sailing the spirit

a part of living on an island is ferry travel.

to be honest, after twenty years, it is still a love/hate relationship for me.

this is mainly because, on holidays... 

when we are all packed and anxious to get on the road and enjoy the trip ahead...

islanders have to contend with the large body of water dividing us and the mainland. 

we speed towards the ferries, line up, and keep our fingers crossed that we make the sailing.

we try and get an early start and aim for the 7 o'clock sailing... 
this means that we have to leave home by 5:30 at the latest, even though we live only thirty minutes away.  this is to ensure that we get to the terminal early enough to be included in the limited sailing capacity..

once you are in, and the your boarding is assured, one can finally relax.... 

because you know that you won't have to wait an extra two hours for the next sailing.

 the wait isn't too bad... 

there are concession stands selling hot coffee, several tourists kiosks, 

a small dog park to meet up with other four legged friends...

and plenty of opportunities to watch the other ferry vessels 
that are destined for the smaller islands.

on board the ferry... is a beautiful trip in itself..

on our trip away, we sailed on the vessel called spirit of british columbia, 

and for our return, on the spirit of vancouver island .

we had gorgeous weather during both our trips....visibility was 100%, 

no winds means no swells, but unfortunately, no killer whales or dolphins sightings.

our favourite part of the ride is enjoying the deck outside to breath in the fresh west coast air.

there are ample spaces to sit, all with a fabulous view of the gulf islands.

the ride is approximately one hour and thirty-five minutes long.  

but the scenery is so beautiful, that it always seems to go so quickly.

yes, it's a love/hate relationship....

wait till you see the bill for four people and a vehicle,

and that's only covers one way !!!

erica

xoxo