Day 199: Victoria-trez

Steph, Alli and I set off for Vancouver Island very early on Monday 4th May 2009.We were all quite excited and didn't really know what to expect.With hindsight I would've have done a bit more research before coming to Victoria, the capital of the island, but I hadn't and just expected to fluke my way through the visit in my usual travelling fashion.

With me as chief navigator, we of course got to the island and then the hostel without any hiccups (as writer and editor there is a certain amount of license I can take with my version of events.We in fact got lost several times.Just kidding, or am I?).The Ocean Backpackers hostel where we were staying was positioned right on the intersection of several roads so it wasn't the most idyllic location but that wasn't really an issue.

Finding somewhere to park was, however.We went into the hostel and they advised us of several spots other than those directly behind their hostel that weren't available.One they recommended was a church car park so we drove round and round looking for it, driving past an alarming number of churches - had these islanders done a lot of sinning or what? - and eventually finding the one we were after.It was pretty expensive.

We couldn't check into the rooms in our hostel until 3pm, it was 11.30am when we arrived, so we deposited our bags and decided to explore.

The first thing that we all noticed was how similar Victoria was to an English city or town.It was extremely Victorian in parts, right down to the 19th century print on red brick walls indicating previous businesses but it had also been modernized in the same way as an English town so it resembled a modern British city in almost every way.It was really quite disconcerting.I thought it reminded me of Uxbridge shopping centre and Steph thought it resembled Watford.We were hoping these comparisons were a bit rash as we continued our tour.

Along the inner harbor walk we discovered an amazing fish and chip stall that did various types of battered fish variations such as battered cod wraps, fish burgers and even a 'cod dog'.Everything tasted good.

We walked around the city more but the weather again cut our day short and we went back to check in.We settled into our hostel, a brightly coloured establishment covered in floral, hand hewn drawings and paintings on the wall.I seriously regretted the weight of my backpack as I had to lug it up four flights of stairs to our little shared room.Plastic mattresses greeted us on the bunk beds in a strangely congested room with a walk-in wardrobe, soon to double as a changing room, large enough to fit another bed.This was to be our home or prison for the next 3 days.

After we settled in we decided we'd ignore the drizzle and try and do some more sightseeing.Many of the activities to do in Victoria are however outdoor based.For instance whale watching, fishing, cycling and hiking.We walked around, struggling to find activities and sights to visit that were affordable ie under $20 and bar going to the cinema - a last resort - there was nothing really.

The next couple of days it rained continuously and we drudged around in the rain from place to place eventually ending up in coffee shops most days.Even our plans to go on a cycle ride which we were really looking forward to were washed away by the rain.We ended up going to sleep in the afternoons just to relieve ourselves of the boredom.

Now I don't want to put anyone off visiting the island but I will say if you're going to Victoria (the capital), PLAN, and have some money because it costs to go to museums, visit most monuments and generally sightsee.

Anyway, in the end we were all glad to check out of the hostel by the third day and Alli and I were looking forward to joining our friend Courtney and going to stay with her mum for a couple days in Sooke.