Sailing, Songs and Segway.

We left early for a downtown tour of Vancouver and drove to Horseshoe Bay to catch the morning BC ferry to Nanaimo, sighting an eagle en route.

On board, Vanessa, a very endearing coastal naturalist, gave a talk on the sea kelp forests and finished with a song!

We arrived in Nanaimo and walked around the town - some interesting vintage shops and craft stores as well as the Bastion, built by the Hudson Bay Company in the 1850s to defend coal mining operations.

At 3pm we met the Victoria Segway company at Bowen Park and took a two hour tour - fantastic! A bizarre sensation to begin with, but we all got the hang of it quickly, led by Margaret's excellent example from her previous Segway tour in Cheshire. Mark and Marian were the mischievous members of the group keen to speed at any opportunity and it was a great way to see the park - very addictive!

We headed north on the island via some lovely beaches were we saw deer and black Brant Geese. We arrived in Courtenay in the early evening for dinner at the hotel and some BC wine and local IPA beer.

The island is lovely - a stunning coastline and mild climate.

Cave tours are on the agenda for Tuesday!

Barbecues, Beaches and Boardwalks

Last night's delicious barbecue of Chilliwack corn and Steak felt like a midnight feast to us, but we were able to stay awake to enjoy it and caught up with Marian's friends Anne and Rory. We eventually gave in to the jet lag around 9pm local time and slept very well!

We woke to another sunny morning and caught up on some Olympic highlights before the quintessential Canadian breakfast of bacon, pancakes and maple syrup and a walk around the local park and boardwalks alongside the Fraser River. A new development of swanky apartments is being built - a snip at $600,000 - so we went to look round the show apartment before a stroll by the river. A really desirable place to live!

We headed back and then drove to Crescent Beach in Surrey across the Serpentine River Bridge. Incredible waterside houses are found all along Crescent Road and we joined Anne and Rory again for their Irish Club barbecue on the beach. The sun was really warm by this point so we enjoyed a walk along the beachfront where sailors, jet-skiers and swimmers were making the most of the afternoon.

We drove home via New Westminster to see one of Marian's former neighbourhoods, which Margaret and Jimmy visited when they were last in Canada,  15 years ago. There were some stunning gardens and public spaces immaculately manicured and full of flowers.

A fantastic first day back in BC - not only have we already visited some lovely places, but we have also had Tim Horton's coffee!

We have arrived!

After the excitement of the Olympic ceremony last night, we were up early to finalise our packing and set off for the airport. We had our reservations about the flight but they were pretty much unfounded and we had good seats with attentive staff throughout. The scenery was progressively more spectacular as we flew over Iceland, Greenland and northern Canada. Endless ice fields and mountain ranges marked the route and we arrived ahead of schedule to a warm Canadian welcome at the airport. Even the airport announcers were cheerful and helpful! Having cleared customs, Marian was ready and waiting and we were delighted to see her. Our attempts at packing light have failed completely so we spent a few moments deciding how best to tessellate the suitcases before the short journey to Marian's new house in Vancouver. We cannot believe we are here. It is warm and sunny and we spent a happy few hours catching up on the sunny terrace with a glass of wine. We have already discussed plans for the week heading to Vancouver Island on Monday for Segway in Nanaimo!