Day 32 - My second full day in Vancouver
Who goes to a rain forest on a rainy day? Me!... I do!!
So the forecast for Friday was "RAIN" but when I got up, it was only overcast.. "What do they know?" I asked myself. "When Engel reisen lacht der Himmel" as the Germans would say. (When angels travel, the heavens smile.) So, off I went donning my new Kathmandu rain jacket, just in case.
Canada Place: This is down at the waterfront, there where the cruise ships dock (as all you fortunate cruise enthusiasts will know!). Went for a walk around there.
Well, since it was still not raining, I decided to take the FREE shuttle to the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge. On the trusty TripAdvisor website people had said that you could take the free shuttle without having to actually enter the park and the views are nice. I call bull.... The shuttle is free until you get to the parking lot and realise that there is nothing to see and the signs largely declare that the shuttles back are only for Capilano Bridge CUSTOMERS! Yup... and by then it had started to rain. Now what? Rain forest in the rain it is.
On a nice sunny day and with 9,000 of the other tourists not showing up, it would have been an amazing day and well worth the $50 entry fee. On this very wet day and with every tourist in all of British Columbia deciding this is what they have to do today, and especially take photos of themselves every five minutes.... not so much!
So I put the complimentary green plastic poncho on and walked over the bridge (even have a certificate to prove it!). You can't stop on the bridge to take a photo as there are so many people on the bridge and it shakes and sways so much that you have to hold on to not fall over.
The forest was very pretty and it would have been lovely to sit down somewhere and just be for a moment.... but only about 3 benches in total and all of them out in the rain. NO shelter anywhere. I guess they want you to go back to the entrance and sit down in their very expensive restaurant. :(
It still was impressive and I could see how this is an amazing place.
Once I had enough of the rain and my camera got wet, I took the FREE shuttle back down to Canada Place and spent a while in the food court across the street, having coffee and chips and reading so I could dry out a bit. And then it was back to the Cambie Hostel to pick up my stuff and go to the station for my next adventure.... the Rocky Mountain and Via Rail to Jasper (pronounce Jahhsper!)
So the forecast for Friday was "RAIN" but when I got up, it was only overcast.. "What do they know?" I asked myself. "When Engel reisen lacht der Himmel" as the Germans would say. (When angels travel, the heavens smile.) So, off I went donning my new Kathmandu rain jacket, just in case.
Canada Place: This is down at the waterfront, there where the cruise ships dock (as all you fortunate cruise enthusiasts will know!). Went for a walk around there.
There were 2 cruise ships in the harbour. Behind the trees, that is one of them.
The Drop
Small sea planes parked everywhere.
Quite fun to watch them taking off and landing.
They said it was the Lego Dolphin..... not real Lego though. Just black and white blocks, much larger than Lego. Still quite imptessive though.
The Olympic Flame - Fire and Ice. It is only lit 2x a year now as it burns gas and costs CAD 20,000 to have it burning for 1 day.
Across the bay you can see the sulphur heaps, a by-product of the gas industry.
On a nice sunny day and with 9,000 of the other tourists not showing up, it would have been an amazing day and well worth the $50 entry fee. On this very wet day and with every tourist in all of British Columbia deciding this is what they have to do today, and especially take photos of themselves every five minutes.... not so much!
So I put the complimentary green plastic poncho on and walked over the bridge (even have a certificate to prove it!). You can't stop on the bridge to take a photo as there are so many people on the bridge and it shakes and sways so much that you have to hold on to not fall over.
There is also one of those circular, jutty-outy walks you can do suspended over the gorge. Like at the Grand Canyon...just much smaler
The forest was very pretty and it would have been lovely to sit down somewhere and just be for a moment.... but only about 3 benches in total and all of them out in the rain. NO shelter anywhere. I guess they want you to go back to the entrance and sit down in their very expensive restaurant. :(
Lots of little pathways taking you to ponds and lookouts over the gorge.
Once I had enough of the rain and my camera got wet, I took the FREE shuttle back down to Canada Place and spent a while in the food court across the street, having coffee and chips and reading so I could dry out a bit. And then it was back to the Cambie Hostel to pick up my stuff and go to the station for my next adventure.... the Rocky Mountain and Via Rail to Jasper (pronounce Jahhsper!)
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