Sunday 29th June Vancouver

We disembarked the MS Statendam at Canada Place Vancouver at 8.30am this morning and caught a shuttle bus transfer to Vancouver Sandman Hotel Downtown Vancouver City Centre. Our room wasn't ready so we stored our bags at the hotel. We walked to the free shuttle stop and made our way to the Capilano Suspension bridge. It is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in North Vancouver. The bridge is 140 metres long and 70 metres above the river. The bridge was built in 1889 by George Grant Mackay, a Scottish civil engineer and park commissioner for Vancouver. It was originally made of hemp ropes with a deck of cedar planks, and was replaced with a wire cable bridge in 1903. In 1910 Edward Mahon purchased the Bridge and sold it in 1935 to Mahon who invited local natives to place their totem poles in the park, adding a native them. In 1945 he sold the bridge to Henri Aubeneau. The bridge was completely rebuilt in 1956. The park was sold to Nancy Stibbard the current owner, in 1983. Opening in May 2004 was the Treetops Adventures consisting of seven footbridges suspended between old growth Douglas Fir Trees on the west of the canyon, forming a walkway up to 30 metres above the forest floor.

As well as the bridge and Treetops adventure, the park also features rain forest ecotours, award winning gardens, nature trails, private collection of First Nation totem poles, period decor and costumes. In June 2011 a new attraction called the Cliff Walk was added to the park. After lunch we headed to Grouse Mountain by public transport. The clouds were rolling in over the mountain but we decided we would still take the tramway up.

Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in Vancouver. At 1,200m in altitude at its peak, is the site of an alpine ski area in the winter season overlooking Greater Vancouver with four chairlifts facilitating 26 runs. In the summer, the mountain features lumberjack shows, a birds of prey wildlife demonstration, a scenic chairlift ride, and a 2.9 km hiking trail known as the Grouse Grind. Year-round operations include a 100-seat mountaintop theatre and a wildlife refuge. We watched the bird of prey wildlife demonstration featuring Falcons, Eagles, Owls and Hawks at the Blueberry Bowl and visited the Refuge for Endangered Wildlife which comprised of a five-acre mountaintop habitat that is home to two orphaned Grizzly Bears. We went to the visitor centre and had a coffee and enjoyed the magnificent views. From here we could see the locals finishing the Grouse Grind which is affectionately called "Mother Nature's Stairmaster" because of its steep grade and total elevation gain of approximately 850 metres It is a thigh-burning hour-and-a-half trek. There were people of all ages and fitness levels completing this trek. There was a timer at the centre and fastest times listed on an honour board.

We headed back to our hotel and had tea in the adjoining restaurant, Moxies Classic Bar & Grill.