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Canada 2019

September 2019

Day 13: Departure Day

It's raining in Vancouver.
This way the good-bye is not that hard.
Last nights Elton John concert was: 🔝🔝🔝. The Rogers Arena was full to the brim and full of vibes. It was great to see him for a last time in a huge concert. Fantastic line-up of almost all everybody's favourites.
It was great and simply worth every penny, sorry should say every cent.

Early start, showering, packing and getting to the airport for my 10:10 departure to Toronto. Why Toronto ? At the time I arranged my travels it was the cheapest option to get from Vancouver back home to London.

Air Transit left bang on time and after an uneventful flight arrived on time in Toronto. Fortunately at the same terminal as British Airways so that I just had to pick-up my suitcase, head to the departures hall and in a jiffy I was checked in.

Connecting flight is scheduled to leave at 21:55 but still not enough time to go downtown Toronto. Anyway it was getting dark so I spend my time enjoying a light lunch / dinner in the BA lounge and writing this my very last blog entry.

It was a fantastic journey and I am still overloaded with impressions and very likely it will take a bit more time to digest everything.

For now: good bye and I am looking forward to start the next adventure very shortly.

Day 12: Vancouver

My last day started after a good nights sleep. Sightseeing in tiring !
For today I had an excursion to the top of Grouse Mount, one of the northern shore mountains, overlooking Greater Vancouver. Just to be safe I called of the peaks webcam and found that I would have a fantastic view of thick clouds but not of Vancouver. So that plan was abandoned !
But Vancouver has many more things to see and explore and only a short walk away from my hotel is Chinatown, one of the biggest in northern America. Once a ghetto for all the Chinese workers who came to work building the railroads.

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Just around the corner of this imposing "entry gate" flanked by two lions ( they are supposed to frighten off evil spirits ) is the
"Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden " . Dr Yat-Sen ( click to find out more ) was a chinese doctor and revolutionary.
This garden opened in 1986 was the first full-scale scholar's garden outside China. All the material have been shipped in from China and 53 chinese gardeners constructed everything with the help of local architects and builders.
Let the pictures I took speak for themselves.
Only that much: an oasis of tranquility amidst a buzzing city.

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After this excursion into chinese garden culture one of the trolley buses brought me to close by Gastown, the old centre of Vancouver. Now a place of tourists which fortunately hasn't lost its old world charm. Wandering up Gastown main street ( Cordova ) one reaches the old CP Railway Station, now Waterfront Station, from where the SeaBus leaves for North Vancouver, my destination.
Walking through the station I passed a small Starbucks cafe which had a sign that it was the first international branch of Starbucks in 1987. A picture was taken to document his.

Having reached the "other side" the Lonsdale market is always worth a stroll through the stalls. A bakery selling amongst many other delicious looking baked things cinnamon scones of which I bought two and enjoyed with a nice tasty coffee bought from the bakery shop as well.

The waterfront of Lonsdale has change since I was here way back in 2007 for the last time. The old dockyard has gone and the area nicely been done up keeping many of the old dockyard features.

Time flies if you have fun and all over sudden it was 16:00 and I had to make my way back to the hotel.
Why that early ?
I wanted to write todays blog entry because at around 7:15 I have to make my way across the street to the Rogers Arena to see and enjoy, wait for it, ELTON JOHN

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In the elevator of my hotel was an itinerary of the events in September in the nearby stadium and arena, I spotted that he will be having shows on 21./ 22. and 24., tried my luck to get a ticket and did get one. A bit pricey but why not….

As soon as the concert is over I have to pack a few things as tomorrow morning an early start is on the agenda and I don't want to rush everything.

Departure for Toronto is at 10:10


If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures





Day 11: Vancouver

After a good nights sleep ( I had to catch up due to the previous nights moving sleep adventure ) I was ready for the day. But what would be a start into a day without a nice breakfast. No nothing fancy just a simple almond croissant and a large vanilla latte and I was ready.

Having been in Vancouver twice in the past and also at the beginning of this tour I decided to see the things I did not yet see. So I hopped on the next bus and went all the way to Stanley Park.

This densly forested 405 acre big park is named after Lord Stanley who was from 1888 -1893 the Governor General of Canada. He dedicated this park which is now one of the great Vancouver attraction bordered by the English Bay and the Burrard Inlet ie almost surrounded by water.

From here one has fantastic views of the Vancouver skyline

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and walk the waterfront path and explore the various little attractions along the way like for example the Totem posts

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and again various other views

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I spend the whole morning in this fantastic park and managed to be back in town in the early afternoon to refresh myself with a lite bite. Whilst munching away I decided to "finish" the day with something culturally: cinema. Today is was the first day of the new "Downton Abbey" movie. So why not watching something quintessentially British in Canada ?
A cinema showing this movie is only a block away from my hotel and a ticket was quickly bought. It was a great experience !
( Spoiler alert: Maggie Smith has got all the good lines in this movie ! )

After the show it was already dark outside and so I strolled leisurely back to my hotel watched a bit TV and called it a day.

Tomorrow evening I will have an even bigger cultural event on my agenda. So watch this space !

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures

Day 10: Vancouver

And so it was.
At about 4:00 I was wide awake because the train came for God knows reasons to a grinding halt. From that moment on sleeping was not possible anymore so that around 5:30 I decided to have a shower ( yes each of the sleeping cars has showers ! ) and get dressed.

Surprisingly the train started the manoeuvre to get into Vancouver's Pacific Union station already at around 4:30 and about ½ h later we had arrived at the station. Scheduled arrival time: 8:00 a.m.

I still had my breakfast ( serving started at 6:30 ) on the train, disembarked, fetched my suitcase and made my way into town to see if the booked room at my lodgings would be ready.

Of course not but I could leave my backpack and suitcase which made it much easier to get around.
First stop: the nice coffee shop I already used when I originally arrived in Vancouver on September 9th to treat myself to a large cappuccino.

To cat fresh air I ventured to Canada PLace at the Waterfront and explored the new convention centres waterfront walkway and explored the nearby "Marine Building" the once tallest building in the British Empire its Art Deco exterior and interior lovingly refurbished in the 1980th. See for yourself by exploring todays pictures ( link below ).

At around 15:00 I was getting tired and decided to make my way back to the hotel treating myself to a nice afternoon coffee and a slice of banana bread.

After check-in and arranging myself yesterdays and todays blog entry have been on my to-do list.

The crowning conclusion of the day: TV

See you all tomorrow.


If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures

Day 9: Train Jasper - Vancouver

Today started again early as I am supposed to catch the 9:30 train, the "Canadian" , for Vancouver.
Outside temperature at 7:00 a.m. was just above 0 C and the mist was still covering the base of the surrounding mountains when I made my way into town. Filling up the car with gas, checking in my suitcase at the station, finding out if the train would be leaving as scheduled ( YES ), returning my car.
Having completed all chores there was still enough time left to enjoy one last breakfast at the "Bear Paw Bakery" and take some pictures of Jasper Station ( a historic landmark ) and the stations forecourt with its vintage steam locomotive on display.
More and more people gathered at the station, many of them already passengers on the Canadian who pulled into Jasper just about I returned my car. Everybody having a stroll along the train ( 22 coaches plus two engines = 2022 feet or 620 m ) and catch some fresh air.

Coach 121 Unit 4 was allocated to me.
Bang at 9:10 the boarding began and the Canadian pulled on time at 9:30 out of Jasper. So far so good !

Weather was ( again ) fantastic: blue sky and sunshine. And that's how it remained for the rest of the day so that again I could enjoy an awesome journey through the canadian landscape with its mountains, lakes and forest.

Again I will let the few pictures ( via the pictures link at the end of this blog entry ) speak for themselves. But like all the other pictures I took whilst on board of the trains during the last days be considerate: they are all made whilst the train was moving through the window. But at lest they should be a very good impression.

The service on board the Canadian was again great ( as I experience already in the past when I did the complete West-to East journey twice ). Coffee, Tea and biscuits, lunch in the dining car ( the train had two ) on an first come first served basis and in the evening dinner for which one had to reserve. Choice: 1.sitting at 17:30 or 2.sitting at 19:45.
I skipped lunch and had a very nice strawberry-White Chocolate scone I bought in the morning at the bakery instead.

Mid afternoon champagne and appetisers in the panorama car. Sipping some bubbly somewhere in the rockies. What a life !

The 5:30 call for dinner came and I made my way into the dining car where we where greeted by Chef George and the head steward. The former made later on also a litte speech during which he introduced his team normally "hidden" in den kitchen. Nice touch which everybody getting by clapping ones hands.
Dinner ( one could choose from two starters , three mains and two deserts ):
Tomato soup with crusty wholemeal rolls and butter
Rack of Lamb with roast potatoes and vegetables ( the lamb was cooked to perfection ! )
Cheesecake with raspberry sauce and a bit of whipped cream
Coffee
No, I was NOT travelling on the Orient Express !

With me at the table a canadian couple and a single canadian traveller. We all had a very good discussions and surprise surprise I was asked about, you guessed it: Brexit. The canadians turned out to be very well informed about this subject and not like the various americans I met who are totally ignorant and to be honest simply naive.

Anyway: by the time we had finished it was getting dark and after a small excursion into the dome car to have a quick peek at the pitch dark sky I retired to my bed knowing it will be a very "moving" night and continuous sleep will be at a premium.

Good Night

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures

Day 8: Jasper

What a day it was but let's start at the beginning ie in the morning:
I woke up to a dry day without clouds and the sun just coming up behind the mountains surrounding Jasper with some early morning mist slowly disappearing but with a temperature still around -1 C ( YES minus )

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On my way to my favourite ( from a previous visit in Jasper I remembered ) breakfast place I picked up my car for the day to explore the Glacier Parkway.
At the "Paw Bear Bakery" a nice large flat white, a giant croissant and a blueberry muffing made me ready for the day. Off on the Canadian Highway No 93, the Glacier Parkway.
The weather was getting better and warmer and by the time I had reached my first stop the Athabasca Falls, I had blue sky, bright and sunshine and the temperature had risen well above 0 C and it stayed like that for the rest of the day. GREAT !

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One can explore these fantastic falls from all angles and if you click on the picture link mentioned at the end of this block more pictures can be enjoyed.
Heading on to my final destination, the Athabasca Glacier, I stopped at a few places to soak up the amazing scenery with the just beginning autumn colours.
Having visited this places already way back in 2007 I was very surprised at the time how much this glacier has receded in the last 30 years and it was this time even worse. Since then at least 15 m. Global warming.
Nevertheless it's still an amazing view if you standing as a small human being amongst the giant snow covered mountains.
Amazing is also the number of visitors and consequently the number of RV's and cars. I am convinced that way in 2007 when I visited the site on 20.9.2007 that I didn't see that many people and cars.
Anyway, I headed on a bit further along the Parkway to Parker Ridge another awesome mountain range. Here I turned around and told my GPS system to get me to the Maligne Canyon & Lake, just a few miles outside of Jasper.
As soon as I left the National Park a roadsign reminded me about the Jasper SkyTram at Whistlers ( not to be mixed of with Whistler ( without "s" ) near Vancouver. I changed my GPS and headed to the base station from where I got a lift up on the top the Whistlers Mountains, 2263 m.
SPECTACULAR views, well worth the price.

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Having indulged the spectacular views I went back down, jumped into my car ( a nice Ford Mustang by the way, nice to drive but very uncomfortable to get in and out. But it's just for today.
Back in Jasper I needed a coffee and what better place to go back to the "Paw Bear Bakery" to treat myself to a large cappuccino and an Nanaimo bar.

Back at my lodgings I refreshed and headed later out ( after I wrote todays travel blog ) to a burger place where I tried a Caribou burger with potato wedges and coleslaw on the side. A nice beer brewed by the Jasper Brewery was a must as well.

Back at the hotel I needed to sort out a few things because tomorrow I will leave Jasper at 9:30 ( that's at least the scheduled departure time ) on the "Canadian" towards Vancouver. The space in the compartment I booked is very limited hence I need to check in my suitcase and can only carry on board what I think I need for the day and the night.

Arriving in Vancouver on Thursday ( 19.9. ) means that tomorrow evening I will not be able to write my blog.
SORRY !

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures


Day 7: Train Prince George - Jasper

It was, as you can imagine, a very short night. A bit of time one could save as breakfast would be served on train. A good shower did the trick and I was , no, not fighting fit, but at least wide awake and receptive for the day. At the reception I met the nice couple with whom I shared the cab last night, oh no: this morning. With the train station only a short walk away we decided to walk but grabbed at a Starbucks around the corner from the hotel a coffee. Short after 9:20 we arrived ( as we had been ask to the evening before ) at the station and learned that the departure will be delayed. Why ? The freight train which didn't allow us this morning to move in the station was still there and blocked everything. Delay about 1 h but could be longer. Sugar….
Patently everybody waiting. One doesn't have any other alternative anyway.
At around 9:45 ( our scheduled departure time ) the announcement was made that the freight train will move shortly, then the Westbound Passenger Train will move in and people board and then our Eastbound train will move in. The station staff lady had just finished her speech when the freight train was moving. Don't hold your breath she said, very often they move for a few meters and then they stop again. But we are lucky, the train left.
The Westbound train moved in, passenger embarked, the train left and 5 min later our Eastbound train moved in, the train crew welcomed us all as if we are all a big family. We all embarked and our train left with just about 50 min delay.

Again it was an awesome journey and like mentioned in yesterdays blog entry I am commenting in this blog entry, just have a look at the pictures I have made available and follow my tour via the links mentioned at the end of this blog entry.

Todau we have been again very lucky and that both weatherise ( again a gorgeous day ) as well as time wise. We arrived in Jasper with a delay of only 55 minutes at 19:25 ( MT ) { scheduled is 18:30 MT }. Sun was just setting and for a change I reached my lodgings, the Jasper INN, at day-light. Quite a change in comparison to the last days.

It will be an early night but note before I completed writing yesterdays and todays blog.

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures

Day 6: Train Prince Rupert - Prince George

What a day !
But let's start in the morning: with the train leaving at 8:00 and check-in starting at 7:30 I had to be up and running quite early. Fortunately it is only short cab ride to the VIA Rail Terminal ( which doubles also as the BCFerries Terminal ). Quite a number of people have already been waiting and a friendly staff member labels my suitcase. A few minutes later the train ( the engine, luggage car, economy class car, panorama car and the dome car. Quite short.
Being poch I had the "Touring Class" boded and occupied my seat in the panorama car which was as it turned out just half full. Quite a mixture of people: 2 couples from France, a German couple, a few Americans and a bunch of us Brits.
Bang on time the train left and after some introduction by the two crew members about the ins-and outs as ell as the catering everybody relaxed into his comfortable reclining seats and started enjoying the scenery which evolved in front of our eyes.
I could now describe in length about my personal experience but this would be quite long and for you who has not joined me on this journey also quite boring.
Hence only in short:
Weather was glorious ( why that wasn't the case during my Inside Passage journey is beyond me )
Scenery spectacular
Catering ( consisting of breakfast, lunch and dinner, coffee and tea and with Dinner even complementary wine ) very good.

If you are interested in some visual impression of this journey and also see some tracking details of the journey please use the links mentioned at the bottom of this blog entry.

But there is a but:
The train line Prince Rupert - Prince George - Jasper is a freight line. The three time a week running VIA Rail ( the Canadian Passenger Train Company ) trains are for the track owners more a nuisance hence freight trains always have priority. The whole line is single track only with sidings every x-number of miles so that east and westbound trains can pass. Both resulting into the simple problem that the passenger trains are delayed and that quite often considerably. A fact I knew since I used the train across Canada twice in the past. To cut a long story short: Scheduled arrival in Prince George was supposed to 20:30 but we arrived ( believe or not ) at 01:00 in the morning. In addition to this the track in front of the station building was occupied by a waiting freight train so that our passenger train was diverted into the railway yard. Our train crew ( thank God ) organised cabs to the yard which waited for us when we stopped in the railway yard. They even called everybody's hotel to inform them about our delay. It worked like clockwork but everybody was understandably mift and very tired.
A short ride with the cab ( its of people shared to get everybody a.s.a.p. away and into ones bed ) and me and my cab party reached our hotel where a very tired looking night clerk checked as in.

Schedules departure tomorrow ( ( Monday 16.9.2019 ) at 9:45

God night ( or should I say Good morning ? ! )


If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures

Day 6: Prince Rupert

No early start, a sleep in instead !
The somewhat relaxing day started after a nice breakfast in a little coffee shop just around the corner of the Pacific Inn. Having studied last night the " What to do in Prince Rupert" brochure in my hotel room I learned that a the regional "Museum of Northern British Columbia" and a local Railway museum are very close by., in walking distance actually.

Weather ? The exact opposite from yesterday. Almost blue sky, sun. Why didn't I have that yesterday. Anyway….

The Museum turned out to be a fantastic wooden building constructed by using huge logs as they native people would build.
Just wood, no nails or any kind of ironwork.

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Inside mainly a fantastic collection of native art and great introductions into the way of the of the northern indigenous people and the meaning of their symbols, totems etc.

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Just being the museum the Prince Rupert water front with a few shops and great views of the surrounding mountains.

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Exploring the neighbourhood I ventured towards the Kwinitsa Station Railroad Museum situated and the waterfront.

The next blow: Closed for the season re-opening in 2020 !

I was just about walking back when a coach arrived and lady followed by lots of other people left the bus. She opened the door of the museum and everybody went in. I approached her and she allowed my to join the other people ( passengers of the cruise ship mooring in Prince Rupert ). Hurrah !

The building was moved to this spot after the railway line closed down and shows now the railway history of the area and the impact the railway had on the people living here.

Filled with knew knowledge and made my way back to explore a little bit Prince Ruperts main street to realise that lots of native people are living here and that all the beggars and homeless are indigenous people. Interesting !

At some point in time I was back at my lodgings and ventured out later for a simple dinner at one of the local hamburger joints.

Went to bed a bit earlier as tomorrow the alarm will ( has to ) ring at 5:45.

The train check-in will start at 7:00


If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures


Day 5: Inside Passage

Had to get up at the very ungodly hours of 3:45 but for whatever reason ( excitement ? ) I was awake a bit earlier.
Shower and packing was quite quickly done at well on time ( 4:50 ) for the shuttle bus from the Quarterdeck Inn to the Port Hardy Ferry Terminal I was in the hotel lobby.

Was interesting to see of how many people left the inn and how many more we picked up at various other motels on our way to the terminal. I was definitely not on my own for this voyage.

The ferry terminal was already buzzing with people and cars at this very early hours.

Check-in procedure to get my boarding pass and then a short stroll into the bellows of the ferry. No separate gangway, also the foot passengers had to board through the car deck.

Quickly I found my bearings, picked up the access card to the lounge ( where I had a pre-booked recliner seat ) at the pursers office and headed then to the cafeteria to treat myself to a nice breakfast on board.

Now full of energy I made my way to the outside decks to await for quite a few fellow passengers the imminent departure of the "Northern Exhibition" ( a vessel build in Flensburg/Germany ) at 7:30.

Whilst waiting the first sign of Canadian wildlife was spotted in the trees ashore: a bald eagle

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With a bit a delay ( about 30 min which the captain as it turned out was able to more than catch up ) we left into this grim morning, at that point in time still dry but very dull.

If you ever been on the Hurtigruten tour in Norway then this voyage is roughly the same ONLY 100 ( no: a 1000 ) times bigger.
Unfortunately I wasn't as far as the weather was concerned very lucky as only for the first 3-4 hours it was dry else it was always raining in various strength.

Nevertheless: the scenery was simply stunning and the few pictures I could take ( see my picture page [ link at the end of this blog ] ) can only give you a very vague idea.

I at least enjoyed despite the adverse weather conditions EVERY minute.

The ship was very comfortable and had all the amenities which a ferry passenger may need: self-service cafeteria, cinema, various outdoor decks and, at the front of the ship, the Aurora lounge with very comfy reclining seats.

At Klemtu the ferry stopped for a little while. Klemtu ( on Swindle Island ) is manly inhabited by Canadas "First Nation" or indigenous people:


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Whilst waiting here we spotted close to the ship two whales. Fortunatly I could get some pictures. Have a look on the picture page and see if you can find them.

Impressing was then some time later the passage through the Tolmie and Grenville Channel where the mountains are coming straight out of the water the latter being about 500 m wide.

Due the more then dull weather it got darker and darker so that at around 18:00 I decided to treat myself to a nice evening meal ( to justify myself: I had breakfast at around 6:45 ) in the ships VISTA restaurant to retire afterwards to my comfy chair in the Aurora lounge.

To everybody's amazement at around 22:30 the announcement was made that our arrival in Prince Rupert was eminent. About an hours earlier then scheduled !

Car passengers have been asked first to the car deck but thanks to a fellow foot passenger on met earlier he suggested to follow them and wait on the car deck to beat the crowds of the other foot passengers.

Brilliant idea: the last car had left the car deck and one could walk ashore, get your suit case and jump into a cab waiting.
15 min late I was at the hotels check-in, got my room key and then GOOD NIGHT


If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures


Day 4: Nanaimo - Port Hardy

It's raining outside and that's the way it turns out to be for the whole day
( almost at least but you will see ).
The rain is also the main reason there will be hardly any pictures of
todays journey.
But lets start at the beginning and that is ( obviously ) breakfast and then
further to the car rental place to return my car. They kindly gave me a lift
to the Nanaimo Departure Bay Terminal which is also the starting point
of my coach heading north to Port Hardy.

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After a warm welcome by our driver who introduced himself as "Sir John - The King of the Road and the Lord of the Baggage" I went off north: destination Port Hardy.

Roughly 340 km which follows till about Courtenay more or less the coast line and then from Campbell River onwards goes inland through dense woodland with mountains. And as it was raining for almost the whole day I hardly took any pictures and only absorbed the landscape in my mind.

Only a few stops on the way like for example in Parksville, Courtenay, Campbell River, Woss and then Port McNeill where finally it started clearing up and the sun showed itself:

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Only a few km later I finally reached toys end of my journey and my lodgings for tonight "The Quarterdeck Inn"
in Port Hardy.

Next on the agenda was dinner and then arranging everything for tomorrow: the "Inside Passage".
Leaving the Port Hardy Ferry Terminal at 7:30 and having to be at the check-in counter 2 hours prior departure means I had to reserve a seat on the shuttle bus leaving the Quarterdeck Inn at 4:50.

I set the alarm for 3:45

Good night

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures


Day 3: Tofino or not

Dry, overcast and occasional sunshine: the forecast for today.
Not bad for what I had planned for today: a drive from Nanaimo
through the inne island to Tofino at the Pacific Coast.
After a small breakfast I started going north on the Island Highway
no 19: Nanoose Bay > Parksville where I turned on Memorial Avenue
No 4 towards Port Alberni.

On the way a stop at the "Little Qualicum Falls National Park" to walk
and explore the nearby falls:

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Hidden in the dense woodlands.

Hiking back to my car and then off again alongside Lake Cameron surounded
by wooded mountains:

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The road is now climbing up to the "Port Alberni Summit' ( 420 m ) and signs tell
drivers that winter tyres are mandatory starting October 1st till end of March.
Thats only a few days away !

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Having reached Port Alberni I learned from roadside signs that in about
40 km the highway to Tofino is closed due to maintenance works.
Only open for traffic for some time in the morning and late afternoon.
I am too late ! So no Tofino then ! Not good but what can I do.

Turning the car around I then treated myself to a nice coffee at a Starbucks at the roadside.

On my way back I decided to make a little detour by heading to Qualicum Beach:
( eastern side of Vancouver Island at the Strait of Georgia )


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After about 25 km drive I reached my lodgings and called it a day.
Sorry, no not yet: dinner is still on the agenda.

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures


Day 2: Off to Nanaimo

After a good nights sleep ( have I already overcome the jet leg ? ) and having
checked outof my lodgings I was on my way to the Pacific Union Station.
No, not to catch a train but acoach for Nanaimo ( on Vancouver Island ).
At the station I found out that the coach was cancelled. Fortunately the lady
at the counter pointed out that Icould catch an Express Bus from City Centre
to the Ferry Terminal at Horseshoe Bay.
O.K. then. Back into town to wait for the bus.

Well in time ( actually about an hours earlier then originally scheduled ) I
arrived at the Ferry Terminal at Horseshoe Bay:

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to catch the 11:00 am crossing to Nanaimo. By now the weather had cleared up and the sun
tried to lurk through the clouds. It promised to be a delightful crossing.

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1 ½ hours later the Nanaimo Ferry Terminal was in sight:


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After disembarkation I called my rental car company to be picked up and get hold of my
car.
They apologised as they didn't have the compact car I ordered but offered my at no extra
charge ( you won't believe it ) a small pick-up. Despite being "small" still quite a monster
for us Europeans.

Having familiarised myself with the car I made my way ( thanks for GPS ) to my lodgings
for the next two nights.

Another eventful day with at the end glorious sunshine came to an end.
Now plans are been made for tomorrow.

You will see !

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour or see some more pictures

Day 1: Vancouver

Weather: overcast and rainy: not good but ….

Fresh after a morning shower headed off to a small local cafe just
around the corner from the YMCAto have a small breakfast.
Ready for the day I left the joint to find out that the rain had stopped.
Quickly heading for the SkyTrain station across the street to buy
a Daypass for the public transport system.
First stop: Canada PLace where two cruise ships moored and
been stocked up with provisions for the next part of their journey.


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From the SeaBus station ( only a short walk from Canada Place ) the ferry brought me
across the Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver to explore the market just at the Ferry station.
Originally I planned to take from the station the bus to Grouse Mountain
but the bus driver told me not to as the peak is complete in the clouds.

Cheers to him for being so nice…



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OK so I explored the market, jumped back on the ferry to reach downtown
Vancouver and strolled leisurely along Burrard Street one of the main
shopping areas in Vancouver.

With the jet leg kicking in and headed back to the hotel to have a little rest
just to go back in the late afternoon to Chinatown for some dinner at one of the
many street food places.


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Departure Day

Waiting for my departure at Heathrow Terminal 3 in the BA Lounge
for my 17:20 departure which is now delayed till 18:13.
Reason: the upcoming strike of the BA pilots is already causing its toll.

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour


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Departure on 8.9.2019

Departure on September 8th at 17:20

Can't wait anymore to leave.

If you want to follow me: Track My Tour



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