From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

After our adventures in Tofino and Uclueclet (on the West coast of Vancouver Island) with their long beaches and very touristy elements, we took the ferry to Vancouver. As soon as we got off the ferry, an older couple came up to us and were super interested in our trip. Then they left. A few minutes later, the husband hurried back and told us that he really wanted to buy us a latte. We were a bit taken aback, and only asked for a small tea. He came back with two big mugs of tea...then ran away again. We sat and drank our tea, and wondered what exactly Vancouver would have in store for us.

We used the “warmshowers” network again in Vancouver, and it’s a good thing we did: there’s only one campsite in Vancouver, and it’s out of the way and always full. This way, we were able to meet Adrienne, a nurse in North Vancouver, as well as Ouri and Jergus. Ouri’s mother is Indian/Native American, and he’s an architect from Yellowknife (in the far North of Canada). Jergus is Slavic and is a set designer for theatre and opera productions. We have really enjoyed using the network because we’ve been able to meet lots of really different people who’ve travelled a lot and don’t think that we’re nuts! All the members have been really welcoming and willing to help us out. This time, for example, the one night that we were supposed to stay with Ouri and Jergus turned into three!

The city itself had a relaxing effect on us, and we pretty much just wandered around Vancouver, on foot and on the bikes. We saw Granville Island, the market, the Seaweed trail that goes all the way along the bay, etc.

We did some research on microfinance, and found that there were several microfinance institutions in Vancouver. We went to the governmental one, a department called “Western Economic Diversification Canada,” and talked to the receptionist. She listened to our project and tried to find someone for us to speak to , and a few minutes later introduced us to Greig, a senior business officer. He was really interested, and called Catherine who is the manager of the Microfinance department at Vancity, a bank in Vancouver. We were able to arrange a meeting with both of them two days later. It was totally beyond our expectations – the French are generally so bureaucratic – that we never thought it possible to get access so quickly to people so high up in the chain of command. So the four of us had conversation about microfinance over coffee Thursday morning at 9:00 am! It was incredible!
To get back to the ferry docks, we had to take a bus for a couple of kilometres because bikes were not allowed on the road: what an experience! In British Columbia, all the buses have special bike racks at the front, with enough room for two bikes. So we had to take all the bags off, throw them into the back of the bus, attach our bikes to the racks at the front, and then pay the fare. And we did all this in record time! The driver was really nice and understanding, though, and even struck up a conversation with Sebastien, asking for advice on bike trips!

So we are back on Vancouver Island, after a little detour to Salt Spring Island, a beautiful island that we weren’t able to fully appreciate due to the pouring rain. Right now we’re in Victoria, where we’re going to meet with the director of the microfinance project at Coast Capital Savings (another credit union).

Tomorrow, we’re taking the ferry to Port Angeles in Washington, and then off to conquer the US!

Sara