So we're getting ready to leave Victoria. We've had a great time on Vancouver Island - indeed have had a most amazing start to our trip. Tomorrow we're heading off to Vancouver via seaplane - another first for us both so more excitement ahead!

Yesterday we took advantage of a sunny morning on the veranda to soak up some rays and also to catch up on blog posts from our trips around the island. In the afternoon we went into Victoria, catching the bus there, to visit the Royal British Columbia Museum.

We very much enjoyed the First Peoples Gallery and have some interesting photographs which we'll post. We thought that the displays were good but Jill felt maybe not quite as informative or interesting as similar ones in the museum in Anchorage. Difficult though to say exactly what the differnce was: it may have been in part to do with the lighting which is deliberately very subdued here but that doesn't seem enough to explain the feeling that something was maybe missing. The exploration of fascinating and distinctive cultures in the exhibits was hugely interesting but also left us feeling that we understood very little. The impact of white explorers and settlers was clearly immense on the way of life - indeed on life itself with introduced diseases killing many thousands of the First People. The displays about the way in which the European settlers felt the need to 'civilise' what were clearly very emotionally intelligent and developed cultures were poignant and made us feel a sense of loss for the aboriginal cultures.

We walked home along the shoreline on a path we'd used before, following the route taken by many dog-walkers and joggers - it does offer a pleasant view with a cool sea breeze so no surprise that it is a popular route.

Today we again spent much of the morning on the sunny veranda reading and enjoying the warm sun. But have now been busy packing and cleaning to be ready to leave tomorrow. It is fascinating to see how other people organise their homes: we think that our house-owners can't ever use the vacuum cleaner or the iron. The house is clean, spotlessly so, so maybe their house-keeper brings her own with her. We're pretty sure that we've done more cooking than the kitchen usually sees! And Dave has just announced that the cooker is now returned to it's previously clean state.

We're sorry to be leaving such a beautiful place but also are looking forward to the next stages in our trip.