Tag Archives: travel

Italian Hydrofoils

This is a throwback to a trip long ago. We went to Italy and started our trip out up in Milan. We made a day trip to Lake Como and I was delighted to see hydrofoils on the lake. As a kid in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the hydrofoils were a part of life. They made the quick crossing to Southampton – half the time of the ferry. It cost a bit more but it was so much easier. When we lived on the waterfront, I got so used to the hydrofoils humming in and out of the harbor. They were built in Italy and one of the ones I saw on Lake Como seemed to be an identical design. They are long gone from the Solent but clearly were still plying Lake Como when we were there. I wonder if they still are?

BC Ferries at Work

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Our ferry ride to Swartz Bay was on one of BC Ferries larger boats. There were multiple decks to explore and a great view to watch passing by once we got in amongst the Gulf Islands. We also saw a few other ferries as we went. The ferry running the opposite service to ours passed us by as we made our way through one of the narrow passages between the islands. While not identical, it was a similar size to our boat.

The smaller islands also have service. Since they are not generating anything like the traffic that Vancouver to Victoria generates, the ferries are a lot smaller. We saw some docked up as we passed while others were making their own crossings. The waterways were pretty busy with ferry traffic for a November weekday. I wonder how many were tourists like us and how many were people going about their normal business.

Tiger Taiwan

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How about another airline that I don’t normally see? Tiger Taiwan operates a number of flights to Japan. I saw them both at Narita and at Hyakuri/Ibaraki. I figured I would share a couple of shots of their jets in service for those that haven’t seen them before.

Captain Cook Not Getting Respect

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The waterfront of Victoria Harbour has a statue of Captain Cook. This is a long way from his home town of Whitby but the lad did get about a bit. Given the nature of his efforts, you might think he deserves a bit of respect (unless you come from a place that he ended up harming irreparably). A local gull -or one of its cohorts – was clearly not from the respect camp.

Coho at Work

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There is a direct ferry from Port Angeles to downtown Victoria operated by Black Ball Line. Their boat is an old ship called the Coho. We have taken this route on a previous visit but didn’t use it this time. However, the regular arrival and departure of the Coho meant we saw it frequently during our stay. The ship has loading apertures on each side of the hull through which the cars can be loaded. Otherwise it looks like a pretty normal ship.

It wasn’t hard to know when they were leaving as there would be a blast on the ship’s horn. This was followed by swinging the boat around in the main harbor in order to be able to head out through the narrow passage to the open sea. The Coho first entered service in 1959 so is clearly not a new vessel. I have no idea whether there is any plan to replace her or whether, with regular refits, she will continue in service for years to come.

Passing Through the Gulf Islands

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To get to Victoria for our visit, we took the BC Ferries route from Tsawwassen. This route crosses some open water but then it weaves its way through the Gulf Islands. This makes for a really picturesque journey. On the day we crossed, it was a cloudy day but the beauty of the islands and the waterways between them was more than enough to compensate for the gloomy skies. Some of the passages are really narrow so you find yourself very close to the shore and looking at the houses and woodland areas along the water’s edge.

If you don’t mind being blown about a bit, standing out on the deck rewards you with great views. The only problem is you can only see to one side at a time. You need to nip through the boat to the other side periodically to see what is passing on that side. Not such a relaxing way to sightsee!

Otter Crew

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While walking along the harbor in Victoria, I happened to be looking over the edge when three otters came out from under where we were and dropped into the water. I was quite surprised by this and we watched them swim out a way into the water before the dived. It wasn’t long before they popped back up with their catches in their mouths. They then climbed up onto the jetty for one of the ferries to enjoy their crab lunch and to play around as otters are prone to do!

Rebuilding With a Shell

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We spent a long weekend in Victoria BC recently. A block from our hotel was an old building undergoing a complete rebuild. This is something that I have seen done a lot in London and I like the idea. Rather than flatten the building, the exterior structure is retained. The interior is completely removed and a new building is created within. This allows the city to maintain the look and feel of the old buildings with the authentic finishes while providing a modern building interior that will continue to be useful for current needs. The structure to hold up the exterior while work is underway is impressive on its own. I look forward to seeing what the finished building is like on some future visit.

Rotunda

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The provincial legilsature’s parliament building in Victoria is open to the public. The large dome, visible from outside, covers a rotunda beneath. You can see up from the first floor through an opening and then the second floor has a wider space under the dome. This area was filled by a tour party while we were there and they seemed to take an inordinately long time to move on. The process was extended as the tour guide told their stories and this was then translated for the benefit of the group. The only reason I mention it is that it meant I struggled to get a shot without some of them in it!

If we had hung around the party, we would, no doubt, have learned a lot of the symbolism of the artwork included in the building. It appeared to be a lot of the work that had been involved in developing British Columbia but I could be wrong. Directly under the rotunda was a boat that had been carved by a previous Premier and a First Nations representative. It was a neat piece of carving but I felt it could have been displayed in a way that would have shown off the work better.

Plenty of 200ERs But the 300ERs Avoid Me

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While I enjoyed my visit to Haneda earlier this year, I was a little frustrated by one thing. Regular readers will know of my interest in trying to capture the articulated gear feature of the 777-300ER. Haneda provided a great opportunity to photograph this as the departing planes were rotating almost directly in front of me. It is also an airport that gets plenty of 777s. Unfortunately, all of the ones that came my way were 200ERs. There were 300ERs departing too but they all went off the parallel runway on the opposite side of the terminal to me. I could only see them once airborne and backlit. Someone in air traffic must have been trying to thwart me!