We're not tourists - we live here!

Owning a home in Niagara Falls, we are accustomed to avoiding the popular tourist areas during the summer season. We've quickly learned that discovering Victoria is similar. Our homeowners suggested we wait until September before taking in the sights of Olde Town and the inner harbour of Victoria. It's home to majestic old buildings, whale-watching tours, and apparently great fish and chips. For now, we'll focus on other areas, saving our inner harbour walking tours until the crowds lessen.

The black blob in front of Greg is Fanci :)

Today we crossed the bridge that separates the inner and upper harbours and went to the west side of the city. Along with Fanci, we enjoyed walking along the Westsong Walkway that hugs the water's edge.

In reading its website to do this blog, I see that if we'd continued down to West Bay - about 3 km (2 miles) - we'd have seen floating homes. That sounds like something interesting to do another day.

Victoria is a popular stop for cruise ships, and today there was one in the harbour.  Harbour Air seaplanes also regularly flies between Victoria harbour and Vancouver harbour, and one took off as I was taking a photo of the cruise ship. It's not really directly above the cruise ship, although it does look that way here.

On our walk, we saw a cluster of these arbutus trees. They are Canada's only native broad-leafed evergreen trees. They are easily recognizable by their red flaking bark and are an endangered species. They are found close to the Pacific, as far down as into parts of Mexico.

Hearing this reminded me of when we lived in Mexico, earlier this year. Where we lived, there was a tree the locals named the gringo tree. They called it that because it reminded them of the white people who came and burned from the sun and were red and peeling. They don't look similar in the photos, but I'm wondering if they are related.

After our walk, looking back towards the inner harbour, I noticed a cluster of relatively new high-rise complexes, as well as a large crane working on a new development. It's quite a contrast to the older inner harbour area. Victoria's population is increasing rapidly, and housing - to rent or own - is becoming increasingly difficult to find. We're currently at a time where the university students are returning, and the competition to find housing at a reasonable price is fierce. Vacancy rates are at an all-time low. Like many other areas of Canada, an affordable housing crisis exists. 

Thankfully, free accommodations are one of the many benefits of house sitting!

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Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Weather: blustery, high of 21ºC (70ºF), low of 17ºC (63ºC)

Note: I have prior approval from homeowners to post photos of their homes or pets.