"Amazing nature and alternative lifestyles." Saltspring Island by cachaseiro

Saltspring Island Travel Guide: 28 reviews and 65 photos

And a page about Emil Andersen from Bøjden.

Saltspring island is located just off the coast of Vancouver Island and a real paradise for nature lovers.
The island was originally settled by native american indians but has since then had migrations from all over the world, including everything from hawaiians to hippies and black people fleeing oppresion in the US.

Because of that you see a multitude of lifestyles on the island today that makes it a very interesting place to visit.
The ecological movement is big here and organic products are all over the place.

The locals seem very keen on supporting the local shops.
Something i think makes a place even more worth visiting.

My grandfathers brother lived on saltspring island

Emil Andersen

My grandfathers younger brother Emil migrated from denmark to North America in 1923.
After being a casual worker on various farms across Canada he ended up in Northern Alberta and Alaska where he hunted bears for a few years among inuit tribes and other adventurous pioneers.

Unfortunately he got snowblind and had to leave Northern Canada but then decided to make Saltspring island his new home.
He was a fisherman back home in Denmark and spend some of his saved up money buying a big piece of land on Saltsping island and a fishing vessel.

He lived on Beaver Point Road near Fulford Harbour where he was fishing from.

From what i gatherd from some old letters i saw he never really got along with the pople from the other end of Saltspring island and when i came to Saltspring i learned that this was most likely because the guys from Fulford harbour were old fashioned pioneers who were mostly single men intereacting with the native indian women while the other side of the island was mostly british who made a big thing out of not having relatioships with natives and even had "bride ships" send from England with british women who would like to leave Britain and start a new life in the new world with a british man (and this was ironicly often former prostitutes) to make sure they had minimal interaction with the locals.
It seemed like Emil opposed this reluctance to interact with the locals and i think the guy was very right in his views.

He had a stroke and spend his last years wheelchair bound, but everyone i spoke to always mentioned how he was still a very active person taking care of his garden and his little piece of forest, even if it meant rolling around steep hills in his wheelchair.

He died in 1973 but some people still rememberd him on the island and i heard many interesting things about him.

The grand old lady of Saltspring.

Lotus Ruckle of Saltspring island.

Thanks to a lovely lady called Sue Moat from the Saltspring archives i got to meet the oldest person on the island, Lotus Ruckle who had spend her entire life there and lived next door to my grandfathers brother Emil.

At 94 she was still living on her own and she was sharper than most 70 year olds.
I'm very happy i got to meet her and hear all her interesting stories about Saltspring island.

As soon as she heard i was on the island she invited me in to her home for most of the afternoon.
Now that is canadian hospitality.

Intro Updated Feb 27, 2012
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Reviews (8)

Docking at Fulford Harbour. - Saltspring Island

Take the ferry to Saltspring Transportation (2)

The most common way of getting to Saltspring is to take the ferry from Scharwz Bay on Vancouver Island. The trip is a... more travel advice

Buy art. Shopping (2)

Saltspring Island has a big artist community and galleries are all around the island. If you like arty farty lifestyle... more travel advice

The place to shower on Saltspring. - Saltspring Island

Laundry and hot showers. Favorites (2)

At mrs clean in ganges you have both laundry facilities and also hot showers. It's very useful as most campsites on... more travel advice

Buy fish. Shopping (2)

The local fish store in Ganges is worth visiting. It's run by very responsible people worth supporting and they have... more travel advice

Things to Do (1)
Fulford harbour.

Hotels (1)
Mabye the most beautiful campground in...

Travelogues (1)

Written Feb 16, 2011

3 photos

Another very important person i met on Saltspring.

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Comments (9)

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hunterV Feb 17, 2011 at 11:25 AM

Hello, Claus! Thanks for your interesting page, as always! Congratulations on your successful round-the-world journey!
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Herwig1961 Nov 11, 2008 at 8:40 PM

Very interesting page!Missed this spot while I have been in Vancouver.Pity!
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Darby2 Jul 12, 2008 at 4:35 AM

Saltspring Island currently has the most expensive gas prices in Canada ...$1.65 a liter. It's still a great place to live in peace and tranquility.
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nickandchris Jun 19, 2008 at 6:45 AM

What a great story and a wonderful sounding community.
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canuck68 Jul 15, 2007 at 8:47 PM

I enjoyed your Saltspring page. I have been there often and always enjoy it. thanks, Diane
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HORSCHECK Mar 9, 2007 at 2:45 PM

Claus, very interesting page about your serach for ancestors. Brilliant photos here. :-)
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mary2u99 Feb 27, 2007 at 5:26 AM

Grapes picking sound interesting. a very nice page dedicated to your uncle. Thank you for visiting my Nijmegen page:-)
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travelfrosch Feb 24, 2007 at 5:35 PM

Excellent page! I'm glad you got to visit this wonderful place, and that you got so much information on your relative. And unfortunately, on the East Coast (of the USA), if you "just say no to farmed salmon," you more or less just say no to salmon...
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mtncorg Feb 19, 2007 at 11:38 AM

A great reason to visit the Gulf Islands - stories and grapes with a glorious campsite to boot!