Heerlijk lang weekend achter de rug op Salt Spring Island!
Samen met Stella, collega Yette, haar vriendin Karen, en hond Ruby ben ik met deze harem op pad geweest naar dit kunstenaars eiland. Waanzinnig huis aan Cusheon Lake, met eigen steiger, open haard, BBQ, etc...
Lekker gerelaxed, gegeten, gehangen, gewandeld, gelachen, en enorme mazzel gehad met het weer!
Nu weer terug in de pisregen in Vancouver...
Foto's hier!
PS: je kunt niet eens even weg...
Hieronder het relaas van onze Yette:
Though it is Pacific water, the passage between BC mainland and Vancouver Island is called the Straight of Georgia. Though not visible on larger maps, there is a series of small Islands that speckle the Straight, running longitudinally along the east shoreline of Vancouver Island. These are called the Gulf Islands. Nanaimo acts as a sort of dividing line separating the Northern Gulf islands that include Texada and Denby, from the Southern Gulf islands which include hundreds of islands and islets that, along with the San Juan Islands, form an archipelago that flows south between Washington mainland and the Olympic Peninsula. But this story stays in Canada. On the largest of the Southern Gulf Islands called Salt Spring. And we know how much I love my salt.
It took a while to decide to go to Salt Spring but once we did, we were making plans in no time. Two weeks time to be exact. Barely enough time to find a place on this island that, though the largest in the Gulf, isn't really that large at all. It certainly was not enough time to book a ferry. At least not the direct one (well the direct milk run I should say. The one that guarantees a place atop a ferry that stops at 3 islets before hitting the "big" one). It was enough time, however, to book a ferry half way there. We were guaranteed a place to Schwartz Bay, the Victoria harbour. But from there to Fulford we were on our own, in line with all the other long weekend island hoppers.
I say we, but let me introduce the cast. Karen, my friend from CBC Vancouver is the one who started all this, by suggesting we go to SPI in the first place. I admittedly mulled it over for some time and then, when I mentally committed, invited my new Dutch friends Stella and Jochem. Of course Ruby, the principal player in all my stories, was starring.
With a place to stay and a spot to sail, at least half way, it was on to food planning. I sent a note off early last week to say I'd bring the usual, snacks and staples and enough for egg buddies for our first morning. Stella replied to say she'd bring other necessities (toilet paper, alcohol and their nespresso maker. For what is a cottage without high end espresso?). Then she did whatever the Jochem's do whenever they don't understand a piece of Canadian jargon. They google it. "Sorry" she said. "But egg buddies??? http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Egg-Buddies.html ." The link, if you're too lazy to click it, is to a kid's arts and craft session on how to make home made chea pet pals from, go figure, egg shells. No Stella, egg buddy is simply my my nifty name for a breakfast sandwich.
Friday we were off! The Pig (Ruby) and the Beetle (VW) and the Frog (a green Subaru) made their way to a not so big, biggest Gulf Island for a long, long weekend. It was smooth sailing from Tsawwassen to Schwartz Bay but then we encountered another sea altogether. A sea of cars. And a three hour sail wait. Well, 1 and 1/2 if you're in a Beetle. We were the last car on. Beetle trumps Frog. Apparently.
(In 90 minutes you can buy a lot at a small island grocer and prep even more at a rock star cottage filled with windows looking out towards a setting sun with an idyllic lake view on a large but still tiny island in the Pacific South West. In 90 minutes you can even chill wine and beer and get the cheese to room temperature and make the arrival of the second half of the party feel exciting even though they sat and waited by themselves for those 90 minutes.)
Saturday morning we staved off egg buddies in favour of the fine foods we knew we'd find at the Saturday morning Island market. Plus, I was on a bit of a mission. I had to find cheese. Local. Canadian. And tasty. Don't get me started, but let's just say the Dutch (connoisseurs of the world's finest cheeses) were having a hard time finding any Canadian cheese worthy of the calories. My protestations were loosing steam. And because you know how much I like to protest, I had to go to best cheese source in the West. Good old Salt Spring Island. (That we were staying there that weekend is purely coincidental and while it adds colour to the story, it did not influence my decision to go, nor did it inspire the invitation to the Jochem's whatsoever. Not to mention, on this cheese subplot, I had an ace up my sleeve. If we came up empty handed I had brought a supply of Ontario's own, 6 year old Balderson's, cheddar. For those who can attest will agree, no other cheese is finer on the Egg Buddy).
To market to market. We bought fig and nut bread that weighed more than my head. And a bags of cheese that (come hell or high water) the Jochem's would sample (and LIKE, god-dammit). And, believe it or not. An egg buddy (reference link below)!! We lunched and then sped around the island visiting coves and exploring the sea. We fetched the pig in the lake, went for a kayak, and snacked on a sampling of that fig and nut bread and some admittedly great cheese before Stella and Jochem made a fabulous dinner.
Sunday we had a lazy start. Nespressos all around. Then. The making of the egg buddy. Under the watchful eye of the Egg Buddy.
Full of all that protein we went to conquer Mount Maxwell. A hike recommended to us by our hippy house owner. I will admit, the view from the top was breathtaking, even if I didn't have to catch my breath getting there (the "hike" was in fact a drive). We did a little hike on our own to feel worthy of the view before splitting up for the afternoon. Karen and I visited the Salt Spring's two wineries and putzed around the southern end of the island. When we got back Stella and Jochem wanted to cook again and had picked up groceries for a nice barbeque. But Ruby wasn't ready for food. That short-cut up the mountain meant she was ready to play and found an able and willing fetching partner in Jochem. You will tell from the pictures that the house is built on an incredible slope and the shoreline is a veritable mangrove. Thick and wild brush. But this did not dissuade Ruby in the least who put her pure bread blood to the test. Finding and retrieving balls we all counted for lost. She really is a little super star when it comes to fetch and this time even I was impressed.
Monday, just as the clouds rolled in, it was time to leave. We had a light breakie: fruit smoothies and leftover bread and cheese. Jochem was glad to see me pull out the Balderson's. "Where can you buy this" he asked. YAY!!! HE LIKES CANADIAN CHEESE. AND FROM ONTERRIBLE NO LESS. "Oh, you know, wherever." I said, smugly.
Still smarting from our "delayed" arrival we headed off extra early for the return ferry. We made it in plenty of time to park, enjoy the village of Fulford and make an early crossing to Schwartz Bay. Early enough to lunch in Victoria. On Victoria day. And though it was raining by the time we made it back to the mainland, I think that little crack in the sky, the one that let's that one beam of light poke through, meant the sun still shone on Salt Spring. The tiny biggest island in the Gulf...
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