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There is a rather vainglorious and, at least the way I see it, un-Canadian sign beside the highway as you drive into British Columbia. It says “British Columbia - The Best Place On Earth”. Whatever happened to modest stillness and humility eh? If nothing so becomes a man as that then the same goes double for a province I would have thought.

But if they added one word I might not have such a beef. If it said “British Columbia CONTAINS The Best Place on Earth” I might not complain because BC contains a place called Tofino and the Pacific Rim National Park and I’ve never been anywhere quite like it. I went there last year and absolutely loved it. Last month I had the good fortune to go again and I’m happy to say the magic was still there. I’ll say right now, however, that by all accounts I’ve been unfeasibly lucky with the weather. I’ve spent just over a week there in total and had magnificent weather every day bar one. You see the Pacific Rim National Park is a temperate rain-forest with the emphasis first on rain, then on forest and then on temperate. So I have totally lucked out and I’m aware of that. But it also strikes me that, like the highlands of Scotland, whatever weather you get is the right weather. It’s wonderfully romantic and magical as the mist curls through the trees and if the sun’s out you can’t help but feel blessed. In short: I love it.

I went there because excellent friends of mine, Gareth and Nic, who moved to New Zealand some years ago had had the brainwave of meeting Nic’s parents for a holiday halfway between NZ and GB. This turns out to be Vancouver Island and as I was relatively local they asked me a long. It was great to see them and meet their fabulous kids - Isis, Torin and Xanthe. And of course it was great to be in Tofino again and just hanging out by the sea.

As the last photo suggests, Tofino is a popular spot for surfing. I was keen to try it again as I hadn’t had the chance on my last visit. I booked a lesson and had a lot of fun splashing around in the waves. But of actual surfing I did none. Nor will I ever again because I decided that after 4 attempts in 4 different countries I just can’t do it! It’s a bit of a blow to realise there are some physical activities that are beyond me but surfing is one of them. I’m not going to stop messing around in the waves though. Boogie boarding looks just my cup of tea. And it kind of runs in the family…

That’s my mum on the right

More pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ateabutnoe/sets/72157621630757829/