Goodbye Vancouver Island

After a great time on Vancouver Island's east and west coasts with many great experiences, conversations, and laughs with Gerald and Karina in our memory it was time to get myself packed up and head onward with John.

Karina had a swim meet and Gerald was timing the swimming so John and I decided we would take the early ferry to Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver) from Nanaimo rather than the one to Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver. We would have had to fnd our way on the Skytrain and bus to get to the hotel south of the airport if we had gone to Horseshoe Bay. However, we didn't know that our choice meant that Gerald would need to drive us about 25 minutes to get to the ferry terminal rather than just being down the road. He said a taxi would have cost $40. As usual, Gerald was so kind.

We said our heartfelt thank you's and goodbye's and walked on the ferry. BC Ferries is a good service, The boats are clean and the service seems very efficient. John put me down and had a traditional breakfast as the ocean swept by. I asked a crew member (who turned out to be the purser) where I could buy a bus ticket to my hotel and she said she didn't know but in came by in a few minutes with a print out of the directions. They were right on. She later came by to check if it was the information I needed. The two hours melted by as we gazed at the ocean and passing ferries going in other directions.

When it was time to get off, John got me onto his shoulder and took the suitcase and was lined up to get off when an announcement came, "Would the gentleman going to the bus please report to the purser's office?" John immediately realized that he had forgotten the video camera. The purser had seen it, picked it up and was keeping it safe. When he got to her office, she said, "Did you forget anything?" with a smile. Now that IS amazing service! If anyone from BC Ferries sees this, the purser on the Coastal Inspiration deserves a raise!

Then it was off to find the municipal bus to get to the hotel. It was windy, cool and raining lightly. The driver was not scheduled to leave for 30 minutes but very kindly allowed John and I to get on early and wait even though she had to leave the bus. At departure time there were only four of us onboard and it looked like it was going to be a very pleasant trip. With just a minute to go, a ferry from Victoria arrived bringing the entire population of the city who all wanted to take our bus. In fact about half couldn't get on even though it was one of those big articulated buses. John thought about the London buses crammed with Western students he had seen going to the campus in the mornings.

I had to sit on John's lap rather than having a seat to myself. John thought he might miss his hotel because so many people were standing in the aisle he couldn't see out. However, after asking people around if they knew the hotel, it turned out not to be a problem. At least three people saw the hotel and told John to pull the cord to signal the bus driver to stop. People in Van are either very, very cool or somebody wanted a seat! Probably both!

John carried me across the street, in the now soaking rain, and registered at the hotel, the Sandman in Richmond. It is highly security conscious - you even have to swipe your room card to use the elevator. They also give you an ID card that is required before you can charge things to your room. Not only that but they actually charge the Visa immediately when you take your room and add an additional $100. They promise to refund it if you haven't used the extra charges.

John laid around on the soft king sized bed while I worked on this blog and uploaded videos. If you haven't seen them you can look back to earlier entries.

TRB