Monk's Wall

Finally, the rain has let up, and we are ready for a change of scenery. Every anchor we have seen pulled up in Farewell Harbor has collected a kelp ball. We were a bit farther out in the bay, and we could hear our anchor chain rolling across rocks, so we were curious to see if we gathered kelp or not.

Yup.

 We planned to go 'just around the corner' to Mound Island. Looks like that was a popular choice!

Thirteen boats! Now the most we have seen in one place outside of a marina.

 We decide we will pass and move on. We go by New Vancouver, a First Nations settlement, and it looks interesting. We hope to come by again and stay for a visit. But since the further we go the sunnier it gets, we decide to visit Monk's Wall.

We anchor south of Dead Point on Harbledown Island and prepare to launch the dinghy. We had to think hard to remember the last time we had used it, and came up with Booker Lagoon and our slow dinghy float through tropical looking waters on a RARE sunny day! (It's one of my favorite blogs posts of this summer too...)

But it has been SO long, and it has rained SO much, and Al forgot to remove the drain plug from the dinghy.

I got the tape measure -- six inches of wetness! 

Looking east on Beware Passage.

I am being brave. We are going ashore, and we need to be 'bear aware'. The couple from our neighboring boat in the anchorage, Bob and Anne on sailing vessel Charisma, have visited the wall just before us -- hopefully clearing any bear from the area. As we land, we do see a small mammal scrabble across the rocks and logs.

 Last April we visited friends in Victoria, and at the hotel/marina where we kept Viking Star, we met a woman who, when she learned what our summer plans were, asked 'Will you get as far as Harbledown Island?' Monk's Wall was built by her great-great-grandparents! So Denise, if you are still watching our blog -- we made it!!!

This is the biggest portion remaining. There used to be an arch at this doorway, but it finally fell several years ago. The wall was built in the late 1890's, so it lasted well over a hundred years!

Does a bear ____ in the woods??? Yup.  

Well, THIS is the closest we will get to logging this summer.

 Downhill, between the logging and the wall, I see a 'path' of loosened soil. I see a fern that has been torn from the ground, and though I don't see any actual footprints, I envision a bear digging for roots and bugs. With the previous evidence found, I get quite jumpy.

We pause long enough to take a selfie under where the arch used to be.
 Does a cute hat make up for absolutely no makeup?

The rocks look like steps, or building blocks. Except for a band of a different color.
I wish I knew more about the geology of the area.

Viking Star and Charisma