Canadian invention and English invasion

Did you know Canadians discovered insulin? Apparently. And the in line skate. And the hockey goalie mask. And the telephone. And, for those less useful inventions, the garbage bag. Or bin liner, as I like to call it.

I feel a blog coming along the lines of "what the Canadians did for us.." Told you. Educational site this blog!

In the meantime, and for those of you who know them, Serena and Liz made it safely to Toronto yesterday, found my flat and got in safely. Excellent. Except they had my keys! So when i spent the afternoon ringing (and no one answering) I (naturally?) assumed they were out sight seeing. Course not! They were sleeping! No excuse for jetlag today ladies...

Mr Not Anonymous will not be surprised to know that, by dinner last night, tensions were already mounting faster than a bunny on viagra. Liz and I went for a tour of the office, so she could email her husband, leaving Serena to wash and change.. "you could have done that tomorrow Liz, you've already rung him to let him know you've arrived". I think i'll just leave them to it.

They spent the evening making itineries (spelling?!) for the next few days, starting with the Eaton Centre today... My week consists of work, and the couch. Which wasnt all that bad last night.

Holiday snaps i shall try and download over the next day or two....

How many lightbulbs does it take to change Toronto?

Two, and they're free.

Toronto Hydro is giving every household in Toronto two compact flourescent light bulbs (CFLs). Using just one of these will apparently save $27 off a hydro bill over the life of the bulb. According to Toronto Hydro, if every household swaps 2 regular light bulbs for CFLs, then the reduction in energy demand from the city of Toronto will be equal to the amount required to power Stratford (Ontario, not east London or Warks, but still, population in excess of 20,000) on an average day. (see www.homedepot.ca for more energy saving initiatives around here)

In a city which can still remember a black out in the summer of 2003, energy availablity is a sore point. Even now, on hot days when demand for air con is high, there are energy saving measures taken, like turning escalators off, or using fewer lifts in skyscrapers...

Incidentally, for anyone at home still confused (it took me weeks to work out what hydro was), Hydro is what they call electricity here. It takes its origins from Hydro electricity, which was first used nearly 100 years ago, channelled from Niagara falls to fuel Toronto.

Even in 2005, two thirds of Canada's electricity is produced by means of hydro electric power. Renewable and clean. Those Canadians were clever people 100 years ago. The rest of us are still trying to work out how we can achieve that kind of energy mix now...

Sadly, I cant bring you guys any lightbulbs home, as these seem to be screw fitting... on the other hand, there's a lad i know in Pboro who might be able to sort you out...

(unfunny) joke

Now that sold it to you didnt it!

So why did the auditor cross the road?
Because they did it last year.

(fellow bean counters will understand)

Summary of the 3 week world tour of Canada

OK. It is over. 24 days. 16 nights away. Some of the bean counting highlights of my trips around Canada.

Longest journey – 2755 miles Toronto to Vancouver
Longest journey (time) – Kelowna to Banff – 11 hours
Total mileage covered (nearest 100) 9500 (ish)

No of provinces experienced: 4 (British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec)

No of provinces not seen: 6 (plus 3 territories…). God this country is big.

No of time zones experienced: 3 (Eastern Standard time, Pacific standard time and Mountain standard time)
No of time zones not experienced:3 (Central Standard time, Atlantic standard time and Newfoundland standard time)

Public transport – 9000 miles. The 160 mile round trip to Niagara was also done car pooling and the 350 miles to Algonquin too, if that earns me any points?

Transport used? Plane (5500 miles+), coach (1300 miles+), train (750 miles) and undergrounds in Montreal and Toronto, as well as bus, seabus, skytrain and cable car in Vancouver and snowmobile in Banff National Park.

Biggest extravagance (travel) – my flight ticket to Vancouver - $650 all in.
Biggest extravagance night – Sandman, Kelowna, $160 a night
Biggest extravagance (food) - $60 on 3 course venison dinner in Jasper (I have been intrigued by venison since the Billy Connolly sketch – ‘an ideal way to get rid of that left over venison..’
Bargain night- C & N backpackers, Vancouver $18
(or perhaps the overnight train from Montreal to Toronto)
Or perhaps camping in Algonquin park!

Highest point (mechanically assisted) – Bow Summit at Lake Peyto, Banff national park, Alberta, 2135m, or 7000 ft.


Highest point (walking) – St Josephs, Montreal.

Lowest point – Algonquin Park – knee deep in water!

Total cost of trips (nearest $100) - $3,000 (and yes I do feel broke now!)

Random additional achievement – getting from Montreal Central Station, via the train, the Toronto Union station underground network, the TTC subway, and the underground network to my apartment, all without going out doors once. Got to be well over 300 miles. Do I win anything for that?!

So what did I learn?

Well I learned very quickly that you cant get to know a place in a day, couple of days or even a week… it made me laugh to meet British people in Vancouver saying that they had ‘well and truly done British Columbia now..’. What on earth does that mean? You can see monuments, and places, smell the air and taste the weather. But to really understand a place needs time, lots of time… its time that teaches you 4 or 5 options for a nice quiet evening out in Toronto for yourself… for 4 or 5 places to be with the crowds (or away from them) and to be able to tell visitors of a place where they might look for similar…

This country is truly memorable, and the country’s folk deserves to be very proud of it. To assign a ‘best’ to any part of it is futile, as how can you equate the view from a Rockies’ mountain hillside or glacier with a view of the stars in the open countryside at night, or the view of a wild bear eating at the side of the road with the sight of the Niagara falls being lit up, with fireworks going off above them… not to mention the uniqueness of the CN tower and Skydome in Toronto, the public library in Vancouver and the Notre Dame basilica in Montreal.

All I can say is it’s a fantastic experience and it deserves to be seen. More than that, it has to be seen to be believed. I cant believe there isn’t a sight in the places I saw that wouldn’t have moved most people in some manner or other.

If there was a place I could wrap up? Well, Banff to Jasper was a mindblowing journey, and for me, Revelstoke National Park summed up what I wanted to experience in Canada. Such a powerful sight. I can only enthusiastically say to you that all of these places are worthy of attention, and they will all leave you with something new.

But for the rest of my Canadian stay, or certainly this phase pre Christmas, I am going to settle for Southern Ontario. There is plenty there, both for me, and anyone else coming to visit…

And I am so pleased I chose Toronto. The best place in Canada? Well, GTA has 4.6m people, which says a lot. Well, it says that with that many people about, most things you could want and need are there. Apart from quiet. That’s what makes Canada so good, as quiet is everywhere. Even an hour or two out of Toronto. So I feel privileged to have landed up here, but lucky too to have seen what else there is. And the answer is… well, practically anything you could imagine.

Vancouver

Ok here it is. Canada’s 3rd city, and possibly host city for the 2010 Olympic games. Must do my research better. (WINTER Olympics – and really it is only the hockey Olympic golds that matter!). Vancouver is smaller than Toronto and Montreal, but equally, a long long way. Over 3000 miles to Montreal from here. We are over on the other side of the country, 3 time zones away, with the Pacific ocean lapping the shores not too far away. Most people I meet that have ever been to Vancouver wax lyrical about it. Apparently cleaner, more beautiful and more scenic than Toronto, with better weather too… hmm. Battle lines drawn?! Maybe. But I like to think I go in open minded. Some observations about Vancouver.

The buildings are, compared with other cities, nothing spectacular. But don’t miss Canada Place, the site of Expo 86, which was, by all accounts, the best ever version of the Expo. The focal point of the building is a rooftop in a sail formation, with 10 points for the sail. One point for each province of Canada I believe (so they tell me!)

Despite comments about the buildings, the public library is really worth a look. A $30m building as part of a $100m overall project opened in 1995. Has a Roman theme, and has been designed as modern day coliseum. For its uniqueness alone, well worth the look.

The first thing you notice is the fresh air. I went at 7am to see sunrise at Stanley Park. While walking along the shore, you can smell the sea, hear the seagulls and even see seaweed on the stones below. Which reminds me. Is there anyone else out there who has ever eaten sea weed, or is this an Irish thing? (In Northern Ireland its apparently a ‘speciality’, but from my memories, was minging – sorry dad.)

Stanley Park is North America’s 3rd largest Urban park, and attracts 8 million people a year. 1000 acres, its focal point is probably the collection of totem poles in the middle of the park. Awesome. It is named after the 1886 Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley, who dedicated the park ‘to the use and enjoyment of people of all colours, creeds and customs for all time’. He made himself useful did that Governor General. In 1893, he created a trophy in his name for ‘excellence in hockey’. Its called the Stanley Cup, and it’s the biggest prize in ice hockey, for the winners of the NHL finals. (Biggest apart from the Olympic Gold, and yes, Canada are the proud owners of that right now.)

Another not to miss is the Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, which you can get to via the Seabus across the water and a bus up a short hill. Once there, you can walk the 2.9 km climb to a height of 1129m. Or, as I did, you can get the cable car up to the top. What a fantastic view down on the city below. And, to be honest, what a fantastic view from the city over to the mountain range. How high is 1129m? Well, its higher than any point in the UK. Which is high enough. And given that Vancouver is at sea level, imagine the view you get..

Vancouver is a city of islands, and the most impressive bridge is the Lions Gate Bridge which links Vancouver downtown to North Vancouver. A bit smaller than the Golden gate bridge. But similarly impressive in view.

Public transport is mainly electric buses, which would impress Sullivan, and a Skytrain, which is a monorail and links to the expo site, as well as the sports stadia and out to the southern suburbs. Pretty good.

One last not to miss is the Capilano suspension bridge, again in the north of Vancouver. It was built in 1889 to access prime forest lands to be protected from logging. 230 feet above the wet canyon below. 450 feet across. And feels less rickety than you would expect from a wooden bridge built 116 years ago. My advice? Hold tight and don’t look down!

Only 2 days in Vancouver was hardly enough to do the place justice, but then that was the same with Montreal. Vancouver is not like Toronto, it is much closer to nature, and with the forests, parks, hills and water being such an integral part of this city, there is probably something for everyone. And in the winter, there is skiing too. And the air is clean and fresh, blowing in from the pacific.

No wonder the inhabitants here work 15% less than the rest of Canadians. On the other hand, in 1976 there was an earthquake measuring 5.3, and experts say the area is overdue for a major quake, though they cant say when it will happen, or how strong (can they ever?). Rough with the smooth eh?

4 more days of Rockies diary

Sorry its all together - couldnt get a chance to get it from the laptop to the net...

17 September – Kelowna to Banff

Another day, another bus. Bit early for my liking (8am), but it gave me the chance to be up and out by 640 am, to have spoken to my mum and sister at home, and to be prepared for another day of sights and experiences.

And it was a long experience. 11 hours. Didn’t arrive until 7, at which point I discovered that there was a Mountain Standard Time for this part of the region, and that it was actually 8!

Kelowna is actually in the heart of the Okanagan Valley and has some great views. I hear my sister’s in laws are moving out here soon. Being slightly too practical, I am not sure what they are hoping to do when they get here. But tourism is clearly high on the agenda, with winter sports available for half the year, and road trips, sailing and wine tasting some of the summer attractions.

Our agenda took us through the random name award winning Salmon Arm – presumably so named because of the fishing possibilities. (Winner of this prestigious award on day 1 was Chilliwack – to be fair though, no name in this country can be quite as weird as Shepton Mallett, Stratton on the Fosse or, well, the Welsh railway station one. You know what I’m talking about Brits. There is a prize for anyone who can add a comment with this name for our Canadian readers, together with pronunciation tips!)

3 or 4 hours in and I found, perhaps, the sight I was looking for in Canada. We arrived for a break in Revelstoke, which is a national park. A small settlement on the Columbia river, which feeds from the Columbia fields glacier way up in the Rockies. Rivers, trees, snow capped mountains and sunshine. And McDonalds. My friend Scribbles says that she has her ‘somewhere else’. Well I’m not sure I do, but this for me was the place I would have chosen. I was happy that, regardless of what I was going to see for the remainder of my trip, I had experienced what I had wanted to look for. Emptiness. Scenery. Blue Skies. Fresh air. Stunning.

Our journey took us further along the trans Canada highway (which links pacific with atlantic Canada), through towns like Golden, Prospect and Canyon, which perhaps get their names from the local history of British Columbia, which filled very quickly in the late 1800s as people came for the gold rush.

The 11 hour journey was caused by a traffic jam. A blocked road. Not much scope for finding alternative roads in the mountains, so we sat there. About 90 minutes. Until it was discovered that the blockage about 7km further up the road wasn’t moving, and that we would be better served to turn around and find a diversion – see comment about alternative routes! I took photos of the jam. Stuck on the side of a mountain, it was easily the most scenic traffic jam I had ever been involved in (you cant see much from the 401, and, well, I am not sure a birds eye view of Walsall FC and the RAC control centre on the M6 counts as scenic!). People were all quite relaxed about it. This isn’t National Express, and perhaps people just accept when things don’t go quite as planned. I would be interested to write to Greyhound and see what reply I get (A14, L25, L26, Z77 probably! – Scribbles understands).

The diversion though did end up being a bonus, as I was treated to a road, and sights, I probably wasn’t supposed to get. As the sun got slightly lower, it was incredible how the drive between 2 mountain peaks could plunge the area in between into darkness – I’d never have got that at 2 in the afternoon.

I also got to experience wildlife. A black bear eating at the side of the road, and 3 deer later on. Only in Vancouver had I heard someone say all they needed to do now was see a bear. It all happened too quickly to get a picture sadly. Don’t ask me to say how big it was. Bigger than a dog! And far enough away to be no hassle! No need to say more!

Got to Banff as the sun was setting. The trouble with seeing so many nice things is the superlatives run thin, and comparisons blur somewhat. So what can I say about Banff? Its buildings are like a permanent German Christmas market, triangular pointed rooves decorated with lights. And surrounded on 3 sides by mountains. I was treated to a full moon above a mountain silhouette, with a river running underneath me as I stood observing from a bridge. Almost a proposal point for any romantics amongst you. Banff Avenue by Canada place. (I’ll stop here)

Random sign contender today was the cut out of a creature, which could have been a bear, deer or moose, but was probably a cross between the 3, with the simple word – ‘attention’. Tell you what, if I came across an animal anything like resembling that picture, that animal would get all the attention it wanted.

New category opened too. The random satellite dish award. These people are in the mountains, and need to communicate somehow, so no criticism for that. The humour is merely how big the dishes are, and what they are attached to, often with no apparent dwelling nearby. One attached to a tree about 20km from Banff currently leads in this category, but it is early days. Next stop Jasper.

18 September – Banff to Jasper

A much shorter journey, and instead of Greyhounding it, I got on a tour bus. So a couple of hundred km of journey, and a day of stops and commentary to talk about it. The journey took in Lake Louise, the Icefields Parkway, the Columbia Icefields, including a tour of the Athabasca glacier, and the Athabasca falls before ending up in Jasper. Enough talking about scenery, how good it was/looked etc. To be honest, once you have had 25 stop offs in 3 days to look at various mountain and lake formations, they all start looking the same! Which is harsh, but then again, I am not an artist, I am an uncouth city boy and I don’t know any better!

Some of the highlights of the day though:

1) By doing a tour run in a proper touristy group, you do get to pick up so much more – the driver provided commentary for the full 3+ driving hours which really made a difference, and he also had the flexibility to stop off, break, slow down, when people saw animals, wanted to take autumn pictures, or when we were simply running ahead of schedule. Very impressed. I wonder how well we do that at home by comparison.

2) I also wonder what the age gap was between me and the next youngest on my bus. I guess at no less than 10 years, and that is being generous!

3) The names of places are always interesting. The two most interesting for me though were the Bow river and the Athabasca river.

4) The Bow river takes its name as a result of the Douglas fur sapling trees which surround it. The locals used these trees to make their Bows for their bow and arrows.

5) The word Athabasca means ‘place where the reeds grow’. Unsurprisingly, there are no reeds anywhere near these mountains. However, I am reliably informed that if you follow the river all the way up to Athabasca, you will see these aforementioned reeds. I’ll take their word for it.

6) The water in the lakes around here is a fantastic blue/green like you would not believe. Turquoise doesn’t begin to cover it. I hope my photos come out. I was silly enough to ask whether it was just the effect of the sky – but apparently not. The reason is that all the water in the lakes is glacial water (ie has melted from glaciers above). As glaciers form, they erode small bits of dust and rock from the ground below, and these are compressed into the rock. The smallest particles are called ‘rock flour’ because they are like flour in consistency. Unlike most solids, they do not drop to the bottom of the lakes/rivers, they remain in the water. These particles are so small that they absorb the entire spectrum of colour as the sun shines, except for blue and green, which is reflected back. That’s the colour you see. End of science/geography lesson! (That little one is to (try and) impress Marie)

7) Walking on a glacier is a really exhilarating experience. The stats for the Athabasca glacier in the Columbia Icefields? Well it is 6 square km of ice, it is 6km long, and it is between 90m and 300m thick. I’ve no idea how many Baileys you can ice with that!

8) And in case that isn’t enough, the ice within the entire field (the field feeds the glacier) is 50 times the amount of ice on the glacier…

9) Sometimes you can just be so blown away by the views that you don’t know where to look. When you have snow peaks surrounding you on all 4 sides, it is difficult to know where to point the camera. No wonder there are so many great artists in Canada.

For a mere city boy like me, this was a truly once in a lifetime experience. I am not sure I would want to do this again. But you don’t need to. Its enough to know it is there, and to have seen it.

Animal count? Well one Elk (they told me it was an elk, and would I really know differently?! It could have been anything for all I know!). 3 deer. No bears. Oh well.

Random sign of the day? :’You are in avalanche country. http://www.avalanche.ca/’ I haven’t seen this website yet, but got to be worth a look! I am not entirely sure my wireless technology would have helped out all that much if there had been an avalanche either! Still, glad to report that I didn’t need to find this out!

Random number of the day. 77.7%. That’s the number of Germans that turned out for the general election. Good work. And yet still they couldn’t decide. By the time I post this maybe they will have worked out who is going to form a coalition with who(m). Anyone in the UK for proportional representation? Lets give Labour 35, Conservatives 35 and Liberal 25, and let them deal with each other who is going to form a government… our way is at times highly unsatisfactory, but at least once its done its done eh? The trouble with coalitions is the fall out if people, well, fall out… or maybe we should try it one day? Just to see…

19 September – Jasper to Kamloops

Jasper is actually the national park which is home to the Athabasca Glacier. The end of yesterdays trip had brought me to Jasper, and today I was staying the morning here, before leaving early afternoon to get the bus to Kamloops. It was actually mainly a way of breaking the return to Vancouver, but it was worth it.

Jasper is 100 years old (as is Alberta, its province, I believe). Happy birthday. Jasper was formed in 1905 as a settlement point on the Canadian National Railway line that was built from east to west. It ran through here, and a settlement was formed. Even today, 10% of the population work for CN.

I spent a bit of time at the railway station, which is a heritage station, with memorabilia and old locomotives dating back a hundred years. My brother in law and uncle would love it. Managed to send John a postcard of a Canadian Pacific train. Coming from a place like Peterborough (which most people have only usually heard of because they had to change trains there once..) I have developed a healthy respect for trains. Which is more than I had when I had to take them every day…

Another link with Peterborough. Well our bus driver Terry the day before was from Pboro, Ontario. Not a direct link. But there is a mountain in Jasper named the Edith Cavell mountain, after the first world war heroine. Readers from Pboro UK will understand why I mention this – for the rest of you, I shall make one of my ‘educational’ posts “who was Edith Cavell” – unless one of you wishes to enlighten people (and me for that matter!) why she was a first world war heroine?

But the time came to leave, and with it a 4 hour afternoon ride to Kamloops. The shortest Greyhound journey I had made, and the most uneventful. Having lost some of my interest in the sights after 3 days in awe of them, I even caught up with an hours sleep before getting there.

It was refreshing to see that coach drivers over here have the same capacity to scare the crap out of their passengers as their UK counterparts. As we went through a thunderstorm shortly after entering BC, while we were doing 110kmh and it was hailing down golfball sized lumps of ice, the driver came on the tannoy and said that we were experiencing some difficult weather conditions, but that he was confident through the mountain roads that he could keep going, and that he would ‘ride it out’. Whatever that means. He also added ‘fasten your seatbelts’. Which I would have done. Had there been any.

The guy sat in front of me wanted to get out early at his stop, so asked the driver
“Can I get out at the CN junction?”
“yeah…. But remind me”
“If its still raining though, don’t stop as I’ll have to walk”
“No problem. Remind me though, as I’m usually day dreaming when I go through that junction..”

I’m glad I don’t have to deal with Greyhound complaints… well, you never know. People these days have no sense of humour.

Random stat of the day. 97. That’s the number of carriages on the CN train that passed us in Vavenloy while we were at the level crossing. Perhaps someone (maybe John?!) could tell us what the max number of carriages on a goods train could be, and why. Our driver Terry the other day seemed to think that, although there are the physical limitations (ie what an engine can pull and what the couplings can hold) the length is often dictated by the distance between level crossings, as the train will not be allowed to stretch 2 at any one time… there is some homework for wannabe train spotters amongst you.

Other items of note. 2 cattle herders on horseback rounding up cows in the rain as we came in towards Kamloops. I’d only ever seen this in movies before!

Found myself a nice Irish pub to have dinner in, on the advice of the concierge in the hotel, and drank a couple of Kilkenny beers for my mums birthday (she comes from co Kilkenny in Ireland). Back to the Canadian and the Stella once I’m back in the GTA though!

20 September – Kamloops to Vancouver

A long lie in to prepare myself for the trip to Toronto that was coming, and the resulting jetlag. (I am back in work on 22nd!). Its also a farily pain free trip to Vancouver, and was wholly unexciting. I spent the entire journey talking to a woman from Denmark who came here in 1956, and was impressed, if that’s the right word, with my use of technology ( I was texting and using my lap top for pretty mundane stuff!)

I spent the afternoon in Vancouver wandering the shops, looking for a couple of buildings and staring at a ship. A boat the size of Canada Place (the Expo 86 site) came in to port, the Island Princess from Hamilton. I can see why these cruises cost so much money. The tanker brought in to help refuel the thing was smaller than the lifeboats on the side of the boat!

I managed to catch up with the Marine Building, which I had been looking for since my last visit (ie since last week!). It was built in 1930 and was at the time the largest building in the British Empire. Today, it is dwarfed by the Vancouver skyline, which, in relative North American terms, is tiny. Just shows how far we have come. ( I was interested anyway – I think this traveling thing has mellowed me somewhat!)

Vancouver itself I shall write about separately – I know, I am miles behind on posts. It is different, but definitely has some unique things. It also has a highly efficient airport with self check in, and sports TV, so the wait for the flight home should be pretty painless.

16 September - Vancouver to Kelowna

So, my first trip on a Canadian Greyhound bus. I am planning a couple of these, in the spirit of travelling (a) by public means and (b) to see as much of this place as I can. So off I trotted to the Vancouver Pacific Central Station at 930 to get my bus towards Kelowna, which is in the Okanagan valley, and more importantly, heading towards the Rockies.

I am intrigued by coach travel. 2 years at National Express does that for you. Now this is the scary bit. National Express seems advanced beyond its years. Stop sweating Scribbles!! But no, it is. Imagine, for example, the surprise of having a 42 seater waiting for you, and then 60 people turn up with valid tickets to get on it!

So I was on a 'dupe' as we call it (a duplicate replacement vehicle) bound only for Kelowna. Or so it should have been. At Abbotsford, we were told that neither of the buses had seen fit to pull in to Langley City, so off we went back again, 30 km back up the road to pick up the passengers.. (and pass by Abbotsford again!)

A couple of numbers of note. 38. The number of hours in British Columbia before i saw blue sky (basically once we had risen above the clouds on our journey into the mountains!). 12. The degrees celcius temperature as we left Vancouver. I can see why they call it BRITISH Columbia. In fact, it used to be called New Caledonia I believe. Caledonian weather it certainly is. Meanwhile last week in Toronto it was 30. God its cold over here.. good job i brought clothes for the mountains.

3 hours in, I passed by a town called Merritt. Random sign 1: "Check your fuel. Next service Hope 112km". Middle of nowhere doesnt begin to cover it. This was the place I was scared of ending up in when I wanted to come to North America. A bus stop, a car park, a filling station and a shop. Merritt, British Columbia. Homework is for anyone to find out whether anyone lives there or not...!

I am planning on having a random sign award on this tour. The first scary sign was the "End avalanche area" sign in the mountains. Scary because I'd never noticed the area had begun! I'd like to think that, if we truly were in danger, we might have selected a different route. Maybe I'll ask Greyhound that... or maybe ignorance is bliss!

200m past the end avalanche sign was another "Critical accident zone next 20km". Thats the trouble with driving through the mountains, the views are great, but if the driver looks left or right to admire them, then the car takes a closer look too...

Winner on day 1 of the sign award definitely goes to "Hunting and Shooting prohibited within 400m of highway" No one else seemed bothered by this. So basically, I am on a coach, i am on the most dangerous road in Canada, I have the potential for avalanches above me, and, failing that, a deer or bear hunter is going to jump out and shoot me. And I paid $66 for this? Someone has a sense of humour!

Just on the way into Kelowna, which is lovely by the way, you cross the water by means of what is called a 'floating bridge', a 650m work of engineering miracle. This isnt the 17km Ponte Vasco de Gama in Lisbon by any means. I am sure we have floating things in the UK too. Oh yes. We call them boats. Still, after the threats of avalanches and gunshots, whats the risk of drowning when it comes to it. Besides, I was beside the emergency exit!

Number of the day? $10,000,000. Thats how much the Canadian federal government donated to the Terry Fox foundation.

Other awards to consider? Well, i am looking at the Random Grazing Cattle Award. Some brave early contenders there too. They say Canada has a problem with mad cows. After seeing a cow grazing about 15m up what must have been a 40 degree incline, I tend to agree!

17 September - 21.33 hrs (mountain standard time)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM.

(mountain standard time really does exist!) Will post more soon. Just got off a 12 hour bus ride from Kelowna (rhymes with Corona and not downer) to Banff. Banff looks so beautiful. Gotta get the camera out quick, as i've only got tonight...

Its the 18th in the UK right now, but like a good boy i managed to talk to her at 7am PST this morning to convey my regards... now, when is fathers day?!

In case you have to wait another 18 years.. 

Terry Fox -perhaps the greatest Canadian?

OK. I am off again tomorrow for any regular readers of CBC. I fly to Vancouver tomorrow night, and intend to go towards the Rockies next week, so you may be spared my rantings for a few days, as I dont expect to be in meaningful contact with technology, except perhaps to call my mom and wish her happy birthday on Saturday.. (but this is to say it now, in case i forget or am stranded somewhere without access to telephone..)

Before i go, just a quick note about one of the most amazing people I have read about since i have been here. Terry Fox. For most of you, you wont know who he is, and i can hardly do his story justice in a couple of paragraphs. I have linked his web site to this page. He was diagnosed with bone cancer as an 18 year old, and lost a leg to the disease.

In 1980 as a 21 year old, he set out to run across Canada, at the rate of a marathon a day, with the aim of raising $1 per person in the country for cancer research. Before cancer overcame his lungs, he ran a marathon a day for 143 days, and covered over 5000km of Canada. He raised $24m before dying in 1981, and since then the country has continued to run in his memory, and over $360m has been raised.

The concept of running a marathon is for me almost impossible, but people manage it after training and preparation. The idea of running one every day for 5 months is quite astonishing. Through lonely land too, as the vast majority of Canada is empty..

The strength of feeling I can see for Terry Fox is overwhelming. A 21 year old that performed miracles in life, and in whose memory people are trying to make those miracles keep running...

Anyway, 18th September is this year's Terry Fox run. People will run and in this 25th anniversary year will hope to push that total towards $400m.

I wouldnt be as rude as to say make a donation necessarily. Back home, 1 in 3 people suffer from cancer, so it is something that hits us all, and it is difficult to push money in one direction at the expense of another.. so i'll make a donation for you, to the 2 people running from our office. And if anyone did want to give $1 (50p), you can trace the web page from mine.

Sometimes though the real inspiration is just in the story. Canada deserves to be proud to have had Terry Fox, and long may the work he started continue...

A week in the life....

Just thought i'd stick a few pictures on the page from the last week or so. A couple from Algonquin, although i am sure there will be many more to come.. one of Andy from the UK, who arrived over to work with us on Sat, his first day was Monday so we took him out for his birthday.. and of course the obligatory celebratory pictures from London after England finally beat the Aussies. I almost felt homesick! Almost. I'm glad the cricket is over. At least now i can concentrate on doing proper work. As for my Canadian colleagues, they will be spared any more conversation on the topic. Poor Danny will be relieved. At Niagara, which started the day after England won the 4th test, we were discussing the finish to the game. "Holy Shit - are they still talking about cricket?", to which Dave (Canadian, but he 'understands' the game) replied "Well the games last 5 days, so you have to expect them to discuss it for 2.."

To Canadians who neither like nor understand cricket, my apologies.
The two best banners - "Aussies Exterminated" and "Ashes to ashes, Aussies to dust".

Roll on the winter olympics. The Canadians and I can diiscuss curling as team GB attempts to defend its gold medal, whilst Canada attempts to defend the hockey one.

Algonquin by morning

Ashes to Ashes, Ozzies to dust 

me earning my lunch in Algonquin

Williams with women in birthday pose

Quebec : Je me souviens

Unlike at home, there isnt one number plate system for the whole country. Instead, each province issues its own driving licences, and each province has its own car licensing system. In Ontario, where i live, the plates say "Ontario - yours to discover" - and there is plenty here.

In Quebec, they say "je me souviens" - I remember.

My initial question to myself was 'remember what?', but as i surfed the net to find out a little more about the history of the phrase and its relevance today, I found a more interesting site of an artist. Use the links on the Harry Palmer site to get to Canadian places and people (low on the home page), and follow through to the personal statements made by people of Quebec back in 1992.

This was 3 years before the referendum of 1995, where 49.42% of Quebec voted for separation, against 50.58% who voted to remain part of Canada. Basically then, half of Quebec doesnt want to be part of Canada..

So what does Je me souviens mean to them?. There are some wonderful, yet revealing inputs into the feelings of various Quebecois about their home and its history.

Denis Gobeil writes "that of being conscious of our originality and remaining faithful to what it represents, for the brilliance of Canadian entirety", which for me is in a spirit of embracing the whole.

Francois Könitzer wrote:
"I remember being born under the lys and having suffered under the rose." This expression, more or less exaggerated, has been often repeated before. Even today, Quebeckers show some "pseudo-patriotism" that revealed a sectarian attitude towards other Canadians.
Independance is a "biodegradable idea." The real patriotism is in a united Canada.

Marie-José Labbé wrote:
It reminds me of my grandparents talking about their lives and how quickly they passed. Their memories, punctuated by wonderful moments, are what happiness is all about.
In the future, "Je me souviens" will surely make me glad. These historical events will continue to enrich future generations, and, I will be part of it.

Claude Martin: "I remembr how our ancestors were driven by hopes of settlement in America and how much their dreams of cultural influence were highly inspired. These hopes were slowed down by the conquest, but not completely killed... I remember also those shady deals imposed upon our ancestors, which have severely restricted their rights while efficiently protecting those of the majority... I am utterly convinced that Canada could have been a much richer country if only the majority would have accepted to integrate our particular and different values into their own. They rather invited us to deny our original strengths... Sorry, I hope it is not too late now!"

Annick Gignac: "As a Québécoise I REMEMBER the ways under which my people grew in recent centuries. From the time of the conquest until nearly 30 years ago there was the assimilation of the French Canadians into the anglo-saxon empire when my peoples' place was to become English throughout the province. I REMEMBER why my people have for the last several years begun again to fight for their survival and for the survival of future generations"

Suzanne Breton :I remember also Lord Durham, who looked upon us as a nation with a worthless history, which had to be assimilated as soon as possible, and reluctantly, I still remember the humiliation and indignation my ancestors felt"

Ann Martell:
"Je me souviens... the kindness of friends and new acquaintances while I massacred their language, and then the delight I took in eventually being mistaken for a québecoise.
Je me souviens... telling a friend that I had never really been challenged, that I had never really accomplished anything difficult in my life and I remember her chastising me for overlooking the challenge of learning a second language and living another culture.
And finally, je me souviens... that I have been fortunate to have had the opportuntiy to live in la belle province and that it has been, and will continue to be, an enriching, rewarding experience."

Sylvain Fortier : "Je me souviens". Maybe it will be the last sentence that I will utter. For me, the motto of Québec is very justifiable for this province. Because, who can forget this combination of lands and waters that form this beautiful province. Québec remembers its citizens, who make it a proud province. Québec also remembers everyone who came to to visit. "Quebec I remember you, you remember me".

There is a huge amount of history and feeling in these 3 words, whether it be in the shared history of Canada, in the personal memories of peoples own lives, or in the historic conflicts between England and France.

This isnt a time for opening up political arguments. But the feelings expressed in Quebec in some ways are a demonstration of the feelings that we all encounter in every part of our own lives. From the small life lessons that we try not to repeat, we take small memories with us. At the other end of the scale, a sense of cultural history is impressed into each of us. I for one carry the cultural past of the Irish. Its not that i necessarily want to ignore Irish history, it is more that I believe that, unless I embrace my position as part of the society in which I now live, rather than look to blame it for its previous indiscretions, how can I play my part in carrying my society forward. In many nations around the world right now, countries, faced with the cultural issues that global reorganisation has brought with it, each have to answer their own questions about where they belong, where they have come from and where they are going. No country I have seen or visited is immune from that...

On the other hand, as the great Christian Nerlinger once said, "he who closes his eyes to the past cannot take responsibility for the future". And perhaps the biggest lesson any of us learn from personal and collective history is that we should learn from the lessons of the past, so we don't repeat our mistakes.

Maybe there should be a bit of 'je me souviens' in all of us.

Une visite a Montreal

You've heard or imagined the best and worst about Quebec, how it fits into Canada, what the differences are, what its future is... but for me, Montreal was simply the next biggest city on the tourist trail so, armed with guide book, back pack and train ticket, off I went.

First impressions of Montreal? Well the city has been both the focal points for many things Canadian in the last 40 years (expo and Olympics among others) but remains the window through which the world can view Quebec, the potentially seperatist state. But, to be fair, there is no feeling that you have arrived in the 'republic of Quebec' when you arrive. There are the same number of Canadian flags as Quebec ones in the station concourse, and the words of the national anthem adorn the walls both in French and English.

You are quickly aware of some of the differences though. For a start, the French dont do queues, so expect to get shoved about while waiting for your coffee; and in the washrooms, if one letter is broken on the sinks and the other says 'c', dont make the mistake I did of assuming its cold. Its chaud. F*cking chaud.

I wasnt sure of what exactly I should look to see in my 2 days, so I allowed Marco Polo to guide me, courtesy of the 'je suis touriste' top 10. Some observations..

1) Overview
The buildings in this city are beautiful. This is a very old city compared with Toronto, more than 350 years old. The ratio of old to new is much more akin to Europe. It looks like Europe too, at least compared with Toronto, which is very much a North American sky scraper city in the best sense.

On the other hand, to call it a 'Canadianised Europe' misses the uniqueness of the history here. The old Montreal of the 17th century is very French, and you could easily be in any French or Belgian town as you wander the narrow cobbled streets. Architecture fits too. But the 19th century buildings would fit perfectly in Bham or London. British monuments everywhere reflect the fashion of their time, with various statues to monarchs gone past.

Perhaps Montreal's uniqueness comes from the fact that it may be the only city in the world to combine such obviously different fashions as the French and British architecture in its mixed history, together with modern icons like the Expo 67 site and the Olympic park from 76. These really have not dated in the way 60s and 70s British buildings have!

2) Places not to miss?
St Josephs Oratory. The inside of the church is nothing special (compared with, say, the notre dame basilica in the centre of Montreal) but, at one of the highest points of the city, the view overlooking the place is excellent. Also worth a visit is the parc Jean Drapeau, on an outlying island. This was the site of the 1967 Expo, and it gets you out across the water, where you can then turn back and admire the city skyline, with the old town and port on the water, modern skyscrapers behind them, and in the background the Mount Royal, a huge hill overlooking the whole area. The city is in fact an island, and Mount Royal, as the central and highest point of this island, is what gives the place its modern name. Mont Real. I knew that classical education would come in handy one day!

3) Negatives
The language mainly. Although this shouldn't be viewed in entirely a negative manner, you do really need to know that the station is called 'la gare centrale', as there is no attempt to translate it (since 1977, in an attempt to protect the rights of the francophones here, French is the only official language in Quebec). But most of us can get by, and, to be honest, most people speak enough English that you need not worry. The real loss, though, is in some of the monuments, buildings, statues where the commentaries were only in French. I was a bit disappointed by that, if only because it diminished the educational and touristic experience.

On the other hand, there was also an 'ignorance is bliss' moment. While at the Berri-Uqam underground station on a train towards Mont Royal, we were removed from the station following various announcements, all in French. Then out came the emergency plastic saying 'danger', the sort of stuff the police wheel out when there has just been a murder or something.. I never did find out why we were chucked off that train... but on the other hand, never felt in any danger, mainly because i would never have known!

4) Only in Montreal moments?
Well there were a couple of oddities. But actually the nicest thing about the city in some ways is the fact that the rules of the city dictate that 1% of all construction costs of a building project have to be invested in art. This means there is a nice budget for all sorts of paintings and sculptures all over the city. There is also one tree in the city for every 2 people who live here.

I wasnt sure if i was part of a Montreal practical joke or not. Enjoyed a nice cooked breakfast on my 2nd morning of beans, sausage, bacon, eggs, toast with jam, melon and orange. All on the same plate. I wasnt sure whether i was being expected to mix eggs with melon, whether this was an artistic garnish, or whether the staff in the cafe were watching to see exactly what parts of the various items i would choose to mix together... oh well. In for a penny. I ate it all. Not at the same time, I might add..

So Montreal in conclusion? Well, i have long since learned that you can't appreciate everything about a city in 2 days, but the place really is worth a look. There's plenty to do for the longer staying visitor, everything from wildlife sanctuaries to olympic park tours to museums, and there's a history lesson round every corner... so well worth a visit. Having said that, it really was a relief to get back into English speaking Ontario!

Sink or swim - 3 days in Algonquin Park

Sink or swim was my option this morning at 10am, as we began packing up camp for the 3 canoe stages and 2 portages back to the canoe park and 'home' - well, the Chevrolet Malibu that was waiting patiently for the 5 of us at any rate - home was still 250km+ for the closest of us..

Swim - well thats what would have been needed to perform a canoe over canoe rescue in the lake. Or Sink - the relative serenity of cleaning from breakfast, rather than the morbid prospect of a losing battle against the wet stuff. If my bank holiday Monday morning had had to involve canoe rescue and trying to remember how i earned that 25m green swimming badge when i was 11 (remember those anyone, the oval things? - i think i cheated. But thats another matter!), then i dont think it would really have felt like a holiday. Besides, I did some pretty beefy weight lifting over the weekend, and felt like i had earned (= i was in desperate need of!) a bit of a rest....

In keeping with fellow bloggers, I think i shall just make some observations from 1 to x about the weekend. To introduce it however, there were 9 of us. Jeff (our guide), me, Szilvia, Lajos, Perrine and Alfonso from work, Quinn, from Kitchener/Waterloo, which is a couple of hours from Toronto, and Ana and Mark (from Columbia and the US, now living in Canada).

Comments and highlights from the trip:

1) Algonquin Park (please google it, you'll love it) really is in the middle of nowhere. And with an area of 7,725 square kilometres, it is probably larger than any city in the world. Draw a rectangle 80km by 90km. You'd still be 500 sq km short.

2) With geography like that, you wont need your mobile phone! So leave it at home. Canoes can be wet, and its just not worth the bother!

3) There are the most amazing numbers of stars in the sky. I remember the South West tip of Portugal. That was dark. But here, there isnt a light for 15km in any direction maybe. Pure dark. And no clouds. Its amazing just how large that world is out there beyond us...

4) The silence was awe inspiring. It took me a day to notice. Right now I can hear air conditioning, my keys typing (very slowly!), the computer whirring. Even in the countryside back home, you'll hear birds singing and grasshoppers doing, er, whatever they do.... (i live in Bham, what would i know?!!). Here, there is nothing. Absolutely nothing....

5) ...until darkness falls! But dont have nightmares. As long as all the food is up a tree and out of harms (=bears) way, you'll be fine!

6) Scousers get everywhere. Sorry, mr not anonymous, they do. In a parallel 9 that we met up with at various stages of the tour, there were 2 of them. Got me thinking though, i wonder just how many people from home are here, or in the States, or in Aus, or NZ or Africa or Thailand... and i wonder how many of them have truly explored the UK...

7) Using a saw to chop through a tree trunk makes you feel manly!

8) ... but my God it hurts the next morning.

9) As does carrying a canoe and backpack 435m through a forest trail between lakes, up and down some pretty uneven, rocky terrain...

10) and as does canoeing for anything up to 10 to 15km a day.

11) Which made me grateful that this was a holiday rather than my job. Combining the lifting with the rowing, as well as a 1 hour hike during the Saturday afternoon really is hard work... after the abuse my body got at Niagara, I was really pleased i pushed myself through it though. And the views and memories are priceless.

12) Cooking was just like being indoors. You see, the best outdoor equipment is so sophisticated, that you really can cook up anything you want.

13) So. Anyone for a camping practical joke? How about our dinner on Sat night. Spaghetti bolognese? Is there anyone else out there who cant eat that stuff without getting tomato sauce all over your face? Try eating it in the pitch black, or one handed with a torch in the other to help guide you. Either way, just wait til you see the colour of everyone's face the next morning!

14) Observation that is new to me. The maple leaf really is bright bright red. Amazing. Not sure what i was expecting, but... wow. I feel an educational blog coming along about why leaves turn colour in autumn (fall). I didnt know it until i looked it up... and i am here to educate. Something for next week maybe..

15) Sunrise. Now i am from the city. In the city of Toronto, as far as i am concerned, the sun rises at 720. Thats the moment when its right in my face and i cant drive without shades. For some reason, i decided i wanted to get up and see a sunrise, so i got up at 610am. The sky was light, but no red. At 645 the sky was lighter, with some red, and i was knackered. So I went back to bed! For anyone who didnt know, the sun takes longer than 35 minutes to rise. Poor Jeff must have felt he got lumbered with a right city freak on Saturday night.. "oh yeah, i'll get up, watch the sun rise and then go back to bed...." God i'm dense sometimes!

A fantastic weekend. 27 photos taken, and i will take the film in maybe tomorrow, and hopefully have something to put on the computer by the end of the week, so you can see i am still eating! I wish i was a better photo taker, but i will take the memories. The red of the early turning leaves. The clear blue water. The mist rising up over the lake at 6am and the sunset across the water on a clear night. Trees and lakes. Now that is a piece of real Canada.

You have to try this. Its like nowhere else on earth. But dont expect washrooms. This isnt a UK campsite, this is the wilderness. If you want to wash, you do it in the lake! Jeff didnt bother, which led one of our group to notice that he hadnt washed or changed clothes in 3 days... and he was off for another 5 day treck tonight.. We came to a consensus that, actually, western comfort probably meant that we washed ourselves and clothes more than we really needed to... as Lajos put it "3 days without washing and the same clothes.. thats wildlife." Not sure Jeff would appreciate the use of the word 'wild'! But it is wilderness life, and it has to be seen. Both to appreciate what we have got in the city... and to appreciate what we have got elsewhere too, and how valuable it is to protect it all....

AWOL - not national bean counting week...

Sorry guys. I have been AWOL this week. Believe it or not, thats Audit Week Of Learning. They've run 2 of these this year, and given a weeks training to 500 people in total in a posh hotel in Niagara falls. Training from 830 til 5, and free bar every night.

Back in April when i was trying with DBH to negotiate my escape date from Bham to here, one stumbling block was a week that DBH had understood to be the Canadian National Auditors week. Sounded really dull. Come to think of it, how much better does Audit Week of Learning sound?! I really need to get out more...

Or maybe not. 200 people, 4.5 days of learning, and 5 nights of quality food, wine tasting, beer and shot drinking, casino gambling and poker playing... we literally took over the clubs we were in for 4 of those nights... it was like freshers again back home, or Eckenberg maybe... well, freshers without the whole meat market element... this is Auditors we are talking about after all, and whole bunch of these guys are married off (there were no non qualified accountants there, which ages them a bit).

I will post later more on the trip later, but it was the best 'working' week i have ever had, and i cannot offer greater praise to the guys than that..

Might need to get the beans out tomorrow. Petrol (gas) is now $1.33 a litre here, mainly as a result of Katrina's work down south. Whilst this pales in comparison to UK prices (133 is still only 60 to 65p), it was $1.05 last week, 85c when i arrived late June, and apparently as low as 60c in January. 200% annual equivalent inflation rates... lets see if the Canadians see fit to try a fuel strike!! You can at least sympathise with why they are somewhat perturbed at the latest position..

And the 25c rise this week is just in time for our 500km round trip to Algonquin Park. Nice. Oh well. Luckily, I'll be spending the weekend with 4 accountants, so we should be alright for a few bob..