If you want to temporarily step off the fast-moving escalator of city life there is a destination within easy reach. Laid back Salt Spring Island offers no four-lane expressways or fast food, but is a haven for small, local, and personal.
BC Ferries has multiple daily sailings that originate on the mainland or from Vancouver Island. You only take out your wallet once as the return travel fee is included. Perhaps, though, you may never feel the urge to leave.
The most populated of the Gulf Islands, Salt Spring’s setting is pure west coast—forested islands with lush meadows and landscapes, surrounded by sparkling ocean and breathtaking vistas.
Salt Spring has been dubbed Canada’s “hippieville” by some, while others describe it as funky or artistic. It’s true that potters, yoga studios, woodturners, painters, and weavers seem to be here in high numbers, but that’s part of the charm of it all. Put on your Birkenstocks and tour their galleries or go for one of the popular weekend art shows where many come to show their crafts. The brochure at www.saltspringstudiotour.com will guide your exploration.
A good place to re-energize with a cup of joe is Salt Spring Coffee, which has been endorsed by the David Suzuki Foundation for attempts to achieve carbon neutrality and by the Sierra Club for supporting global warming awareness initiatives. This local business has grown year after year from a single small roasting café to an internationally respected micro-roaster of certified organic, fair-trade, shade-grown beans.
