Land. Sea. Land. Sea.
Ferry. Road. Ferry. Road
Fish for lunch. Fish for dinner. Pancakes for breakfast (yes, you can have fish if you really must).
A looping trip west out of Vancouver, British Columbia, means a lot of water and mountains that get in the way. But the Canadians have tamed their pockmarked geography with winding roads, deep tunnels and, most of all, ferries that link the once-isolated villages and big cities.
It’s a fragmented trip. Just when you start rolling along the highway, you come to a stop at a ferry terminal. Just when you are relaxing on the deck of the ship gliding across a strait, it’s time to hustle down to your car and follow the rest of the cargo hold back out onto the pavement.
Like Seattle’s Puget Sound to the south and Alaska’s Inside Passage to the north, Vancouver Island and the optimistically named Sunshine Coast of British Columbia are visited in a hop-skip-jump fashion that turns out to be manageable because you are surrounded by thousands of other people who have done all this a million (or so it seems to them) times.
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Homes on the islands around Vancouver Island can be viewed from the BC Ferries, Spirit of Vancouver Island ferry, as it makes its way from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay terminal. (Leonard Ortiz/Orange County Register/MCT) |
Come along for a roll-on, roll-off trip around the southwestern edge of Canada’s most southwestern province.
- Vancouver airport to Tsawwassen
Distance: 20 miles by car
Quote: “The weather is about the same as in Southern California, except it’s 20 degrees colder and raining really, really hard.” ― Westjet pilot on flight from Orange County, California, to Vancouver.
Along the way: Steveston, once dubbed “Salmonopolis,” has changed from a onetime village with scores of canneries into a Vancouver suburb with a museum about cannery life in the early 20th century. The only thing that has stayed the same is you can eat the famous fish almost anywhere in town.
Good eats: Steveston Seafood House. We hit it on a quiet night when there were few diners. The chef wanted to cook my wild salmon a little too rare. I wanted it cooked through. The final result was a triumph of compromise. Tender and fresh with that meaty feel of nonfarm-raised salmon. A triumphant first meal on my first evening in Canada. 3951 Moncton St., Steveston district of Richmond; 604-271-5252; stevestonseafoodhouse.com
Why Tsawwassen? It’s the ferry terminal for Vancouver Island. Sleeping at a hotel there was cheaper and meant we could catch one of the first departures across the Strait of Georgia the next morning.
- Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay
Distance: 24 miles via ferry
Quote: “The cold, the space and the open seas ― this is what we came to Canada to see.” ― Nina Schopka, a tourist from Munich, Germany, as she cupped a paper mug of coffee to keep her hands warm.
Along the way: Active Pass, between Galiano and Mayne islands. The ferry pivoted, turned and churned a zig-zag course around rocky shoals, deep pockets of blue water and within sight of vacation homes with the maple leaf flag proudly flapping in the breeze. Orcas like the area for its Chinook salmon. We saw a pod of eight breaching and flapping their tails.
Good eats: The Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal has a surprisingly nice food court with excellent coffee, baked goods and fresh fruit. You can eat on the deck of the ferry as it heads to Vancouver Island.
Why Swartz Bay: It’s the main ferry terminal for Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, at the south end of Vancouver Island. It’s a short drive down the peninsula ― stop at Butchart Gardens if you have a couple of hours to spend.
- Swartz Bay to Victoria
Distance: 20 miles by car
Quote: “S-O-C-I-A-L-I-S-M is the only way. S-O-C-I-A-L-I-S-M is here to stay.” ― “Canadian Dream,” song by Sam Roberts heard in downtown Victoria shopping area.
Along the way: The Fairmont Empress Hotel, Victoria. Built in 1908 by the Canadian Pacific Railway as the western crown jewel of its string of transcontinental, castle-like hotels, it’s a grand outpost of colonial-style British tradition in the far west of Canada.
Good eats: High tea, Fairmont Empress Hotel. No import recalls the old country more than that most expensive yet wondrously pretentious experience of “high tea,” a formal riot of pots and silver, scones and jams, finger sandwiches and the extraordinary creation from Devonshire, clotted (like your arteries afterward) cream. Our bill came to $152 for two people, including tip. The price is steep, but having Earl Grey and a plate of cucumber, curry chicken, tuna and salmon sandwiches at 4 p.m. is more than enough for me as both lunch and dinner for the day. 721 Government St.; 866-540-4429; www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria
Why Victoria: The most British bit of British Columbia. It was “discovered” in March 1778 by Capt. James Cook, the British explorer who seemed to have “discovered” every other place between Alaska and Kauai. One of Cook’s senior officers was William Bligh, he of the future HMS Bounty mutiny. Within a year, Cook would be killed in Hawaii, his head cracked open in a fight with natives over a small boat.
- Victoria to Courtenay
Distance: 147 miles by car
Quote: “The British who came west loved British Columbia. They made it more British than Britain.” ― George del Falco, who moved to British Columbia 39 years ago from Ontario in eastern Canada.
Along the way: Paradise Fun Park in Parksville has two “world class” 18-hole miniature golf courses. The easier one is called Surf n’ Turf, but I manned up and went for the tougher Treasure Island, built around the three-masted S.N. Sinkaputt. Around the hills, down the slopes, past the cuckoo clock and the sign noting it is 4,773 miles to London, I battled bank shots, chutes, clanking drawbridges and windmills. Result: Eight over par. A round will cost you $7.50 Canadian. 375 W. Island Highway; 250-248-6612; paradisefunpark.net
Good eats: Atlas Cafe, Courtenay. An eclectic mix of Canadian, Japanese, Greek, Mexican and anything else the chefs set their minds to. You can start out with hummus, continue with togarashi tuna salad and then have the sockeye salmon burger. The approach is more whimsical than pretentious, so expect to share the room with local families and serious foodies out for a romantic night. 224 Sixth St.; 250-338-9838; atlascafe.ca
Why Courtenay: It’s the nearest major town to the ferry port at Comox. Since it wasn’t ski season and the hordes weren’t heading up to nearby Mount Washington, the plentiful supply of motel rooms made for a cheap night after the high life at the Empress. And it’s a great place to see streaking Canadian jet fighters over the waterfront from the big base just to the north.
By Gary A. Warner
(The Orange County Register)
(MCT Information Services)
