Derek: After a slight false start where we ended up 6th car left in line when the morning ferry filled up, we caught an early afternoon one and crossed the Salish Sea over to Victoria, entering Canadian waters halfway across. The Pacific ocean’s waves and weather come straight in through this 15 mile (24 km) wide passage and we had the fun message of a Gale Warning appear on our phones before boarding. In the end that meant just a bit of rolling, thankfully none of us felt unwell.

We left on July 1st, so missed US Independence Day and the great fireworks in Seattle, however it turns out it was Canada Day! Getting into Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, we quickly passed through immigration and walked around Chinatown and the bay front. There were dozens of market stalls, hundreds of people, and DJ Shub (grandfather of PowWowStep!) performing, as well as a fabulous fireworks show to round the evening off.

We stayed In Victoria for the night then went to the Butchart Gardens in the morning, a 55 acre display garden constructed north of Victoria by Jennie Butchart, starting in 1907. I had heard of them while I was in high school nearby, but had never visited them. They were absolutely worth the visit and we spent several hours walking through endless flowers and beautiful landscaping.

The Saanich Inlet separates the peninsula from the main body of Vancouver Island, so despite being able to look right across the water from the gardens to my old school, it was a 40 minute drive to south and then back north to reach it. We briefly stopped and wandered the grounds. Virtually all of the academic buildings have been torn down and replaced by shiny glass and steel, but I was able to sit on the steps outside my dorm building and show Charis and her mum a bit of the area I spent four years in. I did check and very few of the teachers from, cough, 16 years ago still work there and due to the summer break the campus was empty. I have so many fond memories of the people that I spent so much time with, and regret having lost touch with virtually all of them. I want to start reaching out and seeing how everyone is. From there we had another two hours driving up highway 1 to reach Courtenay.

Charis: We were headed that way to stay with Sue and Bruce, two good friends of my mum’s – she had been their bridesmaid when they got married 50 years ago! Sue and Bruce built their house just north of Courtenay over 30 years ago, and it had been about that long since Mum had last seen them when they visited Scotland, so it was quite the reunion!

They were incredibly generous and welcoming to us during our stay and took us out on many trips to see the beautiful local area.

Derek: Rising above Courtenay is Mount Washington, which in the winter has the only downhill ski area with lifts on the island as well as an extensive cross country skiing area. During the summer the snow melts exposing a network of trails across the Forbidden Plateau, including a very nice loop out to Lake Mackenzie and Battleship Lake.

Charis: The following day we took a trip out to Hornby Island, a small island in the Strait of Georgia which historically was used as refuge by ‘draft dodgers’ during the Vietnam war, so had a great old school hippy vibe to it, as well as having some incredibly beautiful walks (we did Helliwell Park) and beaches; Whaling Station Beach and Tribune Bay. I’d never thought of Canada as much of a ‘beach’ destination, but the weather was hot, the water was crystal clear and the views were spectacular, easily rivaling the Mediterranean!

Derek: We also went out to Goose Spit Park and had another walk along the beach. I was excited to find wild samphire growing everywhere! A bit annoying as I’ve been trying to start growing some of my own from seed in the UK and failing.

Saturday morning took us out to the nearby Farmers Market, where we mooched in the sunshine, bought fancy bread and listened to some lovely live music from the Easy Street Duo.

Charis: Amongst many other talents, Sue is an incredible potter and has her own kiln, specialising in salt fired pottery. She was a founding member at The Potters Place in Courtenay and was keen to get us involved in her studio creating some little ‘kiln gods’ – small statues or figures that can be placed in niches around the kiln when fired to ensure good firing karma! I thoroughly enjoyed putting this derpy little mushroom dude together and hope he remains intact throughout his firing!

I also managed to finish a project (my sunset poncho with the gorgeous cotton yarn I bought in Ashland, modeled by and gifted to my lovely Mum) and both start and finish a quick second – this was originally meant to be a off-the-shoulder/crop summer jumper for myself but I jumped into it with a bit too much enthusiasm and had finished the now-looking-rather-small front panel before I realised I’d made it with a 5 mm hook not a 8 mm hook as recommended, whoops. Luckily, two of Sue and Bruce’s grandkids were also staying with us towards the end of the week and the jumper fit the 10 year old grand-daughter perfectly, so all’s well that ends well!

Bruce has been designing and building set pieces for the local kids theatre group since retiring and took us along to the Comox Valley Youth Music Centre Showcase. The group were very talented and in the process of preparing Legally Blonde the Musical for stage, so we got a sneak peek at a couple of their numbers, inspiring us to have an evening back home watching the original film. It’s a classic!

Derek: I am usually a night owl and even with all this relaxation and activity I was often up past midnight looking for a little snack. It was fairly shocking how silent and pitch black the house was after everyone went to sleep. We were very lucky to both be near the time of the new moon and also for it to be below the horizon for most of the night. I sat out on the porch two evenings and you could see dozens of satellites crossing the sky as well as the arms of our galaxy stretching from horizon to horizon, or at least into the trees. It turns out recent Android phones have an Astrophotography mode if you go to “Night” mode and then leave it un-moving for a few seconds, and it does a great job. I’d like to use my larger camera, but don’t have a tripod or star tracker.

Charis: Alas, our time on Vancouver Island soon came to a close and we headed off back down to Nanaimo to catch a ferry over to Vancouver the city.

Knowing Mum was a big Latin dance fan, we managed to find tickets for an evening of flamenco, tango (and wine!) being held by Latincouver, a non-profit organisation supporting Latinx migrants in Vancouver.

There were two acts that performed:

Qairo is a captivating fiery, and dynamic 7-person music and dance ensemble that combines the emotionally charged vocals, electric choreographies, and pulsing rhythms of flamenco with the infectious melodies and ear-popping tonalities of the Mediterranean diaspora.

Tango in Fusion has mesmerized audiences with its captivating performances. They combine Latin roots with the intricate beauty of Argentine tango, pushing artistic boundaries through extensive training. They continue to explore their artistic vision and contribute to the vibrant tango scene. With remarkable talent, passion, and artistic vision, Alexander and Paulina inspire and captivate audiences across Canada, showcasing their dedication and commitment to the art of tango.

Together, they put on an incredible show and we had a great first evening in the city.

The following morning we decided to do a big loop in Stanley Park, which I was tickled to see had its own rollerblading lane at parts along the path. This is obviously a very popular spot and had lots of great views back across the water to the city centre, as well as many sculptures and other points of interest along the way.

Derek: We took a False River Ferry over to Granville Island to see the public market and get a little lunch. Siegle’s Bagels had a vegan salmon (marinaded shaved carrot) with capers, onions, and chive cream cheese option which was delicious, and there was another JJ Bean Coffee to get some iced drinks from.

The UBC Anthropology Museum was recommended to us so we took a quick taxi over. The museum building was spacious with large open galleries, very helpful to fit several dozen totem poles, canoes, and large wood panels and support beams from First Nations villages and homes.

I chose not to take photos as the museum had put a lot of effort into consistently providing detailed and nuanced information about the history and cultural purpose of each display, particularly discussing the issues of these items and visual styles being taken and used purely as art without connection to the thousands of years of culture behind them. The exhibits were beautiful, interesting, and painful to see the preponderance of history and rich life which suppressed and eroded by the arrival of European settlers. Much of the damage has been done in the last two hundred years, easily within documented and verbal living history.

In amazing news the government of British Columbia has published an agreement with the Haida nation which recognizes the Haida’s right to their traditional land on 200+ islands north of Vancouver Island. This is the first such agreement covering the entirety of a First Nation’s territory and agreed outside of a court ruling. Some more info here: “Haida Nation, B.C. recognize Haida Aboriginal title, a historic first in Canada“.

Charis: After the museum we returned to the hotel and crossed the street to English Bay to watch the sunset and hang out with all the Canadian geese casually mingling with all the evening beach-goers.

The following morning we said goodbye and dropped Mum at Vancouver airport to head up to see my aunt in Edmonton. For us, we had another long drive, crossing back to USA and heading back to Port Angeles to drop off the car Ben had very kindly lent us for this portion of the trip.

This did mean a few more fabulous views near Rosario Beach and on the ferry back to Port Townsend, so we can’t complain!

After that, it was up early the following morning and down to SeaTac Airport. Farewell to North America and across the Pacific we go!