5 June – 10 June
Sunday:
As it’s another sunny morning and I already know my way round town, I start the day with a quick jog. It’s been a while since the running shoes have been out of the suitcase…
It only takes us 2 hours or so to get into Vancouver this morning. As it’s way too early to get checked in, we drive over to North and West Vancouver. Despite getting a bit lost we find ourselves a section of seafront (not quite what I’d call a beach) to have our lunch. It’s pleasantly warm, but certainly not hot enough for swimming.
After lunch we find our way to Lighthouse park where a short stroll through towering trees takes us once again to the seafront, this time with some stunning views across to downtown Vancouver with snowy mountains as a backdrop.
The traffic is quite horrendous, but we do eventually make our way onto the peninsula that is downtown. We’ve booked a last minute room and are thrilled when we arrive to find we have the penthouse suite with sea views. Ok, so maybe the building only has 3 floors and it is pretty hard to find anywhere in downtown that doesn’t have some kind of sea view. We’re also in the Lewisham of Vancouver, but still: we have a kitchen (a kitchen!) and a sofa.
It’s out first anniversary today and we’d planned to go out for the evening, but having a kitchen and being able to cook is more of a treat than eating out these days. We opt instead for a quiet, romantic night in watching Rambo: First Blood to see what we can recognise from yesterday.
Monday:
We’re still luxuriating in all our extra space this morning, so it’s a bit of a struggle to get ourselves out the door. We do get out eventually though and find Vancouver instantly likeable and easy to explore. The seawall path loops us round the outside of downtown allowing us to take in the sights of the city and the coast at the same time. The sun is out again and Vancouverites are making the most of their impressive outdoor space.
Another Stanley Cup game is on this evening and Vancouver has gone hockey mad. We’re in the historic gastown and it’s a great atmosphere, so we pile into a bar to watch the game.
I like ice hockey, but with the 60 minutes of actual playing time being stretched out over 3 hours it can become a bit of an endurance test. With 20 minutes left to play Vancouver is 4 nil down and the atmosphere is souring somewhat. We leave to tackle the long walk back to our hotel, enticed along by visions of our kitchen.
Tuesday:
It’s another slow morning, with the overcast skies doing nothing to help motivate us to get going. Eventually the sun does come out and so do we. We’re taking to the waterfront again, this time looping around the outside of the vast Stanley Park. It’s low tide and we’re treated to some interesting wildlife, including this racoon out digging for shellfish.
Low tide is not a good time to be a starfish. The seagulls are having a right feast and it amuses me no end watching them trying to stuff whole starfishes down their beaks.
Despite their shocking loss last night Canuck-fever is still running strong: even the statues have shirted up.
Back at our hotel I rest my feet for a while but it was such a nice loop I decide to go round it once more – this time in my running shoes.
Janet adds: Didn’t realise it was just over 10km round when I decided to run it. This is going to hurt tomorrow.
Wednesday:
We say a fond farewell to Vancouver (and our kitchen) then head to the ferry terminal. We’re crossing over to Vancouver Island. The crossing takes a bit over an hour and a half. The water is calm as a pond and we cruise past the beautiful Southern Gulf Islands.
This is prime whale-watching territory and we’re glued to the deck, hoping for a chance sighting. Although it’s another sunny day once we get out over the water the wind picks up to gale force and it’s freezing. Our efforts are in vain and we don’t spot any whales.
Off the ferry we find a bench in the sun along the seafront and sit down to warm our bones and eat our lunch. From here it’s a half hour drive into Victoria. We manage to get checked in early and put some laundry on: we’re in urgent need of clean knickers.
Once we’re settled we decide to walk into town. It’s about a 25-minute walk but Vancouver Island is well equipped with cycle/walk/jogging trails. We pick up the galloping goose trail across from our motel, which winds us along the Gorge Waterway into town.
Game 4 of the Stanley Cup is on today and we’re hooked. The Canoe Brewpub seems a suitable venue to catch the game: high, wood-beamed ceilings, exposed brick walls and excellent microbrews.
We manage to stick out the whole game (maybe because we have seats this time), but it’s no good: the Canucks lose 4 nil again. We drown our disappointment in curry and then walk back to our hotel admiring the sunset.
Thursday:
After our failed amateur attempts at whale watching from the ferry we’ve decided to do things properly and call in the professionals. We get picked up just after 9 and driven down to the wharf where we get our first glimpse of the little beast that will be taking us out.
We’re 11 passengers and 1 crew. Step one is to get us suited up: waterproof trousers, huge coats, hats and gloves. It’s seems a bit over the top, but as the water temperature here hovers at about 8C it’s always going to be cold out on the water.
We’re loaded into the boat and putter out of the harbour. Then the skipper opens her up: boy can she go. With speeds of around 50mph we’re soon flying along. Word has come in over the radio of a possible whale sighting so we shoot over there. For all its speed the boat has remarkably quiet engines and is actually pretty non-intrusive. Then we see it: a humpback whale. We stay with it for a while, watching it come up and then dive back down.
We let the whale slip away and fly across the waves to Oak Bay. We’re here to take in some of the other marine life and a slow putter through takes us past sea bird sanctuaries and some pregnant harbour seals.
Some transient orcas have been spotted not to far away so we make our way over. This is what we’ve come here hoping to see. And there they are: a mother and her (much larger than her!) son. They glide through the water, cutting its surface with their dorsal fins. To give you some sense of scale the male’s fin stands 6ft tall.
They’re beautiful and we watch them for as long as we can. All too soon our time is up and we’re shooting back to the harbour. Cold but exhilarated we’re delivered back to the dock. We take the chance to warm up with some chilli from one of the food stalls and then, because we’re not quite stuffed enough, top it off with an ice cream. Ahh.
We spend the next couple of hours wandering around Victoria. It’s a great little city with historic buildings, plenty of water frontage, a compact and walkable centre plus all the bars, restaurants and shops you could possibly want.
We’ve tired ourselves out so head back to the hotel to put our feet up for a couple of hours. In the evening we walk back in for some delicious Mexican food.
Janet adds: love, love, love Victoria
Friday:
We’re catching the ferry back to the US today, but don’t need to check in till 1.30 so we have the morning to explore a bit more. We drive out to Goldstream Provincial Park where a short stroll takes us to Niagara Falls (not the Niagara Falls).
We’d been told that we could loop up onto an old railway line from here, but the only path we can find is a rather rough scramble up the steep and tangled bank. Along the way we spot a tiny hummingbird, but he’s much to quick for my camera. We do finally find the railway line just in time for it to take us over a high bridge.
Nick is hesitant: he keeps telling me that he’s seen Stand By Me. The views along the bridge are spectacular, but the sheer drops between the wooden beams we’re walking along are enough to keep us from lingering.
Safely across the path becomes idyllic: fringed with wildflowers and curving through forest. It’s quite hypnotic too and we completely miss the path we’re meant to cut back down on. We manage to find our way anyhow and walk back through the moss-covered trees.
Back at the car it’s time to head down to the ferry. We’ve got to be there early for US immigrations. Despite a bit of a wait the formalities are minimal and pretty painless. We’re cruising across to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula.
Again the trip is a little over an hour and a half, and again it’s cold and windy once we get going. We’ve left the sun in Canada and it’s cool and overcast as we dock. We’ve booked a motel in town so we pick up some groceries and get settled.
Janet adds: I accidentally fell in love with Canada and now the US feels all weird and wrong. No doubt we’ll be back to normal soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment