Published: 14.07.2024
Happy Birthday to Juliane:-) To make her day special, we asked the chef Jimmi if he could decorate a table. Jimmi was very friendly and went all out, getting balloons, stickers, and a pin. Juliane was pleasantly surprised and extremely happy. Surprise successful - Thank you Jimmi :-)
Then it was time to check out and head to our final stop before heading back home.
Before leaving the island, we made a detour to the Victoria Butterfly Gardens just outside Victoria but on the way to the ferry. Here, we saw amazing free-flying butterflies and macaws, as well as insects, turtles, frogs, and many beautiful flowers and plants. Simply wonderful. In the end, we even had the chance to hold the Green Macaw on our arm.
Next, we headed to the ferry to Swartz Bay for the journey to Tsawwassen. This time, after a long search on the BC Ferries website, we found and used a reservation option for 20 CAD. This time, we were quite far ahead on the ferry and didn't have to worry ;-) The ferry was a bit smaller (but still large) and swayed more this time. We could often hear car alarms going off.
In Vancouver, we initially went to the wrong Sandman Hotel (there were two) and were surprised that they didn't have a reservation for us. So, we loaded all the luggage back into the car and drove to the other hotel, which is significantly larger with two towers ;-) Here, there is even an indoor pool with a slide and a heated outdoor pool - which we had to try out right away :-)