Happy December everyone! I cannot believe we are already into the last month of 2019. Time passes by so fast and the next month is also going to fly by. But before diving into all of that, I want to take a step back and revisit my last few weeks on the road on Vancouver Island. After an incredible first week exploring around Victoria at the beginning of November, I was really excited to be staying on the island for another week and adventuring a bit further outside of Victoria.

The first place I visited was Salt Spring Island, one of the Southern Gulf Islands. I had never visited here before and was excited to explore it! I drove up island past Victoria and through Sidney to get to Swartz Bay, where I took the ferry to Fulford Harbour. It had been so long since I had been on a ferry, and it was so beautiful, a nice and sunny day too! When I arrived, I drove up to the center of Ganges where I was staying. The drive was so beautiful, through the woods and past vineyards, giving off a very rustic vibe. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the greatest vibe from the place I had initially booked in to stay, so I winded up leaving and booking elsewhere in Ganges, which was a good move. The Salt Spring Inn, where I winded up staying, was super cute and I would definitely recommend staying there if you are traveling on your own. Alternatively, I would love to visit the island again with a group of friends and stay in a B&B – they look so charming and are all throughout the island!

Despite that small hiccup, the rest of my time on the island was great. I feel like it is definitely one of those places that would be more fun to explore with a group of friends, especially because it is so remote, but it was nice to visit all the same. I checked out the Ganges Marina a bit and witnessed the most incredible sunset. I am going to have to make sure I visit Salt Spring Island again in the future!

The next day, we took the ferry back to the mainland and traveled back in to Victoria before continuing east to Sooke. The drive I took to Sooke was quite questionable because it was in the pitch black on an isolated road with very little traffic. To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure if I was even going to make it to the hotel because I was sketched out from the drive – but I did, and stayed at the Prestige Oceanfront Resort with a group of colleagues. The hotel was absolutely incredible, in a beautiful location right on the ocean, and I would love to come back in the future!

After our brief visit in Sooke, we went back in to Victoria near the Langford and Royal Bay area, which was also super gorgeous and located right on the water. That’s a common feature with most places on the island: anywhere you go is close to the ocean, which is so incredible! The next day we continued north up island, driving through Malahat and Goldstream and stopping in Mill Bay, which was a stunning drive. Then we continued up through Cowichan to Duncan. The following day, we continued up through Chemainus and Ladysmith to end our journey in Nanaimo. It was so incredible to visit all of these communities along the way and take in some of the sites they had to offer! It was a great week with a ton of awesome people and I am so glad I got to end off my travel season in this way.

I stayed the following weekend to continue traveling a bit more on my own. I traveled up past Nanaimo to Qualicum Beach, which was really neat to see, and then journeyed back down to Victoria. Along the way I stopped again in Cowichan Bay and drove along the water as much as I could. Road tripping the island is truly an incredible experience! I stayed one final night in Victoria and enjoyed a bit more of checking out downtown, before heading towards the airport once again, this time stopping in Brentwood Bay and Sidney before arriving at the airport. So many amazing places to explore here, and I’m so glad I had the chance to do so. I really loved my time on the island and I’m sure I will be back soon to explore it again.

This week on the island was my final week traveling for work, and it is so crazy to believe it has come to an end! I had a really amazing travel season and I am so grateful for all of the places I had the opportunity to visit, people I had the chance to meet, and connections I was able to make. Forever thankful for this crazy wonderful life of mine. That’s a wrap on #chiaraexploresbc for now 😉 but stay tuned for more adventures of mine! The past few weeks in Vancouver have been pretty crazy, and I’ll be releasing an update on them soon, and during the holidays I’ll be heading up to the Okanagan for a bit so you can expect an update from that as well. Thank you for joining me on this crazy wonderful journey. <3