Farewell from Canada

So here, we are in the airport lounge awaiting our flight. Vancouver International Airport absolutely puts Heathrow to shame, being spacious, clean and all together civilized. Security took a mere 10 minutes to clear, despite everyone being thoroughly checked with the magic wand. The aiport lounge also boasts complimentary internet access. Sadly, the weather was not on our side again today, being all together damp and dreary. We spent the morning in the aquarium in Stanley Park (from where the picture was taken). Then it was a quick lunch back at the ramen shop and then the right to the aiport. Being my last entry from Canada, I thought I would do a quick list of my observations during our stay here (in no particular order).

The Good

The scenery

Icefields Parkway (drive of a lifetime)

The steaks

The availability, cheapness and quality of Japanese food

Driving in the mountains without another car in sight.

Kokenee beer

The people

The Bad

Portion sizes can be huge

The Ugly

Some hotels charge for internet access. Cheeky buggers.

---

So, I will leave you with one final photo of Bow Lake.

On Cloud Nine

We had a bit of a lazy day today. We started off with breakfast at a Ma and Pop greasy spoon. Very tasty food, but the service was a bit relaxed. Afterwards. we did a bit of shopping on Robson St. I came within a whisker of buying a new iPod Nano, but managed to control myself (for now). Then it was back to the hotel for a nap and a bit of a doss about. Cloud Nine is the name of the rotating restaurant at the top of our hotel and it is something of a Vancouver landmark. Today is our last full day in Canada so we decided to splash out for our last dinner. The view of the city was amazing from up there. We got there at about sunset and spent the next couple of hours enjoying the city's panorama. I recommend the tasty (if pricey) Surf 'n Turf. The B.C Merlot wasn't bad either.

Stanley Park

Today we spent the morning and early afternoon walking around Stanley Park.This huge area of green space is a few minutes walk from downtown and our hotel. We had sunny skies, although the air temperature was somewhat cool in the shade. We started from the English Bay Beach side and enjoyed several hours of strolling around the park. The picture on the left is a rock sculpture that somebody built down on the beach. Sadly, my own effort was somewhat less impressive and its pictorial evidence shall remain in my private collection. I am not generally a "city person", but Stanley Park helps to give Vancouver something that makes this city special. The views across the bay are amazing and there is always something to look at be it a sea-plane taking off, a cruise ship sailing to or from Canada Place, or even the industrial activity of the docks. The people watching is similarly fascinating, with all manner of joggers, walkers, skaters, cyclists, etc. passing by. We watched an old guy fishing. Out of four casts, he managed to hook something three times. One of the catches got away before he could land it, but he landed a 2lb fish and a side-plate sized crab during the ten minutes or so we were watching him. He tossed the crab back in, but the fish he added to the already half filled net bag containing his previous catches. I guess that's his supper sorted for the next week or so.

Lions Gate Bridge
After our leisurely walk, we headed back to Robson St and stopped off for some lunch at a Ramen shop. I had the opportunity to practice my Japanese with the waitress, who swiftly recovered from the surprise in being spoken to by me in Japanese and served us some delicious Ramen and Yakisoba.

Gastown

Overslept this morning. Perhaps it was the wine.. Anyway, after a rushed breakfast at the hotel we hit Highway 99 for the 130Km or so run down to Vancouver. This route takes in some spectacular views of the Pacific of which we got plenty of time to enjoy thanks to the construction along the way. It seems that much of the road is being upgraded, with lots of rock blasting and general construction going on. This is in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics which Vancouver is hosting. After checking in to the Empire Landmark Hotel and dropping the car off, we had some Dim Sum for lunch (very nice!). Then we went for a walk around the city. Unfortunately, the weather had turned. It was generally grey and drizzly. We managed to have a wander around Gastown. This is the old part of the city and its main highlight is the Steam Clock (pictured), and its statue of "Gassy Jack". The clock is quite a cool contraption which sounds off the hours with steam whistles. We then headed for Canada Place. This is a huge, conference center and dock for cruise ships shaped like a huge cruise ship. It rightfully boasts some great views across the bay, with sea-planes and all manner of ships coming and going. By this time, we were feeling knackered and a bit damp, so we headed back to the hotel. I hit the gym for 45 minutes or so, whilst the Mrs had a nap. Then we set off for some dinner at a Greek restaurant up the road. Food was great, and the place had the genuine taverna feel about it. (Right down to the plastic garden furniture for tables and chairs!). Our hotel is based on Robson St which is a great location, having lots of restaurants, and being within easy walking distance of the major landmarks. We are both astonished at the cheapness of sushi here! We pay about £25 for sushi when we treat ourselves at home. This gets us a small amount of toro, salmon, etc. If we spent that much here, we could feed about 8 people!

Whistler

Wow! What a room! We somehow managed to get our room upgraded at the Pan Pacific Hotel and have landed with an enormous suite! It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a huge open plan kitchen-diner-lounge. Whistler Village is a bustling place, with lots of restaurants, bars and gift shops. This Whistle stop (get it?) was mostly as a research mission for future skiing trips. I have been informed by the Mrs that we WILL be coming again. (Who am I to complain? ;-)) We got some take out sushi and a bottle of wine and are currenty enjoying our spacious surroundings.

Highway 99 to Whistler

The drive to Whistler took us the best part of the day, as we of course, took plenty of stops to take pictures and stretch our legs. It was a proper mountain drive, with steep snaking roads, stopping areas for trucks to check their breaks, and "Runaway" slopes for vehicles whose breaks are not working too well! Runaway slopes are basically short, but very steep uphill tracks positioned on the downslope on which a "runaway" can divert to and presumably (via gravity) stop should the need arise. Some of these slopes looked a little on the short side however, and I had visions of articulated lorries doing Evil Kanevil style leaps off the mountain as the "runaway" slope turns into a take-off ramp!

One of the Joffre Lakes
We passed through the small town of Lillooete, where we took a welcome toilet break in the town museum(!) The museum contained some impressively mounted stuffed animal heads and other relics from the town's history. Of particular note, were some photographs of Japanese WWII internees. These folk had their homes confiscated and sold, and were effectively imprisoned in this isolated town for the duration of the war for the simple fact that they were Japanese. The photos showed various scenes of social events (baseball etc.) and normal life, but one can't help but imagine the effect of losing one's home just because of your country of origin. Anyway, I digress. Onwards towards Jasper, we stopped at the Joffre Lakes. We almost didn't stop there as the journey was taking longer than expected (due to our many stops), but we are oh so glad we did. The water has an amazing color and translucence that is absolutely stunning as you can see from the picture above.

Beatlejuice

We left Kamloops, heading for Whistler, at about 10am. At one beauty spot I had a chat with a group of Dutch tourists who were travelling in an RV Camper van. Yesterday we had passed a vast swathe of dead and dying pine forest. They told me that it was caused by Pine Beatles that usually die off during the winter, or when there are forest fires. In just three years, this beetle has devastated vast swathes of the pine forests in and around Kamloops. Nobody knows if it will stop spreading, but milder winters are likely to lead to more deforestation caused by this beatle. As you can see from the photo, the effect on the trees is quite devastating, leaving vast tracks of dead wood. Perhaps nature will rebalance if these woods are allowed to burn. Only time will tell.

Mount Robson and Kamloops

Moose Lake
Started the car this morning to be greeted with another warning sign on the dashboard. Fortunately, this time it was only the tyre pressure and after a quick puff of air we were on our way to Kamloops via Mount Robson (the tallest mountain in the Rockies). We stopped along the way to take in the Overlander Falls trail and Moose Lake (pictured). Today's weather was cloudy with some rain so the summit of Mount Robson was obscured from view. Nevertheless, the 450km (280 miles) drive to Kamloops was very enjoyable as we left the high mountain passes for the lower valleys and foothills. It is amazing to have so much roadspace. For most of the journey only one or two cars were visible either in the rear view mirror or in front of us. Indeed for much of the route, we didn't see any other cars at all. I am pretty sure you can't do that in England at any time of the day or night, and this was a Sunday afternoon in one of the most picturesque places in the world! Go figure. Much of the journey was spent paralleling the Fraser River which afforded some spectacular views at various points. We arrived at Kamloops at around 5pm and spent the evening in the hotel's sports bar, where we had some delicious pork ribs and pizza followed by a few rounds of pool. Blog is a bit short today, as I am feeling a bit tired from the long drive. (As well as a touch tipsy from the pints of Molsen I have just downed).

Jasper Town

We arrived back in Jasper Town as the sun was setting and enjoyed watching the play of light on the surrounding mountains. Jasper has a lovely small town feel about it. A bit Twin Peaksy (but without the spookiness), and I feel very relaxed here. Jasper is much less developed than Banff and the train station by the main strip somehow seems to give it a frontier town atmosphere. Enormously long goods trains pass through here at a leisurely pace. We spotted a couple of cars getting caught by the lights at a level crossing. They immediately did a U-Turn and drove off, speeding towards the next crossing, in an attempt to beat the slow moving train. The train took several minutes to pass, so I don't blame them. I would like to spend more time here, but alas, tomorrow we are leaving town. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Denjiro. Shabu shabu was the order of the day, washed down with a few bottles of Kokenee beer. The beef was delicious. However, once again, my stomach is feeling somewhat on the full side. Hic!

Maligne Lake and Stag Do

Another 1/2 hour drive or so later, we landed at Maligne Lake. This is a comparatively busy place, with fishing boats, touring boats and so on. We didn't stop long, as after Medicine Lake it had a bustley feeling about it. Nevertheless it is a lovely spot and the drive alone makes the trip worthwhile. We then drove slowly back towards Jasper Town, stopping here and there. Nozomi took a turn at driving, and discovered she enjoyed driving the SUV. Something about that makes my wallet twitch alarmingly. (No way!) Along the way, we got caught in an elk Jam. Naturally we stopped to take some photos. This time it was a small herd of female elk and a lone stag who was steadfastly guarding and shepherding his harem. Got some great pictures. However, the stag was obviously becoming agitated; aggressively herding the females away from the rapidly growing crowd of people and the coaches that were slowing down for photo opportunities.

A Taste of Medicine

Medicine Lake
Next stop of the day was Medicine Lake. So called by the native people due to the fact that in the fall (autumn) the water disappears, and then in the spring it reappears, allegedly giving it supernatural powers. Maybe there is something to the story, as we both felt very peaceful and content whilst we were there. It is a beautiful place, as I hope you can see from the photo.

Upgrade

Started the car engine this morning to be greeted with an array of warning lights and messages. "Change oil soon", "Check left rear tyre pressure", and worst of all "Problem with brakes" warning light. Well, we didn't particularly fancy driving around the mountains with dodgy brakes(!), so the first stop of the day was the Hertz rental place near Jasper Station. The lady at the desk was very kind and understanding, and upgraded us to a bigger car. Sorry to all the tree huggers, but we landed ourselves a Trailblazer SUV. We had lunch in Jasper (very tasty Beef Souflaki) followed by an oversized icecream (a scoop of maple walnut and pecan butter - seemed like a good idea at the time..) and then hit the road again.