June 9th – Klemtu

We spent the morning, fueling, watering up and eating in the Klemtu restaurant. This was followed by a tour of the Longhouse or Big House by Francis. Francis has a wicked sense of humour and it is not uncommon when you first meet him for him to hold up his hand and say “How”….after an awkward moment, he bursts in to a large smile and tells you that you were to have said “When”…..We believe that Francis is an elder of the Kitasoo Clan and was therefore qualified to do the tours and explain their history. Although the longhouse is quite modern (sprinkler systems etc), it has some of the most beautiful totems and Indian art that we have seen. Klemtu has a population of approximately 400 and they are very friendly. As this is the area and home of the Spirit Bear (Kermode) a lot of the stories range around the bear. Perhaps being a dry community (you can’t purchase liquor in the village) has a lot to do with their outlook.
The telephone system in this area is VHF radio 06 and 08. We had hours of entertainment listening in. When you want a tour, ask for Francis and when you want fuel, ask for Ernie. We heard everyone in the village congratulating Dennis on his birthday and we overheard numerous other conversations. This included someone not being able to beat level 5 in a game they were playing and asking for help and one announcement of the holding of an Auction at John’s place…..1st prize was a “Nintendo Wii” and the second prize was a “lady’s size 7 fast runner.” Tickets could be had for 5 for $1.00 or 21 for $5.00…the math seemed to be a bit off as was the range of prizes.
There is only one main road and 2 stores. No one appears to have insurance on their vehicles and one of the pre-requisites of boarding the BC Ferry is to show your Drivers License (leads me to believe that most don’t have a driver’s license). We believe that since we tipped Francis handsomely for our tour and spent money on fuel, in the store and also on some knick knacks, that we were given gratis moorage. It is normally 60 cents/ft. Fuel had just gone up and was $1.55 for Wayne and $1.48 for Dave and ourselves….I think Wayne got hosed.
We pull out around 2:00 pm for our next Destination – Alexander Inlet.
Klemtu is definitely worth stopping in to!