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Published: September 21st 2013
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View from our garden
Salt Spring Island, BC September 19, 2013
It’s an early start this morning. We need to be out of our hotel by 8am in order to catch the 10am ferry from Tsawwassen to Long Harbour on Salt Spring Island. We manage a quick breakfast although I’m looking forward to a Starbucks and possibly some pumpkin bread at the terminal!
It’s a relatively easy drive down to the Tsawwassen until we reach the George Massey Tunnel that goes under the Fraser River. We’re going in the right direction in terms of traffic but that means the traffic coming towards us (into Vancouver) has priority and thus 3 out of the 4 lanes going through the tunnel belong to them this morning. We’re down to one lane and have paid the price for that for at least a kilometre.
For a brief moment I look worrying at my watch but we’ve given ourselves ample time and the traffic moves at a decent speed once we negotiate the effective weaving process that gets us down to the one lane.
Once on the ferry we relax. We’ve got about 3 hours on this ferry, mainly because it stops at 3 islands before it
gets to Salt Spring Island. But this is fantastic! It’s one of the most beautiful and interesting ferry trips you can do and as the ship meanders through the tiny channels between the variety of islands that make up the Gulf Islands we spot a pod of orcas (closely followed by the obligatory whale watching tourist boat) eagles and seals. (Incidentally, the reason they’re called the Gulf Islands, despite not being in a gulf, is because when George Vancouver (him again) first discovered them he thought they did sit in a gulf. The name stuck. I guess the name “The ‘not really a gulf’ Gulf Islands” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Our accommodation on Salt Spring Island is another find through VRBO.com and it’s another wonderful house. But the story behind it is even more fascinating. Obviously liking the house but not necessarily the location the owners had the entire 3 stories shipped over from Victoria on Vancouver Island! It now sits on a high slope overlooking the Trincomali Channel towards tiny Wallace Island, which sits in front of Galiano Island, just up from Mayne Island. It’s busy around here.
I’m typing this sitting at the
The Moon
Salt Spring Island, BC kitchen table in a beautiful open plan spacious kitchen with the most fabulous view out across the sea. Turkey voltures sit in the tree opposite and a couple of seals frequently pop their heads out of the shallows. We’ve seen river otters but are on the constant look out for passing Orcas who do frequent this area apparently.
Yesterday, as we arrived early afternoon and the weather was excellent we took the property’s double kayak and rowing boat out onto the water. The last time we kayaked was on the Okanagan Lake in fresh water and now we’re back in salt water I briefly forgot and wondered why the water stung when it hit my eyes!
A seal pops up close and actually swims towards us before dipping back down under. Matthew is anxious that the next visitor will be an orca and is not keen on the possibility of having to swim from a capsized boat should the whale miscalculate his rise to the surface. They abandon their boat (on land!) soon after and leave Steve and I to kayak a bit longer while they explore the beach, poking dead enormous jellyfish with sticks and scaring tiny
Our House
Salt Spring Island, BC crabs from beneath rocks.
It’s lovely to be back in a big house again (3 bathrooms, yeah!) and we spend a very nice evening with a combination of scrabble, pool and a film. We can’t see the sun set this side of the island but we do see the moon rise and what an amazing sight that is! A pale red enormous ball rises from the other side of the hills across the water, casting a lovely watery orange strip across the sea. At first I don’t understand what the sun is suddenly doing in the east and didn’t I just watch it disappear behind the mountains of Vancouver Island on the other side of the island? Awesome!
That night we sleep incredibly well. If it turns out the weather forecast is as dire as predicted then I don’t think we’ll care too much. In this wonderful house, with this amazing view and lots to keep us occupied I think we’ll be just fine.
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