Chapter Forty - "My Canadian Adventure Begins"

Last night I got back from my holiday trip to Canada. After a very strange foreshortened day travelling, I was glad to be sleeping in my own bed again. Being a memorable experience, I wanted to include it in my blog. What follows is an account of my holiday, taken from my daily journal – and significantly abridged to make it easier to read! (Depending on length, I may have to post this in several parts.)

So, my Canadian Rockies Adventure begins.

 

Day 1 – Friday, 6^th September (‘Crossing the Pond’)

I flew out to Canada on Friday, 6^th September, feeling a little nervous about travelling on my own. Despite arranging the holiday with Tom, a friend from Church – more well-travelled than me – he had wanted to stay in Canada for another week after I went back home, so we arranged transport separately. As such, to my disappointment, he would be travelling from Gatwick, whereas I would be going from Heathrow.

On arriving at the airport, and passing through all the various checks, including a very long wait at security (some oriental girls in front of me had failed to listen to the instructions about not packing liquids or sharp objects, and as such all four of their bags were unpacked and items individually scrutinised, to my despair) I made it through to the departure lounge. Once I’d bought a sandwich, I settled down to finish reading my book – the closing pages of Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd. As I sat there, trying to pass the time, I wondered who I would be sitting with on my journey. A nice, young lady, or a bald, old, fat man? Time would tell.

I finished my book and eventually made my way to the departure gate – though my flight had been delayed by half an hour, so I hoped I would still manage to make my connection. On arriving at the gate, confusion ensued as the lady looked hard at my passport photo, and then back at me, saying ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight’ – do I take that as a compliment? She then asked me to take off my glasses, and stared at me again, before turning to her colleague for a second opinion. Having never been in such a situation before I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. After a brief moment of awkward conversation, I was finally allowed to pass – my charm must have worked!

As I sat down on the flight (the first of two – 8 hours, then 4 hours) I found myself next to a young lady called Natalia, who was also travelling to Canada to head up a tour group, much like the one I would be on. In between in-flight movies and aircraft food we made pleasant conversation, covering a variety of interesting topics. When I next looked at my watch it was 10:30, London time (I had deliberately kept from adjusting it, so as not to confuse my brain), but it was bright daylight outside, so despite my best efforts, it still felt strange. Eventually we arrived at our change-over in Montreal. Canada at last!

After collecting our bags, we caught the next flight and went our separate ways. The second flight wasn’t so interesting, as my companions didn’t speak English, and seemed more interested in sleeping. Try as I might, I couldn’t switch off. Soon enough I landed in Vancouver, and met Tom at the train station. We walked off to our hotel, with cold pizza in tow.

Day 2 – Saturday, 7^th September (‘Good Morning Vancouver’)

We would meet with the other members of our tour group in the evening, so the business of the day was up to Tom and myself; nice to have some time to ourselves. We headed off to Vancouver Island on the ferry and Tom tried his hand at axe throwing. Knowing my trouble with coordination, I declined a go. Then we headed to a nature reserve to see a temperate rainforest, much to Tom’s delight. I bought some souvenirs and postcards, although it seemed unlikely that I would get to send them, as we would be camping in National Parks, which to my knowledge, probably don’t have post boxes.

In the evening we met up with our tour leader, James, and the other eleven people who would be joining us. As we went around the group introducing ourselves, I wondered if I was the youngest there. We made a varied and interesting group – all Europeans, with the exception of James – and I got to know more about a few of them over dinner.

 

Day 3 – Sunday, 8^th September (‘Into the Wild’)

At breakfast, I chatted to Sabrina, one of the three girls in our group, and I realised we both had  medical backgrounds. I also discovered that I wasn’t the youngest.

When everybody was ready, we packed the van and headed off to our first camping location, Whistler, known for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. We travelled via Shannon Falls, the first of what would be many waterfalls on this holiday.  I took photos, but Tom wisely noted that we can be so focused on taking pictures, that sometimes we miss what we’re actually there to see.

Once we’d arrived at the campsite, we put up the tents quickly. I was very impressed with my skills, but then the tents were incredibly easy to assemble. We would have a free day tomorrow, so we later went into town to see about possible activities. I decided on a hike up Whistler mountain, with a few of the others – Sabrina, Melanie and David. A good opportunity to try out my new walking boots, specially bought for such an occasion. Tom settled on zip-lining, which would probably be more of an adrenalin rush, but not my style.

Day 4 – Monday, 9^th September (‘Conquering the Mountain’)

This morning I went with the other three, up the cable car, to the mountain.  We walked past some scenic lakes – with perfect reflections in the crystal green water. My camera battery was beginning to give up, but I tried to get as many photos as I could. Then came the uphill walk along the ridge of the mountain itself, during which good conversation flowed, building the foundations of friendships to come.

Unfortunately there wasn’t much wildlife to be seen on our walk up the ridge, certainly not bears, anyway – to Sabrina’s disappointment. When we reached the top I was surprised to bump into Natalia again; how uncanny! She seemed to be having a good trip so far, and would be going on to America after the fortnight in Canada was finished. If only I had that much flexibility!

After hitching a ride on the open air ski lift (a first for me), feeling rather more suspended than I would ordinarily like, we found we were running short on time, so came back down the mountain, and to Whistler itself for dinner, where I indulged in a plate of ribs.

 

Day 5 – Tuesday, 10^th September (‘On the Road’)

Not much to write about today, as it was ‘Van Appreciation Day’ – travelling to our next destination, Wells Gray Provincial Park. Having said that, Sabrina finally saw a bear (by the roadside), though I missed it. Perhaps another day.

(To be continued…)