LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER 2016: VICTORIA, BC

DAYS 80 - 84

WEDNESDAY 22 JUNE - SUNDAY 26 JUNE 2016

WEDNESDAY

It ended up taking a few days to get something out of my experience in Victoria, which was greatly helped by a change in the weather, a change in accommodation and getting out of the downtown area and seeing a few things.

However, it wasn't a great start.

I had booked into a downtown hostel for the first night, with the unavailability of my Warmshowers hosts until Thursday.

The Ocean Island Inn is a curious name for this hostel.

It isn't anywhere near the ocean - well at least the ocean is nowhere in view.

Strictly speaking, it is on an island although with the relentless racket of Victoria's rush-hour traffic which includes frequent sirens wailing from all directions, it hardly feels like an island.

"Hobbiton Hotel" is the name I would probably like to suggest, as you would need to be the size of a hobbit to feel comfortable here.

The room I paid over $50 for this night was a disgrace - no more than matchbox size, with barely enough room to open the door and lie down in bed.

I ended up sleeping with my trailer because there was simply nowhere else to put it.

JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE ME...

And with the number of people this place manages to cram between its non-negotiable walls, I felt it to be nothing short of a fire trap.

It certainly would't be the first time this kind of building has gone up in smoke, in which case there would be 120 deep-fried backpackers to show for it - there would be no escape.

Throw in a few high-decibel, bucket-mouthed Australians to populate the mix and it pretty much summarised everything I try to avoid whilst travelling.

THURSDAY

Hanging around the downtown area of Victoria may or may not have been good for my mental and emotional well-being.

The weather for a start, was shit.

Even though I had arrived (per chance) in Victoria for the start of the annual Ska and Reggae festival, I endured barely the opening tune of the headline act on Wednesday evening, Toots and the Maytals in the cold, miserable squall before running for cover back to the claustrophobic white-noise of "Hobbiton".

I was more than happy to check out ASAP the next morning but for the fact I needed to store all my gear in the place whilst I waited to make good on my next Warmshowers appointment.

Good luck.

The basement was allegedly the storage space, which I could tell just by looking at it was going to struggle to take my equipment.

Miraculously, we jiggled and juggled and squeezed it in somehow.

My mind was temporarily at rest as I headed towards the library for a bit of respite and chill time.

The quiet and disconnect of the place ended up keeping me for the entire afternoon as I also looked to bide as much time as possible to make way around to my hosts.

I had not actually heard anything back from my last communication and as time got on, began to consider the implications of having to spend another night at "Hobbiton".

Dinner time beckoned and the super-slow service at John's Place actually worked in my favour as I figured that this may give my hosts a little more time to be there.

After calling back at 8.30, there was still no cigar and still nowhere to sleep at a pretty late hour.

Much to my chagrin, I returned to "Hobbiton" and booked another night in a smelly, pokey dorm room with 7 other people.

FRIDAY

As it happened, I had apparently missed my Warmshowers hosts by not much more than 30 minutes on Thursday evening.

This knowledge kind of added insult to injury although we at least agreed to try again first thing.

Stef and Zack were both at home when I landed just after 11 am Friday and were happy to have me stay for the next 3 nights.

Once settled in, I set out for the first time to have a look around Victoria.

The weather had improved somewhat throughout Thursday and in spite of a strong sea breeze which had whipped up around lunch time, conditions were much better.

On Stef's recommendation, I walked up to Moss Rock Park which offered 360° views of Strait Juan de Fuca and the James Bay precinct of Victoria.

From here, it was a short stroll down to Victoria's waterfront trail which takes in sections of Beacon Hill Park, Fisherman's Wharf and a marker known as "Mile 0" on the western junction of the Trans-Canada Highway.

FLOAT HOMES @ FISHERMAN'S WHARF

WATER TAXI, FISHERMAN'S WHARF

SEA LION FROLICKING @ FISHERMAN'S WHARF

After taking a fish & chips lunch stop at Fisherman's Wharf, I headed back into the downtown area and for the first time since arriving in Victoria, the sun was making an appearance.

The main facade of Victoria is actually quite impressive and lends itself to a photo or two.

VICTORIA'S PARLIAMENT BUILDING

THE EMPRESS HOTEL

SATURDAY

By Saturday morning, the weather was at its absolute best and the past couple of days became something of a memory.

After threatening to do so for at least 24 hours, I committed to making a trip to Mt Douglas which apparently offered some spectacular views of the city and beyond.

It was all accessible by bus as well so there was no better opportunity to go and have a look.

VIDEO: TAKE A 360° TOUR FROM THE TOP OF MT DOUGLAS!

MT DOUGLAS PANO

I had been invited by Stef and Zack to join them for their Saturday evening Mario Party - basically sitting around the Nintendo Wii playing countless rounds of a computer game and trash talking each other all the way.

Their friend Matt had prepared well for the occasion, producing two mountainous serves of Nachos, a tray-load of brownies, a hommous dip platter and an obligatory plate of candy.

SUITABLE FUEL FOR A MARIO PARTY

Somewhere, somehow a Warhammer sword appeared out of Matt's bedroom and I just had to pose with it. "Look mean", they told me.....

SUNDAY & THE SAGA OF THE BAG

Just to rewind a few weeks back to Portland which is where I had to acquire a new trailer and ended up with a small bag of excess items as a result.

I had to negotiate the onward progress of that bag in lieu of dragging it with me all the way to Vancouver.

The outcome was to forward it from Portland to Port Angeles and collect it when I got there, which I did.

The bag then travelled across the water into Canada with me and hence became a problem once again.

In theory, I arrive in Victoria and forward it via general delivery to Vancouver, just as I had done in the U.S.

A contingency had developed in the meanwhile whereby I was looking to travel to Vancouver via public transit in order to cast an absentee vote for the upcoming Australian Federal election on 2 July.

Could I possibly then take the bag with me and deliver it in person to a Vancouver post office for pickup when I arrived?

"No", was the simple answer to this when I fronted at the Victoria post office on arrival on Wednesday afternoon.

And incidentally, I was told, there is likely to be an indefinite general strike in early July by Canada Post so even if I was to post it, it may well be locked up and irretrievable if a strike was in progress.

Perfect.

Still, better to know this stuff now than to be caught out and screwed over unknowingly.

After some research in the meantime, I had determined that it was cheaper for me to pay the fine for not voting than to make a return trip to Vancouver and lose an entire day for the privilege.

What then to do about it?

Staying with Stef and Zack had certainly improved my lot whilst in Victoria and after discussing the dilemma with them, Stef may have a contact or two in Vancouver that may have been able to help.

I was keen to urge this as a potential solution to the problem.

In addition, they were travelling to Vancouver on Sunday and could take the bag with them if there was a recipient at the other end.

And as it turned out, there was.

A friend of Stef's named Josh was able to take the bag and keep it until my arrival.

So we ran with this and the bag disappeared in the direction of Vancouver on Sunday afternoon.

Earlier, we had taken an early morning excursion to the View Royal area for a fun-run event.

Of the 3 of us, Zack was the only one to take the gas and complete the 10 km event.