Seaplanes, coaches, ferries

Monday 26th

It's been about 4 days since my last post so I have a lot to catch up on..here's Monday's....

Today was the first of my organised trips... My destination.... Victoria over on Vancouver Island. 

My journey there was via seaplane, this was a great experience,  taking off in the harbour and flying out over the city offered some awesome views. The inflight safety video demo being shown on the pilots iPad whilst he was navigating out the dock was a little surreal.

On my way to the port for my flight and saw the most bizarre looking bird... From a distance I thought 'My god,  that seagull has a beard!' as I got closer I realised it actually had a mouthful of starfish! This bird clearly wasn't letting go but it was quite clear it was impossible to swallow!

Just a short 35 min trip, (nothing compared to the arduous 4 hour return trip by coach and ferry!) and we came to 'land' in Victoria harbour. What I didn't realise was quite how large Vancouver Island actually is! It's the largest Pacific island east of New Zealand and Victoria is the capital of British Colombia.

It's an odd place with the feel of a small retirement village! Considering it's a capital it feels tiny in comparison to Vancouver itself.

Anyway,  once I arrived and found my bearings I walked around for a bit and realised how quiet and small the place is. Some shops where closed and others just looked a bit tired.  Those that were open and busiest where the tourist tat shops! As the morning progressed life seemed to appear but still plodding along at a leisurely pace.  I lunched at a place on the dock called The Flying Otter. It had been recommended to me as a good place for fish and chips.  Deep fried halibut was divine and hit the spot!

In the afternoon I took the opportunity to go on a Whale watching cruise.  I was really lucky and was on a boat with only 11 others which meant we had plenty of room to move without getting in anyone's way.

We headed way out into the gulf in search of Orcas (or killer whales as we commonly know them)  there are quite a few resident ones in the gulf but the sightings that day were of a male and female transient orca.  Our captain kept speeding up and changing course as news of the sightings changed until eventually we found them... Moving along the coast close to their main foods source... Seals

They kept appearing above the water, their dorsal fins breaking the water and rising up.  They were so quick that by the time you'd found them through the view finder on the camera, they'd gone again! I think I've managed to get a few shots though.  Just as we were settling and waiting for them,  the boat suddenly flipped around,  engine full and we shot off leaving the whales and all the other tour boats behind.  Our guide told us we'd just had reports of a humpback in the area so we were off to find it,  passing on the way a whole mass of smelly noisy sealions! We approached the area along with one other boat,  just as the humpback appeared! We heard it first as it blew out through its blowhole! It kept appearing and diving and then suddenly rose higher out the water for a deep dive, flipping it's tail fins out the water.  It was amazing to see business the orcas,  was so quick! Hopefully the few pics I did get will be good!

Back on land and it was time to make my way back to Vancouver, a long coach journey with 1.5hr ferry sailing.  I wish now I'd paid the extra to go both ways via seaplane!

Discovering Vancouver

After a fantastic 11 hours sleep,  I woke at 7am feeling pretty bright and fresh. Opening the curtains I was greeted by beautiful blue skies and light whispy clouds over the mountains of North Vancouver.... Certainly a view I could quite easily warm to every morning!

I took the opportunity to sit out on the balcony and enjoy breakfast whilst watching Vancouver wake up.

After a slow start I decided I'd walk down to Coal Harbour and head towards Stanley Park. The harbour area is stunning, beautiful yachts all moored up along the harbour and views across to North Vancouver that were stunning in the early morning light.

I took a walk along the harbour towards Stanley Park,  dodging numerous cyclists and roller bladers along the way.  I'm not sure how far I've walked today but my feet are telling me it's a lot! I soon realised that the park itself is huge,  reportedly 20% larger than central park in New York. I decided I would come back another day and hire a bike!

After further walking,  and food at an awesome seafood place (they served bloody Marys with a huge shrimp in the glass)  I made my way back to the waterfront to meet Barry.  I worked with Barry at the BBC and although I knew he was travelling, it wasn't until Friday that I realised he was in Vancouver.

After a good catch up,  we made our way to sunset beach,  where my host,  James, heads most days with his friends to play volleyball. We've had a very lazy afternoon watching them and seeing the sunset (it's clear how the beach got its name).  I'm now back in the apartment, chilling out on the balcony drinking wine.  I could get used to this!

One major thing that has struck me today is how laid back Vancouver is.  There's such a nice vibe walking around and it feels so safe.  Really like here it so far!

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to Victoria, by seaplane.. Very excited about that!

I've arrived

Hey everyone, well here I am safe and sound in Vancouver!

It's very pleasant 20c and I'm sat out on the balcony on the 19th floor of a high rise in downtown VC.

I had  pretty uneventful flight... We were a little late taming off but caught up time on the way.  A 9 hour flight and with a -8 hour time difference, it's fair to say I'm pretty whacked right now!

Getting into central from the airport was really simple,  I felt like a big kid though as the sky train is like the docklands light railway.... Driverless... So I sat at the front and was pretending I was the driver..

I decided to walk from the station to the place I'm staying,  an easy 10 minute stroll and I managed to find my home for the next 10 days.   I'm living with a guy called James who rents out his second bedroom to travellers. It's great as firstly it's a damn sight cheaper than the hotels but living with a local means you get to find out about less touristy things,  for example on Tuesday there is a big open air cinema in Stanley Park,  showing Indian Jones! And when my host,  James, isn't working he heads to the beaches with his mates and plays volleyball.  I've been invited but i suggested I might just be an observer!

James' place is great! Perfect location and really comfy, plus he has stacks of wine to which I've been instructed to drink as much as I want!

As I'm pretty tired I've just been out for a little walk to get my bearings. I found an amazing Thai restaurant, and on the way back,  found the gay area... With rainbow coloured pedestrian crossings it's hard to miss!

Haven't quite decided my plans for tomorrow yet so keep an eye out in the evening for my update!

And so the Canadian Adventure begins....

....almost...Well, I've checked in for my flights, so I guess you could say it's started...

Hello one and all,

It's been a while since my last blog, obviously a sign that I should travel more right? Some would argue I travel too much as it is, but I would argue...

So, for the next two weeks I am going to be in Canada, a country that has been on my list of places to see for sometime, but not at the top of the list, nor the most obvious of choices for me, but sometimes you need a little change, and I decided that I have travelled East quite a lot so this year I should go the other way.

I fly tomorrow to Vancouver, where I will be based for 10 days, and then I fly to Toronto for 4 days before coming back home.  Yes I know, for a country the size of Canada, only visiting two cities isn't really "doing Canada" but it's a start!

Whilst in Vancouver I have a number of trips planned already, first a day trip (by Seaplane) over to Victoria, and another day trip taking me to the North Shores for a bit of hiking.  I am also aiming to do a day trip up to Whistler, but I will arrange that when I arrive.

I'm also going to take a quick trip into the States and head to Seattle, it's just a few hours by coach from Vancouver and for $15 ticket, why not!  The original plan was to go further into the states to Portland to meet another Chris, a couchsurfer I hosted in London a few weeks ago but the dates didn't quite work out, so Seattle it is.

Whilst in Toronto, well my main reason for there was to do the typically touristy thing and go to Niagara.  After seeing Iguassu in Argentina/Brazil last year, this is most likely to be "just another big waterfall" but it is quite iconic and if I have the chance, then I figure I should take it.

To be honest, I have no idea what to expect from Canada, so in some ways I'm really excited about the trip, but I'm at the same time, also a little nervous as I don't want to miss out on anything, but for the first time, I'm not staying in hotels, in stead I am going for a "home stay" option and I am staying with local residents! All thanks to a website called airbnb - a way to keep costs low but also see the place you visit from a slightly different viewpoint.  Both hosts in Vancouver and Toronto seem really cool guys and live in  great locations.  The guy in Vancouver is a Brit and has lived there for 6 years, and lives on the 19th floor of a high rise in downtown VC - I can't wait, and no doubt will have lots of photos to share...

Bookmark me, subscribe, keep checking in...and I look forward to sharing my adventures over the coming weeks with you all!

Bon Voyage!