Victoria’s secrets

I hadn’t even been in Victoria, B.C., for a day when I found myself in the midst of a travel crisis of epic proportions. I wasn’t looking for trouble, but there it was in the middle of afternoon tea at The Empress. The weather was unusually cold and gray outside even for a December day, my kayaking tour had been canceled and I had been left with nothing to do, so I sought refuge from the elements at one of the city’s most famous attractions. Without a reservation.

While wearing a Gore-Tex raincoat and fleece pants.

I’m sure the outfit wasn’t quite in keeping with the dress code of this distinguished hotel, but the hostess seated me without batting an eye and the tea matron took my order without comment. Still, there are limits and I knew I was in danger of crossing the line after the server brought the tea accompanied by a multilayered tray of treats and a truly daunting array of cutlery.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if the forks hadn’t been lined up on the wrong side of the plate, but I knew I was in a pickle and I didn’t have a protocol advisor to help me. I’d either have to find the right fork or risk an international incident.

Fortunately, I chose wisely, the tension was broken and the manners police were dispatched to another etiquette emergency elsewhere in the city.

If I’m any indication, North America’s last great outpost of the British Empire isn’t what it used to be.

Sure, Victoria is still pulling in honeymooners and pensioners – “the newly wed and nearly dead,” as one local wag called them – who like its English atmosphere and enjoy whiling away the hours with garden walks and afternoon teas.

But people like me are discovering the city for a completely different reason: its soft-impact adventures.

These days biking, hiking, walking, kayaking and diving are among the biggest draws, says Heather McGillivray, a spokesperson with Tourism Victoria.

“I always tell people that residents don’t live here because you can ride on a double-decker bus and drink tea,” McGillivray says. “We live here because we can enjoy outdoor adventure 12 months out of the year.

“We have nature’s playground at our doorstep. It’s Victoria’s rugged beauty and ease of access to year-round adventure that attracts both residents and visitors alike.”

Such easy access is especially important for an island city where most visitors opt to hop a ferry from the mainland and leave their cars behind. While taking a car never hurts, it is more expensive and many of the best opportunities for adventure are within walking distance of the Inner Harbour.

When I wanted to kayak, for example, all I had to do was walk a few blocks from my hotel to hook up with the Inner Harbour Center. Less than five minutes later I was on the water working my way to the opposite shore, floating close to the CSB Esquimalt (a naval base), then snooping around the village at Westbay Marina with a small community of live-aboard boats.

Before we turned back my guide also showed me Westbay Marine Village RV Park, one of the most upscale recreational vehicle parks I’ve ever seen – or at least the one with the best view. Situated on a piece of shoreline next to the marina, all of the shiny, well-kept coaches looked out over the water and toward downtown Victoria.

What impressed me the most, however, was that I was out on the water in early December. Vancouver Island’s climate is so mild that the city is referred to as Canada’s banana belt, with average temperatures around 38 degrees during the colder months. Consequently, I was able to remain warm as long as I remembered to keep my sleeves out of the water.

Hey, I never said I was a skilled kayaker.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who was shocked by the racket my rowing was making. Despite the day’s calm weather, there were so few kayaks out that an otter stuck its head above the water as if it were trying to find out what all the noise was about at such a typically quiet time.

The kayaking is better in summer, of course, with plenty of inlets and beaches to explore beyond the Inner Harbour. But the waters are more crowded and there’s more competition for kayaks.

I didn’t have to go far to get a bike to cycle the city, either. I opted for Sports Rent, a bike shop near Chinatown, but there are plenty of places to rent wheels for the day – no small surprise, considering Victoria is the country’s cycling capital.

The approximately 57-kilometer (35.4-mile) Galloping Goose Regional Trail is a popular path for bikers and walkers alike, but a Cycle BC employee told me it would take almost an hour to reach the scenic section. Since I was on a business trip and only had a few hours to spare, I followed her suggestion and rode through downtown along the water to Dallas Road.

The street, which is part of the Scenic Marine Drive, provided a quick reward without all the work. Instead of spending 45 minutes riding inland before being treated to beautiful views, I found myself in an area that seemed more beach community than big city, with cottages and small houses on one side of the street and parks with walking trails and water views on the other.

Even before I made it out to the park zone, however, I found myself drawn to a 2,500-foot-long breakwater extending out into the waterway with a red-and-white lighthouse situated at the end. I parked and ambled along the walkway while watching float planes take off and ships speed out of the harbor.

The wall is more than just a popular place to snap a few photos of water scenes. Looking down over the edge I saw a team of divers on a lower walkway heading to their jumping-off point.

Tourism officials had told me that National Geographic magazine rated Victoria one of the world’s top cold-water diving destinations, but I was still having trouble wrapping my mind around the idea until I saw five divers take the plunge without hesitating. And even then I couldn’t understand why people who appeared so normal were so willing to subject themselves to such frigid conditions.

But then again, I’m the type of guy who’s willing to endure any sort of travel hardship as long as I can get a hot shower at the end of the day.

Heather Forsyth quickly set me straight on the issue.

“If you’re wearing the proper suit, it’s not that bad,” said the assistant manager of the Ogden Point Dive Center, which is located in a building at the foot of the walkway.

To hear her tell it, the experience is well worth any minor discomfort I might have experienced had I decided to strap on a tank and dive. It’s also a good place to dive in summer, but it’s best in winter when the visibility is at its highest, ranging up to 150 feet, Forsyth said.

Visibility is an important issue because there’s so much to see.

“People think of the tropics as being colorful, but we have more color here,” Forsyth said as she ticked off an extensive list of underwater wildlife she’s seen on a typical dive, including small invertebrates, ling cod, glass sponges, gill sharks and octopi. She’s also played with sea lions and wolf eel.

If diving along a wall isn’t your thing, there are a number of shipwrecks along the coast that make for an ideal day of exploring, she said.

Unconvinced, I resolved to remain above the water’s surface and went walking. Since I was so close, I decided to see what I could see on a short walk along the Galloping Goose. So I boldly strode across Johnson Street Bridge and turned left. The easy, asphalt path hugged the water as it wound past hotels, condominiums and houses, prompting me to wonder why the bike shop employee said the trail wasn’t scenic.

I found out why 30 minutes later. I had turned left when I should have turned right and ended up on the Westsong Walkway. Amused at my own ineptitude, I slowed down and enjoyed people watching as I ambled along. Two kids played along the beach and threw rocks when no one was around to see them, and a man walked a young golden retriever so cute that a couple and I stopped to chat with the owner.

Then we were treated to the sight of a man barking commands to his two large dogs as he passed by. When I first heard him sternly say “switch sides” I thought he was telling me to move, until he yelled “switch back” as he passed us and the dogs moved around him. The incident drew gaped-mouth stares of stunned silence from all of us and made me glad I’d chosen this route, even if it was purely accidental.

Looking for something more challenging, I followed the advice of a hotel clerk and drove 25 minutes from downtown to Mill Hill Regional Park. Since she told me it was an easy 30-minute hike, I made the mistake of staying in my street clothes. After all, a 200-meter elevation gain didn’t seem like such a big deal.

Unfortunately, I avoided the Calypso Trail in favor of the Auburn, the steeper of two paths up the hill, and ended up paying for my mistake with a shirt that became soaked in sweat long before I reached the top. Still, the view of Victoria and Esquimalt Harbor in the distance made the effort worthwhile.

The best way to round out an active weekend may well be a relaxing in-hotel massage. While I’m not normally a spa kind of guy, I couldn’t resist the idea of splurging on something called a scalp massage at the Magnolia Hotel and Spa where I was staying.

Once I arrived at the spa I was ushered to the treatment room and given a robe, a chair to sit in, a place to soak my tired feet and a nice cup of herbal tea.

Just herbal tea in a cup with a saucer. No finger sandwiches, no dainty pastries and no fussing over forks.

I was feeling more relaxed already.