Sunday, July 11, 2010

7-9-10

CROSSING THE BORDER

O CANADA


HOSTEL


We left Olympia this morning and headed to Port Angeles to board the Black Ball Ferry that would take us to Vancouver Island. There is only one problem with crossing from the US to Canada via ship, and that is we cannot take a picture with us in front of a "welcome" sign. The ferry landed in the Victoria Port, which is in the Canadian provence of British Columbia. We will likely stay on this large island (290 miles long, 50 miles wide) for a bit over a week, and depending on how things shake out, we will then return to the States.

Somehow, walking around the streets here feels distinctly different than walking around in an American city. Even though we are merely miles from Seattle, it has a different vibe. This city seems more European than American. We haven't put our fingers on why we are getting this initial vibe, but maybe after a few days here we'll be able to pinpoint it.

We're staying at a hostel for two nights in downtown Victoria, and after settling in, we went out to dinner at Re-Bar, a vegetarian restaurant (they also served fish) that sources as many organic ingredients from on the island as possible. We shared a mango/apple/pineapple/ginger/yogurt smoothie with a quinoa salad, yam quesadillas, olives, and a piece of coconut cream pie. After dinner we walked along the harbor, or should we say "harbour" taking in the sights. Before returning to our room, we went to a pub and watched Sister Speak, a duet that played great covers and a few originals. It was a treat to see some good live music and enjoy a local beer.

1 comment:

  1. Would love to see some more photos of the boat ride... What does the coast line look like up there? Maybe on the way back..?

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