Salt Spring Island (also Saltspring Island)– Galiano Island – British Columbia Gulf Islands – Canada

Get to the Gulf Islands by inter-island ferry (the ferry from Seattle to Victoria is passenger only, but you can take a car on the ferry from Anacortes, WA, just an hour’s drive from Seattle). You can also take your car (and bikes) on the inter-island ferries for a small fee. If you plan to bike the islands however, one critical thing you must know is that the Canadians do not know the meaning of the word “flat”.

Side note about international traveling and interpretation challenges: Once, a long time ago, your Desto3 team was in Mexico. The topic of “procrastination” came up along with the attendant frustration that U.S. and Canadian folks generally experience when their Mexican neighbors tell them that something will get done “mañana” and of course, it rarely gets done the following day. Our host, a guy who knew a guy who knew El Presidente told us that the president of Mexico explains to non-Mexicans that the misunderstanding about “tomorrow” is one of misinterpretation. U.S. citizens and Canadians translate “mañana” to mean “tomorrow”. What it actually means is “not today”.

We think the Canadians have a similar language, (shall we say), “looseness”? with the word “flat”. In Canada when they tell you that a bike ride is “flat”, what they really mean is, “the steepest climb will be no more than 14%”. I’m not kidding. You may think you are relatively fit. Just be mindful that even a short climb at 14% will tucker you out. And, if you are riding a rental bike with a racing seat, bear in mind that such an incline for any appreciable distance is not friendly on the lady parts down south, if you get my drift. This may be TMI but, be forewarned and adjust your wardrobe and/or request a gel seat. (Your cooch will thank you.) #learnedthehardway

Saltspring is the largest of the Gulf Islands and the most populous at just over 10k inhabitants, (most of them artists and/or celebrities). The posh people don’t arrive and depart via ferry with the plebes; they fly on the never-ending parade of seaplanes in and out of Ganges. From Desto’s ocean-front digs at the Hastings House a little bit out of the main town, we could watch the planes land and take off almost every 20 minutes all day long. Lots of coming and going on Saltspring among the swell set.

Other than people-watch and envy the wealthy, I’m not sure what normal people (read non-bikers) do on tiny islands like this. We observed a few people carrying golf clubs so there must be a course around. (You’re on your own to check that out. Don’t drag your sticks there until you do. I probably don’t have to tell you that, do I?) On Galiano there’s a kayak rental outfit but you will be in open ocean waters so bring shark repellent (that’s a joke). (I think.)

A gazillion or so art galleries exist in the proper towns and also sprinkled about on both Salt Spring Island and Galiano, but we seemed to be the only “customers” whenever we stopped to look. How they pay the rent is a mystery, or perhaps they are all trust fund baby artists and the last thing they worry their pretty heads about is filthy money. A few of these galleries were actually unattended and you had to summon somebody from afar to accept payment of whatever chotchke you wanted to buy.

The populace in general seemed pretty laid back giving some credence to the persistent rumors about great local (although still illegal) pot farming on the Gulf Islands. Your Desto team did not get approached by anyone asking if we wanted to buy some mary-juana, but I guess we have to face the unseemly reality that it has been a while since we fit the demographic for illicit drug use and nowadays the kind of drugs we take are all covered under Medicare Part D anyway. Still, rumor has it the local herb is spectacular if you believe the “kids” in food service jobs.  We always do. They know everything.

Canada looms above the United States with more land mass (slightly, even adjusting for bodies of water) but with only one tenth the number of people to inhabit it. Canada around 36 million plus a skosh, and the U.S. at over 324 million*.

*(Geopolitical note: these figures may change abruptly, even reverse depending on the US election results come November as many Americans threaten to leave the US in the highly unlikely event that Donald Trump wins the presidency. I think to date at least seven (7) people have threatened to move out when Hillary moves into the White House. (Bye, Felicia!)

Setting politics aside for a moment let’s talk about Victoria, British Columbia. Wow, what a city! Visitors to Victoria cannot be faulted for imagining that most of the 36 million Canadians are visiting downtown Victoria on any given summer day. Canadians don’t have Hawaii but they do have Vancouver Island (where Victoria lives) and sometimes they even call it, “the Maui of Canada”.

Currently – perhaps the decline in the Canadian dollar is to blame – the Canadians are spending their tourist dollars locally and thus, the hoards had descended upon their glorious version of tropical paradise just in time for Desto’s visit. We didn’t exactly see the Hawaii comparison. Desto found it more like the little town of La Jolla north of San Diego. La Jolla in Spanish means “The Jewell” and much like Victoria, it is bustling with tourism and pretty over-crowded any place you think you should see. Both cities have attracted a full time population of retirees or pensioners for a similar reason – a relatively good climate with no pesky snow to shovel.

It was our observation that the geezers are sequestered someplace safe in Victoria, as they are in La Jolla. Even though the census figures report lots of them, they aren’t cruising the nightlife. In fact, because both cities are close to a number of colleges and Universities there’s a disproportionate number of young people out and about. If it wasn’t for the ubiquitous bumper stickers in La Jolla claiming, “LA JOLLA, home to old people and their parents”, and the casual nickname for Victoria, “Victoria, home of newly weds and nearly deads”, you COULD think both cities were almost diverse (age wise anyway – both of these cities are painfully not diverse culturally or racially). We think Victoria must hide their oldies, too. We didn’t see one walker in 4 days total. Truthfully, the only old people we saw were, like us, on bicycles, so maybe the city screens for “fit” citizens, no matter their age.

Speaking of fitness, lots and lots of people bike there. The whole of the island is bike friendly and getting even more so by the day. And biking was why we went. We met up with some locals (two young couples from a previous bike trip in Normandy/Brittany last fall – Hi, Tom, Lu, Nancy and Alex!) We had three grand rides in just three days, most of it on car free bike paths.

Eating was our #2 priority and we did plenty of that. (See trip notes for recs.)

We didn’t “do” the Butchart Gardens. We just didn’t. Sue us. (You’ve seen one spectacular city garden, you’ve seen them all.)

One day we spent a better portion of the afternoon watching (with a few hundred other bystanders) the greater Victoria B.C. Fire Department liberate a scared raccoon from a treetop in the city center of downtown Victoria. No fewer than a dozen buff fire personnel and a full-length hook and ladder were employed in this endeavor. It was a lot more entertaining than you might think. Really.

A tiny note of trivia, maybe true, maybe apocryphal, Vancouver Island has no sewage treatment plant. None. Of any kind. They just release their sewage into the ocean like a third world country. Think about that while you chew on your very delicious oysters from the many oyster bar options.

Next edition: the Gulf Islands. Stay tuned.