To ride the ferry between Victoria and Vancouver takes about one hour and thirty-five minutes. Many passengers spend this time having lunch or a snack in one of the ferry's eating places. This is a shot of the entrance to the on-board cafeteria called the Coastal Cafe. There is also a more upscale restaurant with an extensive seafood buffet and a small, mostly automated coffee bar. Each ferry also has, in addition to several large lounges, a video arcade for the kids, a play area for smaller children, and a gift shop selling books, magazines, souvenirs and snacks. There are also work areas where laptops may be plugged in.
On a quick trip to Vancouver last week I had occasion to wait at the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal and noticed there this beautiful totem pole. It is a work of famed Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Chief Henry Hunt. It was carved to mark the centennial of the Province of British Columbia in 1966 and depicts a grizzly bear (top) and a whale. Henry Hunt was born in 1923 and worked with Mungo Martin and the BC Provincial Museum in replicating many decaying totem poles as well as on his own superb creations such as this prize-winning pole. In 1983 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts by the University of Victoria. He died in 1985.
Victoria is on an island so always the first step in any trip to or from the city is to cross to the mainland. You can fly but most people take one of the large car ferries that cross hourly during the day. It takes a little less than two hours to cross in a ferry such as the one pictured above. If you're out on deck you will almost certainly see some seals and maybe some orca as well.
