagined. I saw a lady cooking at the stove of the Innchanter, and soon I realized that she was the drunken Champagne lady from Czech Republic who I had seen in the restaurant together with the bisexual surf-lady yesterday. Oh la la. 

She seemed to be quite friendly, not (yet) as drunk as I had seen her the day before and the food smelt tasty enough to make me really hungry. Why had David spoken so negatively about her?

Well, for the moment I was fine. I had had an excellent day, somebody was cooking for me and I had a glass of port while going on with the fourth volume of my “Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy”. The lady started to talk about her life and it was quite entertaining. She was in fact more interesting than I had thought when I saw her in the restaurant. The dinner was tasty and the evening promised to be quite nice. Unfortunately the topic came to her former husband (I have heard about this - quote “bastard” - yesterday from a safe distance) and I learnt that he was a fag who in fact had an affair with Prince Albert of Monaco. After a while and after David and me did not have time so say much I informed her that I wished to change the topic. This was working well and so we learnt everything about her rich neighbours, her sailboat and houses. She herself seemed to be pretty rich, too, and she did not leave a doubt about.

Folks, I do know people who tend to boost about themselves a bit and I realize that I am not a very modest person myself, but this started to be mind-blowing. Seinfeld? Sure, a good friend? Paris Hilton? Now, that bitch was always blocking the way when she wanted to go shopping. Shopping? Yes, Cannes was a blast at 20’000 bucks a day. Assets under management in her Wall-Street days? Mhh, some billions. Personal losses on 9/11? 15 million bucks, but this was – of course – not a problem.

At 10pm I decided that I was impressed enough and that it was David who was paid to be a good host and listener and left him alone with his faith and his guest.
  
The next morning, waking up was beautiful: the rain drummed on the roof of my cabin, the ship was gently swaying and I was looking forward to another flight in the old float-plane which should pick me up at ten.

Only, at ten, there was no plane coming in. Not so at 11, neither. Over radio, David learnt that the wind in Tofino was too strong to take-off. He organized a boat for me and the Czech lady (who was in a good mood after her morning glass of wine). The boat ride turned to be bumpy. In fact, it was the most bumpy boat ride I had ever had. The 10 metres long motor yacht jumped from wave to wave and crashed into the water so hard that I wondered how much it could take and secretly started to scan the cabin for safety gear. The rough sea did not affect my travelling partner: she ignored the high seas and informed the native captain that her former husband was indeed a jerk. 
Well, this island was a true paradise. The hot pool experience was mind-blowing. Only next time I might try to find a slightly different version of Eve.