Blogs from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 2

Back in July last year we decided that it would not be safe for us to leave Canada (no explanation needed.) Vancouver Island was the obvious choice with its mild winter weather. We picked 5 accomorations in 4 locations over the 15 weeks of our getaway. There are 3 panoramas at the start. They scroll automatically after about 5 seconds. Tap on the first photo to enlarge it then scroll through the rest. If you don’t want to receive this link let me know and I’ll unsubscribe you. Comments always welcome.... read more

I have become negligent in my blogging so now must catch up. A few years ago we took Zaya for tea at the Banff Springs Hotel. She loved it so much that we thought it might be fun to have high-tea in Victoria with the 4 grandkids. We love Victoria anyway, so it seemed a good fit. We really wanted to have tea in the Empress, as that is probably the equivalent to the Banff Springs. Alas, there were no reservations available and we were forced to look elsewhere for our high-tea. We found several recommended in Google so, Sunday afternoon, we started out, kids dressed in their camping finest. We went to the highest recommended but it was closed, as was the 2nd. Finally, we found a tea house, in Chinatown, that was open and ... read more

Sunday 23rd June 2019 Eleven intrepid travellers and one sea captain, set forth for three and a half hours this morning to navigate eighty-eight kilometres of ocean, in search of Killer Whales. The captain was Jimmy, a marine biologist from Victoria and the passengers comprised of five German tourists, four Canadians and John and myself (two brave Brits paying cheaper “Senior” rates). Our craft was a fast twelve-seater Zodiac, the only one on the west coast that has six double seats and a walk around edge, so everyone can stand up (if they really must) and everyone has a “window” seat (well they would if there were windows but the Zodiac is an open inflatable-rib boat); a great craft for close-up views of marine life. One doesn’t just don life jackets to get on board, we ... read more

Tuesday 18th June2019 Dawn came early to Ucluelet harbour and by 6 a.m. the sun was casting golden shimmers in streaks over the water. Ucluelet is a unique natural harbour, reached from the ocean by a long inlet dotted with islands, from the jagged rocky end to this mountainous and deeply- forested peninsular. The Ucluelet Peninsular is surrounded by a distinct marine ecosystem full of seabirds, seals, sea lions, eagles, whales and sea otters. The forests are home to black bears, cougars, wolves, deer, moose and raccoons. Ucluelet means “People of the Safe Harbour” in the indigenous Nuu-Chah-Nulth language spoken by First Nation peoples in the area. It is one of the most beautiful harbour settings we have ever seen. The little Dixie 4, our cruiser for this morning’s marine tour, was skippered by her owner, ... read more

Day 8 13/05/2019 Vancouver – Butchart Gardens – Victoria Up early to get ready for the tour to Vancouver Island to see the Butchart Gardens and Victoria. We decided to check in with the Concierge to make sure that they knew we were waiting for a tour and we were asked f we had booked the tour a while ago as the tour company wasn’t doing them anymore. They then quickly informed us that someone else had taken over the tours and they pick us up at the bus stop outside the hotel. E found the bus driver and boarded and was on our way. We picked up other people from other hotels and then headed for the ferry that goes to Vancouver Island It was a 90 minute ferry ride over. First stop for the ... read more