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Tip to Toe on Vancouver Island
PeriBlog VI: Victoria, BC, Canada
Having traveled from tip to the toe of Vancouver Island, we have reached the final stop of our odyssey. Our journey has brought us to Victoria, largest city on the island and the capital of British Columbia.
The first morning is not propitious; the raucous cacophony of the local gull populations wakes us at 3:00 a.m. Hours before dawn, the white-winged squawk-boxes ramp up and announce that, since they are no longer sleeping, no one else should snooze either. It has been some time since last I heard their strident ululations. The ravens near Port McNeil are intensely territorial and they drive the white-winged disturbers of sleep away.
Victoria could use a local raven population.
Noise is, unsurprisingly, a major difference between this city and the rest of the island. Police sirens, the rumble of traffic, shouts from street level, the continuous clatter of workers throwing up a beer garden nearby, and, of course, gull squawks, collude to destroy the peace.
Our apartment is located near the Chinatown pickle boat dock, and each time one of these diminutive water taxis departs, it sounds a tri-beep salute on an annoying little horn.
Floating hot tubs also depart from the Chinatown dock. For reasons that exceed my limited…
