This weekend fiance Theodora and I took a trip to Galiano Island. In the late fall, early winter the island sharply contrasted with the Galiano of early summer that we had known and loved.
In the summer, Galiano Island is flush with tourists. Located between Vancouver Island and Vancouver, the island is the closest by ferry to the Lower Mainland. Its East coast looks out over the city, whose lights are clearly visible across the cool blue channel.
Its close proximity makes it a top choice for Lower Mainlanders and other tourists looking to experience the Gulf Islands over a day or two. In the warm months of the year it feels overrun by people. During one visit this summer we attended the wedding of Gumboot correspondent Godfrey von Nostitz-Tait (otherwise know as our man Tait). The island was playing host that weekend to several weddings, thousands of visitors and many more seasonal residents who flock back to the wooded paradise when the flowers start to bloom and the frost disappears.
There are roughly 1258 people who live on the island year round. This population swells by thousands in the summer. During the temperate months of June, July and August you’ll see dozens of cyclists rolling along the hilly rural roads. Many other visitors will be camping at Montague Harbour campsite, a gorgeous spot, lying in a sheltered harbour of what was once the principle gateway onto the island until it was usurped by Sturdies Bay, which lies on the south edge of the island. Other visitors indulge in a variety of summer activities ranging from canoeing, kayaking, hiking, beach combing, fishing, diving and generally relaxing.
Despite strong demand for development, the local “island trust” has remained firm in slowing any build up and has kept the island resolutely rural. Homes are hidden away in the bush. Aside from a few patches of commercial development at the ferry docks and at nearby Montague, there’s little density or concentration. Instead Galiano’s residents get by with a small handful of restaurants (half of which close during the winter months), a bakery, a small bookstore, an ice cream shop and a couple grocery stores.
In the winter, the crowds evaporate. The little kiosk that serves Indonesian and German food (Max and Moritz) at the ferry is closed (though there is still a week left – try the currywurst with fried onions, you won’t be disappointed). The line ups at the little BC Ferries terminal are manageable. As the temperature drops, frost starts to appear on the woody landscape. Islanders – the true islanders who stay year round – are bundled under wool coats, scarves and aged unfashionable – yet comfortable – sweaters.
There are two staple stores that feed the community. The gas station and the Daystar (known from now on as the Hippiemart). The gas station functions also as a dry and frozen food shop, video store and liquor store. Just like in Quebec, this is a place where you can pick up a frozen dinner, an action flick and a 12 pack of local Vancouver Island beer all at the same spot.
The Hippiemart is the antithesis of the Gas Station. Located across the road, it also carries videos. But not your typical Hollywood blockbusters, but rather movies like Deepah Metah’s “Water”, “Greenberg” and anything that A.O. Scott of the New York Times has given a raving review. Most things stocked in the Hippiemart are organic, fresh looking and tasty. Beef sold is happy. Their bread is imported from Vancouver’s Commercial Drive’s own Uprising Bakery. The chocolate is brought in from Saltspring Island. Everything about the Hippiemart screams local. The older I get, the more I love the place.
In the winter (and probably in the summer as well) The Hummingbird pub is the hub of the community – and not just for alcoholics. One of the best restaurants in the area, I’ve never had a bad meal there. If you like hamburgers, go for one of their platters (the Galiano burger is my favourite!) or try their fish and chips. Inside the pub, the winter community congregates. While jammed with weddings and tourists in the summer, in the winter everything slows down. People relax by the bar, play a couple rounds of pool or a game or two of chess. NFL or CFL football games quietly display the exploits of top athletes via a big screen TV positioned in the corner and a kino board flashes randomly in the din. As hokey as all this sounds, it isn’t. The pub emits a warm glow of informality that’s hearty and attractive in cool winter evenings. This is no chain restaurant. Little that is particularly polished, though there is something innately comforting about the whole place.
This weekend, after visiting the Hummingbird, we were lucky enough to pop by the Galiano community hall for their annual mushroom festival. Jammed with islanders of all ages, the mushroom festival had dozens of varieties of big and small mushrooms strewn across a series of tables. Most mushrooms were labelled. Green meant safe to eat, black writing marked an unknown danger and red meant eat this at your peril. We sat on the stage and ate mushroom soup and observed an elderly couple munching on mushroom and lobster pate. We’d arrived late and so missed out on the pate. It seemed the mushroom festival had attracted many more islanders than the kitchen organizers had expected. It was only 12:30 and the festival, set to run to 3 PM, had already run out of food.
Mushrooms, mushrooms everywhere!
Sitting at the table and taking in this unique community we were struck by the lack of “hustle and bustle” that would often characterize a similar event in the city. People seemed to be taking more time. Slowly appraising the fungi. We left the mushroom festival full from a hearty bowl of soup (which aside from needing a good pinch of sea salt was as filling as it was tasty). Warm and satiated, we headed out into the frosty morning, ready to wander some trails and read by the sea shore. A great weekend on a great island.