Victoria Breakwater
It can be cold. And wet. And windy. It’s a half mile each way, and it’s a great place to think. Walking the breakwater in Victoria is a calling for many. There are no railings, no benches, no protection from the elements. It’s a cement sidewalk to nowhere with a bright red lighthouse at the end. Fisherman love it. Couples stroll it. Birds drop in to lunch on their latest catch. Walking the breakwater is therapeutic, calming, and soul inspiring.
Breakwater juju. Get some.
jojo, February 3rd 2010
Ganges Harbour, Salt Spring Island
It was our final day in Ganges on Salt Spring Island. It wasn’t raining (much), and the sun was shining sporadically. We decided to go ‘downtown’ for a final look around before heading out to find the goat’s cheese cheesery on our way to the ferry.
Kate headed to an art gallery, and I decided to take advantage of the appearance of the sun to take a walk around the harbour. (Small harbour. Quick walk.) This little dock caught my eye … the dry docked boat bottom, the cooler, the crooked hanger (for what, I wonder?). All waiting for human hearts and hands to return.
Catching up with Kate at the gallery, we chat a bit with the owners before saying so long and finding more galleries to wander through. (There are no shortages of creative artists and friendly faces on Salt Spring!) And when our latte cravings got to the point where they could no longer be ignored, we stopped for a delicious coffee and lunch at Auntie Pesto’s cafe. (Home made soup with a roasted veggies and goat’s cheese sandwich. Yum!)
But it is January, and I am in Edmonton, where the bitter, dry cold melts my eyes as I trudge to the LRT station through a foot of snowmuck. I jostle my way onto the train, claim a seat, and close my eyes. I think about Salt Spring … the bright, bright green of the ferns in the rainforest, the valleys and hillsides wreathed in mists, tall masts of boats in the harbour, happy, fat goats and sheep at the cheesery … and I smile, secure in knowing the magic isle is there, and that it waits for my return.
jojo, January 29th 2010
Sunrise on Rathtrevor Beach, Nanaimo
It’s just after 6am on the first morning of my Vancouver Island getaway. I wake early, but with the one hour time change I realize it’s not that early after all. In the next room I hear Kate … she throws back the covers, leaps out of bed, and greets me with “Want to go down to the beach and watch the sun rise?”
“Absolutely!” I grin, remembering the many ocean view sunrises we enjoyed in Mexico. (Like clockwork, we woke at 6am. With or without the rooster.)
We quickly dress and pull on our fashionably stylish rubber boots. Grabbing coats and hats and camera, we hurry to the car in the pre-dawn gray. (Fortunately we played the game of ‘let’s-find-the beach’ the night before, and knew exactly how to get there.)
The tide was fully in. It was nipply cold, and we were exhilarated. We found another photo enthusiast equipped with Nikon and tripod, waiting for that magic moment. We chatted, and soon had made a new friend. Island people are lovely.
Right on cue, the clouds graciously drifted apart as the sun peeked over the horizon. It was breathtakingly beautiful. “This is my backyard,” Kate says, with a smile that wraps right around her. “Does it get any better than this?”
jojo, January 27th 2010
