The history of Nanaimo has unfolded in a way that demonstrates the coming together of various cultures in a way that perhaps nowhere else in the world can. The Harbour City was first settled by people over 5000 years ago, and over time many cultures have come to call Nanaimo home for many different reasons. With the incredible variety of influences contributing to the art, music, and atmosphere that make up Nanaimo, it’s no wonder that the city was named Cultural Capital of Canada in 2008.

The human history of Nanaimo begins more than 5000 years ago, with the arrival of the forebears of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. The ample fishing and hunting grounds as well as the sheltering harbour made for the perfect spot to live for these people. The abundance of food and materials also meant that the Snuneymuxw peoples had the luxury of time in which to develop a culture of their own, with arts and crafts, particular celebrations, and unique architecture. Read the rest

Saturday, January 9th, 2010 from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM

The goals of the Mount Benson Legacy Group are to work with all government levels, and with the owners of all properties on the north and east sides of Mount Benson for the following purposes:
-To find an alternative solution to further logging on the front face of the mountain, and to develop a long-term plan to protect the front face of the mountain for recreational, ecological and aesthetic values.

The Bottle Drive is also an excellent way to help us out with a few volunteer hours. If you are able to volunteer a few hours, please call Claire at NALT 714-1990 and sign up today! We need all of the help we can get, and the bottle drives are a great way to help out the Mountain, and have some fun with a great group of people!

We hope to see you there! -NALT

The winter of 2010 has shaped up nicely. Only one real day of snow so far (although it was a doozy and then melted the next day) and not an overly annoying amount of rain… Temperatures have been really nice and all in all - shaping up for a great winter destination for tourists and snowbirds. That certainly was NOT the case last year!!

One of the reasons why so many people in Canada love living in and visiting Southern BC is because of the mild winter weather. However, during the winter of 2009 the snow on Vancouver Island had many long-time residents shaking their heads as they desperately tried to dig their way out of more than one record snowfall.

Most years Nanaimo and the surrounding area receive an average of 93cm of snow over the winter, however in 2008-2009 many snowfall records were broken as moist air combined with many an arctic cold front. In December 2008 traffic and commerce ground to a halt while 116cm of the white stuff fell in just under three weeks, including a record-breaking 33cm overnight on December 13, 2008. Read the rest

Although winter in Nanaimo has been cold and wet this year, we at the Painted Turtle haven’t let the weather dampen our spirit!  Recently, we enjoyed a get-together at a local ice rink in Nanaimo, to try our hand at curling!

Here, Verena gets ready with a special pair of curling shoes.

Read the rest

A truly magical trip through an enchanting forest of old growth trees is what you will find when entering the trails at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. Just a 45-minute drive from Nanaimo, Cathedral Grove is situated 16km East of Port Alberni. This forest provides visitors with amazing sights of ancient Douglas-Fir trees- some are more than 800 years old, ancient Western Red Cedar, owls, several types of woodpeckers, insects of all sorts, reptiles, amphibians, deer, elk, black bear, cougars and the Cameron River that flows through the park contains rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout.

Read the rest

It’s close to Christmas!!!

German Traditional Christmas Advent Wreath

Only days to the second of advent and Christmas preparations are in full swing.

It’s close to Christmas!

On Tuesday, November 24^th, we turned the Great Room into a Christmas bakery for a few hours. But things did not run as smoothly as we know it from home - and that’s what made it a funny afternoon.

It’s close to Christmas!

We made four different types of typical German Christmas cookies:

• “Kokosmakronen”
• “Schokoladenplaetzchen”
• “Zimtsterne”
• “Marmeladenknusperchen”

PTG Staff Bake Up Special German Cookies for Christmas

…and of course they all look very delicious so that we had to defend them against cookie-thieves with our lives!

It’s close to Christmas!

This can be recognized by all the lights on trees and houses, by all the Christmas decorations in the windows, by Christmas songs that are played in the shopping malls and by the snow-topped Mount Benson.

It’s close to Christmas!

But there was still something very important missing: an advent wreath! So we decided to set off together in the early morning and pinch some branches for our self-made advent wreath. Now the wreath is sitting on the table in the Great Room and spreads a smell of Christmas!

It’s close to Christmas!

Although we imported some typical German Christmas traditions we are really looking forward to experience Canadian Christmas!

It’s close to Christmas!

Lisa and Johanna

Extra Special Holiday Elves & Painted Turtle Guesthouse Interns from Germany

Lisa is the newest rising star intern at the Painted Turtle Guesthouse - here is her story...

Hi everybody!

My name is Lisa Fuchs and I have such a great opportunity: I’m going to spend half a year (from November ’09 – June ’10) on beautiful Vancouver Island in Nanaimo, BC.

I have just finished school this year, and decided to go abroad to take part in an internship at the Painted Turtle Guesthouse in Canada.

I have the chance to:

* Learn the Canadian culture (spending half a year in Canada brings you closer to their way of life)
* Get to know Canada as the country where nearly everything seems to be possible (Did you know that there is a possibility to deep fry ice cream?)
* Get to know many interesting people (and you meet a lot of nice people in the Guesthouse from all around the world.
* Work with a great team
* And finally, to improve my English language skills.

Growing up in the very south of Germany (near Waldshut - just 2 kilometers from the boundary of Switzerland) I’m used to the mountains and nature. But Canada is much more beautiful than Germany, because of the wonderful combination of mountains, beaches and the ocean. It’s just fantastic!

When you stand at Nanaimo’s harbour and see the deep blue ocean and the snow capped mountains it takes your breath away. It’s so awesome …

I can’t believe that I’m here for 6 month!

We love our guesthouse and as a group of staff who love our work and look forward to meeting new guests from all around the world each and every day - you could say we have a somewhat biased opinion!

That is why we would like to hear your thoughts also!  Use the COMMENT AREA below and tell us what you loved about your stay at the Painted Turtle Guesthouse. You can include your first name, first and last name or just your initials if you are more comfortable. Email addresses are NOT published!

Tell other backpackers, students and travellers from across the Nation and all over the planet about your personal experience at PTG!