We caught the 9:35am ferry at Swartz Bay (1 stopover on Pender Island) on a sunny Saturday morning. As our destination on Mayne Island was in walking distance to the ferry dock we decided to leave the car behind which meant we only had to pay the very reasonably priced $9.45/adult fare.
Stephen had left a note for us on Facebook just in case he couldn't make it down to the dock in time to meet us:
"...our road is directly behind the sign. It's about a 15 minute walk...feel free to let yourselves in and make yourself at home (the tea is above the stove)."
Gotta love that friendly BC hospitality!
When the ferry arrived at the dock at Mayne Island, Stephen was there to meet us. On the walk back to their lovely home, he and his son filled us in on a few facts about our new surroundings:
- Mayne Island is about 10km in diametre, a little under 30 square km in area
- the island is located roughly half way between Tswassen (Vancouver) and Swartz Bay (Victoria)
- Back in the day it was a regular stopover for Aboriginal peoples travelling between the mainland and Vancouver Island
- The Aboriginal name for Mayne Island roughly translates to 'party place'
In the late afternoon we made our way to Wild Fennel via the shady Old Gulch hiking trail only to discover upon our arrival at the restaurant had closed until the evening. Too bad! Stephen's description of their menu sounded delicious...guess we'll just have to save a visit to Wild Fennel for our next trip to Mayne.
Tired, hungry and perhaps a little cranky, we walked a further half hour along one of the island's quiet roads to 'the village' where we gorged ourselves at the Saltspring Lodge on yummy grilled salmon salads, large orders of friends AND onion rings and cheese cake. Yum! We also stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a peach pie and a tub of ice cream for later on in the evening.
After a few hours of conversation, warm pie and a couple of beers we hit the hay early and in anticipation of another big day.
The next morning, we got up early and Baasje and I caught the ferry to Galiano Island. A larger island - about 26km across and 6 km wide - just west of Mayne Island. The fare for the Mayne to Galiano trip was $5/person. We also learned that our return fare to Swartz Bay from Galiano would be covered in the fares we had already paid, meaning our weekend transportation expensese would amount to a grand total of $30 for both us us. What a deal!
Galiano was a bit of a metrolpolis compared to Mayne Island, but it maintained the same quiet, slow-paced atmosphere with little traffic (more like next to no traffic). There was a 'food wagon' at the ferry dock serving German and Indonesian dishes and the smells were delicious. As it was still breakfast time, Baasje and I made our way up the road to "Grand Central" a neat little train themed diner for eggs and bacon. Delicious!
After breakfast we walked for about 45 minutes on deserted roads to Bellhouse Provincial Park were we encountered the most amazing coastline I've seen out west yet - a weathered and ridgy sun bleached sandstone beach. I took many, many pictures. After an hour or so exploring the coastline at Bellhouse we returned to the road and walked a further hour and and a half up winding roads to The Bluffs. From the ridge walk at The Bluffs we took in beautiful views of the Gulf Islands and Mount Galiano.
When it was getting close to mid afternoon we started on our way back to the dock to grab lunch and do some beach combing before catching the 4:40pm ferry back to Vancouver Island. Tired but happy we removed our boots and stretched our legs on the almost empty ferry and began to make plans for our next trip to the Gulf Islands. I think it's safe to say we'll be back that way again (and again, and again).
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