And so I did..
The first hour there was already a choice to be made: we could stay in Vancouver or get the last ferry to Vancouver Island. We didnt really have time to hesitate and decided to go to Vancouver Island immediately. The ferrytrip was just wonderful and so beautiful. It's so weird just being out of the airplane and into nature again. Magic life.
Salt Spring Island
The next day we took the ferry from Vancouver Island to Salt Spring Island. We were invited by John and Eleanor (his daughter) to stay at their house for some days. They are friends of D'Arcy's parents. The moment we arrived i was so amazed by this lovely house, with its marvellous view over the ocean. It was just amazing. A brilliant place to get over my jetlag and to make plans for the rest of the trip. John and Eleanor were very happy to have us around and were very kind to make me feel very at home.
To make it all complete D'Arcy brought his mountainbikes with him and so we had bikes to get around the island. Very relaxing and a very good way of experiencing this beautful little island. John also showed us around the island and told a lot about environmental issues, since he is working in environmental business of some sort. Also he took us to the local weekly pizza-eating-party. I was surrounded by all the inhabitants of Salt Spring Island (known as hippies). On the last day of our stay we borrowed John's canoes and made a canoe-trip to another, much smaller, island. We only had to be careful to not get hit by the ferry, John said. Good advice!
Long Beach
We said goodbye to John and Eleanor and headed towards Long Beach (Pacific Rim NP), near Tofino, across the island. It was one of the most beautiful roads i have ever driven on. Vancouver Island is really beautiful. So green, so much water and i love those mountains. We stayed at a campground near Long Beach. These two nights were absolutely fantastic. Long Beach was on walking distance and we walked along the beach for some time, almost no other people around. I felt so great standing there towards the ocean, with my arms spread wide. I screamed away all of my worries of that last year. Wild ocean, wild wind, wild beach, wild life, love it!
We visited Tofino, where i made the mistake by saying: how big are those chinese people here, while pointing at some people (not being offensive). They appeared to be native american people. It was my first time to see some native american people and in a way felt very sorry for them. I am much interested in them and was intrigued by the art i saw in a Tofino Gallery (and also by their art anywhere else in Canada, mainly in British Columbia).
We had to decide about making a whale-watching trip and in the end decided not to go on one, because it disturbs the whales too much and besides that we had had a good night with a small BBQ, lots of wine and a romantic campfire..we just had troubles hearing the alarmclock in the morning. :)
Ladysmith/Nanaimo
After Long Beach we went back in the direction Ladysmith. It was there where we met Brenna, a girl D'Arcy and I both met in Barcelona as well. She took us to the local pub, together with all of her friends. It was great and almost like being in an american movie: all those girls chatting about their hair and so. I felt completely underdressed in my ' travelsuit'. That night was promsnight, where all the highschool graduates drove around in limousines in their nicest dress or suit. It was great to see. After the local pub, local beer and local pooltable, we went to a danceclub in Nanaimo. I loved the cartrip to Nanaimo most: speeding with two cars and all those crazy hysterical ladies around me!
Victoria
After saying goodbye to Brenna, it was time to go to Victoria, for a visit to D'Arcy's grandmother. She is a very lovely old lady and we stayed 2,5 days with her. Victoria is a lovely, british-looking city. We visited some museum and walked around a fair bit. Also it was great to have our own bikes to explore a bit of the suburban area his grandmother lives in, including a big hill with a beautiful view over Victoria, the ocean and even the USA.
Time had come to say goodbye to amazing Vancouver Island.
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