Time travel

More like +time -travel    = (

Into the Rockies

In an effort to get away from the city I hopped on board a Moose Travel Network tour bus the day after I arrived back in Vancouver. Usual suspects on board were from Australia, UK, Germany, New Zealand, Netherlands and even a guy from Taiwan. We hit the road at a civilised hour, after the bus was late (a running theme during my trip so far), and drove out of Vancouver on the freeway. We had a  quick stop at the Bridal Falls just outside of Vancouver. Waterfalls are everywhere due to melting snow on the mountains.

After a few hours we stopped to grab some lunch at a little place called Hope nestled at the base of some big hills.

From Hope it was straight up to Kamloops where we had a pit stop at a gas station to check on some noxious odour coming from under the hood, pretty much all day on the road, with out first night's stop at a dodgy little place called Shuswap Lake. Sorry Shuswap Lake, I'm sure it's a nice place for a relaxing summer holiday but it's just not the place you take a bus load of tourists. There's nothing to see or do so the 20 of us just chilled at the bar beneath the hostel where there were only 6 other patrons throughout the night. Next morning it was on the road again up to Revelstoke for canoeing, the first of many exciting activities that one can engage in on a Moose Travel Network tour.

I declined to participate due to the ominous state of the weather so as punishment, instead of taking the rest of us (about half the group) into town for lunch and a beer, we had to sit out one and a half hours at some rest stop camping ground with the dodgiest looking mini golf I'd ever seen. In the drizzle. We were all then back on the road into the mountains and heading for Banff.

During the course of the day we'd somehow lost a few hours and didn't get in until 8pm which was actually 9pm because we'd crossed into a new time-zone. Very disappointing as we were expected to arrive in the late afternoon to give us enough time to checkout the town during daylight. Some of us popped into Banff for a late night drink to find the place deserted (only to find out later that you have to *know* the right place go to on the right night of the week). Spent the night at the HI hostel which was on the edge of town but a nice improvement on the previous night. They had their own nightclub down stairs which was fun to visit at 1am and watched the drunks bump into one another. Very disappointed to be splitting up and back on the bus early the next morning. Some of the group heading North to Jasper, some going their own way and the remainder heading out of Banff, back through the Rockies and back to Vancouver (not as disappointed as those who were stuck in Banff because that bus we were on, with the foul smell, finally broke down about an hour out of Banff on the way to Jasper).

After another long day on the road we had an afternoon stop at one of the many vineyards dotted along Okanagan Lake for some wine tasting. A nice place to stretch in the sunshine and relax in the cool breeze off the lake. It was only a short trip along Okanagan Lake until we reached Kelowna. A summer holiday, university town.

We never did discover where the Carmelis Goat Cheese Art was despite the sign posting. Was it cheese art by a goat? Was it four different things and the sign missing a couple of commas? Either way we all felt disappointed. That evening we stayed at the Same Sun hostel in Kelowna. Nice place, they put on a great dinner for us and even laid on breakfast for us the next morning. The highlight of the trip came late in the afternoon on the last day near our return to Vancouver, when I thought all was lost. The Othello Tunnels in the Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park, once planned to be part of the Kettle Valley Railway.

A series of tunnels carved from stone by manual labour and dynamite through some of the most impressive terrain I am ever likely to see. It was never used as part of the railway once completed but I am glad it exists.

It was then only a short, but rushed, trip back to Vancouver so one of our number could get back in time for the Britney Spears concert. Also allowing many of us to get back to town to enjoy what was left of Canada Day.

Victoria not far from Sidney.

I went to Victoria BC for no other reason than it gave me something to do, somewhere to go. In hindsight it would have paid to put more thought into they extra time I found myself with. Still, it's a nice place with enough to and the trip out there is nice.

It was there I went to the Victoria Bug Zoo. Smallest zoo I've ever been to. About the size of a large lounge room. I held a tarantula. It was very light. I had to fight the urge to hurl the poor thing against the wall. Huge leaf cutter ant colony too which was interesting. They need more bugs though and I was glad I stumbled across it. A common theme I encountered in Victoria is one where the local hoteliers are of the belief that English, Irish, or Scottish pubs employ near naked women with super short skirts & bare midriffs. Turns out that my memory has some capacity to restore as I remember this car park.

Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and BC's parliament building is quite grand by day, from a distance.

When up close you can see the permanently affixed lights which at night make the seat of provincial government look more like a wedding reception hall or amusement park (which I'm sure isn't far from the truth on occasion).

While in Victoria I stayed at the Ocean Island hostel. Not much to look at from the outside.

It was nice mostly because they'd made an effort as and they were in the process of refurbishing their bathrooms and it was the first time in over a week I'd had a decent shower with a proper shower head. I hate the faucets in North America though, they are so retarded & varied. Push, pull, twist, turn, up, down, in, out. different & varied modes haven't ceased to cross my path and I long for the simplicity of home. Drips.

Soon left Victoria as I was just killing time until my Moose trip into the Rockies and out to Banff. On the ferry trip back to Vancouver I did think how nice it would be to spend some time at one of the many holiday homes that line the shore near the Juan De Fuca strait.

Vancouver, where summer is winter.

Caught the 10 pm "red-eye" to Vancouver with West Jet with the naive belief that I'd be able to get some sleep over the next six or so hours. Got into Vancouver at around seven or eight AM having tossed and turned the whole time. The new sewction of the airport was amazing, only added recently for the Winter Olympics. It's was like I walked out of the plane and after a few steps walked into a museum exhibition. Flowing water, bird song, trees it was quite impressive and this was on up one storey (whole ground floor being the first floor over here is a bit confusing) and airports tend to have high ceiling & large floor space. There was then a huge cascading water feature down into the customs hall. Nice. Hate to think what it's going to look like in ten years time and how they are going to eventually remove it all. Didn't take any photos being so tired and not thinking straight (that's a poor excuse because as it turns out I don't take many photos regardless unless I'm actually out somewhere 'touristy' and have my camera ready with me. Which is a shame because I then have to rely on my memory to retell much of this which is not a good thing). As soon as I stepped out of the airport at 8am and onto the skytrain platform I was glad I had my hoodie with me (cutting back on checked luggage weight) because it was as cold as a winter day back home. Not sure what the temperature was at the time but I think the max temp of the day was 16.

The new Canada line on the skytrain was nice and new and frequent which was nice and new. Arrived at the Cambie hostel which was only a few blocks from the Waterfront station very early at 9AM and this turned out to be fortunate because the place was absolutely crap. I mean in every possible way (okay, except the staff who were friendly & helpful) so it gave me plenty of time to find somewhere else to stay. Ended up going to their sister hostel that they had a few blocks away which was marginally better without having to cost me extra money or, in fact, losing me any money. Again, I shoulda tooka photos to show how crap it is. Spent my time in part of Vancouver that I didn't come across last time I was here on the other side of the city in the late 1990s which was good. Heard about the riot, sequel to the 1994 Stanley Cup finals riot, before I arrived. It's no wonder though with some of the public art I saw.

Then saw the aftermath and realised what the fuss was about. For blocks there where large city stores with their smashed windows all boarded up, then for blocks outside that more of the same at random.

All but one I saw had various messgaes of remorse, embarrassement, guilt and civic pride and unity. I like to think next time the Canucks are through to the finals of the Stanley Cup Vancouver City will be better organised. Third time lucky eh?! It's no wonder though with some of the behaviour I saw.

There are a lot of apartment buildings in Vancouver, I think it was one of the first things I noticed about the city. Apartments and mountains and the fact that they retain their working harbour. Tourist boats, container and bulk freight ships, barges, pleasure craft, seaplanes, ferries and cruise liners all passing to and fro with the mountains in the background still capped with snow.The whole reason for coming to Vancouver, seeing as I'd been here before, was purely for administrative purposes. To sort out the red tape needed so that I could live and work. That morning I headed into the nearest Services Canada office and got my SIN (Social Insurance Number) which was surprisingly straight forward and immediate. Looks like I have to reapply for my Canadian passport from scratch which is a pain because I need to get both a guarantor and referees. "Hi you don't know me but would you like to go guarantor on my passport application?" isn't really the best way to go about it but I may have little choice. It would be nice if I could just renew my current (expired) passport and the Canadians just cross reference their criminal records databse. Any other knots to be tied, like getting a bank account had to wait because as it turns out Canada Post decided to go on strike which threw a spanner in the works. They were on strike almost the whole time I was in Canada (minus one day). Seeing as I now had little reason to remain in Vancouver as I couldn't receive any mail (not that I had faith that it would reach me at the hostel) I decided to move on.
(PS, I paid the price for all my bitching and moaning to people about the cold weather on my first day in Vancouver. By the end of the second day I was suffciently sunburned.)

Kilauea crater

Kilauea has been erupting, in some form, for decades. Just my luck that when I get there, after having seen the largish eruption in March (or May), it all quietens down. Lava stopped running into the sea, causing huge billowing clouds of steam and eerie glow at night. Now the vulcanologists are just waiting for the pressure to be released. Until then the lava level in the main Kilauea crater is steadily rising.

Shame we couldn't get any closer than this, the crater is huge. Off to the side of Kilauea is Hawaii's own little Uluru, and possibly more spectacular. It was created in 36-72 hours from constant eruption from a side fissure,

Saw it all in a day, it was just a shame there was no late night lava viewing of the lava hitting the salt water not far from the black sand beaches. I guess I can live through the experiences of others on Youtube. Was back in Honolulu for part of a day before flying out and I made it my mission hunt down an elusive Australian delight which I was surprised to find in a far from authentic Australian themed restaurant chain...

Then it was off to the airport (to collect my luggage with big thanks going out to Dr Bob at Aloha Airport Delivery & Storage for reliably looking after my stuff. You can't locker anything in any USA airport since 9/11) to head to Vancouver. I didn't sleep a wink.

or not until I get to Minneapolis

*ahem* rewind four weeks.

So, Hawaii is pretty brown. Most everyone is tanned and those who aren't seemed to be pink. Climate wasn't as bad as I seem to remember and overall it is quite pleasant. Still no reason to go making everything open air and with limited shade. Waikiki beach, can't see why all the fuss over a narrow strip of sand packed with tourists. Hilo on Hawaii island proper on the other hand was nice and some told me is what Hawaii is really like. Would have been nicer had it not rained two thirds of the time I was there. Sun was out for the most important day which was my trip up Kilauea and around the southeast of the island.

Stopped near what was once Kalapana and visited the black sand beach that was formed hundreds of metres into the ocean. There was a point where all was black and only on the horizon could any greenery be seen. Pretty unnerving sight. Shame the volcano stopped spewing lava only weeks earlier.

Next, up to the crater.

Pretty sad first post.

I know I should have posted something long before now but I've had neither the time nor the inclination but I will soon. Maybe when I reach Vancouver and hopefully will not be as tired.

I haven't seen this much rain in ages, well, since Sydney. Last week...