Getting to the ISPS on Hornby Island, BC
Canada
Tribune Bay on Hornby Island. Grant's home is on the
sandy bay to the right of the large bay, just past the
small point.
Getting to the main Institute location is quite an
adventure, involving three ferries from the British
Columbia mainland (or just two if you fly to Vancouver
Island). You will have a chance to meet a number of the
core Institute people at the island where we live. If you
are thinking about getting involved with the Institute,
this would be an unusual opportunity to do so in a relaxed
and informal way.
Our
Facilities: We don't have
a central office facility. Instead, we work out of our
homes. And we are often off-island working or teaching.
Thus, you need to let us know ahead of time if you wish to
stop by for a visit. For training workshops or healing
sessions, you also need to coordinate accommodations with
us ahead of time.
Accommodations:
For
those of you with an adventurous bent, you are welcome to
tent (for free) on Grant's lawn next to the beach, except
from July 1 to Sept 1 when he isn't at his home (however,
this is Canada - the weather is very bad from November to
April). Or bunk inside, either on the floor or with one of
the other teachers here on the island. There is also a
variety of bed and breakfasts nearby. If you are here for
the clinic, we have a cottage conveniently located right
next to it for your use.
Activities:
There are extensive mountain biking trails, and a bike
rental place within a short walk of Grant's home where the
workshop will be. Several cafes are also within a short
walk. Seals, eagles, and other wildlife are everywhere on
this island, as well as a kayak rental company that
launches just a few hundred feet from the house. Half the
island is forested park. Many beaches surround the island.
You
are welcome to stay longer to enjoy the
island, If you are hear for a training, this would be a
good opportunity to do more work on the material if that
feels appropriate for you and us. The advantage to coming
here to our homes is that we don't have to rush off to
catch the flight back home! If you can, we strongly
recommend exploring the gulf islands while you are here.
The trainings are before the full tourist rush, so although
there will still be a number of people traveling, it isn't
quite the problem that July 1 brings to our island homes of
no available accommodations and overcrowded ferries.
Food
is also informal. During
workshops, you can fix food at my house, but I highly
recommend the atmosphere and food choices at the cafe's
that are about 5 minutes walk from Grant's home. The food
is excellent and reasonably inexpensive ($6 to $8CN or
about $4 to $6 US) per meal. Plus music and other cultural
events occur continuously in the summer.
A
park about 6 minutes from Grant's
house.
What
to wear: Weather in the
Gulf Islands can vary between idyllic (in the summer) and
cold and wet (anytime), unpredictably. Bring some sort of
rain gear just in case. The beach that Grant's home is on
is clothing optional in the summer, so if you forget
swimming gear, not to worry. However, other beaches on this
and the rest of the Gulf Islands are not so relaxed, so
you'll need appropriate clothing for them. Don't forget a
towel for the beach.
How
to prepare for training classes: We highly
recommend reading the material on the website about
Whole-Hearted Healing. Reading our book Peak States
of Consciousness will make your
experience much more meaningful and valuable, as you'll at
least have an understanding of what we're about, as well as
what you don't understand. If you are a therapist or
planning on doing healing work with people, I highly
recommend purchasing our Basic
Whole-Hearted Healing Manual for reference.
Don't bother if you are a layperson, as the basics can be
had for free by downloading from our website.
What
you can expect to accomplish from a training class:
As
with anything, what you get depends on what you put into it
and some luck. If you prepare ahead of time, your
experience will be richer and more useful. You will be
using trauma healing techniques which are applicable to any
situation in your life, and can be done on yourself by
yourself at home. There are no guarantees, but at a minimum
you will leave with an understanding of what you need to
continue working on when you get home!
The ferry
terminal at Buckley Bay, that takes you to Denman Island
(then to Hornby on the other side of Denman.)
Getting
here:
You have a few options on how to get to Hornby Island:
Fly to
Comox:
The
easiest and fastest way to get here is to fly to our local
airport in Comox on Vancouver Island. Two airlines service
the airport from Vancouver:
1) Pacific Coastal Airlines 1-800-663-2872,
www.pacific-coastal.com,10 day
advance $93CN, 3 day advance $123CN, no advance $155CN
o/w - this airline requires you take a shuttle bus to
their plane.
2) Central Mountain Air, 888-865-8585, 250-847-4780,
www.flycma.com, first come
first serve $83CN, $98CN, $115CN o/w - this airline has
a gate at the main terminal.
From other cities in Canada, Westjet 1-800-538-5696,
www.westjet.com; and also
from other cities in Canada, Air Canada,
1-888-247-2262, www.aircanada.ca (they use
Central Mountain Air to connect through to Comox).
From there, you can take a bus, rent a car, or we can do a
pickup to get you to the ferry terminal at Buckley Bay
which will take you to Denman Island. The ferries run every
hour on the hour. The last ferry to Denman leaves Buckley
Bay at 11:00PM, but the last Hornby ferry leaves Denman at
6:35PM, so if you arrive into Comox after 5PM you'll need
to plan on staying in Comox or Denman, if you can get there
via bus or taxi or car. (We might be able to arrange a
sleeping at Wes Gietz' home in Comox, perhaps.) If you get
stuck on Denman, the local youth hostel is a 10 minute walk
from the ferry terminal and their phone is
250-335-2688, www.earthclubfactory.com. You cross
to Denman, then cross the island (about a 10 minute
drive) to the ferry terminal to Hornby Island. And yes,
the ferries have gotten pretty small by this leg of your
trip! Ferry cost for car and driver is about $33CN
($24.50US) roundtrip, (unless you buy a coupon book, ask
at the ticket booth) although if we pick you up it's a
lot cheaper ($7CN r/t)! When you arrive on Hornby, you
follow the only road to the gas station. Turn right at
that corner, and then left on first gravel road, Little
Tribune Bay Road. In a few hundred yards you reach the
ocean, and Grant's house is on the right, 5130 Little
Tribune Bay Road. Grant's home phone is 250-335-1384.
John's is 250-335-0470. Paula's is 250-335-0820.
Sunset at
Grassy Point on Hornby Island
Fly
to Victoria:
Alternatively, the next easiest choice is to fly to
Victoria on Vancouver Island, and rent a car or take the
train or bus up to Buckley Bay near Courtenay. Victoria in
my opinion is the most beautiful and human-friendly city in
North America. Note that if you arrive after 6PM, our
Hornby ferry is closed for the night (except on Friday's
when it goes to 10PM), and you'll have to stay either on
Denman island or in Courtenay. If you drive, the highway
takes 3 hours, or you can take the coast road which is a
lot slower. The exit is marked off the highway, or you
drive right past it if you take the older coast road. If
you plan on the bus or train, you will need to schedule
your plane and bus trip carefully. The Greyhound bus number
is 1-800-661-8747. The train up Vancouver Island leaves
Victoria at 8:15AM and arrives at the Buckley Bay ferry
terminal at 12:31PM (it's a beautiful milk run, lots of
stops on the way). Roundtrip cost for the train is
$53.50CN($36US) a week in advance or $81.32CN($60.20) not
in advance.
Fly
to Vancouver and rent a car:
The last of the easy choices is to fly into the Vancouver
airport and rent a car. Due to the cost of ferries and
busses or car rentals, I doubt if you'll be able to save
much if any money over flying directly into Comox,
especially if you're pressed for time. However, if you rent
a car, you have several fascinating options, especially if
you're taking several extra days to explore. You can take
the Tswassen ferry to Victoria (and explore the most
beautiful city in North America in my opinion), or stay on
the mainland and go up the Sunshine coast. This is a
spectacular trip that takes a minimum of a day, because of
the three ferries you'll be taking to even get to the ferry
terminal at Buckley Bay. Be sure to buy the circle fare for
the ferries, as they package all of the ferry rides into a
more inexpensive package (about 4 ferries not including the
ones that start at Buckley Bay to Hornby Island). The phone
for the Vancouver Island ferries is 250-386-3431 (or toll
free in BC 1-888-223-3779), and the phone for getting a
guaranteed reservation for additional cost is 604-444-2890
(or 1-888-724-5223 toll free in BC). Plus, as the summer
progresses, the ferries can fill up and cause you to have
to wait one or two sailings if you don't pay extra for
reservations. Cost is a bit variable as the season changes,
(note that it is a lot cheaper on the first and last runs
of the day) but for just the Vancouver to Nanaimo (or
Victoria) ferry it is about $35CN ($26US) one way.
Fly to
Vancouver and take the Airport shuttle bus to Buckley
Bay:
Fly into Vancouver International Airport and travel with
the IslandLink airport express bus all the way to Buckley
Bay (www.islandlinkbus.com
-
1-877-954-3556). You will need to make reservations in
advance, and time your flights to catch the bus on the
time that it can get you to the Buckley Bay Ferry
terminal on time to get to Hornby Island (you can also
just go halfway to Denman Island and stay at the youth
hostel there, and continue on in the morning.)
Hornby Island is made of sandstone, and the ocean carves it
into amazing shapes.
Greyhound
Bus schedules from Vancouver Airport to Buckley Bay Ferry
on Vancouver Island
Fly
to Vancouver and take a Greyhound
bus:
The most complex choice is to fly Vancouver airport and
take a bus. It is possible to do, but scheduling can be a
nightmare (not to mention ferries running behind schedule
or traffic snarlups in Vancouver), and you'll probably end
up staying in a hotel to make it work. Chances are you
won't save any money because of all the extra travel costs.
After flying into Vancouver, if you have a lot of luggage,
you take the airporter bus ($12CN o/w or $18CN r/t) into
Vancouver to catch the Greyhound to Nainaimo then to
Buckley Bay ($41.25CN o/w in advance or $57.25CN o/w). If
you have minimal luggage (you don't need much here!), take
the city bus directly to the Tswassen ferry terminal. Catch
#424 (Airport Station - leaves every 8 minutes) at Level 1
Domestic Arrival/departures. Transfer to #620 (Tswassen
Ferry - every 30 minutes). The ferry leaves from the
Tswassen ferry terminal to Nanaimo every 2 hours. Bus cost
is $3CN - you need exact change. That the Nanaimo ferry -
you catch the Greyhound on the ferry. Then to Buckely Bay
as above.