I’m not a sentimental man, but I do admit to getting somewhat bleary eyed when I remember my time in Vancouver.  Having arrived with the naive belief that everyone in British Columbia would welcome someone from the mother country, (they all thought I was Australian), I found relief from my failure to secure work by going on trips. Lots of them.

Spring in the step

One place which made me feel a whole lot better about my work free life was Burgoyne Bay. This insanely beautiful part of Salt Spring Island, the largest of Canada’s Gulf Islands located in the Georgia Straight between the city of Vancouver and Vancouver Island, is home to a very unique blend of people.

In a world replete with gated communities, old hippies and their animals aren’t normally neighbours with the residents of million dollar houses.

Look a million dollars

Picture this: Sitting in the sky blue waters is a strange double-decker vessel with a large wooden dock tied beside it. The dock is covered with an electric array of scrap. A man with flowing locks, wearing a battered beret, paddles a grimy rowboat towards the dock, where a woman holding a cat greets him with a kiss. In the background, like seacraft from another world are vast million dollar yachts. Behind them, on the shore, sit fancy mini mansions.

Dodgers, dropouts and superstars

In a world replete with gated communities, nine times out of ten, these boat people and their scrawny animals would have been forced to move away. Not on Salt Spring Island.  Here the Woodstock generation, Vietnam draft dodgers and dropouts, live cheek to cheek with Hollywood A listers like Robin Williams.

An unlikely alliance

The residents not only happily live together they fight together.  In the last few years they’ve successfully stopped all efforts at development. Burgoyne Valley is now a Provincial Park, but a few years back it was a battleground. Hippie residents strapped themselves to trees while the more well heeled residents used their contacts. This unlikely alliance succeeded.

Microclimate to grow for

Doubtless they’ll be more battles ahead. In a very rainy part of the world, Salt Spring’s microclimate gives more sunshine than anywhere else on Canada’s west coast. In fact, it’s warm enough to grow grapes as well as veritable bounty of food. One of the reasons it was so attractive to those who wanted to leave behind the rat race was the ease with which you can grow your own food.

Fulfilling Fulford

My favourite village, (there are only three) was Fulford harbour. It’s very chilled out as only a place with a few funky shops, a couple of cafes, a kayak rental place and a grocers can be. Painted in the rainbow colours, the wooden buildings are restricted to single story.  If you want to hang out with the locals, check out The Fulford pub. Next door is a small tourist information hut where you can pick up a map of the Salt Spring artist’s studios. Studios are scattered around the island and items for sale include wine, jewellery, pottery, hemp clothing, bread, woodwork and. The ferry departures to Vancouver Island every couple of hours.

karma this way

I didn’t stay long enough to visit all the studios, but I did have time to find my Zen. Returning to Vancouver batteries recharged from my time getting in tune with nature, my life picked up. I even got a job. Perhaps it’s the hippie in me, but I’ll always thank Salt Spring for giving me good karma.

Destinations: British Colombia, Canada