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The sun is going down on my time in Canada. A series of flights back to Belfast (via Calgary and Glasgow) await me, but I’d really rather not leave. Canada feels like a superior version of home to me. It’s somewhere I could spend a lot more time in. It really is an incredible country, and i’ve had a truly great time exploring a small part of it. But for now, it’s time to depart.
I’ve finally seen a Bear, even if it was at an enclosure up Grouse Mountain. Vancouver’s a nice enough town. Taking off in a seaplane and viewing it from the air was definitely a highlight. Apart from a few no-go zones (streets where drug addicts hang out) the whole city centre area is rather safe, clean and welcoming. Stanley Park is one of the more pleasant locale’s.
Whistler is a ski resort oozing with undeniable style. No one is over the age of 30, and people spend their days on the slopes (or off season – biking, hiking and sky diving) and their nights in the cool firelit chalet bars. There’s also a big Gondola ride which will take you closer to the peaks. Whether you partake in the above activities or just admire the views is up to you.
The town of Clearwater (if you can call it a town) is in the backwoods of British Columbia. If the phrase ‘middle of no where’ applies to anywhere, it applies to here. You’d have to drive for hours along flowing freeways to reach it. About an hour back in the other direction, is Wells Grey Provincial Park. This is the site of Helmcken Falls – the 4th largest waterfall in Canada.
What a marvellous day. We jumped on a helicopter flight over the Rockies in the morning, from a little trucker town called Hinton, and in the afternoon had a surreal visit to the Columbia Ice Fields on a special Snow Coach, where I actually got to stand on a glacier and sip fresh mountain water, which, apparently, has the effect of making you look 7 years younger.
