It was the mushrooms that brought me to British Columbia. I took a mushroom workshop with Paul Stamets.

Cortes Island is an island in British Columbia. Agarikon, a rare type of medicinal mushroom is grown on trees in this remote island.

It all started with a TED talk I watched “How Mushrooms Can Change The World” by Mycologist Paul Stamets. I looked up Paul Stamets and found out about his workshop in British Columbia that will take place in two weeks. I called the workshop center and of course it was sold out. And they put me on the waiting list. Then two days later, I got a call from them and they told me someone canceled last minute and offered the last spot. In the list of instructions for the workshop, I remembered vividly it included bringing “bear spray”. I thought it was probably a joke. 10 days before the workshop, I booked a one way ticket from Miami to Vancouver.

I hitchhiked my way to Cortes Island. From Vancouver, I took a small plane to Comox. And then from Little River, I took a ferry to Campbell River. So the retreat center forewarned me that there was only one taxi on Campbell River Island and needed to book 24 hours in advance. There was only two people on the ferry. The other person on the ferry asked me if I needed a ride. It was actually his last day on the island. Speaking of Serendipidy.

Hollyhock Retreat Center @hollyhocklife

We stayed at these wood cabins, pictured below. It was very Thoreau like. Unplugged from Internet. Idyllic. Poetic.

The week long workshop has a curriculum with courses like mushroom forage, latin names of mushrooms, how to grow mushroom commercially and how to grow psychedic mushrooms.

My favorite part is the daily mushroom forage with Paul Stamets in the forests. It’s like a filter has been lifted. Everyday, I “discover” more mushrooms around me as my knowledge about mushroom expand. Isn’t it just like other things in life?

Oyster BBQ Feast. These oysters are called Pacific Giants. They are the size of my iphone. The Japapnese immigants brought these oysters with them when they immigrated to British Columbia. This is the only place I tasted fresh harvested Pacific Giants outside Japan.

Cortes Island Sunset.

Sunrise. Since I was unplugged from Internet, I went to bed when the night turned dark without Netflix, and rose when the sun came out. During my one week stay on the island, I actually woke up early enough to watch the sunrise everyday.

Half of my classmates are mushroom farmers and the remaining are folks like myself, just for the knowledge and experience. Actually we had one classmate who has a booming mushroom business in Netherlands. And there was a marijana farmer from central California. Maybe he would expand his farming business to include medicinal mushrooms.

50 Hours in British Columbia

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