On July 4 we took a one hour boat tour through the Victoria Gorge, an inlet leading northwestward from Victoria’s Inner Harbour. The coast of Vancouver Island is very rugged and there are many inlets up and down the island. The Gorge has an urban feel as there are houses, bridges, and a public park all along it.
The boat tour was a good introduction to Victoria. We saw some of the neighborhoods and learned some of the history of the city. Many of the old buildings from the gold rush era in the late 1800s still exist along the shore. Today the Gorge is popular with boaters, fishermen, and even swimmers since the shallow water warms up in the summer.
The 4th of July is just another day in Canada; their big celebration comes three days earlier on Canada Day. But our tour guide’s wife is from the US so he had a small American flag at the back of the boat to celebrate the day.
The Gorge park extends for over a mile, beginning about a mile upstream from downtown. We enjoyed taking walks in the Gorge park along a trail next to the water. But we avoided the Gorge on hot days as there was little shade.
