We left Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and transited the Strait of Georgia to the Bristish Columbia mainland.  We’re now in Pender Harbor, about 42 miles NW of the city of Vancouver on the mainland side.  This is the beginning of the odyssey.  The gateway to the inlets and tributaries of the inland passage that should we have time – will take us all the way to southeast Alaska.  Most folks tell us we could spend years exploring all the twists and turns, little islets and inland passages, so we’ll see how far we get.

As we approach the coast, we get a hint of the tall, snow-capped mountains that define and surround the inlets we'll be exploring.

Pender Harbor is still civilized.  In fact we had dinner tonight in the local Pub.  But, in just a dozen or so miles out of here we’ll be in fjord-like wilderness as we work our way up to Princess Louisa.  We’ll have more to say and show about that so will leave the description for another day.

Some of these entrances can be a little tight. The cove we're in is about half a mile back and around to the left.

In the mean time, here’s a few pics of our new locale.  The trip over was pretty uneventful and unfortunately flat calm, so we motored the whole way.  About 35 miles – 6 or so hours.  We got here just in time though.  As we were coming in Ann said, “Those clouds don’t look so good”.  Half an hour after the anchor was set we had thunder and rain squalls.  But it cleared in time for a beautiful twilight and full moon rising over the mountain.

Nice and tucked in after the storm blew by.

View of the harbor from the back deck of the Pub.

Once back on board, we were treated to a lovely full moon rising over the mountain.

Hello moon!