Salt Spring Island

We set the alarm for 6.45 to be sure we got up in time to have a good breakfast & make a lunch to take for our jaunt round the highways and by-ways of Salt Spring Island. We got ourselves organised promptly, wrapped up well as the morning was crisp and were away by 8am to be sure we got to the ferry terminal in good time. Easy-peasy …. there in now time so had at least 30 mins to wait until boarding. The BC Ferries staff scattered around the harbour were very helpful & friendly in directing us safely to our waiting area, and very pleasant once we were onboard for our 40 min crossing.

As we waited  we watched the ferry arrive & disgorge foot passengers, cars & trucks - when I finally saw the size of the ferry I couldn't fathom how they fitted so many on. And the same with respect to the number that rode over on our crossing. It was like the magic handkerchief trick - they just kept on coming!

 

At Fulford terminal we waited for all the traffic to disperse before we set off up the hill to Ganges, the main town of the island.  Not far along, I got too hot as the sun had poked round the clouds so had to take a couple of layers off before tackling the bigger hills. Not much of a shoulder on the roads on the island with quite a bit of mud and/or gravel just to the side so had to be vigilant particularly when trucks came whizzing by - we had read the warning information signs when we got off the ferry. It was only 15km to Ganges but the constant flow of traffic & the up-down bumpy nature made it quite unpleasant. Just had to have a hot chocolate at a café in Ganges to recover our equinamity! Noticed that there seemed to quite few young ‘hippies’ sitting around under shelters overlooking the bay – they were looking quite rough so possibly they were sleeping out. Fine in Summer but the Autumn overnight temps are pretty chilly now.

Ganges Harbour

My sunglasses broke so we visited a couple of stores in Ganges in the hope of buying a replacement pair – chemists only had ‘on-trend’ types but the general store had some wrap-arounds with Haida motif on the sides. Bought the purple ones. Set off then to see whether the cafe at Fernwood was open but nope so had to be satisfied with a walk on the long Fernwood Point jetty & a chat with a couple of seagulls. Onward round the peninsula we went with the sun playing peek-a-boo amongst the cumulonimbus clouds.

            

Had hoped to find another public picnic spot over looking the straits for our lunch stop but all of it seemed to be privately owned with either large houses right on the coast or with access from their homes across the roadway.

  

We finally found a spot over looking St Mary Lake (lovely clear water that is obviously popular for swimming during Summer. It is also where the island’s drinking water is drawn) where the public/private divide was clearly marked. Thankfully the sun stayed out for our 30 min picnic. Betsy and Harriet enjoyed checking out the macro-invertebrate diversity on the lake edge.

 

Continuing along the road we found ourselves at a busy crossroads with a long line up of cars that had obviously come off the ferry from Vesuvius Bay. It was one of those intersections where all directions are on a stop and the first to get to the intersection has the right to cross  .... very unsettling for bicyclists I feel! Anyway, we managed as we always do & set off back DOWN into Ganges. Loved the 'mural' at the entrance to the town that celebrated diversity - took several photos and have added a selection. Sadly, it seems the chap who wrote the poem has since died.
Stopped at a organic health food shop to buy a few provisions – always good to weigh down the panniers when there are hills to be conquered!

Made our way out of the town up a bloody awful, gravelly hill with too much traffic on it – how can an island with only 11,000 popn be so busy!? – finally reaching the ‘quiet road’ turnoff after about 3km. As the clouds were coming in & a few drops of rain had touched our skin, we decided not to go right out to the Ruckle Provincial park and instead opted to chill out at one of the trendy cafes in Fulford. I chose Morningside Organic Vegan cafe as it was so attractive with its hand crafted curved wooden exterior & seating. They also had an amazingly delectable menu but after a muffin & a drink we were too full to choose anything else! I hadn’t realised that the 3.50 ferry (just loading as we arrived) was the last until 5.50pm so we had to spend nearly 2 hours just reading & relaxing under the heaters at the cafe. Such a hardship! Caroline actually wrote three postcards while I checked out the other wee funky stores like Rainbowroad Trading - tried on several hats but none quite suited.

  

The crossing back to Swartz Bay was uneventful - no sign of whales or seals - so we just obsered the closing of the day and the building of dark rain clouds. We hoped to get back to base before the clouds disgorged their moisture but it was not to be at the skies opened just as we cycled lout of the terminal. We arrived back at Janet & Bruce's a little damp but in time to catch up with their daughter picking up her two children who had spent the day with Granma and Granpa.

 

After a shower we ate a warming meal of pasta and tom sauce followed by some of the delicious fresh sour dough bread we had bought at Morningside. Almost as good at the batch Janet had made the day before but different as had added carraway seeds. After more chat about the days we just had to head to bed for well earned rests.