Whistler, also known as "little Australia" due to the hordes of Australian tourists, was our next destination in Canada. It's a skiing and snowboarding mecca in Winter, but in Summer it's all about downhill mountain biking so we felt like the only chumps in town who didn't get the memo and had to rely on our two feet instead of wheels. Nonetheless, we set about thoroughly getting into the spirit of the great outdoors. With a range of picturesque hikes to choos...

It was from the coastal town of Nanaimo, about 100km north of Victoria, where we decided to hire a car for the first time this year. We were keen to explore parts of the island where public transport doesn't go, which for Canada, is most of it. It was also our first stint staying in a proper North American style motel next to the highway. Whilst cheap and pretty run down, we enjoyed the new surroundings of our motel style accommodation. Nanaimo is a relativel...

Victoria, on Vancouver Island, was the next destination on the Canadian leg of our trip. The weather for our time in Victoria was pretty grey and drizzly for most of the time, so the place wasn't looking as good as it may otherwise. We noticed the homeless community was still quite prominent throughout the streets, so Vancouver was not just a "one off". There were some nice garden and coastal areas that we strolled around, and as a group we managed to make ou...

Our touch down in Vancouver, Canada signified a major shift in our year of travel - the beginning of the second half. It's also the first place so far where Steve has already visited but Sonja has not, which will be the case for a number of destinations as we move around North and South America. Meeting us in Vancouver was one of Steve's good friends from school and his girlfriend (Chris and Charlene), hence we temporarily became a foursome to explore this corn...