Summing up Canada trip

1. Distance travelled
3,000km – by car
35km – by bike
95km – on foot/hiking

2. Went on a speed boat trip
3. Flew over Canada (virtual 4D trip around Canada)
4. Encountered: bears, whale, sea lions, moose, caribous, chipmunks, falcons
5. Visited: Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Golden, Clearwater, Lillooet, Nanaimo, Ucluelet, Tofino, Victoria, Vancouver

02.08 - Vancouver - bicycle trip

If you are in Vancouver, by all means rent a bicycle. We even got really good mountain bikes with disk breaks, which are a pleasure to ride. Vancouver has a lot of bicycle trails and it's a law to wear a helmet. We did a 30km ride around the city and in Stanley park, where the track goes on the ocean coast and under the shade of trees. The best time is in the morning as it's still 25 degrees, whereas later it gets as hot as 30 and tracks get busy if it is a weekend. The best view on the Vancouver skyline is in Stanley park where the statue of Harry Jerome (1st athlete to run 100m in 10 seconds flat in 1960) is located. The seawall views are also very stunning.

1.08 - Vancouver

Even though, Vancouver seems to be a huge city by the sheer area, but it only has ca. 600,000 of population. A city on the ocean is always an attraction in itself. It was around 30 degrees as we arrived with a ferry and we were surprised to see quite a few topless folks walking around the city. The crowd looks very intercultural and alternative. We have had quite a cultural shock to be in a big city again after a peaceful and silent nature. We plan to rent a bike to discover the city tomorrow…

Food

The Canadians seem to be crazy about organic food (bio products in Germany). They also do a lot of sports - biking, skiing, hiking, jogging... We haven't seen too many overweight people.
Canada offers a great choice of fish products. All tastes good and fresh, BUT I'd still prefer a good steak to fish. Spareribs is my 2nd favourite. The tourists seem to fancy fish & chips or a salmon burger.

Sea Dollars

Sea dollars can be found on the bottom of the sea. Actually, they are a living organisms. If they are of purple color, they still live, so you'd better not touch them. If they are of light grey or white, they no longer alive. If you put them in the sun the color becomes even better and the flower in the middle gets more distinct.


sea  dollars

31.07 - Victoria

water taxy

floating houses

hearts

floating houses 

Victoria has had a lot of influence from Great Britain. The 1st comes from its name after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It's also one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest. The British architecture influenced  it a lot: the British Columbia Parliament, Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and Express hotel, to name a few. The city's Chinatown is the 2nd oldest in North America after San Francisco.

legislature building

It has a nice harbour and a promenade. A lot can be done on foot. A water taxi is quite an attraction. It's not as busy with tourists as other cities. The population is around 80,000.

totem statues

The rain forest at the Pacific Rim

At the Pacific Rim on Vancouver island, some rainforests still exist. There you can find very old trees (some over 800 years old) and unspoiled wilderness where every ever-so-small space is used to grow something. The shrubs and trees and bushes and ferns are so tightly woven with each other, that man could hardly get through it - astonishing. We visited such a rainforest, where a well-kept boardwalk led through the park. Actually, all the National Parks we visited were in an excellent condition and there were always Park Rangers around, who showed and explained things. So buying these tickets is money well spent.