Thank you!

Hi!

I think this was my last blog, but I will post pictures of the next two weeks for sure: My road trip with my dad is about to start, but my Workaway adventures are over. I’ve had an amazing time here in the Gulf Island area, and I hope to return one day.

Sometimes travelling alone was hard, and of course I’ve had moments that I would rather be at home, but it got easier with time and I’ve had such a special time! I met so many amazing people, and I will definitely try to see some of them again.

Doing Workaway was such a special way of travelling: I’ve been to so many places where I wouldn’t have been as a ‘normal’ tourist/traveller. I’ve been in contact with many local people and did a lot of things I wouldn’t have done without my host families.

It’s hard to realize that it’s over now and to say goodbye to all the people and places, but I’m also seeing forward to going back home and seeing all my family and friends again.

And of course, this is only the start of my travels! I hope to have so much more adventures: I’m pretty sure this is not the last one ;)

Thank you all so much for reading my blog and for all the sweet comments <3

And to the people at home: see you soon!!

~ Sophie

Ps: I posted new pictures in the collection ‘photos of Galiano island’, ‘Sleeping on the sailboat’ and ‘photos of Mayne & Saltspring Island’.

The last weeks on Galiano Island

Hey there!

Friday was my last full day here on the island. This weekend was ‘Tour des îles’, so some things were going on like a festival and sailings to all the different islands. I was lucky to experience one day of this before I left: I could participate in a kayak trip with a few ecologists/scientists: they were paddling for three days and doing animal counting and diving alongside the route. I had the chance to participate in the paddle trip for a few hours. It was great! The weather was perfect and with two boats and a group of kayakers we paddled 5 hours next to the coast of Galiano. On the way back, we tied the kayak behind Christian’s boat and we sailed back together.

When we arrived at the house, we had dinner at a cute Thai place on Galiano. After that Lili and I went rollerskating in the school's gym. It was so much fun: we had the whole building for ourselves and we stayed for a long time.

The last weeks here were just as awesome!

The weather was getting better every day (I finally had some days above 20 degrees!) Because of the good weather, it was fun to go to the different beaches to read a book, play with Snoopy, or go paddle boarding (in the sunset!!).

I went a few times to the community garden to do some weeding or to water the plants. Every day I did some small jobs like the dishes, walking Snoopy for a few hours, sorting recycling, etc. But it was definitely not hard work.

One time I helped scrape Lili's sailboat. First, Lili and I sailed to the ramp, where Christian pulled the boat out with the car. When the boat was lifted out of the water, we scraped the whole bottom that was covered with mussels, big worms, bugs and all weird kinds of other sea-animals; (”a whole sea-fruit salad!”, like a passerby said). And of course, the sailing back was way faster :)

Lili introduced me to her friend group. It’s cool to have people my age around to hang out with! We played ping-pong at Paz’s house, and one day I went with Lili to the ‘secret beach’. It was really hard to get there ‘cause it was super steep, but there were ropes down the rock. The beach was beautiful; it was a small sand beach and there was no one at all! Later that night we went back there with four of Lili’s friends and we played American football. We also had a fire where we roasted fish, potatoes, marshmallows and other food. It was so much fun!!

Furthermore, we went hiking together on mount Galiano (once we were at the top, we had an amazing view over the islands.) It was awesome! And we went to Montague park to go bouldering. Most of the rocks were not really suitable for climbing cause of all the moss, but I did some cool routes and I really enjoyed bouldering outside: I hadn't done it in such a long time!! After that, we watched the sunset on the beach.

I spend a lot of time at the Montegue Harbour; on Friday night, Christian took me to the taco restaurant, where he played the guitar. I got to play a song for the people too! I played blackbird, I’m glad I did it :) Another time we went to Zeus’s boat where I watched the sunset on the deck while reading my book because Christian had a meeting with a few friends. I also slept one more night on the Mystic (the sailboat).

During all the trips on the water, I saw a lot of wildlife like seals, vultures and bald eagles (one time I sat in the garden and there flew an eagle 10 m away!).

Last week I also went to the Saturday market. It was really cute with many stalls with local products. Christian played music, and I went hiking in Bluffs Park and to the beach. It was a long hike uphill, but there was a beautiful lookout and old sights like an old coal pit or memorial stones.

As I said, I went to many places, but I also spent a lot of time at the house with writing, reading in the hammock, making music (Christian teaches me some cool songs on the guitar!), playing with Snoopy and playing games like Loot/Christian’s self-made pirate game. Some days were even a bit boring because I didn't really go somewhere but that was fine: I can't be busy all the time ;)

I've been to two other islands during the time I was on Galiano: One time Christian took me to Mayne island (we had to go there to the vet for Snoopy). We drove around and went to the lighthouse, a Japanese garden and a restaurant where I ate a delicious salmon burger :) While Christian was at the vet, I walked for a bit on the trails. It was really pretty in the forest with a lot of old-growth trees. Also, the Japanese garden was surprisingly pretty. The moments I had to wait, I played the guitar in the back of the car. There were actually a lot of things to do on such a small island!

Last week Lili’s dad, Thomas, came over from France. He stayed for a few nights at Lili’s boat. A day later we went to Saltspring for Lili’s graduation. We took the sailboat with 5 people and Snoopy, it was a lot of people for such a little boat but it was fun! When we arrived we still had a lot of time before the ceremony so Thomas, Laura (Lili’s friend) and I hitchhiked to ‘Ganges’: the ‘centre’ of Saltspring. First, we drank hot chocolate at a cute cafe, and after that, I went to the big Saturday market while the rest stayed at the library. I had a tasty crèpe with chocolate :). A few hours later, it was time to go to the school. It was kinda cool to see the big North-American schools with the school buses and all the students in their grad-outfits. When they all went to Lili’s ceremony, I took Snoopy for a walk.

I decided to go to Mount Erskine, but it was further than I thought, and the shortcuts that I took were most of the time not such a good idea… I just didn't want to walk all the time on the road. But it was definitely worth it: there were some great lookouts over Saltspring and the rest of the islands! I was exhausted (just like Snoopy ;) I practically walked the whole day, so I ended up with 30.000 steps (which is more than 23 kilometres!)

When I came back, Christian and Martine took me and Thomas out for fish and chips at a small restaurant near the water. After that, I went to Olive's house with Laura (Lili had a party) where I spend the night. It's cool that I met so many of her friends!

The next day we had to take the ferry with a huge detour to Victoria and the other islands, so it took about 5 hours to get back! But I'm glad I went to Saltspring.

During the time Thomas was here, I also spent a night at Louis's house, a friend from Thomas's. They were visiting him and asked me to come with them. Louis lives right in the middle of Bluffs Park and he has one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen! He's a carpenter and builds almost everything by himself! Not only the outside was pretty, but especially the inside was beautiful, with a lot of wood, glass and so many plants that all grew along the ceiling and over the balcony that led to the room upstairs. There was even a swing in the middle of the room and a lot of stuff from all around around the world. The interior was exactly how I want to do it myself later! We had a campfire outside, and although they mostly spoke French (I understood a bit) it was fun.

Friday morning I left Galiano after going to the beach with Martine and Snoopy. We also bought a guest book; I was the first person to write in it :) I said goodbye to the family and Snoopy, and then I got on the ferry. It’s hard to say goodbye to this place: I’ve had such a great time there! I really hope I can come back one day.

Yesterday I picked my dad up from the airport; We’re going on a road trip together for a bit more than two weeks. So my Canada adventure is definitely not over: I’m gonna see a lot of BC in those weeks. I’m really seeing forward to my road trip!

I’ll post some more pictures of my last weeks on Galiano tomorrow.

Good night!

Sleeping on the sailboat

Like I told you in the past blog; Julia and I slept two nights on the sailboat.

The first day, we hitchhiked to the boat; a kind lady who gave us the lift said: “if you’re here for a few weeks then I’ll probably see you again”, which was kinda funny ‘cause it made me realise how small this community is. When arrived in the harbour, Julia and I went kayaking in the sunset. It was amazing, super peaceful, and the view was great. Christian bought salmon tacos (they were delicious), and after that, we paddled to Zeus’s boat. His boat was crazy: he build it himself and it’s more a houseboat than a boat to sail. There were many sorts of guitars, skeletons and other cool things. We played Loot with Emily and Zeus (Christian’s friends) at the round table in the living room.

When we sailed back to ‘our’ boat we saw bioluminescence: the water glowed blue when it moved, because of the motor or our paddles. It was so cool!! It’s caused by small organisms in the water. I always wanted to see that :)

That night we stayed awake outside on the boat for a really long time, ‘cause of the meteor rain. It was nice to look at the stars, but I only saw one shooting star; it was pretty cloudy and I was super tired…

The next morning I went back to the house where I walked with Snoopy and made pancakes, and then I returned to Julia on the boat. We went kayaking again: on our trip we played cards on the white shell beach, and we saw a lot of seals. The rest of the night, we played the guitar. When it was dark we decided to paddle the kayaks to the harbour (so we wouldn’t have to do that the next morning), and we took the rowing boat back. It was super dark and we saw the bioluminescence again. I’m so glad we got the chance to stay on the boat! It was a great adventure :)

The last address: Galiano Island

Hey! I’m 10 days on Galiano Island now, and Iloveit! It’s my last Workaway address, and I’m staying for almost four weeks.

After Christian picked me up from the ferry, he told me there was another Workawayer in the first week; Julia. She was 20 y.o. and came from Germany. We had so much fun together!! When we arrived at their house, we watched the sunset with Snoopy, their cute chocolate lab. After that, we made popcorn and played Loot, a card game. I felt so happy when I went to bed that night: it felt like home immediately.

It’s so relaxed here! The ‘work’ I need to do is mostly taking care of Snoopy. Sometimes I do other things like the dishes, or some work in the garden, but it doesn’t feel like work at all! I just do the tasks I would do at home too. The family has a vegetable garden next to their house, but they also have a bigger one at a community garden, a ten-minute drive away; this one looks like the garden we have at home. I went here a few times with Martine, my host, and one time by myself.

I really feel like I’m part of the family: we play games like Catan or cards together, make music, etc. Christian gave me some really helpful guitar lessons, so I’m picking that up again. I’m really happy to play the guitar again and to understand things I didn’t get at home. One night we jammed all together, with the guitars, drums and keyboard, while Martine and Christian were singing. It was awesome!

Galiano Island has approximately the same surface as Gabriola Island, but it’s the shape that makes it a bit harder to get to all the Provincial Parks, especially the north end: where the southeast part is really broad, with a lot of roads, stores, and the most people, is the north-west side really narrow and long. The island is on the farthest points 28 kilometres long, and the narrowest point about 1.5 kilometres. We live in a cute wooden house on the north side of the broad part, with a two-minute walk to the beach. For me, with my ‘sunset addiction’, I couldn’t have hoped for a better place on the island ;)

There are a few provincial parks with beautiful hiking trails, but in between the parks, there is just the road to walk on. So if I walk every morning for two hours with Snoop, I mostly go to the beach or to the closest park, which is first a thirty-minute walk on the road (although I barely see any cars). But that’s worth it: because of the big amount of rain last weeks, everything is super green and there are yellow flowers everywhere. Some places here feel like a rainforest, with massive trees, ferns, and hummingbirds. There is a lot of height difference in the park, so on top of the hill is a beautiful viewpoint where you see the ocean, the mountains, and even Vancouver on a clear day.

Of course, there are still quite a few rainy days, but the weather has been a lot better and warmer: last week was mostly around 15 degrees, but we’ve had some days that it was even 20 degrees! Also, this week I felt only sick for one day, so that’s a big improvement too :)

The first night I slept in my tiny bedroom in the house, but after that Julia and I slept two nights on the ‘Into The Mystic’: their sailboat (it’s a cool name :). I’ll post another blog about that tomorrow, otherwise this one is getting too long.Christian and Martine have two kayaks, a paddle board and two sailboats (the smallest one is from Lili, their daughter.) They lived for a while on the biggest one.

On Thursday, Julia was invited for lunch by a lady who gave her a lift while she walked back from the boat to the house. (I went with all our stuff on the speed-pedelec). I could come too, which was really nice. I’m so glad we went! The lady, Heidi, treaded us to lunch and coffee and delicious cakes while telling us amazing stories about her travels and adventures in Alaska and the Yukon. She was awesome!! I’m so happy I met her :)

After this, we went to an art gallery of an artiste from Galiano. She made beautiful paintings of places on the island. It looked like the air, the trees, and the ground were all connected because of her technique and use of colour; it was pretty!

Julia and I could use the speed-pedelec: the electric bike. It was so much fun to go on the bike together! I drove and Julia sat on the back. It went 30-40 kilometres per hour, so it almost felt like riding a scooter: Because Galiano has so many hills, we went so fast when we got downhill! With the bike, we went to “Peace Park”. We hiked up on a really steep path (first we took the wrong path, but the whole area was collapsed so we couldn’t go further). When we came to the ‘top’, we had a beautiful view over the islands. There was also a statue of ‘Sri Chinmoy’ “dreamer of world peace”, and there was a meditation area.

One time, we went supping in the rain: Julia wanted to do it before she left. If I would see other people do it, I would say they’re crazy, but it was actually pretty funny! Everything was grey and cloudy, so from the paddle board it was quite an experience to be on the sea with the rain, and the shore looked way different than normal.

On Julia’s last day, we went to a beautiful sand beach: I hadn’t seen many of those in Canada before! It was really pretty.

The temperature was not that high, but the weather was nice and the sun was super bright. Because of that, it was really hot on the beach, and we jumped into the water! It was great (and cold…), and we had a lot of fun. We dried up on the beach and went back to the garden where we helped Martine for a while.

When we came home, we ate some of Martine’s salad and bread. She is an amazing chef!! It’s crazy to look at her cutting techniques: she’s so fast with the knife!I learn a lot from her.

That afternoon, we went to “Dionisio Point”, a provincial park at the far north end of the island. We were already pretty late, and they needed the car back at some point, so Christian helped us to knot the electric bike at the back of the car. We needed to remember how he did it, for when we had to drive back, but it worked out pretty well. From the parking lot, we cycled through the forest and puddles. We went so fast!

Dionisio was definitely worth it: the sandstone looked like the galleries on Gabriola, and there were some pretty beaches. It was a marine park, so it was the best to reach it by boat.

When we came home, Julia and I made some popcorn and played cards. The next day, (really early,) she, unfortunately, left for Tofino… It’s a pity she had to leave; we were kinda close, although we only saw each other for one week. I think this week was one of the best weeks I’ve had in Canada!

After Julia left, I moved into ‘The Palace’, a small cabin that serves as a bedroom. It’s really cute, with a big window that overlooks the trees in the garden.

The last few days, there were quite a few switches of people coming in and out: Julia left on Monday morning. In the evening, Maurice, an earlier Workawayer, came to pick up his stuff. The next day, Maurice left and Lili arrived. Lili was in France for two months so everyone (especially Snoopy,) was excited for her to come. Now everything is ‘back to normal’ so we’re here with four people in total. I’ve only spent two days with Lili, but she’s awesome and she’s close to my age (18yo).

Last few days, I just stayed at the house. On Gabriola or in Sidney, I really had the urge to check out everything in the area, but now I enjoy it to take it easy. I kinda missed the time for myself; to catch up with my diary, write blogs, read books or play the guitar. I have lots of time for that now! But I’m staying here for a few weeks more, so of course, I hope to have some more fun adventures :)

Tomorrow, I’ll also post some pictures about this place.

Good night ;)

~Sophie

Trip to Sayward and Vancouver

Hi! Monday, after a night in Vancouver, I arrived at my last Workaway address. I’m so happy to be here!! Before I tell you something about Galiano Island, I’ll tell you about Sayward and Vancouver :)

Like I told you, last week I was for two nights in Sayward. Chris was already there for a while, and Sue and Adrian wanted to visit him. Freddie and I got the chance to go there too. I’m glad I went: I totally fell in love with the northern island! When I arrived at their property after a 6-hour drive, I saw the old, white house in the field. A few meters further, a beautiful, clear river flowed through their backyard. When I looked up, I saw the big mountains behind the forest: I hadn’t seen those in the south of Vancouver Island.

When you looked out of the window in the house, or when you stood on the patio, you saw those three layers. I hope I can live in such a remote place once, so close to all those different landscapes. (I know, I said the same about living on an island near the beach ;)

When we arrived in the evening, Freddie, Adrian and me walked a bit around the property and the river: there was a campground, another barn, and a few trails in the forest. After that, we saw Chris and Bastian (the Workawayer I met in the first week here) again.

We were planning on going back to Sidney the next day, but it was so pretty here that we stayed a night longer. The next day, we worked for a while in the garden. After that, Freddie and I took the car to a few trails, so we could see a bit of the area. It was really pretty!

Unfortunately, I got bellyaches again, just like the day before, so I had to lay in bed for a few hours when we came back…

The next morning, I felt better, and we decided to go kayaking on the river. Freddie and I both had our own kayak and Adrian took the paddle board. We paddled up against the stream, which was pretty heavy in the curves of the river! After a while, we arrived at a beach. It was cloudy, and the temperature was not that high, but we were so warm ‘cause of the paddling, that we decided to jump in the river! It was freezing, but it was so much fun!!

When we came back, we got into the car and started our way back to Sidney.

On our way, we stopped at a few nice places: First, we stopped at a lookout near a lake. After that, we came across a huge waterfall. It was really funny, ‘cause we didn’t even plan it out: we just saw the signs across the road and decided to check it out. (That’s the fun part of a road trip, right? :) I’m so glad we didn’t miss it!! There was a big suspension bridge that crossed the river, and there was a nice lookout at the end of it. When we walked all the way around (through a beautiful old-growed forest), we ended up right next to the wild river.

About an hour later, we ended up in Coombs, a really cute (but crowded and touristic) village. It was known for the ‘Goats On The Roof Market’; which was really funny, and exactly appears to be like the name says.

There were a few little stores, like doughnut- ice cream- or clothing shops, and there was even a Dutch Store! They had all the different sorts of candy, spreads and brands you can find in the Netherlands. It was crazy!

Unfortunately, we were already too late to go to the big Skywalk (it closed at 5 pm), which I really wanted to check out in the time I stayed in Sidney, so our last stop was in Nanaimo. We picked up a package for Katie and I got some stuff for my stomach.

At first, I was planning to meet Sarah and Miriam in Victoria again this evening, but it was already pretty late and I needed time to pack my backpack: it was my last evening on the farm.

When I arrived at the farm, Katie gave me the package she had picked up for me in Sidney: my parents had sent me a package full of presents (like Dutch candy, jewellery, and a few funny gifts) as a surprise. It was so sweet!! There was also a letter from my sister, my parents, my grandma, and Giulia! <3

The next morning, after doing the last things like saying goodbye to Katie, packing my last stuff, or writing in the Workaway Book, I got on the ferry to Vancouver. With a few buses and the metro, I got to my hostel. I had three bags, and my big backpack was so large and heavy that it was a challenge to fit everywhere on public transport!!

After a long journey, I finally arrived at my hostel. I had a private room: because I’m not 18 I wasn’t allowed to stay in a normal room with more people, so now I had to pay for a two-person private room… It was nice to have my own room, but it was also kinda unnecessary.

A few minutes later I went downtown to meet Debbie again: I told her I was in Vancouver again, so we met up, and after a walk and some shops, we had lunch together in ‘Cactus Club’. It was really nice to see her again!

I was planning on meeting some new people in the hostel to hang out with in the city the next day, but it was really hard because I only stayed one night, alone in my room. I met some Dutch and German girls in the kitchen area downstairs, but they were all part of a group trip, so they already left the next morning… I was really tired so I decided to just go to sleep. I had a really good night!

The next morning, I rented a bike for the day and drove all the way around Stanley Park. It was cloudy, but it was not raining so that was great. It was a nice trip: I rode all the time next to the beach, I saw the suspension bridge and I paddles uphill to some nice viewpoints. After that, I got downtown, where I checked out one of the big streets and buildings, and I drank something in a cute cafe. After that it was already time to go back to the hostel to pick up my stuff: there was only one ferry going to Galiano Island at 7 pm, and it was a long travel to get to the ferry terminal.

After the ferry, Christian (my new host) picked me up from the ferry and brought me to their place. I’m only here for four days now, but I have already done so much! I’m really enjoying my time here. I’ll tell you about it later. I posted some new pictures, also in the collection ‘Photos of Vancouver”.

See ya!

~Sophie

Vancouver kitties pickup & aquarium

Hey! Like I told you, last week I went for two days to Vancouver. Sue asked me to pick up two cats from Mexico at the airport. I was happy to do that ‘cause I loved to check out the city. On the first day, I took the 1.5-hour ferry and got with buses and the Skytrain to Vancouver Aquarium: a big aquarium in Stanley Park which I wanted to check out. I spend the whole day here ‘cause I didn’t feel like walking around in the city by myself. The aquarium had many different areas: the tropics, bc-coast, an Amazone gallery with not only fish but also monkeys, reptiles and sloths, and way more. There were also many blue jellyfish in the dark water which looked beautiful. In the outside area of the aquarium, there were seals, a few pinguïns, and a huge sea lion over 300kg heavy. In the afternoon, there was a 20-minute show with the sealion: he could do a lot of different tricks which was fun to see. All the seals and sea lions were rescued in BC, ‘cause some of them were shot or hunted, so the outside part was more of a rescue centre instead of a zoo. I also went to the 4d theatre here, where they played a short documentary about bears vs salmon in Canada.

After the aquarium, I walked via a few streets, the harbour walk, and a beach club where I drank something (it was way too chic), to the train station. I took the train/metro to the airport. It was already 7 o’clock but the plane had a big delay so I waited for a long time at the airport. About an hour later, a Canadian couple handed over the kittens. It was already too late to catch the latest ferry back, so I could stay at Debbie’s place for the night. Debbie (a friend of Sue's) picked me up with her Tesla from the train station. Her apartment in downtown was on the 10th floor so it had a nice view! It was small, but it was really chic with marble-, white-, and gold-coloured objects. That night I slept with the cats, but they kept me awake although I was really tired from the whole day.

The next day Debbie showed me around Vancouver. First, we went to a big mall with super expensive brands: T-shirts were at least 1000$ each!! Of course, we only looked around for a while. After that, I showed her the lookout I read about. She had never been there before, so we decided to go there. Unfortunately, the lookout was closed, but the restaurant one floor below it was open. The view was amazing: in one hour, you turned all around on a moving platform, so you got to see the whole city through the windows. The food was also really expensive, so we only had a starter and dessert :)

Afterwards, we walked through Stanley Park and the beach back to her apartment. Around 7 pm I took the ferry back with the kitties. Because the sun was setting already, it was the most beautiful ferry ride ‘till now! I sat outside all the time. I was really happy I could stay with Debbie: she was really nice and it was a great opportunity to check out Vancouver. Debbie asked me to have lunch together again, so I hope I see her again when I go to Vancouver on Sunday :)

~Sophie

The last weeks on Vancouver Island

Hi! Sunday is going to be the last day at this address. I have much to tell you about the last two weeks!

When Nuria and Lea left on May 13th, I was the only Workawayer on the farm for a week. Chris told me that Katie’s brother, Adrian, would come and stay for the summer. Because of that, I moved again into the room in the barn where I slept the first two nights with Sabine. There were still four puppies left from Sue’s last trip to Mexico, so I slept with them in my room: the temperature was higher here. I cleaned the floor and had to find some kennels, ‘cause I didn’t want them to walk around in the room all night. I didn’t really mind spending the nights with the dogs at first, but they were pretty noisy, so the next day I moved one of them into the house: I just wanted to have some good nights of sleep.

On May 16th, Adrian(25yo) arrived. He just came from Germany where he stayed 1,5 years with his girlfriend, so everyone was happy to see him again which made the atmosphere nice :) He was really friendly and it was nice that there were some more people on the farm. We even got to play the instruments in the music room in another barn together!

I didn’t really want to be alone on the farm, ‘cause I didn’t know what to do in my spare time there, so I tried to go somewhere by myself every day. One day I took off to go to Butchart Gardens (but you probably saw that already in the pictures I posted this week). On other days, I went hiking in Horth Hill Regional Park between work or went to Sidney to drink something at a cute little restaurant with an ocean view while it was raining. I also went sunset skating near the water (I crashed with my longboard that time: I was so stupid to think I could manage to brake at the end of a steep path while going downhill, but we don’t need to talk about that ;) The sunsets here are so pretty, and it only takes 10-15 minutes to get there while skating!

Last week I also spend 2 days in Vancouver: I’ll post a blog about that trip too.

On Friday, we went on a boat trip: Chris was leaving again to Sayward and they wanted to take me with them on the boat once. It was a beautiful, big, old boat, made from wood. On this day, Freddie (Frederike), the new Workawayer, would arrive so we decided to pick her up in Sidney with the boat. They told me it was the best Workaway pickup they’d ever done. The weather was amazing, and Katie, a friend of hers, Adrian, and I hang out on the deck. Adrianplayed the guitar, Katie sang, Chris drove the boat and Sue made delicious burritos. It was so much fun!!

Back on the farm, I showed Freddie our room and barn: we shared a room and would cook for ourselves. I also set up the room for one of the cats, the other cat would stay in our room. (I’ve slept with more different animals in my room this month than ever!)

On Saturday, I was planning to go sunset whale watching after work. But unfortunately, on my way to Victoria, I got called that the trip was cancelled: the whales were too far away and there was a strong wind :( That was twice now! In the first week, I also tried to go (in Sidney), but there were too less people to go. Saturday would have been the perfect day for the sunset whale watching ‘cause the weather was really good: the rest of the week it would be cloudy and rainy. I’m gonna try to go at the time I’m on Galiano Island (the next address). I really hope it would work!

I did a few nice things with Freddie: we went on a bike ride on the northern side of the peninsula, watched some movies in our room, went to the beach with Sue, Adrien and five dogs, and took one day off to go to Victoria. Victoria was a really nice city next to the water. We did some sightseeing, got into many cute stores, and went to the park for a while. When I was in Victoria, Sarah and Miriam (the two girls from the first address) texted me they were in Victoria too! That was crazy, ‘cause they were in the US far away from me all the time. We met each other short on the street, but they were with other friends and they were already going into a bar where you needed to be 19, so we decided to meet up another time. It was a pity, but I enjoyed seeing them again. Maybe I’ll see them later those weeks, and otherwise, we can also meet up in Germany for example.

I would have loved to do more fun stuff with Freddie: I had a lot more plans for my time here, but since a week I’m sick: I’m having really bad bellyaches all the time, so I’m in bed a few hours a day. During the time I feel okay I try to make my working hours on the farm, so unfortunately there wasn’t much time left to do stuff together… I’m leaving soon here so it’s just bad timing with Freddie being here while I’m not feeling alright. It feels really bad to lay in bed while knowing you only have one week left on Vancouver Island… Also, the weather was pretty good for the first time in weeks: one weekend it was 18 degrees, which is the warmest I’ve seen in Canada till now. Hopefully, the weather is gonna be warm again for a few days when I’m better.

Since Sue is back, I don’t spend my hours in the garden anymore: We did so many other different jobs on the farm! I can’t even keep track: for example, we cleaned and set up the apartment for a lady who was moving in there, we did the four rounds of animals every day, picked up the dead grass and branches around the farm, cleaned the kitchen of our barn (other people left it really gross), and way more.

Right now I’m in Sayward: I got the chance to be at the family's second property up the island for two nights. I’ll tell you about my time here in the next blog :) Next time I write, I’m probably at the last address: I’m seeing forward to it and I hope it’s a nice place. At least it would be great to be on an island again.

I also posted a few more pictures in the map ‘Photos of Saanich’

Bye!

Roadtrip on Vancouver Island

I almost forgot to post about this: on May 9th Nuria, Lea and I went on a 12-hour road trip!

The day before, I planned out a route that was about 6 hours driving with help from Google Maps. I looked at all the highlights in our area of Vancouver Island and decided to start with driving on a road right next to the sea. After that, we could take the only road through the forest to cross the island and arrive at Lake Cowichan. From here on, we could drive back home via a few places/attractions.

When I showed the route to Katie, she told me the trip I planned out was the ‘Pacific Marine Circle Route’: a popular driveway that shows you most of the highlights and landscapes of Vancouver Island. That was weird, ‘cause I never heard of that route! It was pretty cool that I planned it out by myself, but it would have saved a lot of time if I knew of this route before…

Katie said it would probably be too far to do it all in one day, ‘cause normally people camp halfway along the route. But we only had one day off so we just decided to see how far we would get.

We were permitted to borrow the red Carolla, and around 9 am we left the farm. We started driving to ‘Hatley Castle’ in Langford. It was a beautiful building so I’m glad we stopped here.

After this, we went via a few beaches, some cafes, a cute lunch place, and a little boutique, to Port Renfrew. This was a little village with a beautiful view on the water and mountains (and our furthest point of the route). The way there was really nice: we rode all the time next to the water.

At Port Renfrew we had two options: we could drive the same road back, like Katie advised, or continue the route. It was only 3 pm, so we decided to choose the last option.

The road that crossed the island was pretty too: we drove right through the forest with the mountains in the background. Halfway we stopped near a huge spruce tree, which was over 80 meters tall!

When we arrived at Lake Cowichan we drove via a small village in the harborto ‘Kinsol Trestle’, an abandoned railway which is now used as a tourist attraction. It was definitely the main highlight of our road trip!

Around 9 pm we arrived home. It was a long day but I’m glad we did the whole route. We saw so many things I would never have seen without a car and we had a lot of fun. I posted some pictures of the trip, so check them out! :)