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Published: March 19th 2016
We arrived in Vancouver at 8:30pm, 3 hours before we left Hong Kong. We did a quick run to the liquor store across the street to stock up for the expected party over the next few days. Then back to bed, this time horizontally.
We awoke after a way too short sleep, had a good buffet breakfast¸and sat in the lobby to await pick-up by our dear friends that we had met during our sojourn in Vancouver at the end of the last century. We were on our way up the Sunshine Coast to visit my cousin who had introduced us in the first place.
My cousin’s wife had left a precise travel itinerary of places to stop and the schedule of the two ferries we had to take to get to Desolation Sound. It was supposed to give us a lunch break at Molly’s Reach of the old Beachcombers TV show fame. We arrived too early for lunch so kept rolling. This meant we arrived way too early for the last ferry and had to wait in the rain for a couple of hours. No matter, we all had a nap in preparation for the expected fun times
that evening.
And a party it was. Too many bottles of wine later and with full bellies, we crawled off to bed.
The next day we walked around the community and met some of the neighbours. Of course, spring is much more advanced that what we will encounter when we get home. The sun came out. The moss smelled of freshness. Plum petals fluttered to the ground.
We went down to the beach and collected oysters for supper. They don’t look the same as the east coast variety and certainly aren’t as tasty. The texture is not as chewy and they are a lot drier and less salty.
Another feast was prepared for supper and many bottles of wine were uncorked.
We went for a long hike in the rain forest the next day, with glimpses of the sow-capped mountains across the sound. Later, we went into the nearby community of Lund for a look around. We stopped at an East Indian resto for supper and went to see the movie “The Old Lady in the Van”.
I did not have much energy the next day so sat around and had a few naps while
Sunshine Coast
on the ferry near Gibbonsthe others went out for walks. That night I prepared a Burmese meal using recipes that I had acquired from the cooking class I had attended. The green bean salad was especially appreciated, along with the tamarind dipping sauce. The later was a fusion affair as I substituted maple syrup for brown sugar. Neighbours brought over PEI mussels they had bought at Cisco as an appetizer. The sauce was good. Let’s leave it at that!
Our final morning of vacation was spent driving around Powell River. A decent sized community with all the social services and stores needed to serve the surrounding area. We boarded the ferry for Comox on Vancouver Island and had a pic-nic during the crossing of left-overs from our feasts. I went out on deck to admire the mountains, both on the mainland and on the island. A single whale distracted me as it breached the water’s surface several times.
We had a nice visit with my ninety year old aunt and then made the short flight across the strait to Vancouver. Claudette watched me like a hawk to make sure I didn’t wander away or snooze off. Luckily, the flight announcement was loud and
Desolation Sound
This is where my cousin lives. Enjoys the same peace and quiet as I do but oh so much more scenic. clear. There was an announcement for a volunteer to give up their seat for a hotel room, a flight the next morning and a $800 credit with AC. I chose this inopportune moment to shift in my seat. Claudette thought I was going to take the offer. Boy, did I ever receive a dirty look. The thought had barely tossed my mind.
A five hour red-eye flight home. Even the cheap seat was comfortable. Maybe it wasn’t broken in yet. We had breakfast at the airport to kill time until rush hour was over and then grabbed a taxi to the South Shore to reclaim our car. The taxi was $10 more than the bus but well worth it as my suitcase had ripped during the flight home and I didn’t want to move it too much.
It was good to get home to our own bed. The air is fresh and the melting snow had provided enough run-off to turn on the tap for our little waterfall.
Home sweet home.
Thus, dear friends, ends another blog to the far reaches of this planet. I hope you have enjoyed my posts and will join me on our
next adventure. Time and location TBA.
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Sylvie
non-member comment
Trip to Burma, Hong Kong, Vietnam
Hello Jim, first of all, î would like you to Know that Î really appreciated your travelling blog for this trip. What a nice adventure! Welcome back to home in Saint-Etienne and Take some Time to rest. We live here too, we had met à few Times; i Know Claudette. We are leaving this Wednesday for China.