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Th at 's So So i ntu l a K a l eva R o ad (l ef t) is mysti c a l in th e m o rn in g , a n d th e c o m m u n it y m u s e u m (a b ove) is th e i d e a l c l o u d y- d ay d e stin ati o n . LOCAL G ETAWAYS SO I NTU L A installations like 20-foot macrame, scrap-metal sculptures and tongue-in-cheek (probably?) alien warnings. Since long before any Finns arrived, the island has been a Kwakwaka'wakw foraging site; we forage too, feasting on the huckleberries and black- berries that grow along the path. In town, we score that hot meal: Coho Joe Cafe serves up fresh-baked cinnamon buns and hearty bennies inside a homey heritage house (the B&B suite upstairs is one of a handful of options outside of the Oceanfront Hotel for non-tent-types). We're soon thankful for the fuel; the general store—B.C.'s oldest to operate as a co-operative—has a casserole dish and muffin tins, but no pots. The clerk directs us to a hardware store a further 20 minutes past town; the added walk scores plenty of Scandi heritage in the form of ramshackle boathouses fea- turing names like Tarkanen and Sjöberg, but still, we do not score a pot. We trudge back empty-handed, spotting too late the visitors' kiosk with its collection of adorable (and free) loaner bikes. But all is not lost: a helpful local suggests the thrift store, which is hidden behind the community museum. It's closed, but a knock on the window produces an angel of a volunteer, who lets us in and digs up one precious pot, for which we happily offer ten times the $1 sticker price. Hot dinner secured, we grab some Finnish pulla bread from the Upper Crust bakery and hike back to camp to comb the kelp-strewn beach and toast a gobsmacking sunset. We'd been warned that ferry- loads of one-time residents are on their way back for a blow-out weekend wedding, so the next morning we opt to spend the day exploring the island's quiet back roads—and are rewarded with a jewel of a swim- ming hole, complete with lily pads. Big Lake, which is actually a very small lake, can also be accessed from town via the six-kilometre Mateoja heritage farm- stead trail. Back in Sointula, there's just enough time to poke inside the Wild L'il Gift Shop, where moth- er-and-daughter team Anissa and Freyja Reed sell locally made candles, art and sea-glass jewellery. As the ferry nears the dock, we end our visit with a co-operative action of our own, releasing our pot back into the donation pile outside the thrift shop so it can once again restore harmony to some future forgetful camper. 42 BCBUSINESS MAY/JUNE 2023