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| Ferry Dock in Port Angeles - Welcome to the COHO |
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| Can't miss the direction to the Crab Fest... |
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| Traditional Way to catch crab... |
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| May the best Crab Win |
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| Beyond Competition...but ready to eat |
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| Crab Man, T-shirt and cooked expample to boot... |
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| Early 20th Century ferry between Victoria and Port Angeles |
All, but one day, to head off for an autumnal month in the Mediterranean. No better way to get in the mood but hop on the COHO ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles for a bit of Crab Fest enjoyment. Not only crab indulgences, but TANGO as well.
It rained, of course, after at least two months of uninterrupted horizon to horizon sunshine and clear blue skies on lovely Vancouver Island. The special delivery to the culinary delights of Ediz Hook, next door to Dungeness Spit, home of Dungeness Crab, was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on the COHO Ferry. It was chockablock full with walk on passengers and drive on cars. Hardly an empty seat on the entire ferry. One could spot the usual suspects of previous tango/milongas mingling amongst the crowd...one has to be passionate!
We crossed Juan de Fuca Straight in rain and mist but without any swells to talk about and docked at Port Angeles, in plain sight of a plethora of tents - Crab Fest in action.
One gets off the ferry, umbrella in hand and heads for the action. All pass through the friendly US immigration: we take nothing else but passports as identification, just wait behind the yellow line....
Lots of crab-related activities, lots of crab related outer wear (including fuzzy crab hats), lots of crab or non crab related crafty stuff, and lots of crab related food - all drenched in rain from above and deep puddles from below. Time enough to indulge in a couple of crab cakes and head towards to non crab related fun - Tango at the Sons of Norway Hall. One walks up hill for about five blocks, guided by nebulous glimpses of Olympic Peninsular Mountains, then turns right on a rather unspectacular suburban side road....and there it is: the Sons of Norway Hall. 10 Dollars (US or Canadian) later, one enters and changes into civilised attire (tango shoes and lacy skirt), taking in the Viking decorations, the picture of the Queen of Denmark, the Norwegian Paper doll displays complete with native costume changes, and the Norwegian genre of Garden dwarfs...and gets ready to put in a Milonga or two.
The US contingent of tangoistas welcomes the foreigners, who turned out en masse, and the dancing begins.
Tango being what it is, everyone dances with everyone else, and a couple of hours later - back into the Wellington boots and the padded parkas and the Canadians head back to the ferry dock. Port Angeles is not exactly a tourist paradise, but there is enough to see to fill a couple of hours on a rainy afternoon.
