Monday June 11th 2018

After breakfast we boarded the coach and headed off to the ferry terminal for our crossing to Vancouver. Our ninety minute sail provided great views as we cruised through the Georgia Strait, passing picturesque sparsely populated islands whose verdant green trees ran right down to the waterline. No whales or other wildlife spotted on today’s route despite us sitting on the top open deck.

The first stop in Vancouver was to the Granville Island Public Markets. This was a mixture of fresh food and unique hand-made gifts plus buskers of a high standard. We grabbed a light lunch and a quick look. This area was more industrial previously, with the last remnant being the cement works. Even there they have got in the swing of things by decorating their silos.

. . . it’s bedtime Thursday night now and this post about Vancouver is taking forever to write, jamming up all the others behind it.

So I’m going to speed it up. My first impression of Vancouver was that it is a steel and glass metropolis and I just wanted to rush back to Victoria. But then one has to remember that we are a five minute tourist and it takes time to know a city.

Across in nearby Stanley Park there is plenty of space to roam and admire the city views from a distance. The working port of Vancouver, the cruise terminal with its white sails and liners in port, including one from the Disney Line, juxtaposed with the business buildings. So much to see in the park itself, including an exhibition of totem poles. And with a sunny day on our side, the tour director also shouted us ice- cream. Such a lovely thoughtful touch.

With free time after hotel check-in Bill and I wandered off to the waterfront, stumbling across the entrance to the Fly America simulator. This was the first activity that Bill emphatically declared an interest in, so we rushed us off to the ticket window. What a fantastic choice. Participants feel as if they are in a helicopter soaring over all the scenery that Canada has to offer. We were even lightly sprayed with water at appropriate moments.

We had some closer views of the working port, our old trade before retirement.

Another thing that is noteworthy down on the waterfront is the constant floatplane activity. It is one of the most popular ways to cross to Victoria, and even Seattle.

And then there is the fascination with Orcas, which they call a whale but is really more closely related to a dolphin apparently. I probably forgot to mention that when we crossed from Seattle to Victoria on the Clipper Catamaran we had to slow for a pod of Orcas, and that later that afternoon they, or a similar pod, came right into Victoria Harbour, creating great excitement for the local media. Here is a sculpture made out of cube-shaped blocks. It looks different from each angle.