Nanaimo, BC

We catch the ferry to Nanaimo, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. After a bite at Gabriel’s Gourmet Cafe, we take in the history of the area at the Nanaimo Museum and sample the famous Nanaimo Bar during a quick tour around the city.

Ferry to Nanaimo

Dad and I left Vancouver early in the morning, driving north through Stanley Park and over the Lion's Gate Bridge, heading to the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal. There we would take his car aboard the Queen of Oak Bay for passage across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island and Nanaimo, British Columbia.

As we pulled out of the harbor, we passed Bowen Island, known as Nex̱wlélex̱m in the language of the indigenous Squamish people, who still use it for deer hunting. The island looked a grayish-green against the steel-gray water and mottled light-gray sky -- a sky whose shadows cast their own multitudinous gray hues to the water below. I put on my light-gray cap and lighter-gray rainjacket to blend in effectively with my surroundings.

I was impressed with the services available to ferry passengers — a variety of food, some shopping, a relaxing coffee spot. My previous ferry experiences had been much less elaborate — perhaps a bartender and a light snack on the ride to Catalina, or nothing at all but the whiff of fuel oil in the hull of an Irish ferry going from Galway to the Aran Islands.

We arrived in Nanaimo, which also was experiencing a gray, damp day. But the forecast was still on for baseball that night.

Gabriel's Gourmet Cafe

We drove off the boat and just a few blocks to Nanaimo's downtown. There we found Gabriel's Gourmet Cafe for a couple of sandwiches. I had a fantastic pulled pork sandwich with hoisin BBQ sauce and kimchi.

Nanaimo Museum

Just across the street from Gabriel's is the Nanaimo Museum. It's a fine example of a local history museum that may have a smaller scope but nevertheless engages visitors and conveys a strong sense of the area and its people. I love to start with places like this.

Known as “The Harbour City,” Nanaimo has a population of about 100,000. The city’s name is derived from an English interpretation of “Snuneymuxw,” the name of the First Nation people of the area. The Spanish found the harbor in 1791, and by 1850, the British Hudson’s Bay Company had established a settlement there.

The newcomers learned about the abundant presence of coal from Snuneymuxw Chief Che-wich-i-kan, kicking off an era of mining operations in Nanaimo.

The booming coal business and regional gold rush brought a significant Chinese population to the island in the 1860s, and Nanaimo’s Chinatown became the third-largest in British Columbia. Coal remained king in Nanaimo until the industry was surpassed by lumber in the 1940s.

Around Nanaimo

We left the museum and made our planned stop next door at Serious Coffee to try Nanaimo's famous dessert treat, the Nanaimo Bar. It consists of three layers: a wafer base with coconut crumbs and nuts, custard icing, and chocolate ganache. Its exact origins are murky -- references date as far back as the 19th century -- but the recipe began appearing in publications in British Columbia in the early 1950s under various names: London Fog Bar, Mable's Squares, chocolate squares, and, most commonly, the Nanaimo Bar.

Dad and I tried our bars between sips of coffee and were not disappointed. It is a tasty combination of flavors and textures in one bite -- delicious, but also very rich. One square is plenty.

We checked out a bookstore nearby, then drove back down to the harbor to get a good look at The Bastion.

Built between 1853 and 1855 by the Hudson’s Bay Company to defend its coal-mining operations, the Bastion is the city’s most recognizable landmark. Its second floor contained Nanaimo’s arsenal, with two four-pound and two six-pound carronades plus guns and ammunition. It has been moved twice and restored, and now is managed by the Nanaimo Museum, with exhibits on all three floors. (It had not yet reopened from the pandemic when we were in town.) In the summer months, the museum fires nearby cannons each day at noon.

We continued to cruise around Nanaimo, but the shops were quiet on this Tuesday afternoon. We took a drinks break at the Milton Street Public House — an old home converted into a restaurant — then made our way to the ballpark for our next big game.

> NEXT: Nanaimo NightOwls