Poets Cove

Have you ever been to Pender Island? What rugged, wildly beautiful Island...about a 1 hour ferry ride from Victoria...Ivan and I decided to go because our sweet friends Shawn and Angela had given us a gift certificate for our wedding, to go to the Poets Cove Resort and Spa www.poetscove.com Neither of us had ever been to Pender, so this was a real adventure.

We arrived at around 3pm and drove around the very quiet, very secluded Island, which apparently hosts approx 1900 locals....the whole time we were there we only saw 10 of them....some of them of quite an interesting breed....one grocery store, 4 restaurants, a bakery....catch my drift....this Island was a little too secluded for our liking, but we are certainly glad we made the trip. And once we arrived at the resort, we could instantly see what all of the fuss was about! Gorgeous villas trickle down the hill towards the main hotel overlooking the water, 2 pools, tennis and basket ball courts, water sports...and lots of kids. What a great place to take your kiddies on a mini family vacation. We quickly checked in and ran up to the basket ball courts where we had four friendly games of 21....I don't want Ivan to feel bad, so I wont mention who won all 4...

After that we hit the pool to play our favorite card game Quiddler ( a MUST purchase for lazy Sunday's or any type of travel...we play all the time). We were having such a nice romantic little time when I think ALL of the kids from the resort decided to come and cannon ball into the pool and proceed to play Marco Polo at the top of their lungs....I was staring at them, trying to give them my best annoyed, evil eye...but they just carried on without a care in the world...I wanted to march over and send them all home to bed for being so loud and obnoxious (can you tell I don't have kids)....but alas...we were outnumbered so we went back to our room...which was the perfect decision, as we continued with our card game, in the jacuzzi tub complete with champagne, and smoked salmon (tip...always carry a bottle of bubbles and a few snacks with you for some instant romance).

By the time we finished our games we were hungry so moved down to the Syrens Bistro ...they have two restaurants...one fancy, called Aurora (apparently the nicest one on the Island), the other a casual pub type feel...we ordered ribs with coleslaw and Cesar salad, with some wanton crusted prawns to start, and decided to take all of the food back up to our room because our beautiful balcony overlooked the cove......All of the food was quite possibly some of the worst we have ever eaten...(I cannot speak for Aurora restaurant as we never went). The ribs, were certainly not fall of the bone, and had a swipe of what tasted like store bought bbq sauce...the Cesar salad was not too bad, but both salads were on the soggy side from the heavy "goup" as Ivan calls salad dressing. I'm willing to bet the prawns were from the Superstore or Cost-co frozen appie section...but the view was amazing and we still had a wonderfully romantic evening.

We got up fairly early the next morning to enjoy the sunshine on our balcony over a cup of tea and coffee and yet another game of Quiddler....so I don't feel bad, I wont mention who one all of these games. I zipped down to the little cafe and bought some fruit and the BEST homemade granola bars we have ever had...WOW...I am now determined to find a good recipe to try these at home...filled with nuts and grains, dried fruits and they weren't too sweet..and provided a lot of energy for our next adventure, which was to rent a canoe! We bought a sandwich from the cafe and popped it in my pack to enjoy for later (tip..the cafe has awesome quick food to go).

The canoe was fantastic, and I am so glad we rented one...we paddled along for about a half hour...seeing a few pretty little jellyfish and some HUGE purple and pink starfish...they were everywhere and looked like puffy cartoons. We pulled the canoe up on the shore of a little beach we were told lead up to a nice hike up the mountain....not sure about the "nice" part...yes it was beautiful...but it really was almost like the grouse grind!!! It was about an hour one way...and I was really wishing I had warn my sports bra....rigorous activities should not be done when the girls aren't supported properly....we both quickly realized just how out of shape we have gotten....having to stop quite a few times to catch my breath...but it was totally worth it at the top...the view was spectacular! Overlooking many of the Islands in amongst the water ways...we pulled out our roasted rosemary chicken sandwich with shallot aioli, and it was a pretty delicious way to enjoy the view...chugged down some water and zipped back down the mountain before the rain came in.

Both of us were exhausted by this time...arms and legs like rubber...but we still had 4 hours before our ferry left...this is the tricky part...getting off the island on a Sunday, there aren't too many ferry options...but we lazed around, went for tea, while Ivan rewarded himself with an Ice cream...then we went for an early dinner at the Hope Bay Cafe...which we should have gone to for dinner the night before...what a great little spot on the water...just adorable. We each had a huge bowl of clam chowder, filled with baby clams in their gorgeous white shells...not too thick...not to thin...it was perfect, and a wonderful way to end our mini vacation....if you go to Pender...I have heard there are a number of charming little B and B's to try...although Poets Cove is really quite spectacular...but try the Hope Bay Cafe for their chowder and...

Enjoy!