Today, we caught the Pacific coach from Whistler to Vancouver and travelled back through the mountains into the city. Vancouver looked a lot more appealing then last week when it was raining. The sun was shining and it was a great day for some sightseeing.
Hubby and I checked into our next port of call, Westin Bayshore Resort and Marina (very nice), we were upgraded to a suite overlooking the marina and the snow topped moutains, it is lovely. After settling in, we decided to check out some more of the activities my Canadian friends advised us to do. So it was off for a stroll around Stanley Park.
I've have now decided that the whole population of Canada are fitness freaks (and power to them). They are obsessed! (well the ones in and around Stanley Park are). I've never seen so many people on bikes, roller blades, skate boards, people running, jogging, walking (with or without the obligatory dog), anything, you name it, they are doing it. Hubby and I decided to walk it, the hotel even had a running map for people to follow a 3.5 km or 8 km route. So we set off for to follow the 3.5 km starting off at the hotel, passing the boats in the marina then up to the park.
The park was really busy (but then it is a public holiday), it was great for us to get out and actually walk in the fresh air, (Dubai will be far too hot for that when we get back). Anyway, it was just nice to stroll along, hand in hand, chatting and watching the world go by. Although we did stop for fish and chips for lunch as we had missed our traditional Good Friday fish meal yesterday.
There were a number of signs around notifying people not to feed the raccoons and to watch out for various wildlife including any sightings of coyotes. We passed a big queue of people for the aquarium, a play park with what seemed like half of China's children playing in it (honestly the it seems that about 2/3 of the population here are Asian). Anyway, they were having great fun and it was great to see the little ones doing an Easter Egg hunt in the gardens. There was even a little steam train for the kiddies to ride on.
Hubby and I decided to walk in a more quieter area and went for a lovely stroll around Beaver Lake. Unfortunately, we didn't see any beavers but we did see a den and evidence of their handy work. Half eaten trees which had been saved by the park rangers who had covered them with wire meshing. We also saw black squirrels who didn't seem at all bothered by the intrusion of humans in the territory. The lake was filled with ducks and storks and also sorts of wildlife (sorry I'm no David Attenborough). But needless to say we enjoyed it.
Then we walked further into the forest trying to find a way to turn around and make our way back. But the forest was dense and we seemed to take ages to find a way out. Hubby decided to tell me about a programme he'd been watching about spiders. That is the last thing anyone should do to me as I am petrified of spiders. So, needless to say I was starting to get a bit scared and was convinced a human sized spider was going to jump on me from one of the trees.
But it wasn't a spider that made me almost poo myself (sorry but it's true). No, it's the bloody huge coyote that came strolling along, stopped and starred at us both for a second (but felt like a week) and then proceeded to walk slowly into the bushes. OMG, although it didn't do anything, I knew we had to pass the place where it had just gone into the woods and I was panicking in case it jumped back out at us. By then my legs were killing me and I hardly had the energy to walk never mind run. Needless to say we both ran like mad (although hubby won't admit it later, lol). We found a road and human life again so we felt safe.
On the way back to the hotel, we saw two random men sitting on a park bench sharing a joint (obviously oblivious to the rest of the healthy people around them). Hubby and I were a bit shocked because of their apparent openness, but no one else seemed to bother, so why should we?
By the time we got back to the hotel we had walked over 11 km (yes I had my pedometer on). I felt more tired walking then I had done all week skiing, but at least I'd worked off the fish and chips lol and survived being a coyote's supper.
Hubby and I checked into our next port of call, Westin Bayshore Resort and Marina (very nice), we were upgraded to a suite overlooking the marina and the snow topped moutains, it is lovely. After settling in, we decided to check out some more of the activities my Canadian friends advised us to do. So it was off for a stroll around Stanley Park.
I've have now decided that the whole population of Canada are fitness freaks (and power to them). They are obsessed! (well the ones in and around Stanley Park are). I've never seen so many people on bikes, roller blades, skate boards, people running, jogging, walking (with or without the obligatory dog), anything, you name it, they are doing it. Hubby and I decided to walk it, the hotel even had a running map for people to follow a 3.5 km or 8 km route. So we set off for to follow the 3.5 km starting off at the hotel, passing the boats in the marina then up to the park.
There were a number of signs around notifying people not to feed the raccoons and to watch out for various wildlife including any sightings of coyotes. We passed a big queue of people for the aquarium, a play park with what seemed like half of China's children playing in it (honestly the it seems that about 2/3 of the population here are Asian). Anyway, they were having great fun and it was great to see the little ones doing an Easter Egg hunt in the gardens. There was even a little steam train for the kiddies to ride on.
Hubby and I decided to walk in a more quieter area and went for a lovely stroll around Beaver Lake. Unfortunately, we didn't see any beavers but we did see a den and evidence of their handy work. Half eaten trees which had been saved by the park rangers who had covered them with wire meshing. We also saw black squirrels who didn't seem at all bothered by the intrusion of humans in the territory. The lake was filled with ducks and storks and also sorts of wildlife (sorry I'm no David Attenborough). But needless to say we enjoyed it.
Then we walked further into the forest trying to find a way to turn around and make our way back. But the forest was dense and we seemed to take ages to find a way out. Hubby decided to tell me about a programme he'd been watching about spiders. That is the last thing anyone should do to me as I am petrified of spiders. So, needless to say I was starting to get a bit scared and was convinced a human sized spider was going to jump on me from one of the trees.
But it wasn't a spider that made me almost poo myself (sorry but it's true). No, it's the bloody huge coyote that came strolling along, stopped and starred at us both for a second (but felt like a week) and then proceeded to walk slowly into the bushes. OMG, although it didn't do anything, I knew we had to pass the place where it had just gone into the woods and I was panicking in case it jumped back out at us. By then my legs were killing me and I hardly had the energy to walk never mind run. Needless to say we both ran like mad (although hubby won't admit it later, lol). We found a road and human life again so we felt safe.
On the way back to the hotel, we saw two random men sitting on a park bench sharing a joint (obviously oblivious to the rest of the healthy people around them). Hubby and I were a bit shocked because of their apparent openness, but no one else seemed to bother, so why should we?
By the time we got back to the hotel we had walked over 11 km (yes I had my pedometer on). I felt more tired walking then I had done all week skiing, but at least I'd worked off the fish and chips lol and survived being a coyote's supper.
No comments:
Post a Comment