Vancouver and BC (20th -28th June 2009)

So we had a safe journey into Canada and parted ways with Sarah and Chris for a few days. My friend Helen picked us up from King George sky train station and we headed to Langley, about 30 miles east of Vancouver.
It was lovely to catch up with Hel, who I last saw a 2 years ago when she came back to Swansea to visit family and friends. She has a three year old daughter, Danae who is absolutely adorable and was sound asleep in the back seat of the car…I had the pleasure of sitting next to her….she woke soon after with a big smile on her face and not at all shy…..she’s a cutey alright!!!!

Our first couple of days was very relaxed. Hel took us to White Rock, an area on the coast which was also right next to the Canada-US boarder, very strange being able to walk along a beach that belongs to two countries but also a very pretty place. We had fish and chips by the sea and Darren spotted his first bald headed eagle! Danae enjoyed dancing around the totem poles and we had pictures by the rock that bears the areas name ‘White Rock!’

On another day Helen and her husband Phil who is also from back home (Hereford) took us further inland to a pretty lake at the foot of the mountains. Cultus Lake was a really lovely area with stunning views looking into the lake and of the surrounding green mountains with so many trees! Plenty of bears around no doubt!!!!! The weather wasn’t too great that day but it did improve and we were able to take Danae to the waterpark. We had lots of fun on the big slides and Danae had the right idea wanting to play in the hot tub as it was a little chilly…none of us were complaining!!!!

We made it into Vancouver on our third day and did plenty of the sights. The city sits on a island or peninsula with the Burrard Inlet surrounding it. The mountainous backdrop is amazing and some of the peaks still had a little snow cover, it’s a beautiful city with a cracking skyline from Stanley Park. Vancouver is the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics which begin in 228 days time, so there was plenty of activity going on, roadworks, new buildings sprouting up and more facilities available. The city seems to ooze a certain type of buzz, an buzz of excitement and anticipation. It definitely seems like the city is proud of being an Olympic host and with Whistler being a co host up the road in the mountains, it feels like the games are going to be a huge success.

We covered most of the touristy sights in the one day including Gas Town where Vancouver all began as little cobbled streets and wooden shacks. Its now a bustling inner suburb with plenty of character right by the harbour.
We took a walk to Canada Place where the 1986 Expo took place and the building looks like a big ship sticking out into the inlet with an array of sails on top. The views from the end are lovely looking over towards Grouse Mountain and North Vancouver and we also enjoyed plenty of sea planes land on the water!
The main shopping area of downtown happens along Robson and Granville Streets so we enjoyed a little walk down there before heading to Stanley Park at the tip of the peninsula or island.
We met Sarah and Chris and enjoyed a relaxing few hours walking around the big park that so many Vancouvians use within their day to day lives. We saw plenty of native Indian culture and history by admiring original hand carved totem poles, the designs and vibrant colours are amazing, each one so individual and different, it was really interesting to read each ones description and what it represents.
The walk along the sea wall was lovely, plenty of joggers, cyclists and skaters keeping active and the view over to the Lion Gate Suspension Bridge was delightful. We walked past the 9 O’clock canon and a little light house that used to guide ships and vessels into the port. As we walked around the corner we witnessed a brilliant skyline of the city. So many of the skyscrapers similar in design and colour that none of us were sure if we liked it or not. Maybe they all looked too similar and not many had much individuality or on the other hand they created a unique picture by all being so alike. Anyways the we took some photo’s and carried on our walk back towards downtown.

On Wednesday we left Helen’s and the four of us headed to Whistler in our hire car. It didn’t stop raining during the 2 hours journey and the scenic drive through the mountains was covered by low dark grey cloud…great! Our campsite had flooded and they expected us to camp on an RV concrete sight….no thank you. After a little look around Whistler Village we all unanimously decided to head back down to Vancouver. Luckily for Darren and I, Helen, Phil, Danae and Helens parents were happy to have us back for two nights!!!!! And we were glad to be back!

Darren and I spent another day in Vancouver seeing Grandville Island, an old tip site under the Grandville bridge which has been transformed into wonderful quirky markets. We had a look around and then walked over towards Kitslano Beach for impressive views over towards the city. We had a great view of the skyline but the mountainous backdrop was covered by some angry black low clouds which actually created some pretty cool photos (says Darren!!) We had a nice walk along the coast and a very laid back day. It was today on Thur 25th June on the bus back to Langley that we heard of the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcet. So we’ll always remember where we where on this day L
We enjoyed all our evenings staying at the Moore’s playing board games, playing with Danae and catching up with Helen and the family. Helen’s Mum and Dad used to own the Post Office in Bishopston (now Gower Surf) and as a kid it was my second home, so it was great being like old times and mucking about and all sorts. Darren fitted right in and it really was a great place to spend our last week of travels!
We said goodbye to everyone on the Friday and Sarah and Chris picked us up and we all headed into the Rockies for our white water rafting trip (Reo Rafting). The views heading inland were spectacular, just so green and mountainous, Darren and I keep telling ourselves we’ve been so lucky to see so many different kinds of sceneries in all the countries, each one so different and beautiful. Our rafting weekend was the best way possible for us all to end our journey! We camped for two nights on the Nahatlatch River, which was gushing with water due to heavy rain over the past week, luckily the skies were blue on arrival and we saw plenty of sunshine! They fed us lots of yummy meals and on our first evening we enjoyed using the hot tub and listening to Philippe sing live acoustics while we all kept warm around the open fire!
On Saturday we headed out onto the river in the afternoon! In the morning we just chilled our and enjoyed being with nature!!! There was about 50 people on the trip and we headed up stream all kitted out in our wetsuits, lifejackets and helmets….a very good look! We got taken through the safety briefings beforehand and then it was partytime!!!!!
Because the water has been so high, we could only raft a certain part of the river, which ment we got to do it twice otherwise it would have been too short, so no complaints, the more action time the better! And what an experience, from the word go the river was gushing down stream and the rapids and waves were everywhere….Sarah and my aim was to stay on board the raft and stay as dry as possible…..well that wasn’t going to happen, within the first minute we were absolutely drench, it was fantastic! Our guide Brenna (a girl) was great and along with the four Canadian guys in our raft we all got the opportunity to sit up front on the first and second run. It was great fun and we certainly all got a great buzz from it! Nobody from our boat fell in but we did see a few other fall out, funny really!!!!!
We celebrated our success with a few drinks around the camp fire in the evening before hitting the sack for one last time in Tina our tent (that’s what we named her as she’s been a diamond for the last few months and kept us dry!)
Our final day (today) was spent doing Yoga in the morning before heading off back to Vancouver to fly back to London!!! We’ve all said it was the best way to finish our trip with a bang and definitely recommend Reo Rafting, its in a beautiful setting and the staff and facilities brilliant.
We are all currently in the airport waiting for our delayed BA flight to arrive (our first delayed flight out of 17 isn’t too bad I guess!) My parents will be waiting for us in arrivals in T5 tomorrow afternoon and then its back to the land of Wales!
Darren and I are both very excited to get home now, 8 months have gone so fast but its also been a long time too….we’ve had the best time ever and if you’re reading this and have also thought about travelling..……JUST DO IT, it’s the best life experience you may ever have. We have seen some amazing places, experienced some scary times and some funny times and gotten to make some new friends all around the world in the mean time, its been amazing. No regrets and just for the record….Darren and I couldn’t be more happier, the 8 month honeymoon was definitely the making of us!

See you all in sunny UK sometime soon, sending our love, thanks for reading and enjoying (I hope!) lots of love Hels and Darren xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PS - all the final photos will be posted up next week! Bye for now x