Vancouver - Part 1


Our latest trip, which will last a bit more than five weeks, is built around a one-week cruise to Alaska. Since we embark in Vancouver it made sense to spend several days prior in this great Canadian city. Vancouver is only about a 4 hour drive from Olympia but we don’t make the trip nearly as often as we should. This time we took Amtrak, which stretches out the journey to about six hours. Unfortunately, there was an additional two hour delay due to some mechanical problems with the train coming up from Portland, so by the time we made it to our Vancouver Airbnb it was nearly 1:30 in the morning. Still, it was an easy, comfortable and affordable (only $35 pp) way to travel and we would do the train again.

Our Airbnb is a very nice, bright one-bedroom apartment in the pleasant seaside district of West Vancouver with easy bus access to downtown and areas beyond. But we haven’t been out exploring every day. We’ve spent a few days just relaxing in our comfortable apartment. Our less than two weeks in Olympia between this and our Ecuador trip proved to be surprisingly busy between medical/dental appointments, finishing up the house building project, and readying our new temporary Olympia digs, which we moved into the day before we left. So we needed some down time. But once rested we found plenty to explore, starting with the huge Stanley Park (400 hectares or 1000 acres). Bordering downtown and mostly surrounded by water, the park is surrounded by a seawall and crisscrossed by trails, and it is home to several beaches and the excellent Vancouver Aquarium.

Vancouver Harbor from Stanley Park


Deborah makes a metallic friend


"Girl in a Wetsuit," 1972, by Elek Imredy, inspired by the famous "The Little Mermaid" statue in Copenhagen.



Stanley Park totems


In Stanley Park with Vancouver Rowing Club in the background.
(photo by Deborah)



View of North Vancouver from Stanley Park. Still some snow in the distant mountains.


The Vancouver aquarium is fronted by a whale sculpture by acclaimed First Nations artist Bill Reid.



Pacific Sea Nettles



Surprisingly cute local fish with the not very cute name Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker.


Deborah's video of Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker. I especially like how the central fish coughs something up toward the end of the video.



Beachside path in West Vancouver



Our apartment



West Vancouver



Pier in West Vancouver







Your moment of zen: jellyfish video


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