Off with the ferries – Galiano Island Part 1

We’ll get there fast then we’ll take it slow – Beach Boys

I love ferries and reckon it would be great to have one at the bottom of the garden. Except, that’s not very likely when we live inland and far from any waterways.

We’ve just arrived at Galiano Island. It’s one of those pretty little gulf islands you cruise by on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria. You know the kind – pine forests flowing down from the hilly peaks onto the rocky shores. Houses and cabins dotted around quiet coves. If you’re like us, every time you pass you wonder about those houses – who lives there? what do they do?

So, here we are on Galiano. We’ve taken the afternoon ferry from Tsawwassen terminal – no, not the big terminal, that’s reserved for passengers heading to important places like Nanaimo – foot passengers to the Gulf Islands are directed down the service road to a remote berth with a teensy building that looks like a bus shelter. But, that’s ok, we’re off on an adventure!

The website for our swanky hotel says it’s “easy walking distance” from the ferry landing. As we disembark, I look at our “shared” suitcase and the various other bits and pieces that are apparently essential for a three-night stay. I look at the steep hill we must ascend and descend to get to our lodgings. It’s hot. Nanette and I look at each other. “This feels like the time we arrived in …..” “Yeah, and that time we couldn’t find our hotel in …. Do you remember how hot it was that day?” And, we both realise that it’s these shared experiences that you remember best – the hill, the heat – not quite knowing where you’re going.

…. It’s now 6:00 PM. We’ve already checked out pretty well all of Sturdies Bay (not much of a feat really – the place is so small it only gets three lines in Wikipedia). Here’s our observations so far:

You really can see the ocean (and nearby Mayne Island from every room at the Galiano Inn. And, there really are hummingbirds in the gardens
The only guy who sells car rental insurance on the island (more about that tomorrow) nominally closes his office at 4:30, but is nowhere in sight when we finally find his little hidden office at 4:15
The little bookshop looks really interesting – if you’re a book person
Watching the ferries come and go at the dock and through the channel is actually pretty cool – don’t listen to that guy who wrote the negative Trip Advisor review
It’s an island. Most things work, most of the time. So, the pizza oven at the hotel broke last week, and the bakery is out of English Breakfast tea – it happens.
But, there’s always that random chance – like asking the guy at the Gas Station/Liquor Store/Convenience Store whether he had any SD card readers – him – blank look – me – “Hey, I think that’s one over there – no, not that – no, that green thing hanging on the wall behind you – no, the other green thing, the one with three inches of caked on dust.” – him – “Well I’ll be, I forgot I had that!”

Anyways, like I said, it’s 6:00 PM and we have to leg it to the diner where we bought ice-creams this afternoon. They shut the grill at 6:30 and close the whole place at 7:00, but our new friend/waitress/aspiring author, Shauna (not her real name), has assured us that the food is really good. So, four-minute walk back up the hill to the diner, feast on fish and chips, then stroll back and sit in the garden near the beach to watch the hummingbirds and the passing ferries.

Sounds good to me.