A long, narrow island, and the driest in the Gulf Island chain, Galiano Island was named after the Spanish explorer Dionisio Galiano, who sailed these waters in 1792. Galiano Island is the second largest of the Gulf Islands off Vancouver Island, after Saltspring Island.

Rich in history and beauty, Galiano has been called The Jewel of the Strait of Georgia. For thousands of years before Europeans arrived, the Coast Salish aboriginal people had lived here, gathering a rich variety of foods from its forests and shores.

We arrived at lunchtime on a Friday and found that Galiano Islanders move at their own easy pace, and have total faith in the visitors to their Island, often leaving their shops unattended with credit card machine in their stores and  small signs that say, ‘Sorry we missed you but if you buy something, please pay by using the credit cards slips below. Have a great day’. Cool.

Galiano Island enjoys the reputation as being the most welcoming to visitors of the Gulf Islands and as I mentioned above, we can easily confirm this claim.

This is due in large part to the limited amount of farmland on Galiano in comparison to other islands. Of necessity, early settlers here opened their homes to tourists as a way of earning a living and the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere of the Island was apparent from the moment we landed to the moment we departed.

A nice place to spend a weekend or two in the summer and enjoy the sunset at Montague Harbour, where Yim and I took the above photo.