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On 15th March at 1.30 pm we were ready & waiting for the coach to take us across on the ferry to Victoria. It was only a short walk downhill but we had to struggle with our cases past the sudden roadworks outside the B&B in the pouring rain - no good calling a taxi as they'd closed the road!! Fortunately the coach was on time & very comfortable. We made good time to Tsawwassen for the ferry to Swartz Bay & the almost 2 hour crossing was really good. After we'd had something to eat & although it was raining (still!) we went up on deck & were able to see the Vancouver coast & watch Vancouver Island coming into view - beautiful! From Swartz Bay the coach took about an hour to get to Victoria where we got a taxi the short distance to our guest house in Oak Bay. This turned out to be another lucky find, although we almost didn't have a room as the website we booked through had given the owners the wrong dates & they weren't expecting us until the next day! Fortunately they weren't fully booked so we had a bed that night! Our room was very pleasant, with a large four poster bed with a bathroom that you might call 'compact' but there was a lovely big guest lounge next door to our room where we could help ourselves to coffee & cookies, which we did before retiring to the very warm bed.
The following morning we had a very good breakfast after which we were given homemade muffins to take with us. We went for a walk into Oak Bay & on the way got into conversation with Kent, a local who pointed us in the direction of the coffee shop in the marina where he told us we could probably see seals. We were ready for a coffee after our walk so off we went. As we got there the seals were being fed by one of the fishermen - they were actually clapping their flippers as if asking to be fed! They were gorgeous creatures & were obviously used to playing to an audience! A lovely sight - I could have watched them for hours! We sat drinking our coffee in the coffee shop that's clearly a local favourite & watched the boats bobbing around in the marina, then, as it was a fine day we hopped on a bus into Victoria to see if we could book our ferry to Seattle. On the bus we got talking to another local who gave us directions to the Clipper office & suggested some walks in Oak Bay that we might enjoy. We found the Clipper ferry office & booked the 5pm crossing to Seattle (the only crossing in winter!) for Saturday. Fortunately they said that we could check in our luggage in the morning so we wouldn't have to lug it around all day! We then walked around the inner Harbour & Bay. What a lovely place this is! It has a really good 'feel' & we both said we'd like to visit again (perhaps in better weather!) While we were looking around Victoria we happened upon 'The Hudson Bay Company' which is very much like an English department store such as Debenhams & has a cafeteria where we had a pot of tea & a meal that was very reasonably priced. Then it was back on the bus to Oak Bay village where we bought some fruit then walked back to the guest house for a relaxing evening.
In the morning (Friday 17th) we set off on the walk suggested by the local on the bus & bumped into him again! His suggestion was a good one - I love this place! We walked & walked for miles & didn't tire of the wonderful views across the water. We stopped to look at the bird sanctuary at Harling Point & there, overlooking the water were two conveniently placed wooden chairs just waiting for us to sit in them! Which, of course, we did!
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Sue Hollis My brother and sister in law rented a house in Oak Bay where Den and I stayed. They still live in Victoria but near the Butchart Gardens. I love the area and go there about every third year. Start my chemo on Weds, sooner started sooner over!