We stopped off in
Vancouver on our way back from
the Northern Hemisphere. It was an enjoyable stay and has been added to our
list of good places to have a stopover in. Set around a large natural harbour
the city has developed as the major port on the Canadian Pacific coast. Given
how far north it is I was surprised at how warm it was. There are some
wonderful places to eat and drink and nearby are many natural attractions.
This is a very random selection of images, concentrating on
transport and places we visited.
First up, a panorama of the city waterfront from
Stanley Park. We hired bicycles and rode around it on our first afternoon.
This is
Engine 374 which brought the first passenger train across Canada to Vancouver in 1887.
An hour north of the city is the community of
Squamish. We travelled up by
cable car to the top of the mountain for this view over the town and Howe Sound.
There are several walking tracks and we wandered round for a couple of hours. This is the view looking back to the summit lodge.
The next day we went on a boat cruise up Vancouver harbour. This is
Canada Place with the seaplane base and visiting cruise ships.
Seaplanes come and go every few minutes. The harbour is busy with planes, ferries and freight ships. The two peaks on the skyline are the
Lions Peaks.
The cruise was up to
Indian Arm
and passed islands
and some precarious looking houses. Most of these have no road access or mains electricity.
I was pleased to see that trolley buses are still in use, including articulated ones.
On our last day we went up
Grouse Mountain. They had a bird show and I know Jenny will love this barn owl.
We went up the higher chair lift which gave stunning panoramic views over the harbour and city.
Finally another item for Jen (and Ed). We made good use of the driverless trains on the
Canada Line.
