Victoria, hey!

Vancouver Island is definitely one of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen; I'm happy to have spent a day there.

I woke up bright and early - as anyone who goes on a day trip to Victoria (just so that you know, total travel time from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria is approximately three hours and this doesn't include wait times for the ferry).

The ferry ride was very pleasant and the scenery, drop dead gorgeous. It was a pity not to have spotted orcas - usually they can be found on these waters around this time of the year - but still.

Our first stop on the island was the Butchart Gardens - in bloom for 100 years. I found the Sunken Garden particularly stunning - and this is a far as I go in commending a 100% handmade nature spot (personally, I prefer it when the human touch is reduced to a bare minimum).

After a scenic marine drive through the peninsula, which allowed us to see seals and otters at Oak Bay, we made it to downtown Victoria.

I wondered if three hours would be enough to see the city; as it turned out, it was more than enough. If your intention is to visit museums and get into the city's cultural scene, then you should stay a couple of days but if not, a couple of hours is perfectly fine. Let's face it, what you need to see is located between Chinatown and the Victoria Parliament Buildings and one walks from one place to the other in way less than an hour.

Just before we hopped on the ferry back to Vancouver, Jeff, native name Chuck-Us-Hoot (Standing Up Proud), provided us with an overview of Canada's first nations, focus on British Columbia. I was surprised to find out that also in Canada the natives' contact with the Europeans was very destructive for them - and that the oppression lasted for a very long time.

As I stood on the ferry with an incredible view over Mount Baker just in front of me (even more incredible than the one I had from the Vancouver Lookout), I asked myself this - if leading a balanced and peaceful life doesn't protect you from harm, what will?