Ucluelet has an aquarium showing the vast variety of sea life in the area. It was closed yesterday because of a pump problem and we stayed in Ucluelet for an extra night to be able to visit today. Boy are we glad we did – if you are in the area, make sure to visit. The Ucluelet Aquarium is a collect and release facility which means that all the animals and plants on display are captured at the beginning of the season (Feb/Mar) and then released back into the water at the end of the season (Oct/Nov). Everything is from the local area except for a few specimens that might be from the Tofino area.

The aquarium looks small and we thought we’d be in and out fairly quickly but ended up spending a significant time there learning about the different animals from the young, knowledgable staff. For example, did you know that the blood of an octopus is copper based whereas our blood is iron based? That means octopus blood is blueish instead of red! Other animals also have different blood chemical structures and if you’re interested in learning more you can read this article from the Protein Data Bank in Europe.

The variety of fish and plants was astounding. Many of the species were well camouflaged and some were only visible when they moved because they were able to blend in so well with the rocks, plants, or material at the bottom of the tank.

There are a couple of touch-tanks where you can, after washing your hands, gently stroke some animals with your pinky finger. This was a hit with the kids.

The aquarium aims to educate not only on the natural parts of the ocean but also the problem of human generated plastics. Several displays talked about how plastics end up in the ocean and the devastating effect it has on the wildlife there. Small bits of plastic may be seen as food but aren’t digestible and can clog the animals digestive tracts. Larger pieces, like broken fishing nets, can ensnare animals causing them to die.

After leaving Ucluelet we stopped at Kennedy Lake which had been recommended as a great place to swim by one of the many people we had talked to. It is huge lake surrounded by beautiful mountains and the sunshine was just perfect. We couldn’t resist the urge to go for a long swim in the cool, but not cold water.

Refreshed and hungry we thought we deserved another schnitzel at the Little Bavaria restaurant in Port Alberni that we had been to a couple of days ago.

Our friends are spending a week at the Living Forest Oceanside Campground and we were really happy to see them (and their dogs) again.