On the sixteenth day of our Ultimate Alaska Cruise, we visited the city of Victoria, after finishing our long journey at sea, southbound from Alaska. Our official planned excursion for the day was to visit Craigdarroch Castle, but the schedule allowed us plenty of time in port, so we hoped to eat dinner in town.
We woke early, as always, and dressed for a chilly, breezy experience on deck. It was just before sunrise, and we were entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which defines the border between the US and Canada. The weather looked to be good yet again. In May, it is easy to get rained on up here, but not today.
Moving with the wind, sea birds used the bow of the ship for lift, and soared above us
By 6am, the breakfast buffet was open, and we ate whatever we wanted. We also sat next to the window and enjoyed the view. We chose an interior stateroom for the cruise, so we had to go elsewhere to get decent views. Luckily, we were young enough to walk wherever we wanted. There were other passengers of less mobility, who needed the balcony staterooms in order to get views more readily.
As we left the buffet, we met one of our dinner companions by the elevator. She invited us to her balcony stateroom for a visit! This was an unexpected pleasure. She and her husband were on our same floor, but they were further astern and on the starboard side. This gave us a chance to sit in the sun and watch the world go by. I’m not gonna lie: It was good to be rich! Even if it didn’t last very long.
Arriving in Victoria took all morning long. At least the sights along the strait were worth looking at. We remained up above on the Sun Deck most of the time, and watched as Vancouver Island passed by to port. I used Google Maps to locate various features on shore, and pointed out to Vicki some of the places we backpacked through in 2019, on Canada’s famous West Coast Trail. That was a lot of fun, and we camped on the beach every night.
We went back to the stateroom once we arrived at the cruise ship terminal. It was lovely weather, and we dressed accordingly. I had my daypack ready to receive any excess layers of clothing that we shed along the way, or carry any goodies we might buy. Then we headed down the gangway and entered Canada! The ship did all the tedious paperwork and we went through customs effortlessly.
We were still about an hour and a half early for our excursion, so we took a walk to nearby Fisherman’s Wharf. This was a very touristy region, with plenty of things to spend money on. They also had whale-watching tours and other fun things. Our friends went on one, and got to see, up close, a pod of killer whales making their renowned “Bubble Net” to catch fish! We saw it earlier from very far away, which was less satisfying. But at least we got to see the videos they took. Oh well. You can’t be everywhere.
On the walk back, we veered off to check out the harbor breakwater. It turned out to be decorated with native-inspired Formline Art. This took up a bit more time. Then we headed for the parking lot near the terminal, where the excursion buses were all lined up.
We boarded the tour bus and headed off through the streets of Victoria. It was a very lovely town, and everything seemed clean and orderly. It looked like a fine place to live, in other words. The driver parked on a busier street not far from the castle, and we all filed outside, then walked the rest of the way up the hill. Naturally, Craigdarroch Castle was perched on top of a hill. Where else would a millionaire (from back in the day when a million was a MILLION) build his mansion?
Built in 1890, it was a fine example of that architectural period. It even had a proper tower, just like a fairytale castle. But the place was under a bit of a curse. The millionaire, Mr. Dunsmuir, died before it was completed, and his wife and children moved in. When she passed away, the inheritance was split three ways, and they had to sell it off. After that, it became a hospital for a while, then hosted several other tenants. It was only later that it became a museum, and many antique exhibits were installed inside. In other words, the furnishings, while lovely, weren’t truly authentic, in terms of being owned by the Dunsmuirs. But that didn’t take away from the craftsmanship of the castle itself, or the quality of the exhibits. We followed a set path, gradually climbing to the third floor, examining many rooms along the way, then descending via the servants’ stairways and leaving via another door.
The tour bus driver took us on a loop around the city after that. We drove along the coastline, then headed into downtown Victoria to view the British Columbia Capitol Building, as well as the iconic Empress Hotel, which held a special place in Vicki’s heart.
Back at the ship, we realized that it was still too early to go aboard. We got on one of the free buses that the city provided to the cruise ship terminal. Tourism is obviously important to the city of Victoria, and we appreciated it. We headed straight to the heart of downtown. We had been here before, and had a good idea of where we wanted to go. Namely: Chinatown for dinner!
After dinner, we walked down the hill toward the harbor, and looked at the boats and drawbridge. We headed back uphill via a different route, and arrived at the bus stop. Since one bus just left, we had some time. Vicki entered the famous Rogers Chocolate shop and bought two boxes. We planned to give them to her relatives tomorrow in Vancouver, as they were scheduled to meet us when we arrived. Then it was time to return to the ship.
Back on board, I decided to use the treadmill at the gym, as our day’s hiking hadn’t really broken a sweat. I still planned on doing some backpacking in a few weeks, and I needed to stay in shape. After that, it was time for a shower and a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow would be our final port visit, to the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada.
For a topographic map of the cruise see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the voyage see my Flickr Page
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