Almost there

Having watched the sun setting over Goose Bay in Labrador, we have now made it as far as the transit lounge in Terminal 2 at Heathrow waiting for our flight home to Shannon. Our overnight flight from Toronto was as good as can be expected – the breakfast bacon and egg muffin was a particular treat.

Having flown in all the large long haul aircraft over a good number of years, the upper deck of a 747-400 is definitely my favourite place to sit. I have decided that I will try to avoid the A380 if I can, because there are just too many people.

I still do not understand why airport designers and operators are unable to devise a boarding layout which avoids the usual scrum at the boarding gate. We have had the same experience in terminals 3 and 5 at Heathrow as we have had in Schiphol, Toronto, and Cape Town to name just a few. I think they could probably learn some lessons from Ryanair and the set up at Gatwick South terminal.

Our Canadian trip has been very enjoyable and has helped us avoid a fairly wet June at home. We have also avoided most of the fuss leading up to the EU referendum in the UK although we will probably be dealing with the consequences for a few years to come. It beggars belief that David Cameron and his advisors could have got their campaign so wrong. From everything I have read since the result was announced it seems clear that it was not so much a win for the leave campaign as an outright loss by the Remain team.

Braeden's decision to support Iceland at Euro 2016 was obviously justified - pity he didn't put some money on them as well - there must have been a good profit to have been made. So Ireland, N. Ireland and England have all gone home and left Wales to carry the flag - all par for the course I guess.

Looking forward to getting home - Thanks again to Andi & Stan and Jim and Suzanne and everyone else along the way who helped us have such a good time.

Another airport - another glass of fizz!

Sitting at Toronto Pearson waiting to board our BA flight home after a great stay with Jim and Suzanne in Mississauga. The sun shone for most of the time and we enjoyed having time to sit by or in the pool and catch up on all the news while sharing a glass or two.

Our Canadian trip has been a great adventure - some amazing sights in the Rockies, very drinkable wines in the Okanagan and two family visits as well.

However it is time to get back to Moyhill to see if the tomatoes and the other veg have ripened. There should be some new potatoes ready to pull and perhaps even a courgette or two. As a result of the warm wet weather there should be enough grass on the paddock to keep the ponies fed for a month or two and to keep me busy with the lawnmower for a few days.

Kingston

A weekend trip to Kingston Ontario to see Kaitlyn gave us a chance to see the town and enjoy the farmers market along with an ice cream and a few of the local ales.

We had a good dinner at Olivea, and checked out the local nightlife but decided to retire early and prepare for a bit of sightseeing after we had breakfast at Morrison's.

We caught the traffic on the way home but were still able to get in the pool before the sun went down.

 

5 star all-inclusive Resort

As soon as we arrived from the airport we were changed and out by the pool with a cooling libation and a chance to catch up on all the news with Jim and Suzanne.

with three days of hot sunny weather ahead of us, we settled into life by the pool - even having to search out the shade when the temperature got above 30C

Of course the garden maintenance takes a bit of time but even the gardener seemed quite chilled!

Our last stop

Leaving the Rockies behind as we headed for Calgary and our WestJet flight to Toronto, the sun shone and the temperature climbed back into the low 20's.

The hosts at our B&B in Calgary must have thought that we had come from a different planet in the way that they compulsively explained every aspect of their very comfortable home - from how to uncover the hot tub, to how to check the water temperature before entering the shower.

After Terri's 'gourmet breakfast' of cheese pancakes with fruit compote on Thursday morning, we made it safely to the airport and an uneventful journey to Toronto where Jim was waiting to collect us in the new Audi Q5 which has replaced the BMW - the pressures of small children growing into full sized adults.

Didn't immediately recognise the flags which were flying from the car windows but then realised that Braeden - as ever standing up for the underdog - had decided to support Iceland in Euro 2016.

Icefields

While our choice of Field as a base for our stay in the Rockies may have been more luck than judgement, it has proved to the ideal place. We are away from the hordes of tourists in places like Lake Louise and Banff but still within easy access to all the main attractions.

This morning we decided to check out the Alberta Icefields and heading up Highway 93 towards Jasper, we stopped off at the Icefields Centre at the Columbia Icefield - about 130km from Lake Louise.

We had read that it was a popular destination but figured that it was a good point to get information from the Parks Canada staff and after 2 hours on the road also a good coffee stop.

Luckily the 'cash only' coffee bar didn't appeal to the coach parties who had left their Calgary hotels at 6.15 am and were looking for something more substantial. With the exception of the Parks Canada Information desk and basement gallery the place felt more like a cross channel ferry terminal on a bank holiday weekend - a temple of Mammon with only one god - Brewster Travel.

Thankfully we were able to get a good view of the Icefields and make a plan for a couple of stops on our way south.

 Along the way we came upon a Black Bear ambling along the roadside trying to get away from the traffic jam that had stopped to photograph him, and continued first to the Waterfowl lakes

and then  to the Bow Summit - 2135m above sea level - and the Peyto Lake.

where it wasn't as warm as it looked - a cool breeze blowing across all those icefields made Linda very grateful for her new jacket.

While we have seen lots of mountains, lakes and snowfields over the last few days, like trains for me and RVs for Linda (more on this later) you can never get enough of them, this was our last view before we headed home after another great day in the Rockies.

Wines from British Columbia

With a few days of self-catering ahead of us, we picked up a bottle or two as we were transported round the Okanagan Falls wineries last week. Since we are just about to consign the last empty bottle to the recycling bin, there are a few of them which are worth mention if any of you are travelling in this part of the world - probably outside Jimmy C's budget but not all of us are .......

The Drier Riesling from Syncromesh wineries was one of Linda's favourites - they had an eclectic selection of single vineyard Rieslings which were all interesting but we settled for the Drier because it suited our taste.

Kraze Legz winery had some great wines and we enjoyed a few of their products but their 2011 All That Jazz red was a great drinking wine.

Liquidity Wines - owned by Iain MacDonald (no guesses as to his ancestry) - was a class act - both in terms of the winery and the bistro but also the art displayed in the winery. We enjoyed a couple of their wines but special mention for their 2014 Estate Chardonnay.

There are something like 300 wineries in the Okanagan Valley and we only scratched the surface in one small area - which is a very good reason to return sometime soon. However if you see BC wines on sale in your local bottle shop then give them a try - they may not be great but they are sure to be very drinkable.

Canadian Pacific

It is impossible to travel in this region without learning about and being impressed by the people who were responsible for the development of the CP transcontinental line and those who have kept it operating over the years.

We have - inadvertently I must admit - touched on many of the iconic elements of the history of the railway during our journey and - at the risk of giving Jimmy C another stick with which he can castigate me both in print and over a bottle of wine - it has proved fascinating.

From the site of the Golden Spike at Craigellachie to the railway museum at Revelstoke and the crew change point and the Spiral Tunnels at our current temporary home in Field we cannot get away from the CPR.

We see the trains possibly a dozen or more times a day - whether running alongside the highway or holding us up at a level crossing for 15 minutes or more - and realise that they stretch from 1.5 to 3.0 km long moving at an average of about 40km  per hour.

On our way to Lake Louise today we stopped in Kicking Horse Pass to look out over the spiral tunnels which now allow these behemoths to negotiate the climb over the continental divide.  The original 'Big Hill' which the trains had to climb when the railway was first built had a gradient of nearly twice that specified so it was eventually replaced by the Spiral tunnels while the TransCanada now uses the 'Big Hill' for road traffic.

Standing at the viewpoint you can see the train pass below you, round a curve and enter the tunnel, complete the spiral and exit the tunnel while the tail end is still passing below the view point - quite an engineering feat.
 

A sunny day in the Rockies

Waking to bright blue skies this morning we were finally able to appreciate the size and majesty of the mountains that surround us here in Field. Mount Stephen which dominates the southern side of the town is 3199m and an impressive lump of rock:

Heading north on the TransCanada after an early breakfast, we got to Lake Louise before the worst of the crowds and after a brief stop at the Visitor Centre we managed to find a space in the public car park - the queues were just building as we arrived and headed down to the lakeside.

This is another emerald coloured lake which was named after one Queen Victoria's daughters. It has an enormous monstrosity of a hotel at one end which is thankfully dwarfed by the mountains all around but the lake attracts an enormous number of visitors every year. We had decided to hike the trail to Lake Agnes - about 3.5km each way with an altitude gain of 385m - assuming that many of the other visitors would stick to the lakeshore.

Unfortunately we discovered that this is one of the most popular trails in the whole of the Canadian Rockies and we had to share the trail and the views with a steady flow of people. However it made for some great people watching with representatives of almost every nationality you could imagine - from the very young, both enthusiastic and less so, to the elderly, some of whom were setting a fair pace up the hill side. In addition there was every shape and size from those who could have run the whole way to a few who made you want to look for the nearest defibrillator. 

We made a quick stop at Mirror Lake which sits beneath the Big Beehive

and then walked up to Lake Agnes which was - obviously - named after a lady named Agnes although there is some question about which of two ladies, who claim the honour, was actually the lake's patron. 

We managed to find a table at the teahouse for a coffee which took a while due to the press of business but we were sitting in the sunshine looking over the lake - so not much to complain about.

By this point we had climbed to 2135m above sea level. The journey down to the lakeside was a little easier if no less busy, but by the time we got to the car park it seemed that Armageddon had arrived - hordes of people, competition for car park places, queues of cars in and out of the car park and cars parked all the way along the highway - and this is just the start of the season - definitely time to leave.

We stopped in the village for some essential shopping and an ice cream - by this time it was around 21C in the sunshine and no wine bar to pour us a glass of rose. So back down the highway to our peaceful retreat and a cold beer or two.

Places to stay

It seems that the holiday season started early here - finding accommodation has proved a challenging task - although we have been very fortunate in the places we have found. We are currently in a self catering apartment in the lower ground floor of a house in Field which has everything we need and is far enough away from the tourist centres to keep us sane.

Field started life as a railway town - both for the construction and then the continuing operations of the Canadian Pacific and then became the headquarters for Yoho National Park.

We are surrounded by a number of peaks over 3000m but have only caught the occasional sight of them so far because of some low cloud. However the sun is shining this morning and it looks like we may get some of those mountain views that we have missed out on so far.

Yesterday we hiked around Emerald lake - not hard to see how it got it's name:

Despite the cool weather there were a good number of people on the trail and in addition to the views, it was great to see the variety of different flowers - particularly at the top end of the lake where we found a least two different orchid species, a couple of others that we recognised and a good number that were new to us.

On the way we had stopped off at the Natural Bridge - a demonstration of the power of the water flowing in the Kicking Horse River:

 

Mountains

Driving up the TransCanada towards Revelstoke yesterday, we caught our first glimpse of the real mountains in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies - as we looked at these snow covered peaks we were enjoying bright sunshine and 24C and even though it cooled down in the evening, it was still around 16C when we ventured out of the hotel after breakfast. We stopped briefly at the farmers market and picked up some essential supplies - fresh bread, salad, local fruit and veg and some jam before dropping into the Railway Museum (more of this later) on our way to the Visitor Centre at the Revelstoke Dam.

This is a fairly impressive structure - the dam is 175M high, while the lake is in the region of 28,000 acres or more than twice the total acreage in all of BC. The visitor Centre was well laid out and the elevator to the top of the dam provided some great views while powering a large part of BC's power requirements.

Back on the road north and the weather changed. as the clouds started to obscure the mountain tops and the rain started  to fall, the temperature also dropped from 16C down to about 8C as we crossed the Rogers Pass. I suddenly realised that I had fallen foul of the dress code again - tee shirt and shorts were not really the appropriate dress for these conditions.

By the time we arrived in Field - our home for the next few days - it was wet and cool which made us very grateful for the underfloor heating in our garden apartment at the Van Horne Guest house.

The Kettle Valley Railway Trail and onwards to the mountains

Despite the noise coming from the newlyweds in the neighbouring room, we both managed to sleep well and again woke to a beautiful sunny morning and an early start- they were just unlocking the doors as we arrived at the Grape Leaf café in Naramata for breakfast - a meal which kept us going for most of the day.

After we checked out and packed up the car we walked across the road and up the hill to the KVR trail and walked about 8km of the section from Penticton to Chute Lake. It was a great walk on a very gentle incline and although it was popular with cyclists we had it to ourselves for long sections. There were great views over Okanagan Lake and the surrounding hills and valleys and despite the warnings we didn't see any rattlers.

And if we had thought to bring a bottle of wine and some glasses we found the perfect rest stop!

Then it was back to the car and Highway 97 North towards the mountains - along the side of a variety of lakes as we headed up to Revelstoke and our fist view of the Rockies - still warm and sunny here as we checked into the Regent Hotel in time for a cool beer and a plate of Nachos.

A bright sunny day in Wine Country!

 Where else would you want to be? The view from our room first thing in the morning was enough to get us up early and down to town for breakfast.

We had booked a wine tour for the day and had time for a leisurely start as they were not picking us up until 10.30 but Linda spent most of the free time on the phone to the bank because they had stopped her credit card - can't really complain since we had forgotten to tell them we were travelling, although not sure why it had taken them a week to react.

We started our tastings at 10.30 and in company with Dino - our guide who was a retired hockey pro and head teacher who was a great guide if somewhat annoying particularly when he compared one of the rose wines to the colour of Linda's hair - and two Canadian ladies of a certain age - one of whom worked for PWC while the other was an Professor at a Vancouver college we managed 5 different wineries through the day along with a lunch stop at one of the them. Think there were at least 20 different wines - some were very good while others were not to our taste - however the wineries were all in fairly stunning locations and occasionally had some impressive artwork as well.

We made it back to Quidni in the late afternoon with time to relax before dropping in to the winery to taste their wines as well. Met a couple of other guests - a pair of forty-something newly weds and ended up sharing a pizza order and a few glasses of wine with them on the deck in the evening sunshine because it had been another long day and driving anywhere was definitely not an option.

Back to the mainland

Woken in the very early hours by a text message from our tenant in London because 'all the lights are not working' and after a brief exchange to ascertain that he had checked the breaker panel managed to contact our friendly local electrician who popped round and sorted the problem within about half an hour. Even I was impressed with the speedy resolution of the problem - and £30 for someone to trip the one main breaker switch which the tenant had missed was probably worth it.

While we didn't see an orca on our boat or ferry trips, Linda found these guys just across from our room at the Union Club in Victoria

Taking the ferry from Swartz Bay we had a great view of some of the Gulf Islands

before arriving at Tsawassen and onto the TransCanada for our drive to the Okanagan Valley. It was a longer drive than we had expected but once we left the coastal plain at Hope and started the climb up highway 3 towards Princeton and on to Penticton, the scenery was spectacular - and some of the road building projects were even more surprising.

There was very little traffic and we arrived at Quidni Estate Winery just before the office closed so that they could serve us a glass of cool white wine while they showed us to our room. This is a tiny winery - only 3 acres of vines - and there are only three guest rooms in upper floor of the main building but our room was very comfortable and had all you needed.

Our host had booked us a table for dinner at the Hillside winery just a short walk up the hill on a sunny evening where we had a very good meal with matched wines - the perfect end to a very long day.

Moving on

While our accommodation in Ucluelet was comfortable but a little basic - a comfortable bed and a good shower - it had good fast wifi so we were able to do a bit of planning for the next leg of our trip and  I was also able to get my new tablet restarted.

So after a little net surfing we went for an evening walk along the lighthouse trail and then headed into town for a seafood dinner at the 'best fish restaurant in town' not realising that it was Monday evening - the only night that it was closed.

Thankfully we found 'Hanks untraditional BBQ restaurant' and felt that we had to check it out just because of the name. Turned out to be a good choice with a great selection of local beers and excellent menu.

On the road early, after a quick breakfast at Zoe's Bakery, we arrived back with Andi and Uncle Stan in time for coffee and cake - and the obligatory photo on the front porch:

We had booked a room at the Union Club in Victoria - not realising that they had a fairly strict dress code - but they were quite understanding as we checked in and after dropping off the bags headed off to Fisherman's Wharf for a late lunch at the Sushi Bar.

The water taxi ride on the way back gave us a good view of the inner harbour and we then wandered up Government Street looking for somewhere for dinner.

Having dressed for dinner in accordance with the requirements of the dress code, we stopped into the Club bar for an aperitif, but beat a hasty retreat and ended up at 10 Acres Kitchen across the road where the Brazilian sommelier and Quebecois waiter took very good care of us, Interesting local wine - Unsworth Sauvignette - and a decent meal after which we wandered over to the Irish Times for a quiet nightcap - which proved difficult because of a couple of  new found friends at the bar and the two musicians in the corner - one of those occasions when it would have been good to have Jimmy C with me to teach them some manners.

A Busy Weekend

After our tour of Andi's new property we tried a bit of local sightseeing - including the market at Coombs which is called 'Goats on Roof' because they allow the goats up on the grassed roof to graze down the grass - not tempted by any of the arts and crafts but we did get some great fresh fruit. Good lunch at the pub in Qualicum Beach followed by a leisurely walk around the harbour.
By the time we got home it was time to sit on the deck with a beer or two before dinner and then have another go at the Black Bush.
Church on Sunday morning with Stan while Linda and Andi did some essential shopping (more beer and wine) and then home for a BBQ with my second cousin Ryan - who I was meeting for the first time - his wife Laura and their two little girls.
On Monday we headed south to Ucluelet for a spot of whale-watching - a 2 1/2 hr drive through some amazing scenery - including Cathedral grove with some 400 year old Douglas Firs. Found some accommodation when we got there and just had time for a coffee and snack before we checked in for our boat trip. Just one short shower as we boarded but then the sun came out and kept us warm - and slightly sunburned for the rest of the afternoon.
We saw three Grey Whales up close while they were feeding in the shallows of one of the islands

and had a quick sight of the fin of a passing Humpback alone with some Harbour seals sunning themselves:

and a host of Bald Eagles which have learned to follow the fishing boat in the hope of a free meal.

Catching up

After 4 days without the laptop, there are a few stories to tell and pictures to show. Tried using my phone to keep up to date but my eyesight was challenged and my fingers too big for the keypad.

From Vancouver we picked up a hire car and headed for Horseshoe Bay and the ferry to Nanaimo - fairly uneventful journey - but some great scenery and as we stood on deck in the sunshine, we could see the rain showers on the island. Luckily we missed most of them and managed to find our way to my cousin Andi's place just in time for happy hour and a couple of beers with Uncle Stan followed by dinner in the local pub with a great selection of local beers and then home for a glass or two of Black Bush with Andi.

On Saturday we started with a tour of the 5 acre property where they have lived for about two years. While we visited the chickens, sheep, horses and Bella the highland heifer,

we were accompanied everywhere by her 5 Australian Cattle Dogs.

I think Linda would have been very happy if she could have managed to take one of the three week old puppies home to Moyhill.

A bus ride and other attractions

Apologies but this post was written last week but I was unable to post it because my new tablet died on Friday and it has taken a couple of days to work out how to get it going again

As we left the hotel on Thursday morning - up, breakfasted and out before 9.00am - we discovered that some of the interesting characters from the previous night were still around - nothing threatening but Linda felt it was a little 'edgy' while I felt it was sad to see such a collection of people with little or no hope.That seems to be what you have to expect in almost any city these days particularly one with a mild temperate climate like Vancouver.

Our first stop was the Hastings Urban Farm - which we could see from our hotel window - an interesting project supported by a number of volunteers from the street community where the biggest threat to their vegetable and salad production for a number of local restaurants appeared to be the local rodents. Despite this problem, they had an impressive crop of potatoes, onions, leeks, courgettes, salad leaves and pollinator plants along with a seed bank.

After a stop at the visitor information centre and a walk around the deck of Canada Place, we decided to try out one of the Hop on/Hop off bus services. We got a great introduction to the city, had a walk on the trails in Stanley Park, visited the public market at Granville Island and finished up with a visit to the Sun Yat Sen Gardens in Chinatown before heading home for a late siesta.

We had dinner in the Pourhouse on Water St in Gastown - good food and wines but our server seemed compelled to announce himself and what he was planning to do each time he came to the table. Not a problem when he was describing the food on the plate but a little excessive when he came to fill up the water glasses or remove empty plates or bring new cutlery - if he thought he was enhancing the expected gratuity then he was probably sorely disappointed - annoying little fecker!

Seemed like a long day

As we were checking into our hotel downtown Vancouver last night we noted that it was 9.30pm or 5.30 am at Moyhill so about 19 hours travelling including a 90 min delay at Heathrow because of a severe thunderstorm which disrupted the departures programme.

Managed a glass or two of fizz, a reasonable meal - as airline food goes -  an excellent Californian Chardonnay and equally good Pinot Noir, two movies - the Coen Brothers 'Hail Caesar' and Tarantino's 'Hateful Eight' - which were both excellent and a couple of hours kip - so almost a perfect journey apart from the slight delay.
We are staying at the Skwachays Lodge which is described as an 'Aboriginal Hotel and Gallery'  and in addition to being comfortable and very stylish is also an interesting social enterprise. There's a good chance that at least one piece from their Gallery will be coming home with us.
Because of the delayed arrival, we just managed a quick Thai meal and decided to skip the night club - although there were some interesting characters in the streets as we walked home - maybe tonight we will feel more like sampling the nightlife.

Just for a change - a summer expedition

Since there are a number of places that we would like to visit which are not warm enough in January and February, we thought we would try something different this year and are just about to head off to Canada for a few weeks - mostly in BC and Alberta with a stop off on the way home to see the CC&Coke drinking banker cousin - who tells me he no longer drives a BMW - probably upgraded to something more in keeping with his executive position!

We are flying from Shannon - via Heathrow - to Vancouver with BA on  Airbus 380 - have flown once before en route to Joburg last year and remember it was very comfortable so looking to a glass or two of fizz, a couple of movies and perhaps a few hours kip.
We arrive in Vancouver on Wednesday evening so time to get changed and check out the night life - or perhaps grab a burger and crash - lets see how we feel when we get there.
Sitting at Shannon with the obligatory glass of the black stuff - we are on holiday after all! Already thought of two things we forgot but thankfully nothing of any importance. Watch this space.

Things - and places - change!

While the beach at Samara is as special as ever, and our villa at Samara Paraiso was a real treat, the town of Samara has changed over the last 6 years.
Partly because of the growth of tourism in the town - probably inevitable - the place has become almost a stereotypical resort town - it is hard to differentiate between the product being offered by any of the restaurants, bars, tour operators or hotels
On our last visit we regularly saw large numbers of Brown Pelicans and flocks of a variety of Terns flying overhead and fishing in the bay, However over-fishing on an industrial scale - which has since been stopped - has resulted in a shortage of food for the Pelicans and other sea birds, so that this year we saw only one or two Pelicans over the whole week.
Having said that, we enjoyed our stay in Samara - although it may be a few years before we are back again - there are so many other places still to visit.

Reading Material

While we are travelling, we usually manage to devour a considerable collection of books. I am still very grateful for my first Kindle - still going strong after 6 years - and while I enjoy holding a real book, I appreciate the freedom that the Kindle gives me when we are on the road for 6 or 7 weeks.

As usual I chose a work of history to underpin my reading for the trip - The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan is probably one of the best I have read for some time. Last year it was Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples which contributed to his Nobel Prize citation but I think Frankopan's book was more readable and covered a much wider scope. While it's a pity that events of the last year or so in Syria and Iraq were too late to be included, I thought that his focus on the effect that events in this region have had on the rest of the world over the ages were particularly apposite.

Of course there had to be some 'lighter' material and William McIlvanney's 'Laidlaw' trilogy provided some rather dark relief. It was hard not to recognise the progenitor of so much 'noir' writing - whether in Scotland or Scandinavia. It also taught me some Glaswegian phrases that I'm unlikely to hear from my wife and my mother-in law.

In contrast, I started reading Kate Atkinson and enjoyed 'God in Ruins' so much that I went on to read 'Life after Life' and have already downloaded 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum' for the flight home.
Of course I also managed a couple of Camilleri's 'Inspector Montalbano' novels as light relief along the way.

Linda has enjoyed  both the McIlvanney and Atkinson books but is saving 'The Silk Roads' for the journey home.

God knows what I will read when I get home - but at least I will have the Daily Telegraph crossword.

Just like the Howlers

Since arriving at our villa at Samara Paraiso we seem to have adopted some elements of the life style of the Howler Monkeys.

We are up at dawn and busy for a couple of hours walking along the beach before returning for breakfast and a leisurely day in the shade by the pool. Just before dusk we stir ourselves into action and head into  town for a cocktail and dinner. Then it is home for a nightcap and bed in time to meet the dawn the following day and start all over again.

To break the routine, we went on a kayaking trip this afternoon along the Rio Ora - quite leisurely floating down stream with the tide so that we reached the beach as the tide turned and were carried back upstream again.

Saw a good selection of birds and other wildlife - although by this time we could probably have taken the place of the guides.