The end

Well, I have done it, I have written a blog and finished it! It has taken lots of time and you always have to be thinking of photo ops, so I hope someone has been reading it. Not just the critics. 

We woke to the news that we have voted 'Out', our holiday money has bombed, we don't have a PM or leader of the opposition, and petrol prices are going through the roof. ( hope you filled the car up Chris). We are about to leave for the airport and will be back in the UK (if they let us in) on sat morning. See some of you then. We had a fabulous holiday. Imagine that we have seen all these animals. 

Bears, brown, grizzly and baby. Wolf. Shrew. Caribou. Elk. Deer. Squirrel. Ground squirrel. Hummingbird. Eagles (various). Heron. Seagulls. Chipmunk. Cayote. Beaver. Bluejay. American robin. Mountain goat. Bighorn sheep. Osprey. Humpback whale, orca, seal. 

I am sad we didn't see. 

Cougar. Marmot. Banana slug. Pine Martin (although I'm sure I saw one, as is Ian, but we can't confirm). Porpoise. 

And then there were the views. Wow. The colour of the water is breathtaking. 

I hope we can return another time, but there are a lot of other places beckoning. Who knows. 

Here's to the next blog. 

Cheers. 

Suspension

I woke up with a cold, STILL!! I have never had a cold this long, maybe it's pneumonia or something like that. My nose is still sniffly. I am not happy. A look out the window made me even more unhappy, it was chucking it down. The little people 23 floors down all had umbrellas up. Good news was that Ian had planned a day in the rainforest. He had seen a giant suspension bridge advertised and thought it would be fun to jump up and down on it to scare me. 

We headed for the lift to go down for some breakfast. We had previous with the lifts. On arrival yesterday we had spent ages waiting for lifts whose doors opened and closed too quickly for us to get in. Today we were ready for them, splitting up and leaping in when one arrived. No problem. 

Breakfast completed we packed the raincoats and drove the short distance to Capilano suspension bridge. It was still teeming as we arrived and paid our £20!(equivalent) each. Luckily they were giving away free ponchos. 

You will be seeing a lot of these. 

We headed straight for the bridge. 

As soon as we were both on a disembodied voice reminded people not to 'run, jump, or deliberately sway'. Obviously aimed at a certain person. It was very high and swayey. 

There was also a treetop walk. 

And a cliff side walk. 

All very high and swayey. 

As we recrossed the bridge a voice called, 'please do NOT run, jump or shake the bridge'. Ian said he wasn't, he was just walking forcefully. 

As we left the park the rain stopped and the sun came out. 

Next we called at Stanley Park, a huge green area by the harbour, and had a walk in the sun. 

Then we took the car back to the hotel and had a walk through downtown Vancouver 

We had tea in a lovely harbour restaurant, the Cactus Club Cafe. I had sangria. 

Then it was back to bed as we had to be up early for the airport. 

Food watch

Ian - creole steak and prawns. 7/10. We were sat in a plastic awning and it was too hot. 

Jackie - jambalaya. 8/10. Really nice, lots of meat and prawns. 

To whale or not to whale

Vancouver island, as you probably know, is a world renowned whale playground, so we decided we should take a whale watching trip. We had to get up early to be at the dock for 10am. The hotel restaurant, The London Tube, was run by a very gay man, and very empty. Just as we started breakfast Ian got a phone call from the whale woman. Our boat was full. Did we want to go on a RIB. No i didn't. Not with my cold ( still here, the longest lasting cold I have had since childhood) and my wussyness. So we were out. Just spreading the jam when Ian got another phone call. A second firm could take us but we had to be at the office by 9.15. We were in! We golloped our breakfast down, got the bill and checked out, then rushed down to the dock ( not far). A lovely Irish girl explained that she would walk us to the new firms office as soon as another group she was waiting for showed.  We needn't have rushed as the three Germans were another 15 minutes. In the meantime she explained that we would be taken by shuttle bus around the bay where we would join our tour.  After that we could explore Fishermans wharf. she even gave us a token (remember Game of Thrones) to catch a water taxi back across the bay.  Eventually the Germans were ready and we arrived at the Orca Spirit Tours office. Not long later we were around the bay and boarding our boat. The naturalist, Alex, explained that the outside seating on top would get very wet, so naturally Ian decided we should sit there. It was a beautiful day as we left the harbour, But as soon as we got to open water the Captain, Bill, opened the throttle and it did indeed become a little damp. We retired inside. Alex, regaled us in a very loud voice with tales of whales, until Bill got the word that some had been spotted. Soon our boat and about five others were all heading for the same spot. There were indeed Whales Humpback Whales. They were fluking and blowing it was wonderful. 

One even popped up behind us really close to The boat. It was like jaws. No rest for the wicked though, as Bill had got word of some Orcas nearby. 'Let's go' yelled the enthusiastic Alex. we rushed inside and held on as our boat and the rest of the flotilla sped towards the unsuspecting killer whales. 'We don't like to get too close to Orcas' explained Alex, but that didn't stop the other boats.it was lovely to see a male and two females speeding through the water. (Thanks to Alex I am now an orca expert).

See his big fin, he is a male.

Alas, all too soon it was time to return to Victoria harbour. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable trip, we met some people from as far afield as Australia and Leeds, and saw loads of whales. Next we walked around the corner as recommended by the Irish girl, Fiona, to see Fishermans wharf. This is a community of float homes that has become a Victiria tourist attraction.it has places to eat and is very pretty. It also has begging seals that splash you if you do not feed them.

It was lovely and warm, so we had some fish and chips, as recommended by Fiona, followed by ice cream.

One of the splashy seals.

Some tiny little ferries had been zipping about the harbour so we assumed our coin would get us on one of these. 

We handed it over, said 'valar morghulis' and were soon on our way to wharf street, downtown, and back at the hotel. We retrieved our car and luggage and said goodbye to Victoria. A short drive up the coast later and we were arriving at Schwartz bay ferry terminal. As you recall we were crossing back to Vancouver a different way, this way passed through lots more islands. About halfway in the captain pronounced that he had spotted orcas on the starboard bow. An almost riot ensued as the passengers rushed to see the whales, I was afraid the boat would tip. No worry, the next announcement told of Orcas on the port side, the boat was righted. Clever captain.

Once we got off the boat it was around a 45 minute drive to downtown Vancouver and our hotel. The century Plaza Hotel and spa is another tower block hotel, we were in a room on the 23rd floor. It was also studio apartments which we like, and had one big bed.

As it was already 8 PM we went straight down to the restaurant and ordered food. The kind check-in clerk had given us a two for one voucher for tea. Wonderful! The restaurant was very classy and also very empty, although the table next to us was occupied by a British couple who we chatted with throughout. I decided to have an aperol spritz just because they did them.

Then it was off to bed after looking at the wonderful view of nighttime Vancouver. Last day tomorrow. 😢

Food watch

Ian - Halibut 8/10  nice food , but pricy ( but we got 2 for 1!)

Jackie - Duck with cherries 8/10, really tender but no good if you like large helpings. 

Ps. Can I just say that some people have been complaining about fonts. (Chris!) I have no idea why the fonts change so tough!! 

 

Diseases

I awoke with a sore throat this morning. Mmmm. Day was muggy and cloudy again so the shorts stayed in the case again. We breakfasted in the same little cafe as yesterday. Yesterday the girl serving had the most horrendous hacking cough, which was a bit worrying as the food was all in the open for selection. Mmmmm. 

We had decided to do a road trip to Victoria on Vancouver island, with the outward leg from departure bay north Vancouver to Nanaimo. 

The road to the ferry terminal was a motorway, and there was some traffic. A bit scary. Still, we arrived in one piece, although my nose was a bit blocked. Mmmmmmm. 

The ferry left on time and we took plenty of photos, although it was still a bit cloudy. 

Soon we arrived on Vancouver island. 

That little island is for sale. 

An hour and a halfs scenic drive later and we arrived at the Victoria Best Western. 

Two beds, that's what we like. One for the cases. By this time I had a full blown disease. A cold! I am blaming the coughing cafe woman. I had to take some paracetamol before we had a walk round downtown Victoria. You will be pleased to know there are plenty of tramps here, one or two on every street corner. Once again we are not going to heaven. 

The harbour. 

I had looked on trip adviser and a restaurant called 'The Docks' got good reviews, so we went there. The ambience was great, it was full, and the waitress tried to take my plate before I was finished. She had also been to Bath (not Barth). Then time for bed. Tomorrow we are in our last leg, to Vancouver, and my cold will have gone. 

Food watch

Ian - salmon in a sauce thingy. 9/10. Beautiful salmon, top class waitresses. 

Jackie - sole in a sauce thingy. 9/10. Really nice food. Nice ambience

FYI

We woke to a bit of a dismal morning, disappointing as we were promised sun. We were going to relax today so not much to share. Here's some details we've discovered about Canada so far. 

-The waitresses and waiters are always really really friendly.

-The food comes astonishingly quickly. 

-You have to be careful because they clear the plates quicker than my dad. Never look like you have finished unless you really have. 

-Canadians like to go to bed early. Very early. 

-Their coffee is lousy. 

We lounged about for an hour our two then got small breakfast at the little cafe. Next, a stroll along the lakeside taking in the views. 

Due to the cold there was only one group, an English dad and two kids, willing to brave the blow up water park. We amused ourselves by watching the poor fellow standing around while mum no doubt had a spa treatment. 

Then it was time. Three pints, a burger, and 90 min later we decided to relax by the pool. 

It was still pretty chilly but we manned up. 

Ian had a swim, I warmed up in the hot tub, then, thank god it started to rain and we could go in. Just in time for afternoon tea. Another thing about Canadians, their tea is lousy. We did get a bit of cake though, but if you are thinking Val D'Isere,  nowhere near. 

More relaxation them we went for a walk by the lake. 

I forgot to mention that Saskwatch comes from round here!

Then back for a drink and bed. Vancouver island beckons. 

Food watch

Hot springs

We didn't hear much from the foam people overnight so got a good nights sleep. It was raining out with a low cloud, didn't bode well for the day. We breakfasted in the same restaurant as the night before

Parfait for Ian and pancakes for me, before checking out of Nancy Greenes Cahilty Lodge. Turns out she was an Olympic skier in the 60s, and her husband is mayor of twin peaks. I wasn't overly impressed but this was just a stopping off point. 

We had a three hour drive which once again surprised us. The first part the road passed through scrubland, this then turned into up and down mountain roads with great views. Sorry, no photos. 

We arrived at Harrison hot springs resort two hours before check in, but, yay, our room was ready. Only one bed. The cheek! 

We had a look round and ascertained that Brigitte in the bar would probably be able to show the England game on her TV tomorrow. Sorted. Next we decided to relax by one of the hot pools. A thoroughly pleasant afternoon. A walk by the lake followed. 

That's our hotel over there. It's a really pretty lake 37 miles long and you can go bear hunting nearby. That's tomorrow sorted then. It also has sturgeon in it, and millions of Eagles in the vicinity. However, Just in front of the hotel there is a giant inflatable water park that really spoils the view. We had some tea in a giant restaurant with barely anyone in there, sound familiar? It was called the lake View, and we sat right by the window. Lovely. We retired to the bar and watched hummingbirds swarm round the bird feeder. Tomorrow we will relax and watch football. 

Food watch

Ian - butter chicken followed by bread and butter pud. 8/10. Good, enjoyed it

Jackie - fish burritos. 6/10.  Fish was deep fried and a bit greasy.