May 30, 2010

Wild Salmon and Domesticated Goats - Victoria BC

After the rainy weather in the Olympics, and basically since leaving San Francisco a few weeks prior, Victoria offered a welcome respite. Despite having just left Portland a few days earlier, it was still nice to be in a city again. We didn't completely escape the rain, but intermittent periods of sunshine allowed to enjoy wandering the city. The Children's Farm kept us busy for a couple hours, staring down peacocks and chasing the baby goats.  We also made it down to the waterfront to Red Fish Blue Fish, for a healthy portion  fish and chips and tacones, made with fresh wild salmon.
A serendipitous meeting at a small cafe provided yet more inspiration for our journey further north, toward the Pacific Rim National Park. Leaving Victoria, the skies cleared as we reached the lush Cowichan Valley. Here we found our way to the Drumroaster Coffee Company, where a transplanted family from Stavanger has set up shop. We spent most of the morning learning more about the art of coffee roasting, as well as enjoying fresh roasted coffee and baked pastries. We could have stayed longer in the Cowichan Valley and the charming village of Cowichan Bay, but still being the off season, many shops were closed, and particularly the bakery where we were hoping to stock up on fresh bread.

Instead we continued out journey across the still wild and scenic Vancouver Island, reaching the west coast as the sun was beginning to set. We set up camp and looked forward to a few days on the long white beaches of the Pacific Rim.

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