An invite to attend our daughter’s graduation ceremony in Vancouver this summer could not be better timed to escape the scorching heat of Delhi. In the wee hours of a Saturday, we flew from Delhi to Shanghai and after a brief stopover, a trans-Pacific haul brought us to Vancouver in about 19 hours. We had gained nearly 12 and a half hours but our jet lag was minimal for the quickest possible connection.
Queen Victoria championed the formation of the Canadian Confederation by integrating all its provinces under one rule. In fact, today’s federal Canada took its shape from her vision and concurrent actions. The British queen is held in high esteem in Canada and the her birthday is observed as Victoria Day on the Monday before May 25 making it a long weekend. We had arrived on the Saturday before Victoria Day and set out for Victoria, the beautiful capital of British Columbia early on Sunday morning.
On our way
To the west of Vancouver city, lies the great Vancouver Island and Swartz Bay port on the South-East end of the island is connected to mainland Canada by ferry. Victoria is located at the southernmost tip of the island. A short bus journey followed by a ride in Vancouver’s SkyTrain (unmanned metro) brought us Bridgeport Station. We reached Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, an hour later, by a two-coach vestibule bus. The hourly ferry service run by BC Ferries between Tsawwassen jetty to Swartz Bay serves as the arterial connection between mainland and Vancouver Island.
Hordes of holiday revellers thronged the ferry...all of them were headed to Victoria for the weekend. The ferry interiors were plush with very comfortable seats next to large glass windows overlooking the open decks bustling with ‘selfie’ shooters. As the ship had sailed off, we queued up at the cafeteria and enjoyed a hearty breakfast of juice, toast, scrambled eggs, sausages, eggs Benedict and coffee.
The one and a half hour journey to Vancouver Island got over rather quickly. We had crossed many small islands, sailed through narrow channels between mountain ranges and watched with awe snow-capped Olympic Mountains in the neighbouring Washington state of US. We spotted many large ferries and sail boats and a flock of cacophonous seagulls kept us company.
We left for Victoria, located about 32 km away from Swartz Bay, by a double-decker bus. The beauty of Vancouver Island soon unfolded before us. The hills gleaming in the early summer sun, snow-spangled peaks at a distance, pristine lakes, lush green forests and meadows. Our bus meandered through small towns with beautiful neighbourhoods, picturesque houses on the seafront, schools, shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs and finally brought us to downtown Victoria.
Our stay at Albion Manor, built in 1892 AD and certified as a heritage B&B facility was bliss. It had a great display of artefacts, curios and masks made of metal, ceramic and stones from all over the world in the common areas. The property had a well-manicured garden with a small fountain where guests could relax amidst nature.
We went back downtown for a date with the legislative assembly of British Columbia. The majestic edifice, built in 1898 and styled on French Baroque architecture, was smack at the city’s centre with a very wide open vista in front. We enjoyed many bands playing at its entrance for celebrating the Victoria Day. A young student from the University of Victoria interning at the assembly took us around innards of the complex while explaining the history of British Columbia, its electoral process and showed us the main assembly hall. The building is enhanced by stained glass windows, wide stairways and high domes. We spotted the statue of Queen Victoria seated on the royal throne at the open space in front. Nearby stood a sombre war memorial dedicated to the Canadian soldiers killed in the two World Wars, the Korean and recent Afghanistan wars.
We joined the stream of tourists gravitating to the waterfront of Victoria with many yachts, sailboats and seaplanes all jostling for space and dotted with many restaurants promising the freshest catches of seafood. The promenade hemming the waterfront turned into a makeshift exhibition with local artists displaying their paintings and crafts, magicians showing off their sleight of hand, someone riding a high monocycle...
Gustatory delights
We walked around the waterfront and had our fill of the ubiquitous fish and chips, clam chowder soup and fried calamari accompanied by draft beer watching the seaplanes landing and taking off for a sortie around the islands.
The next day after a filling breakfast at Albion Manor with orange juice, blue berry pancake, fruits, sausages and coffee, we set out for Craigdarroch Castle. Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish fortune seeker had migrated to Vancouver Island in mid-19th century to work in a coal mine near Nanaimo. He went on to own a coal mine and amassed a lot of wealth. Craigdarroch Castle, built by Dunsmuir during 1887-1890 AD was a flagrant display of opulence so typical of North American rich of that era. Standing tall with its turrets, towers and 39 well-appointed rooms in a 25,000 sq ft area, the castle is a exhibition of antiquated elegance. Parts of the castle are made of wood from oak, maple and cherry and the furniture is crafted from walnut, red cedar and rosewood. Living rooms, banquets and private dining options of the family members were replete with rare paintings and artefacts sourced from all over the world.
On our way back, we boarded the ferry, Coastal Celebration leaving at 8 pm and headed to the restaurant for an indulgent dinner buffet. We returned home with aching feet and hearts filled with Victorian exotica...
