After the tedious hours of our flight, the ferry ride to Vancouver Island, with its promise of majestic scenery and fresh sea air, was an enticing prospect. To reach our first destination, we boarded the service that runs from Tsawwassen in Vancouver to Swartz Bay in Victoria, a 95-minute trip that glides through Active Pass, a picturesque strait separating the Galiano and Mayne islands. During our ride, we encountered a pod of orcas.