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Visiting Salt Spring Island |
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Saturday, 26 June 2004 00:00 |
 For several years we have heard about Salt Spring Island: Salt Spring Island is where all "the hippies" went; it has more artists per capita than anywhere else in Canada; they enjoy the best climate in Canada. Well today we wanted to find out if everything we had heard about the largest, most populated of the Gulf Islands was true.
At first the forecast for today was for an overcast, cool day but thankfully it was clear and sunny with a high of 24C. It was a great day for the short ferry ride to Salt Spring from Swartz Bay and on our sail over, we watched as a pair of dolphins jumped through the waves beside us. At the Salt Spring terminal we picked up a hitchhiker (a young student with a skateboard under his arm) who helped us find the Salt Spring Market in Ganges. Local artists, farmers and food vendors host this wonderful market with musical entertainment provided by young musicians throughout the venue. We wandered around from booth to booth tasting samples and enjoying the colourful displays and friendly people.
Afterwards, we walked around the town and toured some of the local galleries enjoying the vast assortment of amazing art by the many talented local artists. We drove around the island and took the ferry from Vesuvius back to Crofton, just north of Duncan on Vancouver Island. The seventy-five minute drive back down Highway 1 to Metchosin was pleasant and familiar, as we had driven it last weekend when we went to Qualicum Beach. We learned that everything we had heard about Salt Spring was only partially true: the weather IS wonderful but there are no "hippies", just gifted artists; spiritual, laid back people and an ambience like no other place in Canada!
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