Being on the tip of the island there is a stunning coastline to walk and explore.
Boats can head out to sea to look for marine life.
There are an abundance of hiking and biking trails to keep fit.
There is just so much to love about Vancouver Island.
Canada's last floating Post Office, in Kildonan, is on its route.
The last stop is Bamfield, a small isolated village on Vancouver Island’s rugged west coast.
It is about a 15 minute walk from
downtown.
Fisherman’s Wharf began as part of Victoria’s commercial
fishing harbour where fishing boats brought in salmon, halibut and crab
from local waters.
In the 1990s the city redeveloped the docks into a public waterfront space.
Enroute we sailed through Discovery Passage.
Because of it's deep channel, massive tides surge through a narrow space creating strong currents that can reach 15km/hr (9mi/hr).
The fast-moving waters are constantly bringing nutrients from the ocean floor up toward the surface, creating an exceptionally rich food chain that supports an abundance of marine life.
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I knew this time of year the grizzly bears are
feasting to get ready for their winter hibernation.
I also knew this was the time of year when the salmon return
to their spawning grounds
I figured hungry bears would be more interested in gorging
themselves on salmon than on curious people.
I have to admit, sometimes I have really good ideas. And
sometimes I have fantastic ideas!
This fell into the latter category.
Purely for educational purposes. Obviously.
Turns out that vineyards on Vancouver Island have been
producing wine since the 1970’s.
There are now over 30 wineries, most of them small,
family-run estates.
The majority of the vineyards are located in the Cowichan Valley, just over an hour north of Victoria.
Victoria was first settled by Europeans in 1843 when the Hudson’s
Bay Company established Fort Victoria as a trading post.
It quickly grew into a key port and became the capital of British Columbia in 1868.
The inner harbour in the city’s centre is always active with boats, ferries, water taxis and planes.
Our flight out gave us a beautiful morning sunrise to send us off to our next stop.
In Victoria, on Vancouver Island, the tradition is to take a plunge on New Year's Day in one of the many beaches in Victoria.
Some people consider it an invigorating start to the new year.
The mild weather is conducive for blooms and beautiful landscaping all year.
Butchart Gardens, just outside Victoria, is a gardeners dream year round.
At Christmas the Gardens take on a whole different atmosphere lit up with lights and the festive Christmas spirit.
It rarely snows and the rest of Canada jokes that it is Canada's Banana Belt.
Because it has such mild (Canadian) winters it is the home for many Canadian retirees.
That puts it on the list of possible locations for John and me when we decide we want to "Adult It" again.
So we figured since we were in Canada in November/December, why not check out Victoria in the winter.
We woke up one morning and had to ask ourselves "What happened!?!?!?!"
It is on our radar as a place to possibly settle down if/when we decide to be stable adults again.
