Canada: Victoria, BC

 Sunday, July 9, 2023, Victoria, BC

The ship docked at 9 am quite a ways from downtown. There was another immense cruise ship next to us. We got off the ship a bit later, to find the shuttle would not run until noon. We walked up the hill to find a city bus into town. We weren’t the only ship passengers at the bus stop.


When the bus came, the driver advised us he would be taking a detour due to the parade. It turned out to be our good fortune to be in Victoria on the morning of the Pride Parade.


On the bus



It seemed like most of the town had turned out to support the LGBTQ community. A vast array of businesses, churches, schools, and service organizations had a presence in the parade. There was a city bus professionally painted in rainbow colors, a lasting symbol of support. The streets were lined with cheering supporters. We found the outpouring of love and support very moving and watched to the end.


Pride day in Victoria











It had been a long time since we’d been in Victoria. After the parade, we looked for a book store, a vegan bakery, and generally wandered the streets, stopping in at various shops. We had lunch at a good Mexican Restaurant, and stopped for dessert in Chinatown. 


Charlie loves bookstores!








We wandered quite a ways and eventually found a bus stop that would take us back to the ship by the 5:00 pm all aboard time.  



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