Canada Part 2.

Hello again from a very sunny British Columbia! In just two days time, Jen and myself are leaving this wonderful place for the golden sands of Fiji for five weeks volunteering. So I thought it would be an ideal time to update you on what we have been up to over the past twelve days.
After two brilliant days in Harrison Hot Springs, recovered and slightly better attuned to the eight hour time change, we decided  to start our lap through the wilds of BC. With Jen driving and myself equipped with a map, (which unlike the previous one was not drawn by a six year old) we set off up Route 1, north. We left, knowing, quite literally, only that we were destined for a mysterious town called Lillooet a place our dutch RV salesman had dubbed as a “butiful rute”. At first progress was slow to say the least. The reason being that at every mountain, rock face or waterfall, the Japanese tourist awoke  in me and I had a burning desire to demand Jen pulled over so I could take hundreds of photos of pretty much the same thing. However it soon dawned on us that we were in the Rockies and if the Rockies has one thing in abundance its mountains, rock faces and waterfalls.

After about two hours driving up Route 1 parallel to the Fraser River, through valleys and over bluffs, all of which were covered with ginormous redwood trees, we reached the tiny village of Boston Bar. Hoping to find an RV park of a similar standard to the one in Harrison Hot Springs, it soon became clear by noticing the derelict splintered wood panelled housing and the occasional bush of tumble weed swept up in a cloud of red dust, that it was time to move on. Within five minutes of leaving Boston Bar however, we found an amazing campsite set amongst towering high firs on the side of a mountain. After filling ourselves at a local diner we set off on a hike towards the famous silver Alpine Cross, set on a plateau someway up the mountain. Being told by the locals to make a great deal of noise to scare away any bears in the area, I decided to give all the surrounding wildlife a reasonable dose of Gilbert and Sullivan whilst Jen recited several renditions of Lady Gaga songs. Upon reaching the Cross (after a rather arse cramping walk) we were met by some astounding  views up and down the Fraser Valley and we quickly forgot all about the arduous task of actually reaching it.

After leaving Boston Bar early the following morning we set off further up north toward Lillooet, stopping off on the way at a town called Lytton (officially the hottest place in British Columbia). Here we picked up groceries and some well needed booze, yet upon browsing the liquor shelf we were approached by one of the most peculiar, crazy old women I have ever met who went by the name of Corrine Lightforce. With matted, greasy grey hair, leathery brown skin, a total of seven teeth and smelling of a rather questionable odour, she started giving us all the local know how. For example, she listed all the places the natives give birth, the best places to be at one with the universe and the directions to her abode so we could park up the RV on her lawn,. It was only when she admitted to mothering twenty odd children with the native men and the way she was starting to come onto Jen that we realised she was a likely crystal meth addict, so we quickly paid for our goods and made a hasty escape. (If you want any more info on Corrine, she said she has a great book coming out sometime soon).

That night we parked up in Lillooet, a small mining town, nestled in a rugged valley which was very reminiscent in looks to the landscape one sees in westerns. After a few beers and Jen drinking a little too much wine, there initiating another alcohol coma, we both had a good nights sleep.

The following day we departed for Whistler, however we had to contend with a rather long drive cutting from east to west over a portion of the mountain range. The road, Route 99 or ‘damn scary’ as I liked to call it is only open in the summer due to it being rather remote, high in altitude and covered in three metre snow drifts. All of these factors resulted in the surface of the road being somewhat choppy, yet potholes and loose road surface were the least of our worries. On each side of the narrow strip of tarmac were either crumbling high cliffs, which looked prone to sliding on us at any time, or sheer drops, descending in to chasms or torrid mountain rivers thousands of feet below, with quite literally no barrier to stop us plunging off the edge to a certain and rather messy demise. Because of this, it is safe to say that both Jen’s and my own driving (which to be fair was about 5% of the actual journey) was rather slow and we soon amounted a rather long tail of vehicles. However due to the Japanese tourist in me, regular stops to photograph snowy peaks, glaciers and what not allowed our sizable entourage to overtake us. On our descent down Route 99, Jen and myself were given quite a fright when our nostrils were stung with the smell of burning rubber. Pulling over, we discovered a hefty amount of smoke was wafting from the brakes - much to our dismay! We were told by a native that the R.V, in fact, had 2 other gears which were solely for the purpose of driving through these winding mountains. Lesson learned the hard way.

Arriving in Whistler, late in the afternoon, and after a rather long and nail biting journey we decided to get an early night and explore the 2010 Winter Olympic village the following day. Despite temperatures soaring to the mid twenties, people were still utilising the slushy brown ski slopes whilst Jen and I had a day walking around Whistler and seeing what it had to offer. Everything in the village was very modern, colourful and unsurprisingly dear, yet we spotted a Dutch Pub and decided to refresh ourselves in the sweltering heat. To our delight we saw Strongbow (brewed in our very own Hereford) was sold at the establishment and hastily ordered one a piece; yet after our first sip we both remembered neither of us actually like it. The rest of the day was spent sunbathing next to Bill (our RV) in the scorching heat. It had been rather a while (two years to be precise) that I had seen any type of hot weather, and with my memory slightly clouded I claimed that I had inherited the ‘easy tan no burn olive skin’ of my father and therefore lay out sun cream free. To my surprise thirty minutes later I discovered that I was shrimp pink from head to toe which has resulted in the past few days being rather uncomfortable.

Over the last couple of days, after leaving Whistler, we have slowly ventured south closer and closer to Vancouver stopping off in the town of Squamish for two days and then onto Lions Bay where we parked up in the most amazing spot for the night. With views out over the Pacific Ocean and back toward the mountain ranges we crossed only a couple of days previous. At Lions Bay our RV spot was mere metres away from a stretch of beautiful beach called ‘Howe Sound’  We spent half a day here walking along the stony shores, strewn with bone white gnarled trunks of dead trees, that have drifted down the mountain rivers over the years. That evening we settled down on the beach front  with a campfire, a few bevvys and watched the sun go down over the Pacific.

Yesterday we finally ventured into the urban sprawl of Vancouver, getting some lunch and generally having a gander at the Mariner and the Downtown skyscape. Catching the cities famed ‘Sky Train’ (a glorified, fairly reasonably priced monorail) we got in and out of the city in no time. Tomorrow we part ways with our beloved Bill and spend the remainder of our time shopping for vital supplies for Fiji. Canada has been an absolutely amazing experience , the people have been unbelievable friendly and most welcoming and these two weeks have gone by in a flash. Looking forward to updating you all about our Fijian adventures hopefully in the not too distant future. 

Much Love Andy x

p.s We saw a Bear today, yeeeaaah buddy!