Goodbye Victoria! It’s been a real slice.
Today, I drove up to Shawnigan Lake (also on the Island) to begin my first experience as a Workawayer. WorkAway is a program that pairs travelers with Hosts that seek help in exchange for food and shelter (see https://www.workaway.info/).
My host family (Kevin, Karina and young Max), has a beautiful property with gardens, a pond, a newly completed garage and even an outdoor pizza oven!
My project was to help demolish the old garage to make way for a driveway extension.
Stage 1:
Stage 2:
What to do with all of the salvaged wood?? Well, dice it up for the pizza oven, of course!
After a few hours of work, it was time to explore my surroundings. I took a path down to the water’s edge.
Nearby was Old Mill Park, the location of and old sawmill. Here, I learned that “Shawnigan” in Native tongue means “Abode of Evil Spirits”. According to legend, this region was an ancient battleground and, to this day, the spirits are restless.





