So I had my first experience of a greyhound bus and it's true, they do give newly released prisoners greyhound passes, I met one with his little plastic bag of belongings and his opening introduction to me was that he had been released from prison that day!!!

So I arrived about 10pm in Vacouver and didnt have a clue where I was going, I got a ticket for the skytrain and started heading in the direction I thought was my hostel. A guy on the train started talking to me, asking me where I was going and he started to shake his head. Nope I'm heading in the wrong direction, he gets off the train with me and gets his phone out and shows me where I should be going, waits for the train I need and sees me on my way! Brilliant!!!

So the next day I get picked up from my hostel by Jason, I met him in my hostel in Seattle and he lives in Vacouver and is a teacher so has time to show me around. We drive about an hour north to the mountains and go hiking up the Chief, its a hard slog, 600 metres up in about an hour and its blazing sunshine but the view at the top is worth it, it's incredible. We watched some guys parachute from the top and chipmunks come up to us for nuts!

So we then hike to Shannon falls for even more views and a beautiful waterfall. After this we drive to a nearby lake and go swimming! The water was lovely and so cool to be swimming in a lake like it's a swimming pool!

We then head to horseshoe bay which is a great little bay town where we grab pizza and chill out, waiting for the traffic into the city to die down.

In the evening we head to Kitsilano beach to watch the sun set and eat icecream, a great way to end an awesome day!

The next day I head back to the beach to watch volleyball competitions. Jason said the beach is supposed to be in the top ten sexiest beaches and he wasn't lying, the men and women are super fit, all playing volleyball, tanned and trim, this is not a place to come if you have confidence issues!! So after the games we end up in the beer gardens and then later we are in someone's pent house apartment over looking the sea, drinking beer from a keg and watching the sun set, it's a crazy life!!!

The next day I take a walking tour of Chinatown and the heavens open, still in shorts but get soaked and suddenly the sun is out!! I head back to the beach for more volleyball and see all the people I've met. This is my only quiet night as I head back to the hostel to chill out.

The next day I walk all over the city, along the waterfront and head to Stanley park and rent a bike and bike round for 2 hours, getting really lost and lovely this huge park in the middle of the city. I chill out for a while there just enjoying the beaches and woods which the park has to offer. The evening is spent preparing for the 2 night hike I have planned with Jason and his friend Pam.

I was originally supposed to leave the city at this point and head to the vineyard but ask to extend my stay to do this extra hike and I'm so glad I did, it was awesome. So we headed to Gariboldi Park and hike through some beautiful mountains to a shelter at the top which is next to 2 small lakes, we go swimming and just relax. It's so peaceful, no traffic, hardly any people and the stars are awesome out here. Unfortunately I had a small problem with my trainers on the way up (it was a long hike up) and I got some terrible blisters that popped and caused all sorts of havoc, I'll include a picture!

However that didn't stop me, the next day we hiked to Opal cone which is a 13km round trip hike, doesn't sound like much but the terrain is random, rocks, bushes, up and down hill, over rivers and sometimes not knowing where the trail actually is, but again the views are outstanding all the way, surrounded by mountains and hardly seeing a soul all day.

The next day was a hike back to the car park, 2 hours which we thought would be downhill but didn't seem to be the case, the weather had closed in but it kept us cool while heading down.

Excellent hike, with great company, lots of laughs and awesome views.

Decided to spend my last night nearer the bus station as I have an early bus out and the hostel is dodgy as hell, even the crack head who started talking to me outside wondered why I was staying in this hostel!!!!

Vancouver is an amazing place, I saw so much more than I would of because of Jason, met some amazing people, imspired me to learn volleyball when I get home and I'm definately coming back here at some point!! Bit sad to leave but got more of my adventure to take part in.

Thanks to all who made my stay in Vancouver brilliant and hope to see you all again in the future.