Old Friends & Watching Whales
Day 7 - Victoria to Vancouver
The following day we had made plans to meet with an old high school friend of mine, Raluca. She originally lived in my hometown of Toronto but moved to Victoria for new opportunities. It had been years since we last spoke or saw each other for that matter. We had tried to meet up the last time I was in the area but since it was a work trip, I never had the chance.
We met at the Canoe Brewpub for lunch. Located near Chinatown, this place seemed promising with a variety of craft beers on tap and an intriguing menu. Raluca beat us there and had gotten us a nice table outside on their waterfront patio. That was probably as good as the experience got as it went all downhill from there. Not from the company - no way! We all chatted up a storm and caught up on the years we had missed. The good conversation wasn’t enough to distract us from what we were served.
Alex had an orange IPA which tasted like dish soap and my beer glass had a fruit fly in it. When I tried to fish it out, the bug disintegrated into my beer. Yum. I suppose I could’ve asked for a new glass but I didn’t want them wasting beer! My beer was actually pretty good - too bad I can’t remember now exactly what it was.
As far as food goes, I had ordered a vegetarian pizza
Or “Flatbread” as so many pretentious restaurants have come to call something that is actually just a standard pizza. I mean, it was okay. But not much better than something I could make at home.
Alex got the Thai Chicken Curry
When this came out, I was like, what the hell is that? Not sure what the chefs’ take on Thai food is, but they need to eat more Thai food if this is what they think curry should be. I mean, there was practically no vegetables served with this. And you can’t count that green stuff on top as a vegetable. At least serve it with some broccoli or red bell pepper to add colour and substance. At $25, we found this to be EXTREMELY overpriced for a chicken breast and white rice.
Canoe Brewpub was a huge disappointment food and drink wise. The atmosphere was awesome and the place had great potential being right on the water. It’s too bad the food didn’t live up to that. We concluded this place was nothing more than a tourist trap with overpriced food.
After we said our goodbyes to Raluca, we headed to our next destination which was a whale watching tour with Eagle Wing Tours. We checked in at the pier and had some time to kill so we wandered around.
The food vendors here looked way better than where we had just been, and way better priced too. Oh well, now we know.
I was feeling a bit nervous about going out on the water after my ordeal with the hot springs tour in Tofino. This tour was going to be at least 3 and a half hours so I had to prepare myself.
We boarded the boat after our exceptionally knowledgeable tour guides introduced themselves. The boat was large, with washrooms onboard and nice leather seats inside. They supplied us with jackets, hats and gloves, which I was extremely thankful for as it was much, much colder out on the water compared to on land. I’d say we turned out pretty stylin’ though
I think the only part of me that was cold were my feet, so don’t forget to wear socks! You can always go back inside if you get too cold.
We saw a ton of humpback whales on our ride but sadly no orcas. Sigh, maybe one day. We did have very good conversations with the guides though. It really enhanced our overall experience. They were very focused on conservation and even more about marine biology. At one point, one of the guides pulled out some seaweed floating in the water and talked about it for 15 minutes. It wasn’t as captivating as, say, holding a baby otter, but it opened our eyes to what else is in the water and how important it is to the ecosystem.
The 4 hours spent on the boat flew by and we were back on land before we knew it. All that learning made our tummies rumbly, so we sought our dinner spot, which Raluca had recommended to us.
The place was called Rica Salsa, serving up authentic Mexican food. A small, hole in the wall, operated by 2 guys who clearly love what they do and have a passion for food. Located right by Beacon Hill park.
We both were in the mood for burritos so Alex got his first
Interesting how it was served in a pool of sauce but it did add to the overall flavour. Alex says this was very tasty and full of flavour. Much better than the bland burritos we are subjected to here in Toronto. I mean, don’t get me wrong I love Burrito Boyz and Fat Bastard but you could tell the ingredients here were much more fresh and they used more spices in the food.
I opted for the Veggie Burrito Bowl
This was not at all what I expected but it was absolute perfection. This thing had pomegranate seeds, mango, and guacamole on top of a bed of rice and beans and cheese. Holy crap, it was delicious. I’ve never had a burrito bowl with pomegranate seeds and mango before! Who knew the combination could taste so good?! And priced at $13.50 this was worth every penny.
With food this good, we had to try more. So we ordered some Fish tacos to go. The man behind the counter seemed hesitant to give them to us - either because he was shocked we could eat more or he knew they weren’t the best thing on the menu..... because they weren’t lol.
The fish wasn’t breaded, which was fine. We don’t always like fish in our tacos to be breaded. But I don’t think this fish was marinated in anything so it was a very strong fish flavour. If you’re into full-flavoured fish, like herring or mackerel, then you’d probably like this. These were definitely sub par to the burritos we had but still decent.
Rica Salsa was a pleasant surprise and worth a visit when you’re in Victoria. Stay away from the tourist traps and put your money into places like this with hard working folk who put care and effort into the food they make!
We had an early wake up call set for the next morning so after dinner we headed back to our hotel to chill out for the rest of the evening.
Until next time... Eat, Drink, Travel!