Thursday 26 July:  We visited Chemainus, on Vancouver Island, where the spirit of survival lives on in this beautiful little community.  When the sawmill closed down in 1983, threatening to disrupt the lives of families who had depended on the forest industry all their lives, this little town survived and has continued to flourish as an outdoor art gallery for which it has received international acclaim.

Murals by well known artists fill the sides of buildings around the town, celebrating the history of the forest industry and life in a small mill town.  There are now 44 murals and 10 sculptures located around the town and we were taken around by horse and cart to see them.  At the end of our tour, we were happy to purchase a charming little book “The Chemainus Murals” by The Chemainus Festival of Murals Society as a souvenir of a very enjoyable morning.

We also stopped to see the statue of Terry Fox and later watched his biography in the coach.  As well as being Canada’s hero, he is such an inspiration to the world and I felt very touched by his story.