Galiano Island is an excellent day trip location with the hour long ferry ride from Tsawwassen. The ferry is quite affordable at $19.80 on the way there and $10.20 on the way back. An extra $2 is charged for bikes for each sailing. Bikes are highly recommended for this outing, as the whole island is 25km in length, so bringing a car to drive no more than 50km for an extra ~$100 is quite the luxury. The terrain is never flat, but there are also no big climbs along the way; however, there is plenty of rolling hills that can be quite steep for a few hundred meters at a time. On this trip, we went to Retreat Cove to check out the sandstone formations along the beach. The following pictures show the details of this trip.
 |
| On The Ferry |
 |
| Glass Art Gallery |
 |
| Glass Art Gallery |
 |
| Glass Art Gallery |
On the way to Retreat Cove, we came across this glass gallery of a local artist. The place was open with nobody around. We went in and looked at a fairly large selection of interesting (and expensive) artwork, then left in shock that nothing gets stolen.
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Retreat Cove |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| One of The Many Small Farms on The Island |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Weird, Abandoned Veggy Stand |
 |
| Weird, Abandoned Veggy Stand |
 |
| A Local "Film School" |
There are lots of weird things that one would not expect so close to Vancouver, like this film school that is accessible on a dirt road with no buildings in sight. Others include abandoned produce stands, open galleries (glass and pottery) and every car with a sticker promoting the local economy.
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Veggy Stand That Might Still Be In Use |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Shooting Range |
 |
| Local Grocery Store |
 |
| Local Grocery Store |
 |
| Local Coffee Shop |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
 |
| Road Back To The Ferry |
A trail goes along the side of the road for a few km's of our route. It is a well maintained trail that I rode since I was on a mountain bike (too rough for road bikes).
 |
| Around Sturdies Bay |
 |
| Around Sturdies Bay |
 |
| Around Sturdies Bay |
 |
| Around Sturdies Bay |
 |
| Around Sturdies Bay |
 |
| Sturdies Bay Gas Station |
After made our way back to the ferry terminal, we ran out of water, so a search for water begun. The washroom at the ferry terminal waiting room has water that has no chance of approval for human consumption, and no other public facilities seem to exist with a water source. As a result, we came into this gas station for bottle of water. It cost $4.45 for a liter of water!!! The constant sight of bumper stickers promoting the local economy makes me feel like there a major flaw hidden in this system after that water purchase.
 |
| Post office |
 |
| Ferry terminal |
 |
| Ferry terminal |
 |
| Fancy resort in Sturdies Bay |
 |
| Ferry |
Overall, this is an excellent day trip that I would highly recommend, especially during the spring or fall. Other seemingly interesting spots on the island that we didn't visit are Bodega Ridge Provincial Park and Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park. We took our time throughout the day, and I believe that all of those places can easily be explored in a single day.
No comments:
Post a Comment