A short note before I leave Victoria and head to Tofino, the west-most point on Vancouver Island. This last week in Victoria has been surprisingly wonderful. I spent a glorious sunny morning riding trails around Thetis Lake. The smell of horse sweat, leather and sun-warmed broom flowers sent me right back to teenage memories. It was great to be back out on a horse, riding windy douglas fir forests, treading on familiar ground with tall scottish broom brushing my knees.
An impromptu meeting with a friendly local afforded me a fantastic hike yesterday along a little-used railway track in the Malahat range complete with two dizzingly-high trestle bridges to cross. I was invited back for a few drinks at home with a great group of people. Smart, funny, quirky, and very welcoming. I tucked into their folds without feeling the twang of the outsider. I had an incredibly relaxing and fun night chatting and watching an Ultimate Fighting match, with the sound muted and Band of Horses, Feist, and a bit of the Beatles replacing the sound. Just brilliant. If this group was representative of Victorian locals, it has only added to my want to live here. I am sad to be leaving.
Now I'm about to pack up the van and head as far west as I will be on this trip. A fitting place to start my cross-country trek in earnest.
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