Away with the Ferries

NOTE: This post contains slideshows and if you are reading it on your phone, it is best viewed direct from the SITE, rather than in the READER.

All photos taken on July 20, 2021.

On our way to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, we paused briefly at the nearby shopping center to ensure we would arrive within the required time parameters. In the end, we arrived at the ferry check-in booth one minute after 1:00 PM. No check-in issues and they took our money just fine. We pulled into lane 41 to await boarding. Ferries came and ferries went until 1:45 when we were told to get ready to board.

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We were soon on board and safely parked in the left outside row. OK, so we were going to be last off. What was our rush? As soon as the adjacent rows were parked, we masked up and braved the stairs to get to the upper decks for the sailing.

Lines were dropped and the ferry maneuvered back and forth, before sailing free of the landing platform. The ship’s horn sounded and we were off. What do you think of the photo bomber in the third shot? Meanwhile, a Great Blue Heron stood on guard on the dock pilings.

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As the props sped up and the ferry gathered speed, gulls swooped and whirled alongside, looking for whatever food was churned up in the ferry’s wake. We passed freighters and other ferries, before hitting the Strait of Georgia.

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We were soon in between the South Gulf Islands, headed for Active Pass. My tour companions scanned the horizon for sea life from the rail.

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Island communities and grand cottages floated by at a leisurely pace.

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In Active Pass, we passed a succession of ferries coming and going. Horns were sounded long and loud, always preceded by a PA announcement. We still jumped.

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Sailboats, pleasure boats and work boats flittered about and all was right in the world.

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Lighthouse on an island as we exit Active Pass

Almost there.

On shore at last, we drove the 30 minutes into Victoria and checked into our hotel, where we would spend the next 4 nights. Happily, they still had some Covid protocols in place, including masks for staff, restrictions for elevator use by people in the same bubble, and no room service until the room was turned over.

After a tortuous tour through a nearby shopping center parking lot maze, we found take out supper and headed over to Fada’s (nickname for my wife’s Irish father – it is a right slanted accent mark over a vowel in Irish Gaelic). Supper and visiting occurred as we caught each other up.

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