Courtenay - Sidney: Vancouver Island 19th - 23rd Sept

Our fourth ferry of the week took us over to Comox on Vancouver Island. We cycled the short distance to Courtenay and our kind hosts Judy (Moira’s old schoolfriend) and Des. Des immediately welcomed us with some carefully-chosen local beers. Over the next two leisurely days, we monopolised the washing machine, the fabulous pulley-system washing line in the beautiful garden and the computer - basically we took over the house. We enjoyed some excellent spaghetti bolognaise, some of the best fish and chips so far on the trip and some wonderful home-made bramble crumble.
Des took Tim and Paul for nine holes of golf at Comox, where they tried to avoid hitting deer instead of the sheep they are used to.

A bright sunny day took us down a very quiet coastal road (19A) where we enjoyed all the things denied us on the Sunshine Coast (ie coastal view and sunshine). We ate our lunch at some picnic tables at Fanny Bay and spent the night at Qualicum Bay in the excellent Nautica Tigh B&B, whose owner kindly donated us some rags for bicycle maintenance.

We’d hardly started the next morning before we stopped to play a round of Treasure Island-themed crazy golf in the mini-golf capital of the galaxy - Parksville. We spent the best part of the rest of the day on a ghastly freeway with speeding traffic, and luckily got to Ladysmith just before sundown, where we stumbled upon an authentic curry house which dabbled in Greek food too - visit the Royal Dar if you’re ever passing through town - the food and decor is excellent.

Due to the busy freeway (which would eventually have taken us over the ominous and traffic-ridden Malahat mountain pass) we decided to make our way to Sidney (BC, on the Saanitch Peninsula at the end of Vancouver Island) via a new island and some additional ferries. Salt Spring Island entertained us with its hippies and its winery, where we wisely invested in a bottle of white wine. On Saturday, while Paul and Tim headed off to Victoria (the capital of British Columbia), to find out the football scores, Moira and Naomi visited the world-famous Butchart Gardens, where we probably saw more cameras than flowers, although the latter were indeed something special to see. We found Tim and Paul rather predictably in the pub, and soaked in the Saturday night vibes of Victoria until half past nine (lightweight cyclists!)

The Saanitch Peninsula is excellently equipped for cyclists with two trails. On Sunday, we enjoyed a tour of Victoria on the Galloping Goose, and after a rather delayed and meagre lunch at the Superior Cafe, we sailed blissfully through meadows, forests, farms with fat pot-bellied pigs, pumpkin patches and posh neighbourhoods on the Lochside Trail, basking in the beautiful sunshine.

On our return to Sidney it was time to say goodbye to Canada for the last time and hello again to the USA as we boarded a ferry to the San Juan Islands in Washington State. Once again the immigration officers didn’t fail to entertain us with their amusing comments - this time they asked Paul and his mother if they were married and wondered if we had any Cuban cigars!

NB Please take a look at the ‘Where we are’ page for the most up to date info on our whereabouts!

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