After a couple of days relaxing in Vancouver, I joined forces with Jo from Suffolk, England. We met in London a couple of years ago and then travelled through New Zealand together. She's quite small, talks a lot and holds the great distinction of being a more laid back traveller than me!
The first order of duty for anyone planning to drive around North America is to to aquire a SUV.
Next, commence climbing mountains. The first hike we chose, "Grouse Grind," has something of a cult following in Vancouver. Only 3km long but with 1000m of elevation gain it's pretty much like walking up the stairs of a 500 story building. A nice gentle warm up.
Despite being a little unfit, Jo possesses mental toughness uncommon in lesser hikers. She claimed to be "about to die" 30 or 40 times on the way up, but carried on anyway, reaching the summit just shy of the 27 minute world record.
Driving on the wrong side of the road has been curiously easy, although there are a few road rules i still don't understand. Sometimes the traffic lights flash green, sometimes they flash red - i just smile, wave and drive slowly through. No-one seems to mind. Also speed limits seem to be more of a suggestion than actual law. It's common to be overtaken by stream of cars all driving at least 30 km/h over the speed limit.
From Vancouver we headed east to Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley, one of Canada's most famous wine regions. Okanagan Ice Wine is great. Their non-ice wine (mostly Riesling and Gewurtztraminer) is drinkable, without being outstanding. Marechal Foch, a savoury red wine grape that i'd never heard of before, was my personal favourite.
Next, commence climbing mountains. The first hike we chose, "Grouse Grind," has something of a cult following in Vancouver. Only 3km long but with 1000m of elevation gain it's pretty much like walking up the stairs of a 500 story building. A nice gentle warm up.
Despite being a little unfit, Jo possesses mental toughness uncommon in lesser hikers. She claimed to be "about to die" 30 or 40 times on the way up, but carried on anyway, reaching the summit just shy of the 27 minute world record.
Driving on the wrong side of the road has been curiously easy, although there are a few road rules i still don't understand. Sometimes the traffic lights flash green, sometimes they flash red - i just smile, wave and drive slowly through. No-one seems to mind. Also speed limits seem to be more of a suggestion than actual law. It's common to be overtaken by stream of cars all driving at least 30 km/h over the speed limit.
From Vancouver we headed east to Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley, one of Canada's most famous wine regions. Okanagan Ice Wine is great. Their non-ice wine (mostly Riesling and Gewurtztraminer) is drinkable, without being outstanding. Marechal Foch, a savoury red wine grape that i'd never heard of before, was my personal favourite.
The wineries are an interesting contrast to those back home. Unable to compete in terms of grape quality, they focus on marketing, funky bottles and unusual blends. Many also double as B & B's taking advantage of amazing views from high above Okanagan Lake.
The rest of our time in wine country was spent eating the world's largest plate of nachos, tasting cider at a beautiful fruit orchard and hiking up another 'practice hill'. Not long until the real thing!
4 comments:
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiia!
Oh what a feeling! Err hold on wait a second ...
Nice hike's Jo. As I'm sure you're aware WesleyC is nothing but a BULLY when it comes to hiking. If he pushes you too hard I suggest breaking one of his legs! See how fast he can hike then!
thanks Zim, he drives a hard bargain for us poor english girls, but i shall take your advice. I plan on burying him in snow at the next available opportunity and if that doesnt work, limb breakages are next!!
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