Top 10 weird and/or wonderful V.I. Airbnbs
By Sean Enns Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, you’ll have heard of Airbnb. For that matter, even if you have been living under a rock, you were probably charging people $200/night to share the experience. A pioneer in the sharing economy alongside Uber and Etsy, Airbnb was initially conceived […]
Welcome to Utopia
By Kaleigh Studer A drop of water slithers down my spine and into the crevice of my lower back. The brain freeze has worn off from my icy dip. The sun is striking my porcelain skin. I’m riverside in Croatia with Selly, my best friend. I often get jealous of the way the sun’s rays turn her skin […]
Hikes to Lose Yourself On
By Anika Michaux Do you know that feeling of getting lost in nature? Losing yourself among the pine trees that coat British Columbia? I was born in Nanaimo, and grew up with mountains and forests only a short distance away. This temperate rainforest will always be a place I call home, not only because of […]
The Hidden Waterfalls of Nanaimo
Story and photos by Spenser Smith In 2013, I moved to Nanaimo, British Columbia, a city full of winding streams and rivers. It was a big change from my home province of Saskatchewan, which has its own beauty, but not generally of the wet kind. In fact, all of Vancouver Island was a revelation. One […]
Is Toque a Real Word?
By Chelsea Mark “Where are you headed, and how long?” “Pullman, Washington, a week.” “Pullman?” The customs agent looked at me confused. “Yes, Pullman, it’s right on the border of Idaho—“ “I know where it is. Why?” Anyone who knew anything about Pullman had reacted in the same way when I told them my travel plans. Apparently […]
Home Again
By Alexandria Stuart Nanaimo was in the middle of a heat wave as my boyfriend Sean and I set out on our “nearcation” to northern Vancouver Island, A/C on high. The familiar landscape of coastal British Columbia flew by: Moss-draped forests alternated with scabs of clear-cut, blanketed in pink fireweed as the land tried to heal […]
Home Again (Part Two)
The village of Sointula, Malcolm Island’s main port, looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Brightly coloured sea shacks dotted the waterfront and the homes lining the main street, sitting on small, tidy fenced lots, were gaily painted. Sointula, meaning “place of harmony,” was settled in the early 1900s by Finnish immigrants fleeing […]