Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the mrlukeniktravels blog. As mentioned in the title, this is my final blog from Canada before moving countries again. These past three months have passed so quickly! It seems only yesterday that I was landing on the east coast in Toronto and beginning my journey across Canada.
I have spent the last few days enjoying Downtown Vancouver and, characteristically, the rain. That is why this area is designated temperate rainforest. As a result of that, however, the trees in autumn here are fantastic colours as they lose their leaves. Not all of this part of Canada is evergreen and pine-like.
Autumn colours in Queen Elizabeth Park.
Inside there was plenty to do. The Vancouver Aquarium was a particular highlight for me- irrespective of the rain outside. Exhibits covering the tropics, amphibians and jellyfish are very interesting. Plastic pollution, especially microplastics, are a focus of the aquarium. It was very though provoking to learn about, particularly the research into washing machines releasing microfibre pollutants into the water system. The outdoor section included shows by sea otters, sea lions and dolphins, all of whom were rescued from the wild. The other stand out animal was the anaconda which I was lucky to see being given a meal. She only gets fed once a month, so I really did turn up on the right day!
When is the next feeding time!?
Once the skies had decided to cease raining, I headed out with some friends from the hostel to visit Lynn Canyon on the North Shore. After a combination of buses and some slight confusion getting there, the canyon was fantastic. It was lovely to see the rainforest shown at its best; waterfalls, huge trees and ferns. I’m looking forward to seeing ferns again further on in my travels. The water in the creek did look quite cold though! There were a proliferation of signs warning against cliff jumping- which has never really been something I have been interested in. The park also contained a suspension bridge which was fun to cross and with, as it was not too long, relatively little wobble. Thankfully the return journey by public transport went much more smoothly and took a lot less time to return to the city centre.
Looking over the edge at Lynn Canyon.
Seeing as this is my last post in the wonderful country of Canada, I thought I would provide some numbers to illustrate my time here:
Flights: 1
Train journeys: 1
Visits to theme parks: 1
Babies met: 2
Suspension bridges crossed: 2
Mountain bike courses survived: 3
Ferry journeys: 4
Provinces visited: 6
Plates of poutine consumed: 7
Cups of Tim Horton’s coffee drank: 9
Days of smoke haze in Banff National Park: 11
Hostels stayed in: 12
Long-distance bus journeys: 16
Hours of bus journey between Winnipeg and Edmonton: 22 (plus 1 hour time difference)
Highest temperature experienced: 42 degrees Celsius (Ottawa)
Approximate distance covered: 6,900km or 4,300 miles
Glasses of Canadian beer drunk: many
Fun had: much!
I hope that gives an indication of some of what has happened over the last three months in Canada. However, I shall be back here again, hopefully, before too long. The road leads on westwards (or eastwards depending on where you see it from!). I shall soon be flying out to a destination revealed in next week’s blog, you will have to wait until then to find out where!
As usual, until then there is my Twitter account @mrlukeniktravel and Instagram @mrlukenitravels. Until next time, stay safe and travel on!
P.S. Apologies for the late posting, I have endured international flights and technical issues before posting this. Normal service will be resumed on Monday.