We pulled into Esquimalt after running the Strait from Barkley Sound on the west coast. Up to this point, our lives had been comprised of sailing the whale-laden Pacific Ocean between remote, rocky anchorages teeming with otters, seals and eagles. We'd had weeks on end of reveling in the absolute back and beyond of nowhere. The two towns we visited during our month on the west coast of Vancouver Island were all remote, small and quiet with no real sense of the rest of the world. Entering Esquimalt was like walking up to a wall with a light switch on it that says: "CIVILIZATION" and flicking it on. Cars, tankers, airplanes, ferries, traffic all sounded foreign and strange. We heard our first siren and sat up with a start. I think we were a bit sad to have left the wilderness feel of the west coast behind. But if we are going to sail to Mexico and meet up with Christy's sister McKenzie and soon-to-be brother-in-law Matt, there are schedules to keep and so we found ourselves back in the modern world.
We pulled the dinghy off the foredeck and ran over to check out an old British Naval Armory on Cole Island at the very back of the harbor. I don't know much about the history of this place other than it had a.) some really interesting brick architecture and b.) very uplifting grafitti. We scrambled around on the island for a spell and dinghied back to the boat for another round of napping before an afternoon exit to make for Sidney.
Christy climbing trees.
The armory on Cole Island.
Hello World anchored in Esquimalt Harbor (on the left).
48°27.068'N 123°26.808'W
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