This time, I flew into Vancouver from Whitehorse. I stayed at the HI hostel on Jericho Beach. The hostel is really cool. It's in an old building and it has a lot of character, sprawling lawns, and is right beside the beach. It's a seasonal hostel and had only been open for a few days before I arrived so it was not busy at all. There were 3 people in my 14 person dorm. The weather was so perfect. The most perfect weather ever, really, after spending extended winter months in the Yukon. I sat on the beach a lot. I wandered around the city. I visited with Crystal and Geoff. It was a quick visit because Crystal was already a few days overdue with their little one, but we caught a few exciting hockey games (sadly Vancouver lost out of the playoffs) and had some lovely dinners.
The day I took the ferry across to the Island, I realized I had lost my camera. I was on the bus that was going to take me to the ferry and into Victoria when I noticed. This entire trip takes about four hours. When I realized I had forgotten it, I got off the bus, packed my gear into a locker, went back to the hostel and searched all over the place. I told the guy at the front desk all about my situation. He knew me because I had spent time chatting with him about the playoffs. I went back to the bus and took the ferry across. Three days later he e-mailed me to tell me that my camera had turned up. I have no idea where it was found, or who found it, but I was really happy. Thanks Jericho HI, however that happened, you're the best.
All of these photos were taken by Leah and Jill. My camera was mailed back to my parent's house.
Leah and her housemate picked me up at the busstop in his truck (thank goodness because I had 100 lbs of gear from work in the north. She didn't believe me because she thought I was exaggerating the weight) and was going to pick me up on her bike. That would not have worked.
We spent days at the beach, neat little cafes, ran into one of my MSc committee members in a fancy little grocery store (he was quite surprised to see me in such a trendy part of town ;), hosted a picnic for her housemates, and hiked along the shoreline. One night Jill and her wwoofer, Malte, came into town and we all went out downtown. Being back in civilization was great. There was ice cream and flowers and cool little shops.
On the shore in Victoria.
Right where I was sitting, we found this bright purple seastar. I thought it was a sea cucumber, but it just had its arms folded in. Cucumbers generally aren't this brightly coloured because they need to hide from their predators.
Later that week, I took the city bus out to Metchosin to meet Jill. I spent a week at her family's ranch. This was the place I started my travels the previous August. Jill was working at the local market farm so I spent the days in her garden with Malte, jogging along the Galloping Goose Trail, and knitting my wool from Whitehorse.
One day, Jill, Malte, Bella the pup, and I went hiking along the Jaun de Fuca Marine Trail. Even though it rained most of the day, we had a fantastic time.
Me in the bright blue, Malte, and Bella
Some of the smooth rock formations on the shore. The colours were amazing. You could see the historical tide lines and since tide was low, we could walk right into these caves.
Bella and I exploring a cave full of drift wood, polished stones, and big tube seaweed.
Kettles worn out of the rock on the shoreline.
Bella having a great day by the tide pools.
One more of the slippery, smooth rocks covered with seaweed.
Leah and some friends came out the last night I was visiting to celebrate Jill's birthday! We had a delicious dinner and Leah made a little carrot cake complete with pink Jill sprinkles.
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