VANCOUVER ISLAND

The island is named for Capt. George Vancouver, who surveyed and charted the whole of this part of the coast over three summers in the late 18th century. He has 2 cities and an island named after him, an achievement seldom equalled by a "mere commoner". However he blew his career in the navy when he had midshipman Thomas Pitt - a young cousin of the Prime Minister - flogged twice while under his command! Probably richly deserved...

We went by bus a few miles along the south coast to the liitle town of Sooke for a couple of days. One morning we hired a canoe and paddled round the bay, which was most enjoyable, accompanied by seals, glaucous-winged gulls and Canada geese. Then we took two walks along a trail which follows a railway line: in 1864 gold was discovered up the Sooke river valley and a mini rush occurred. A mining town named Leechtown boomed for a few years and the line was built to serve it, with a gas-powered train drawing a couple of carriages and rejoicing in the name of the "Galloping Goose"! The trail still retains the name.


We returned to Victoria for a night where we enjoyed a walking tour guided by Ian, from Bradford(!) who has lived there for 17 years. The town of Vancouver grew from a trading fort (1848) to the capital city of the new province of British COlumbia, with splendid civic buildings, in a mere 50 years, driven by Sir James Douglas of the Hudson's Bay Company; many of the splendid buildings, including the Legislature (1898) and the Empress Hotel (1908) were designed by an architect hailing from Bradford, no less, Morson Rattenbury.

We returned to Vancouver for the ten hour flight, with a 9 hour time-change, to Beijing, over Alaska and Siberia. Fantastic...



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La isla lleva el nombre de Capt. George Vancouver, quien hizo mapas de la costa a fines del siglo 18. Dos ciudades y una isla llevan su nombre - excepcional por un mero capitan.

Viajamos en bus unos km por la costa sur de la isla al pueblo de Sooke por un par de dias. Una manana arrendamos un kayak para dar la vuelta de la bahia. Fuimos a caminar dos veces en un camino que habia sido un ferrocarril: en 1864 se encontro oro en el valle, provocando una fiebre de corta duracion. Una ciudad de mineria, Leechtown, florecio por algunos anos y se construyo la linea, con un tren a gas de dos vagones, nombrado "Galloping Goose"! - el "ganso que galopa".

Volvimos a Victoria para una noche donde disfrutamos un tur de la ciudad con un guia ingles, quien vive alla hace 17 anos. La ciudad se fundo como fuerte para el comercio(1848) y dentro de 50 anos se habia convertido en la capital de la nueva provincia de British COlumbia, con esplendidos edificios civicos, bajo el mando de Sir James Douglas de la "Hudson's Bay Company"; muchos de los edificios, incluyendo el parlamento provincial(1898) y el hotel Empress (1908) fueron disenados por un arquitecto ingles, Morson Rattenbury.

Volvimos a Vancouver para el vuelo a China, diez horas con cambio de 9 horas, volando sobre Alaska y Siberia. Fantastico...