On the Nanaimo Trail

I’m heading north to Cortes Island, in British Columbia, Canada, and spent the weekend in Nanaimo. Nanaimo is a harbor town on Vancouver Island, and home to the famous Nanaimo Bar.

What’s a Nanaimo Bar, you ask? An amazing, three layered desert: start with a base of graham cracker crumbs, chocolate, nuts, and sometimes more, add a layer of custard frosting, then a layer of chocolate on top. Not for either the faint of heart, or those who are diabetic.

Having encountered one of these in Canada nearly ten years ago, and because the town was on the way, I decided to spend some time eating Nanaimo bars in Nanaimo. And Nanaimo bar cheesecake, ice cream, latte’s, etc.

It’s not all Nanaimo bars. There’s a walkable downtown area that extends to a beautiful harbor. It’s a bit sleepy: when I arrived around 6 on a Friday evening, only a few restaurants and bars (none of the shops) were open, and the next morning only a few places were open before ten.

The parks, however, were beautiful. When I wasn’t consuming Nanaimo bar related items, I found myself walking through forests, either in Bowen park or Newcastle island. The beauty of Pacific Northwest forests, and the smells of damp, green earth, cedars in the sun, and the salty sea made for some beautiful walks. Good thing, after eating all those Nanaimo bars!