the pearl pulled in to the pier about 6pm. our stay in Victoria was to be only 6 hours. we took a tour of Victoria's highlights which meant being bussed around the city while the driver noted various points of interest. it is a beautiful city with an interesting history.
we visited Victoria on our way back to seattle on our first Alaskan cruise. this time 'round we got to see more. our tour took us to mt. doug, the highest point in Victoria. from up there one can see the city below at every turn. "on a clear day, you can see mt. rainier from up here" said a lady walking her tiny dog.
being in Victoria and in Juneau, Skagway, the glacier bay and in ketchikan pointed up to me how much there is on this big blue marble that passes each day quietly outside my stream of consciousness. the world just keeps turning. people everywhere live in the moment without being aware of a greater world.
our stop in Victoria was the least exciting for me. still there will be memories I take with me. for one, pausing a moment to listen to as an Asian gentleman played his erhu in a park across the street from the grand parliament building.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4mmp5ptaE
the erhu is a two stringed, Chinese, violin. like so many things, I was oblivious to such an instrument existence until it was the featured instrument of a guest artist with our ASO. haunting is the word i'd use to best describe its sound. like the erhu, there is a world of experiences waiting to be discovered.
visions of this second cruise to alaska will linger in my memory, i'm sure. from time to time a wispy glimpse of a whale breaching, the scream of an eagle in flight, the sound of thunder before a "calving" or a wisp of mist from the fjords will slip through, the sound of the erhu along for the ride. sights, sounds and smells remembered will have to do until I can get back to beautiful Alaska once again.
aio
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