And the Drumming Begins...

parker leads the group in song

Tofino - June 30, 2011 - Setting Up Camp

This year we have two trucks towing the 3 canoes and one box van carrying our gear.  It seemed to have taken no time to set up camp, meet together, and get to know each other as a family.

We Have Arrived in Tofino - June 30, 2011

We made it... we have arrived to our first destination... TOFINO.  8:20 am Ferry from Langdale and 10:05 am Ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Naniamo... It was a wonderful time to connect and chat with crew members, friends, and acquaintances from other canoes catching the same ferry to Vancouver Island.  Thank you to our organizers for arranging a lux bus for our comfortable journey to Tofino.  We stopped off at Coombs for lunch. Personally, I saw no goats while other "claimed" to have seen 2 or 3 goats on the roof.  Soon enough, we arrived to our campsite at 430 pm.  We unloaded, set up camp, and ventured into downtown Tofino for a yummy dinner or latte. What a wonderful day and this is only the beginning.

Blessing the Canoes at Porpoise Bay - June 28, 2011

Before departure, members of the Sunshine Coast Pulling Together Family gathered at Porpoise Bay to bless the Dolphin Spirit and the Grandmother's Canoe.  The process involved the men holding buckets of water around the canoes and the women sweeping the canoes with cedar branches that were dipped in the water.  We held a circle, listened to our elder Barb, and prayed for a safe Journey.

 

Testing, Testing, Testing

The Pulling Together Canoe Journey will be documented as best as possible by blog or by twitter depending on 3G access.  This blog entry is just testing out the blog using a Blackberry device.  Check out the blog or follow us on Twitter to capture our stories and cultural experiences.  Traveling from Tofino to Ahousaht to Port Alberni will provide plenty of opportunities to report on.

Departing: June 30 to July 8

The Pulling Together Journey 2011 starts next week... Thursday, June 30th... heading to Tofino and Ahousat.  Crews of the Sunshine Pulling Together family has been training, prepping, and getting ready for the BIG event on the west side of Vancouver Island.  The Journey concludes in Port Alberni Friday, July 8, 2011.

Follow the BLOG to gather stories, cultural experiences, and updates of the Sunshine Coast Pulling Together family and of many others participating in the Journey.  The blog will be updated based on remote access.

Follow the Sunshine Coast Crew on TWITTER @PullingTogether

Look at www.pullingtogether.ca website for details of the Journey.