This beats The Rockies!

We are at the end of our time in Vancouver and sitting with our feet up and a cold glass of beer after an energetic day. We had a glorious drive here on Thursday through the Coquihalla Pass, fabulous scenery, wonderful mountains. Trouble is there were limited stopping places for photos and we wanted to snap everything, round every corner was something else awe inspiring.

We have a great little apartment in North Vancouver and the view from the terrace is just stunning, right over the city. We are so pleased that by chance we chose this side of the city to stay in, it is by far the nicest bit and you can see for miles.

We went up to Whistler yesterday, again the most fabulous drive and scenery. We wanted to check Whistler out for skiing, and didn’t expect that the 90 minute drive there would be quite so wonderful. Whistler would certainly be a great place to ski. Doorstep skiing if you choose your accommodation carefully, and a lovely collection of ski villages, all modern of course, but tastefully done. Looks expensive but we haven’t checked that out yet. We had a super day, and even found a Cows ice-cream shop. Sadly with only a few more days in Canada our Cows ice-cream treats are drawing to an end. Was a bit disappointed with yesterday’s though, it was labelled Crunchy Apple but the crunch was soggy.

When we got back to North Vancouver we headed to the water’s edge looking for views across the bay, to discover, to our delight, a coastal path walk. So the Fitbit was very pleased with us by the time we had clocked up another couple of kilometres or more along there.

Today we set out to take the sea-bus over to downtown Vancouver. The roads near the terminal were all closed for some big event and we couldn’t find anywhere to park so in the end decided to drive over, along with all other frustrated sea-bus passengers it seemed. So quite a bit later than expected we arrived on the other side of the bay.

We went first to Stanley Park, where we hired a tandem and cycled round the perimeter of it, on the coastal path. Great fun and my first time on a bike since the new hips arrived. Really enjoyed being back on the tandem, but getting my leg over the bar was rather difficult. We would have stopped more often on the way round if it had been easier to get off and on the bike! I expect I will be a bit stiff tomorrow but if that is all the damage then it would seem our tandem days are not yet over, which is very good news.

Stanley Park is lovely space. Lots of people enjoying the beautiful summer day there cycling, swimming, roller blading, walking, sitting, lying on the beaches or under trees. What a wonderful city space, again with great views.

After that we went for a walk around the waterfront and Gastown. We walked out to the end of Canada Place where the cruise ships berth. There were three enormous liners in. It is the first time I have been up close to one of these things so I was gobsmacked by their sheer size. Matthew had been on the Queen Mary after Uncle Andrew and Helen’s wedding in Sydney, so was a bit blaze about it. We are cruising from Buenos Aires to Chile in February so I wonder how big our ship will be. Photos are of Canada Place with a cruise liner on each side, the steam clock on Water Street, and some buildings in Gastown.

What a great experience these last days to and around Vancouver have been. This is the most amazing setting for a city. We have found the mountains that we had expected The Rockies to be like, and have been thrilled by them, and the lakes and bays beneath them. We look forward to our ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island tomorrow.

    Matthew and Jennifer Locke
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