The Travel Bug

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We've moved again!!....We got back from Seattle last Tuesday and ended up back at the Hosteling International Hostel on Jericho Beach about 20 minutes from Downtown Vancouver, where we stayed just before we headed down to the US. Before we got there we imagined the place would be packed.....but we were the only ones in our dorm, aswel as a few others staying elsewhere in the hostel, it was pretty much deserted. Which was a suprise for us as the weather has been geting really good the last 2 weeks, and as the hostel is literally next to the beach, and is only a 20 minute bus ride to Downtown, we thought everyone would be trying to stay there. It makes me think no one actually knows about this place....not that we were complaining! But we ended up staying for 2 days just while we sorted out our Social Insurance Numbers which we need for if we work.

Both of us have decided now aswel, after our third week here, there is no way that we can travel and work both at the same time as we had originally planed. It just wouldn't work out! So we are now planing on backpacking around with the money which we had both saved before we came out to Canada, so for now work has been put on hold and we shall just see how we go. The plan is to just move around until the money runs low and then if we need to, have always got the choice to come back to Canada and work as our visas last for a year. That aswel as us both now having the travel bug we just want to keep moving and see new places!

We still think that from what we have seen of Canada so far, it is an amazing place (and would recomend to anyone who is thinking of coming here) and have both agreed that we can see us living here in the future, and so we definately think we may come over to Vancouver again on a working visa and just stay in the one place.

Well on Thursday we checked out of our hostel at Jericho Beach and got a 15 hour night coach from Vancouver to Lake Louise which is just outside of Banff in Alberta.......after a sleapless night (i think i actually slept for an hour at the most) and a few interesting characters on the coach, we arrived at the smallest village in the middle of no where and sort of draged our bags half dead to the hostel. The journey was definately worth it as we are staying right in the rockies, so the views are even more amazing than what they were in Vancouver! We're yet to see a bear aswel even though there are warning signs up everywhere warning that they are about now the summer is coming. The hostel we are in is really good aswel, i can't actually think of anything bad to say about it, there doesn't seem to be many people here either, but it's really nice. The large common room has a large open log fire, which jade seemed to like quite a lot and the rooms are really clean, which is always a plus! Our first night here was spent outside sat around a large fire with a few others talking and cooking marshmellows which was cool, and we got to meet a few more people from different places.

Yesterday we headed out on our first proper hike since we got here, we spent an hour going up into the mountains to get to lake louise itself which looked pretty stunning, it's still completely frozen over from the winter even though it's geting really warm but we were glad we got to go as everyone we have spoken to really reckomended it, so we walked around there for a few hours. When we got around to the other side of the lake, which was directly under one of the mountains, we got a bit too close for comfort to an avalanche, it was so loud as it came crashing down into the trees and everyone with us just seemed to run, lucky we did as well as huge bits of snow and ice just came crashing down not far from where we were standing, it was cool after but a bit scarey at the time!! So thats our bit of drama for this location....i wonder what the next will bring! haha.......it was a really good day though as we got to see some good views of the nearby mountains on the way back aswel.....i think we were both quit knackered by the time we got back.

The weather hasn't been too great today so we didn't venture too far but still made sure we got out and about for a while as today is our last full day here! Tommorow we head to Calgary, which isn't too far (about a 3 hour coach journey) where we will then catch a flight to Toronto on Wendesday, and then who knows where we shall be!

So until next time..........................



Grant

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Photos

Jade on one of our hikes
Tramline Trail