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Unforgettable trip to Victoria, B.C.
This past weekend, I took my wife to Victoria, Vancouver Island as she had never been there even though she has now lived in B.C for about 1 1/2 years.
I left work a bit earlier on Friday (this is the advantage of being on the West Coast. You can leave work at 2 or 3 p.m. and it doesn’t really matter as the East Coast has already gone home). Luck was with us as we just made the ferry at 2:00 p.m. to Swartz Bay. What an amazing ferry ride over. Blue sky and calm seas as far as you could see. I was a bit disappointed, as I had hoped to see some Orcas… We did however see some seals playing while the ferry navigated between the Islands.
Saturday morning was spent strolling around downtown Victoria. What a beautiful city with such British flair. During breakfast we decided to join a Whale Watching tour as I have always hoped to see Orcas in the wild. We left Victoria harbour at 3.15 p.m. on a ship that was fully packed! Before departing they took a head count of 74 people! Wow! I immediately started running the numbers, …. holy cow.
74 people X 95.00 CAD$ (tax excl.) per person = 7,030 CAD$.
3 fully booked tours a day 7,030 CAD$ * 3 = 21,090 CAD$
… nice business.
We were hitting the waves for more than 1 1/2 hours before we slowed down. Our guide had spotted some Orcas. Actually a pod of Orcas, approx 15 whales. Our guide switched off the engines as the Orcas were swimming directly towards us. I was speechless. What amazing mammals! They swam as close as 15 m. passed us. We got some really nice shots.
I remember visiting Sea World in Florida as a kid. It’s one thing seeing an Orca in a tank and quite another seeing them in the wild. What an unforgettable experience, it was worth every single penny. After hanging out with the whales, we headed back to the Victoria harbour. It was already getting late and the temperatures had dropped quite a bit. We grabbed ourselves hot chocolates and listened to some wild stories the captain had to tell. We had so much fun standing on upper level while the others huddled downstairs for warmth. On the way back the waves started picking up and the boat started hitting the waves pretty heavily. I was a bit concerned for my wife, but she was having a blast, thoroughly enjoying herself and laughed every single time we hit a wave!
We finally got back to the harbour around 7.30 p.m. and both of us were frozen, but happy! A quick hot dinner, a stop at the liquor store for a bottle of Merlot and off to the hotel. We hardly finished 1/2 a glass of wine when both of us passed out. We must have had spent the last of our energy staying warm on the boat.
Anyone who visits Vancouver should stay a few days longer and take the time to visit Victoria.
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