Vancouver

What can I say .. we had a great time in Vancouver! Leaving aside the stress that EVERYONE had to get off the ship by 10 AM because immigation had to check the boat ... (to make sure we hadn't smuggled in any illegals) the rest of the day as fabulous. Our guide Eduardo met us outside the Vancouver City Center and off we went for the day. Vancouver is a major city and is gorgeous ... many high rise buildings which are residential and of course the obligatory business high rises. However, we drove to the north side, the west side and other sides. Vancouver itself is a peninsula ... at the very tip is a 7 mile park called Stanley Park which is operated by the municipality; comprised of fields, yacht club, public pool, beach, lawn bowling (hail to the Queen)and many more amenities .. all free and all beautiful. OK , the yacht club isn't free it it is gorgeous.


Off to Capilano and the famous suspension bridge and Cliff Walk over the treetops. Words fail me .. and that doesn't happen too often. The sheer beauty of the rain forest, the trees , the water falls etc were awesome. I wish I could attach photos but that is beyond my limited capabilities. However, it was awe inspring. The park was donated by a rich woman and the admission fees are used to maintain it . The suspension bridge is over he most impressive forest ever ... and the bridge sways as you walk on it. Considering that I can't drive over the Bourne Bridge I was quite proud of myself for walking over it. We then did the Treetops and Cliff Walk which, as the name implies, is over the cliff and and the treetops of the forest. Again, incredible beauty. Of course we we then had to walk back over the suspenson bridge to get back to the oher side! Jerry did not have as much fun with this as I did but he was a trooper.

Back on the van and continued touring the ciy ... drove through Gastown (founded by an alcoholic ... I love Vancouver!) and other areas. A quick stop in the Public Market whre we saw local produce including fish, meat, cheese etc that rival any of the gourmet shops at home. Jerry of course bought some nuts ... I of course wanted out of there because it was too crowded.

Over tothe Elizabeth Park and a quick tour of he observatory built thereby omeone whose name I forget but who made afortne in lgging. the truly impressive thing abut Broticsh Columbia, baaedo n my eprtis a dtanlidhed on the past to fay, i that many of the peole who bacmae so ucssful here have given back to the dities ... museuams, schoos, parks nd the lie. Apparently the lve that these indiiduals felt of the are cities and the thankfulness they felt for theopportuniteis was "played forward" with the cities nd theresults are spectacular. 70% of the polulation of Vancouver was/were (?) not born here ... but once people come they fall in love with the city and don't leave.

he aborigines are caed The First Nation and own the land here ... most of the homes and building are built on 100 year leases ...the aborigines are quite wealthy as a result of this but continue to live on a reservations and do not spend the money on improving their lot in lfie .. which leaves me wondering what they do with the money? The reservations are priivate and you can't go on them .. the First Nation people continue to make wood carvings, fish and hunt ... very little effort or desire to blend in with the rest of the popululation The discrete socio-economic groups too do not make a great effort to mingle and so rather than being a meling pot British Columbai and most of Canada is considered a salad. As our guide gently pointed out ..."as in Ameria, we have our problems too."

While this is at best a generality it was repeated continually by our guide .. this is a mellow city. No one is in a rush ... people are very relaxed,. there is little traffic, many people get around by bike, various sections of the city are connected ferries nd life moves at a leisurely pace ... yet it is a major city with all the attributes of such.

Vancouver is tackling crime by distributing free methadone, sterile needles etc. A social worker and nurse are present in the so called "bad" neighborhoods to do thisa nd the theory is that if they can supply drug addicts in this fashon the crime rate will drop. It has apparently been quite successul and it certainly gives us food for thought .. leaving side the morality of the issue.

OK ... enough for now .. dinner beckons and I don't want to miss a meal!