You will recall my earlier comment about what and where I
thought Vancouver Island was, and the trip to it proved without any doubt how
far away it really is. The coach became crowded as we picked up people from
various hotels and I shared a pair of seats with a quiet Australian, I would
guess he was in his 30’s and on the drive to the ferry port, in itself a very
long drive, we just exchanged pleasantries. I did wonder if he was a little
reticent about having a chatterbox like me sitting next to him. I think we both
immersed ourselves in taking in great swaths of this dramatic landscape whilst
trying to absorb the information our guide/driver was providing. The ferry
crossing was just like one across the English Channel with everyone diving in
to get a seat and/or food from stepping out of the coach on the roll on roll
off lorry/coach deck of the ship. We had been tutored about making sure we knew
which stairway we were near, what deck, and most strictly, when we had to be
back on the coach to leave. Weaving our ways between such large vehicles
several rows deep did not help in trying to remember where our coach was or
where the right stairs might be, but we did get to the stairs and up to the
main decks by a kind of osmosis. After a wide sea passage and what almost felt
like a wandering and ‘just scrapping past’ route between scenic islands and
headlands we landed on Vancouver Island, feeling more like a mainland, and
another long drive to Victoria. Two and a half hours to explore a small capital
city is not a lot when washrooms and lunch have to be sought out and achieved.
Out in front of the Parliament buildings there were two re-enactors one being
the very young Queen Victoria the other, I assume, Prince Albert. By the way
Queen Victoria is a hero to Canadians as they credit her with granting them
their independence. She apparently started the process but the process went
through various stages and took some time. I did feel bold enough to go up to
the Queen and introduce myself as one of her subjects from the old country and
gently teased her about that while she fought to stay and speak in character.
Apparently she was a drama student and this was her holiday job. Again there
was a busy and attractive waterfront with folk music and local craft stalls all
of which I visited and chatted to before re-boarding the coach for the journey
to the main focus of the day, the gardens. More travels through a heavily tree
covered world with small hamlets passed by. At the Butchart Gardens we were
again unleashed and I enjoyed just wandering through yet another world renowned
gardens. Although I had heard a bit about the place and seen some pictures I
was not prepared for how three dimensional the setting was. Essentially the
gardens were developed in a worked out mine which had left multiple levels,
steep sided pits and isolated stacks where the desired rock had been mined out
and that not wanted left untouched. The gardens had a chequered life of
development, being treasured, being abandoned as no-one seemed interested, then
rediscovered and lovingly restored to its current grandeur, and grand it is.
That was where I had an all too brief minute or two watching a humming bird
drinking nectar from some flowers right next to me. I still find it
extraordinary that hummingbirds get that far north and even visit Alaska in the
summer months. A chat with two Americans from southern California about the
humming birds that visit their garden, and comparing notes on what had bought
each of us to that place and it was back on the coach, ship and coach. By then
the Australian and I had got to know each other better, especially about the
types of trips we were on and perceptions of Canada, he also helped me get my
phone working more efficiently, I quickly noted that for my next upgrade I need
to ensure I get a good core memory, and by the time we got back to downtown
Vancouver we both felt a bit regretful at parting.
My time in Canada was
slipping away way too fast despite trying hard to live in the moment, maybe it
was brought on by feeling the longer I stayed there the longer I wanted to
stay. But my feet wanted other things, like no longer to be walking a lot each
day, and there was one day that really rammed home that message. I had decided
to walk down towards Stanley Park getting a feel for that more quietly
residential part of town before walking into Stanley Park itself. On a previous
walk to that area I had come across a small and intense strip of a community
garden and spoken to the lady there who was tending and watering it. While we
had chatted about how it was set up and tended, each active member had their
own small patch with their own selection of plants, but no fruit or veg allowed
and in State plants encouraged, I saw something small and dark dart across the
narrow path we were standing on and between her feet. I mentioned it to her and
she said it likely was a Henderson’s vole. Now that may not mean much to most
of you but my wife’s maiden name was Henderson, so a little enjoyable link to
back home. On that day I had gone on further to walk alongside a lake, the Lost
Lagoon, in the park and seen a rich selection of the wildlife of the area,
another unexpected bonus. But this subsequent day I walked on towards the
Aquarium that is deep in the Park intending to visit it. Finding a queue to get
to the ticket office, people getting enraged trying to use the remote ticket
machines, and what I thought was a high entry price, it also being a
beautifully sunny and fresh day, I decided I would prefer to be outside
enjoying the day, so walked on along a path that headed off into the densely
wooded surroundings. One of my quiet pleasures is being amongst trees and so it
was good to walk through them and pause occasional at significant ones like
some Giant Redwoods, one of my favourites. I emerged by a low key sports area
and then onto the road that skirts the park and follows the shore line. Looking
out across, what I now knew was an inlet, to the opposite shore I decided to go
down to the sandy beach and take it easy for a bit, finding a long washed up
log to sit on. Then, inspired by Jim’s previous challenge, took my shoes and
socks off and let my feet enjoy the warm dry sand. Sometime later I knew I
needed to move on, walked along the beach as far as I could, mounted steps up
the path above, and started following the shoreline back towards town. The
thing was, as anyone from Vancouver could have told me, that route is a
meandering one that seems and feels like it goes on forever twisting this way
and that but feeling like you not getting any closer to the visible downtown
waterfront and towers behind. Eventually, and very sore feet later, I did arrive
on familiar ground, sat down and relaxed before sorting myself out at the hotel
and going back out for yet another delicious evening meal. By contrast, and
just to show the wide variety and scope of experiences I was having on the this
Canadian adventure, just round the corner from my hotel, was a small museum
illustrating the domestic world of a pioneer Vancouver family of the early 20th
century, showing their domestic world. It has been returned to its prime and the
fascinating detail of its original inhabitants. The Roedde House Museum had
been recommended to me by Joan during our chats on our marathon train
adventure, and it was as enjoyable as she had suggested especially as I was
lucky enough to get a one to one guided tour. I have to admit that volunteering
at Milton Keynes Museum, and talking about the Victorian characteristics of the
main house and its contents, has softened me up for such subjects, hence why I
had risen to the challenge of talking to the young Queen Victoria in Victoria.
By the way, as I said before, Queen Victoria is a bigger character to Canadians
than us because she is seen as responsible for starting the process of them
gaining their independence hence, as well as them having a Canada day on the 1st
July they also observe a public holiday on Victoria Day. Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday
celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria's
birthday. It is the Monday between the 18th to the 24th inclusive, and thus is
always the penultimate Monday of May. Now there is a intricate bit of knowledge
I never expected to stumble over.
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