Via Whistler (which was as nice as a ski resort can be off-season) we went to Vancouver Island. Our first stop was in Victoria, the main city of the island as well as the capital of British Columbia (BC). No clue why they choose a capital, which can only be reached by boat or plane and is on ground which is completely owned by the first nations people.
It is a charming, smaller city where we even found a Tibetan place to eat momos. The area is known for its wildlife, namely whales. Since our first whale watching during the transatlantic crossing we looked forward to see more. Therefore one of the first things we did in Victoria was a whale watching tour (one with guaranteed spotting). It was one of the coolest things you can do. They have special boats made for those tours, kind of comfortable hoover crafts. You practically fly through the stunning nature. We were really lucky and found a huge wandering orca family. Impressing to see 20+ orcas passing and playing.
Later that night we went on a ghost walk. Apparently Victoria is full of ghosts as it combines several energy locking elements. It was an interesting and scary tour and I do not recommend going alone on the tour!
We continued our journey and drove to Tofino. Next to being a sleepy, laid-back surfer town, it is also a culinary highlight. Finally we found delicious food in Canada and at the same time we discovered the greatness of food trucks. Tacofino turned out to be a synonym for food haven. Burritos and tacos like never eaten before- yeahhh. We did not only eat in Tofino, we went also on a kayak tour and another to the nearby hot springs.
Since it was Thanksgiving weekend (American and Canadian are 1.5 month apart) we had to join the 7.30am tour. It was so worth to wake up that early. We were the first boat cruising between the islands during sunrise. Another great benefit of the hot springs tour is that you do not only drive to the hot springs; you do at the same time animal spotting. Our guide Marla is a great wildlife lover and although she does the tours for 9 years she was even more excited to spot animals than her guests. We are definitely luckier spotting marine animals than “ground animals" (still not bear). On our ways we saw gray whales, seals, sea otter and another smaller orca family. One orca was so happy that he even jumped! It was terrific to see an orca jump outside of SeaWorld but surprisingly he looked also a little like a silly big fish...
Certainly a place to return.
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