Eastern Canada

Our flight from Calgary, Alberta to Halifax, Nova Scotia was a bit tiring as it was a 4.5 hour overnight flight combined with a 4 hour time difference.  It was made worse by a medical emergency before we took off which meant coming back to the gate, unloading the passenger and his luggage and refueling before we could get going again an hour later.  There was also bad turbulence throughout the flight which meant the lights kept coming on and announcements being made so we got no sleep.  We did however arrive safely, if a little bleary eyed.  We collected our hire car and followed Google directions to Roy’s house, which miraculously were accurate and easy to follow for once!

We were met with a warm welcome, a cup of coffee and breakfast before we apologetically headed to bed for a few hours kip. Roy, his wife Anna and their energetic young poodle Bella live in a lovely house beside a lake, about 20 minutes outside of Halifax.  Having had a long sleep we were feeling somewhat more social which was good as Roy’s friend Peter had just arrived.  NB. Le Roux met Roy and Peter on his Nahanni canoeing trip last July/August.

Le Roux and I decided to take advantage of Roy’s canoe and the lake and headed out for a paddle to get some air and exercise before dinner.  The tree-lined lake was lovely with very little development to spoil the remoteness of it.  While we were out paddling, Roy was busy preparing a fabulous Atlantic lobster dinner.  

The lobsters were enormous weighing about 5lbs each but they tasted so good simply boiled we all scoffed every morsel!  To wash the lobster down we were drinking some of Roy’s homebrew – he has made both beer and wine from kits and Le Roux loved the beer and I thought the Chilean Merlot was very drinkable.  After some reminiscing over their canoeing trip down the Nahanni we headed to bed as we were still pretty tired from the journey across most of Canada.

We were keen to explore the local area so the next day we all headed out for a hike along the coast at Duncan’s Cove.  Bella was very excitable but not sure of the route on the way out so she kept getting under the lead person’s feet but on the way back she could smell the way and effectively took me for a walk!  She was great fun to have around once I’d got used to her friendliness and enthusiasm.  Having worked up an appetite we went into Halifax for some snacks at the pub and then a delicious icecream at Cows while we explored the waterfront.

As Peter knows a bit about photography, Le Roux was grilling him for some tips and ended up chasing Bella around the garden trying to get some movement shots, some of which weren’t at all bad.  Roy was cooking again, this time rotisserie chickens with roasted veg and salad, followed by chocolate cake.  We have definitely been eating well while staying with friends!  Later on we had a campfire in the garden with Roy and Anna’s next door neighbours which was nice.  The next morning after a posh breakfast of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, we said our goodbyes and drove off towards Cape Breton.

Unfortunately we’d not had time the previous day to visit Peggy’s Cove and as it was in the opposite direction to Cape Breton we didn’t make it there in the end which was a shame.  We did see some lovely photos of it when we were on the waterfront in Halifax though, so we had to be content with that.  We took the scenic route along the east coast from Halifax to Whycocomagh on Cape Breton.  Along the way we passed a McDonalds that was advertising the McLobster which surprised me somewhat as you definitely don’t associate McDonalds with lobster!  However, here on the east coast it is Atlantic lobster season and they are actually quite affordable.  I’ve not yet had a McLobster but I have to admit to being tempted!  We also passed the smokery where Roy had bought the smoked salmon we’d had for breakfast so we decided to pick up some hot smoked salmon and some smoked mackerel.

Accommodation on Cape Breton is not the cheapest but we managed to find a little B&B run by an old lady who was an absolute sweetheart.  She even let us cook dinner in her kitchen as it was raining and we really didn’t fancy doing it outside.  Before dinner I went for a walk as I needed to stretch my legs after a long day stuck in the car.  I’ve got in the habit of taking the camera with me and I came across some lovely blossoming trees as well as a pretty white wooden church and some hummingbirds – not bad as I only got about 10 minutes from the B&B before it started raining!

We woke up to find that the rain had worsened and visibility was almost nil – a complete white out!  This was not good as one of the main reasons we’d come to Cape Breton was to appreciate the coastal scenery on the Cabot Trail and to do some hiking – humph.  We drove up the east coast, stopping at Neil’s Harbour for some warming seafood chowder, but it wasn’t worth getting out at any of the viewpoints as we couldn’t see much.  We finished the day in Meat Cove, the most northerly point on Cape Breton.  After another day in the car we decided to go for a walk along the river to the beach.  What we hadn’t realised was that most of the boardwalk had been washed away last August in a freak flood so there was no path or bridge which meant we had to boulder hop across the river – not easy and Le Roux slipped and ended up with a wet foot, much to my amusement given I’m normally the one with no balance!  Luckily we found an easier way back so my feet remained dry!

Camping wasn’t really an option given the weather, so we found ourselves a quasi hostel high on the hill above the village, which had amazing views of the ocean.  We were the only people there so we had the run of the place and having cooked dinner, we sat looking out at the view from the warmth of the kitchen, catching up on our blogs and photos as despite the remoteness we had wifi.

We hoped for a change in weather and planned an overnight hike for the next day, but it wasn’t to be as the weather got worse and we literally couldn’t see anything.  We decided to cut our time on the peninsula short and head south.  We stopped at a short boardwalk over a bog in the hope of spotting a moose but our luck really wasn’t in and there was nothing of interest, only rain, wind and cold!  We stopped for a late lunch in Cheticamp, a French town, where we tried some typical Acadian food on a sample plate which included a fish cake, blood pudding, meat pie, beef stew, prawn & scallop skewers and baked beans.

After lunch we continued the drive south, calling in at the only whisky distillery in the state at Glencora.  We had to pay $7 each for the tour which lasted about 10 minutes and included one small taster of a 10 year old whisky which was really watery and pretty disappointing.  They should leave it to the Scots!  As accommodation was so expensive we continued to Port Hastings in the hope of finding a cheap motel for the night.  Well, Port Hastings is a hole of a place with lots of awful motels to choose from.  The first two we tried were deserted and the following three were nowhere near as cheap as the guide suggested so finally on our sixth attempt we found one that was just about acceptable.

We were glad to be leaving Port Hastings the next morning and we headed off to the port at Caribou to catch the ferry to Prince Edward Island.  Le Roux managed to do the journey in double quick time so we had an hour to kill and a coffee seemed like a good idea given the cold weather.  However, I hadn’t bargained on getting the worst cappuccino I’ve ever had.  I should have been suspicious when she asked me which flavour I wanted – French Vanilla or English Toffee, but stupidly I ignored this warning and randomly went with English Toffee.  When we got our drinks there was no foam and it tasted more like a hot chocolate than a coffee.  Definitely not one to be repeated and I can’t understand why Tim Hortons is the biggest/most popular coffee franchise in Canada!

We boarded the ferry without a hitch, but as there was no view due to yet more fog, we stayed inside in the warm and read our books.  On arriving on PEI, the fog lifted and the sun came out which was a very pleasant surprise!  After stopping in at the visitor centre we drove east towards Murray Harbour.  Our first port of call on the island was the Rossignol Winery, which the Lonely Planet suggested.  We made the mistake of trying their wine as well as the fruit wine mentioned in the book – some of the worst watery wine I’ve ever had!  The fruit wines such as blackberry mead and rosehip liqueur were interesting, although none were worthy of actually purchasing.

Our tummies were rumbling at this point so we drove on around the coast to Murray River for a seafood lunch of lobster chowder, a lobster burger and fish & chips.  We also decided to try poutine which is a local specialty of chips, mozzarella cheese and gravy – not bad, although very unhealthy and I prefer my chips crispy not soggy from the gravy.  Worryingly you can get deluxe poutine which involves hamburger chunks among other things!  After our tasty and very filling lunch we drove onto Montague where we found another B&B run by an eccentric old lady, Zita.

We’ve not had the chance to do much cycling on the trip so I was keen to fit some in before the end and my reading of the guide book on PEI suggested that this flat island was prime cycling country.  We managed to find a bike hire place that was actually open – the season doesn’t really begin until late June bizarrely! - and we headed out along the stretch of the Confederation Trail which links Montague with Georgetown on the east side of the island.  The mosquitoes were out in force due to the recent rain and as soon as we stopped for a rest we were swarmed by them, therefore we kept pedaling!  We made it to Cardigan in record time and discovered that there wasn’t anything worth seeing there so we continued onto Georgetown where we’d planned to have lunch, only it was not even 10.30am and nowhere was open!  We pootled around the town for a little bit, exploring the harbor where we came across some fishermen cleaning and sorting mussels before they are put back into the sea in nets to grow for another 8 months.  We decided to try our luck at the only decent looking restaurant in town at 11am and the lady kindly let us in and gave us a coffee even though they didn’t officially open until 11.30am.  While drinking our coffee we browsed the menu and decided that we had to have an early lunch there as it all sounded so good.  We were not disappointed as the crab cakes, breaded fried clams and curried mussels were so tasty.  You can’t beat fresh seafood!

Instead of cycling back the same way along the trail, we decided to take the road but what we hadn’t bargained on was the hills and the wind, instead of the mosquitoes!  The last section back into Montague was a bit of a struggle and we were glad to make it back to our car.  We loaded the bikes into the back of the Jeep and headed north to St Peter’s.  Accommodation there was pretty pricey so the campground was the only sensible option, but it turned out to be closed until the 15^th June (it was the 9^th).  Luckily the staff were there completing renovations and we persuaded the lady to let us stay for the night.

As our cycle ride was shorter than we’d expected, we had the rest of the afternoon free and decided to walk around Greenwich, PEI National Park.  It was a nice sunny afternoon but I have to say we were a bit disappointed as the park was nothing amazing, compared with most of the others we’ve seen across the USA and Canada.  However, we did see a cute rabbit chomping on dandelions just by the side of the path.  We’d worked up a thirst though so we found the only place in town serving alcohol and had a couple sitting on their deck in the sunshine, before our smoked salmon dinner back at the campsite.  The only issue with the campsite was that they’d forgotten to turn on the boiler so it was cold showers for us – our 2^nd in North America!

Our 2^nd day of cycling did not go to plan.  Firstly it was pretty cold and windy and secondly Le Roux got a puncture when we were 4.5km from the nearest town!  The bike guy had sent us off with a puncture repair kit, but not a pump so we were a little stuck.  Le Roux ended up walking back to the town while I raced ahead to try and borrow a pump from somewhere.  I didn’t have any luck so Le Roux finally made it to the petrol station where he pumped up the tire.  It only lasted 2.5km of the 9km back to the car so I ended up walking the bike back to Morrell again, while Le Roux took my bike and cycled  on to get the car so he could come back and pick me up.  By this point we were pretty cold and hungry so we had some more chowder and a piece of battered fish at Rick’s Fish n Chips in St Peter’s which was excellent – a good recommendation from the LP!

Having returned the bikes, we drove to Charlottetown the capital of PEI.  One thing we noticed as we drove around the island was that everyone has enormous lawns, and with no fences between properties, the houses look a bit random sitting in the middle of huge expanses of grass with nothing else around.  Because of the amount of grass we saw loads of ride on mowers, 30 in 2.5 days to be precise as Le Roux kept count!  Charlottetown is a nice little city and we found a great hostel in the centre.  Our room was absolutely tiny, but as long as we weren’t both trying to stand up at the same time it was fine!  We explored the city centre and then Le Roux was lured into the pub by the prospect of some beer tasting.  He tried 8 different samples before plumping for a pint of his favourite.  For dinner we decided to splash out on the best restaurant in Charlottetown, Lot 30, as recommended by the lady at the seafood place in Georgetown.  It was amazing and worth every penny, although we ended up not paying for a chunk of the meal as our waiter very kindly gave us 2 glasses of wine, 2 glasses of dessert wine and one of the desserts for free (about $65!) as he knew we were backpackers – result!  The food was delicious and we enjoyed every mouthful of our rib-eye steak and marinated pork belly, followed by molten chocolate puddings.  After dinner we headed back to the pub to watch the hockey game – the 4^th in the final series.  We rolled back to the hostel later a little drunk and fell into our bunk beds.

As we were slightly worse for wear the next morning, we had a slow start, but as we only had to get back to Nova Scotia it didn’t matter.  We took the 13km long Confederation Bridge back to the mainland rather than the ferry this time and having got lost in New Brunswick as we didn’t have a map, we finally made it to Nova Scotia.  We had a bit of an issue along the way finding a cash machine that would give us any money as it was the weekend and the computer systems weren’t talking to one another.  After about 7 failed attempts we finally got some cash which meant we’d be able to pay the campsite fees!

We were headed for the east of province where the coastline is known for its rocks and fossils.  As Le Roux used to collect rocks as a young boy he was keen to see what he could find.  We camped at a little place called Five Islands which was a beautiful spot on the coast with a view of 5 islands, unsurprisingly!  The only downside of the campsite was the number of biting insects.  Despite lashings of insect repellent and long sleeves and trousers, the damn bugs found the only place left to go for, my face!  I ended up with a golf ball sized lump on my forehead and a swollen cheek that made me look like a one-sided chipmunk – not attractive!  After a morning of chores we drove further west along the coast to Partridge Island near Parrsboro.  We spent a happy hour hunting for interesting stones and fossils before climbing up to the viewpoint on top of the island.

We woke up to pouring rain at 5am as it showed no sign of stopping by 9am we ended up packing a very soggy tent and beginning the drive across New Brunswick to Maine.  Peter had recommended a stop at Hopewell Rocks on the south coast of NB, so we called in on the way past.  The weather was still terrible – I really object to having to wear gloves in June as it is so cold and wet – so it was a quick visit.  The rocks were interesting as they’d been worn away at the base by the sea and were funny shapes, but I have to admit that after the amazing rock formations we saw at Bryce Canyon National Park, these really didn’t compare.  We ended the day in a cheap motel just outside of Saint John as we’d had enough driving for the day.  We continued the drive into Maine the following morning.

Western Canada

Having said goodbye to Chris we loaded up a taxi with all of our luggage, (although the crab net and BBQ coals had to be left behind!) and headed off to the station to catch the train to Vancouver, Canada.  Luckily for us there were luggage trolleys at the station and as it was an international train you could even check your luggage in – phew!  The 4.5hr train ride was very scenic as the railway line ran all along the coast, and we saw seals and various birds.  As we got closer to Vancouver we realized we needed to eat any fresh food we had as we wouldn’t be allowed to take it over the border, which meant eating a heap of fruit and our very expensive smoked salmon at 10am!

We were going to be staying with Jason while in Vancouver, a lovely guy we met in Honduras a few months before.  He met us at the station and helped to carry some of our luggage to the Skytrain which would take us to the airport to pick up yet another hire car - irritatingly you can’t drive a US hire car into Canada.  Even though Jason is studying Geography, I’m not convinced on his navigational skills and judgment of distances as we ended up walking about 20 blocks with all our luggage as he was convinced the station that would take us direct to the airport was just around the corner!  We eventually made it to the right stop pretty hot and tired.  Next glitch was the fact that we’d have to pay a fortune for an additional driver on the hire car so poor Le Roux got lumbered with doing all the driving, although as he doesn’t like my driving anyway, perhaps it was for the best!

Jason lives with his Uncle Dave in the north eastern suburbs of Vancouver and as Jason had classes that afternoon, we spent the time rushing around with Dave getting provisions for a nice dinner, as well as stopping in at his favourite café for a quick lunch of goat roti – delicious! – and picking up some maps and guides for British Columbia.  The Asian supermarket we stopped at was huge and I got to see live abalone for the first time – very funny looking things stuck to the glass tank wall!  For dinner we cooked up herb crusted rack of lamb on the BBQ with roasted veggies under direction from Dave.  Le Roux and I both love lamb so we were expecting a treat, however, for some reason the Australian lamb we had was pretty tasteless despite being beautifully pink – lamb usually has a distinct flavour, but in a blind tasting I would not have been able to identify it as lamb – so disappointing as it wasn’t cheap.  I won’t be buying Aussie lamb again. The roasted veggies were lovely and Le Roux has even been convinced that brussel sprouts can taste good when cooked in the right way!

Next day we spent our time in downtown Vancouver ticking off some of the sights.  We wandered around Gas Town and took photos of the steam clock and gassy Jack, before stopping for lunch and yet more beer tasting for Le Roux.  It was a lovely sunny day so we actually got to eat outside for a change.  Next stop was a stroll around Stanley Park with its totem poles and lovely views of the city.  There is also a funny little statue called “the girl in a wetsuit” which looks like it might be a piss take of the mermaid on a rock in Copenhagen.

While in town we had hoped to go to a hockey game, but the tickets were a little out of our price range as for the first time in a long time the Vancouver Canucks were doing well and were in the semi finals.  Therefore we headed to the bar where Jason works to watch the 2^nd of the 7 semi final matches.  It was brutal!  I’ve never seen an ice hockey game before and I was amazed at how violent it was, especially when part way through there was a full on punch up on the ice with helmets being pulled off and everything.  After a few minutes the umpires stepped in and broke it up, sending the two players off for only 5 minutes in the sin bin.  Football (or should I say soccer) players would have been given a multiple match ban if that happened in a game!  The Canucks won that night and the atmosphere in Vancouver city centre was hyper with people all over the streets celebrating the win.

Le Roux and I love the massive outdoor stores that the US and Canada has – they have everything you could possibly need all in one place – so we stopped in at MEC, the Canadian equivalent of REI in the US, for a few essential items.  We then headed with Jason to Granville Island to wander around the market and stop for a beer overlooking the water.  However, it took us a while to get there as we totally missed our bus stop as Jason got confused again with directions!  The food market had so many lovely things in it, but it was like torture as we couldn’t buy anything as it would spoil dinner.  We’d been recommended Vij’s Indian Restaurant by a couple of people and so as Jason and his friend had never been they came along with us.  The food was delicious and I have now ordered the cookbook so I can try out some of the lovely dishes when I get home.  After dinner we headed home for beers and cards as we’d played so much in Honduras and there were some scores to settle!  Unfortunately though Jason won Yarniff again!

We bid farewell to Jason and Dave and drove off to catch the ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island.  We took the coastal road down from the ferry port to Victoria city centre, stopping at some lovely beaches and viewpoints along the way.  For some reason I was really craving an English afternoon tea of scones, jam and cream so we found a tea shop and got it to go.  The scones were different flavours – one was cranberry and almond and the other was apricot, ginger and walnut – delicious.  We ate them on this lovely peninsula looking out to sea.  Next stop was the IMAX in town for a great wildlife documentary called Born to be Wild on orphaned elephants in Kenya and orangutans in Borneo.  Victoria is a really expensive place so we had found ourselves a couchsurfer to stay with.

The next day was my birthday so Le Roux cooked up eggs benedict with smoked salmon for brekkie which was delicious.  It did take him quite a few attempts to cook a decent poached egg as he’d never cooked one before – we had to have egg mayo sandwiches for lunch to use up all the trial ones!  Le Roux had bought me a lovely Mayan bracelet which I’d chosen in Mexico, along with a penguin bookmark and some choccies.  The day had begun well!  Having had our leisurely breakfast we drove on to Nanaimo further up the east coast of the island to stay with a south African friend of Le Roux’s sister, Melissa.  Even though Melissa, her husband Alex and their little girl Ella were all about to relocate to Ontario, they made us feel very welcome in their sparse apartment.  That night Le Roux took us all out for dinner to this really good Greek restaurant called Asteras he’d found out about on the internet.  We had hummous and an aubergine dip with pita to start, followed by some really good calamari and delicious pan fried cheese. However, the highlight was yet to come – the falling apart slow roasted lamb shank – yummy!  The portions were so big that we had a huge doggy bag to take home.  As it was my birthday, I had to have a crème caramel for dessert which was lovely, even if the flaming sambucca shot that came with it was not so good!

After a nice fry up the next morning we said goodbye to Melissa, Alex and Ella and drove across the island to Uclelet on the west coast.  On the way we stopped in at the tourist trap that is Coombs General Store which has goats grazing on its grass roof – tacky but fun.  We bought an icecream each there as it looked so good but as usual the portions were ridiculously big and they’d labeled up the one I’d chosen wrongly and it didn’t taste of anything – so disappointing and yet again I threw away a lot of it.  The drive across the island was beautiful – there were pretty much no settlements, only lush green trees and rushing rivers but no bears that day.

The west coast is renowned for its rainy weather and we ended up with a mixed bag.  As the weather is so unpredictable we opted for a motel rather than a campsite – yes I know we’re getting a bit soft!  Uclelet is a sleep fishing village and as it was a Sunday there wasn’t much going on.  We did, however, come across some fishermen in the harbor that were feeding scraps to the seals much to the amusement of the tourists who were desperately trying to get a shot of a seal snapping up the fish before it headed under the water.  Having browsed around a few of the gift shops and art galleries that were open, we headed back to our motel so I could cook up a shepherd’s pie with the remaining leftover lamb.  NB. The doggy bag was huge as we’d already had lamb sandwiches for lunch and there was still enough for a good sized dinner!

As we were in a fishing village Le Roux was itching to get out his rod and go catch some fish, so we headed down to some rocks recommended by the fishing charter guy.  We had hoped to catch some salmon, but that required a boat as the salmon were too far out and at over $500 we couldn’t justify it.  We had some success on the rocks as Le Roux caught 2 bass and a ling cod which we cooked up for a couple of delicious dinners. He did, however, manage to lose 4 lures and got a wet shoe retrieving another as an unexpected wave hit the rock!  Later on as the sun was shining we walked part of the Wild Pacific Trail which was beautiful – gorgeous coastal views and woodland.

After a couple of nights in Uclelet we drove up to Tofino, which everyone has raved about.  It is a lovely place, but it is also really expensive and touristy, so has lost some of its charm.  However, we enjoyed our time there.  Having booked some kayaking for the next morning, we had a delicious lunch of smoked fish chowder and corn bread with a side of polenta fries at this organic café called SoBos, recommended by the girl in the kayaking shop.  The afternoon was spent on Tonquin beach where Le Roux tried his luck at more fishing from the rocks, while I explored the rock pools.  Le Roux caught 2 silver perch and a bull head, and I found a huge number of coloured sea stars, anemones and mussels of which I took a huge number of photos! That night after our 3^rd consecutive dinner of fish (which we had to cook in the bathroom in order to avoid setting off the smoke alarm!), we watched the last semi final match which went to 2 lots of overtime before the Canucks finally won, resulting in them winning the series and reaching the final.  Happy days for Canucks fans!

We were up early for the kayaking and the weather wasn’t the best, but kitted out in our waterproof gear it didn’t really matter, and in fact meant that there weren’t many people out on the water which was nice.  We paddled around the tree covered little islands off the coast and stopped at Meares Island to see another massive tree, this time a cedar, as well as some other interesting plants and wildlife.  In one little pool we found sacks of salamander eggs.  Our guide Trevor was really friendly and we had a great morning.

Having worked up an appetite we stopped for lunch at another café where I had a really nice pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce and coleslaw – I’m definitely going to try making pulled pork when I get home as I’ve had it a few times now and it is so lovely.  There was a chocolate and icecream shop right next to the café so after lunch I just had to pop in and see what lovely things it sold.  I wasn’t disappointed – the icecream was so tasty and smooth and the chocolates different and delicious – one of the flavours was rooibos tiramisu!  I am such a sucker for these type of shops – I blame my sweet tooth on my dad!  Afterwards, as it was now raining buckets we decided to go back to the B&B and curl up in the warm for a lazy afternoon planning the east coast part of our trip and catching up on photos and blog.

We left early the next morning in order to drive to Nanaimo to catch the ferry back to the mainland.  Having managed to catch an earlier ferry than planned we stopped in Vancouver so Le Roux could attend an interview for a volunteer position at a fishing lodge in BC for the summer.  Our destination that evening was Mission, about an hour out of Vancouver where Craig, who we met in Belize, lives with his wife Rochelle.  We had a lovely evening with them and they very generously treated us to dinner at their favourite local eatery.  It was great to see Craig again and to reminisce about our week in paradise.

Next on our itinerary was Osoyoos in the Okanagan wine valley, as we were going to stay with one of Le Roux’s Dad’s friends there.  We were met with a very warm South African welcome – wine, beer, snacks and the prospect of a steak braai a little later!  It turned out that Schalk’s son-in-law, Bertus, who lives on the same property was in fact the wine maker at one of the largest wineries in town, Burrowing Owl.  This meant that we got a behind the scenes tour which included the lab and the cellar and he told us heaps of interesting things about wine making that I didn’t know.  Our personal tour ended with a lengthy tasting of some lovely wines.  As Bertus is currently planting his own vines on his property we will have to go back in 5 years time to sample wine from his own grapes!  We also stopped at a couple of other wineries while in the area - Gehringer Bros, a German owned winery had some fantastic wines, including a red ice wine which was really good and some great different white wines.  The Okanagan Valley is known for having the best weather in Canada and normally in May the temperature is in the high 20s or even into the 30s.  For us however, it was in the mid teens and we had to don jumpers and coats to be outside for the braai – humph!

We left the wine region behind and headed north to Kamloops to visit Larry who we’d met in Honduras. I’ve been to Kamloops before about 15 years ago with my parents when we travelled across the Rockies by train from Banff to Vancouver.  We stopped there for the night in a hole of a motel with only fast food joints around us and I have to say our impression of the place was pretty bad.  Therefore I was surprised on my return to note that the scenery and setting were pretty nice as there is a river running alongside the road and Larry lives just by the river outside of the town.  Larry had promised us a steak dinner with his famous peppercorn sauce so we’d brought along a couple of bottles of red to accompany it from the wineries we’d visited earlier in the day.  We had a great dinner with Larry and his daughters, catching up and remembering our time in Honduras.  The next day Larry took us to a local lake where Le Roux borrowed his belly boat and flippered his way out into the lake for some trout fishing.  He did manage to hook a trout but it escaped on its 2^nd jump much to Le Roux’s dismay.  We didn’t see anyone else catch anything so Le Roux wasn’t too disappointed.  Meanwhile Larry and I hopped into his two kayaks and enjoyed a paddle around the beautiful tree lined lake. I even managed to spot a marmot on the bank, but couldn’t get the camera out of its waterproof bag quick enough to capture it unfortunately.  We had a great morning out on the water and were sad that we had to say goodbye and get back on the road again.

Next stop was Lake Louise.  On the spectacular drive there we spotted four bears which was great as we hadn’t seen any in Canada yet. Having been to Lake Louise before I had talked about how pretty the lake was with its turquoise water so Le Roux had high expectations.  You should have seen how cross he was when we got up to the lake to find that it was still frozen and there was no turquoise to be seen, only snow and ice!  He was absolutely fuming and there was no pacifying him.  Only the sighting of a porcupine as I dragged him for a short walk around the lake temporarily made him smile.  I thought the lake looked really pretty in the snow too, but then I’d already seen the turquoise!  For the first night in ages we had to stay in a hostel rather than with friends.

We spent the next day in nearby Banff where we went on the gondola up Sulphur Mountain which provided fabulous, if cold, views across Banff town and the surrounding valley.  We had hoped to do some hiking in the area, but most of the trails were still closed due to snow or avalanche risk, which was disappointing.  Therefore after lunch we explored town and its numerous tacky gift shops, before heading off to our friend Lisa’s house which is about 30 minutes west of Calgary. 

It was really nice to see Lisa again having met her on the Navimag ferry in Chile.  We had spent quite a bit of time with her and Alex in South America as we did the W trek in Torres del Paine together, as well as meeting up again in Buenos Aires.  We spent the afternoon at Lisa’s cooking and chatting which was lovely.  Her parent’s house is very nice as they designed it themselves and had it built on a large piece of land.  After our dinner of steak, homemade sweet potato gnocchi and salad, followed by pineapple upside down cake with icecream, we headed outside with Lisa’s parents for a walk around their property.  We were really lucky and spotted 5 moose as well as some elk and deer – our first sighting of moose in fact.  We didn’t see any bears though which are definitely around as Lisa has a great photo of 2 grizzlys on the patio just outside the house!

As Lisa had to work the next day we had a lazy morning before heading out for a walk nearby.  The first half went to plan as we found the path that they’d described, but we just couldn’t find the 2^nd half of it so we ended up walking back down the dirt road, which looked deceptively quiet as we ended up breathing a lot of dust as various cars and trucks passed us.  I even managed to lose my lens cap as it got caught on some bushes but luckily I remembered where it had probably happened and headed back to collect it.  By the time we got back to the car we were pretty tired and were looking forward to a relaxing evening with Alex at her place just south of Calgary.

Alex and her family made us feel very welcome when we finally arrived having got a bit lost – their house is not the easiest to find as it’s in the middle of nowhere!  They had a drink in our hands within 5 minutes of us arriving and as the sun was finally shining we sat outside on the patio quaffing gin & tonics and nibbling on some appetisers.  Everyone says it never rains in Calgary but they’d just had 2 weeks of solid rain and the fields all around had massive puddles of water in them!  After another steak dinner we had a campfire complete with smores, which was great.  Her grandparents came over to join us and I had to chuckle to myself as her grandpa is very much a cowboy with the hat, neck tie and boots, although he was 5ft nothing!  Calgary is in fact the home of the Canadian cowboy and to the famous Calgary Stampede each July.  We are absolutely gutted to be missing the big rodeo event as we’ve never been to one and it’s supposed to be such fun.  I’ll have to come back another year to see it.

Alex had to work the next day, so we spent the morning with her mum and step-dad.  They have a problem with gophers on their property so Le Roux was more than happy to help out by practicing his shooting.  As he’s such a good shot he managed to get 12 in less than an hour – sorry gophers!  As his reward Rob let him ride one of his motorbikes, a Harley Davidson, which made Le Roux a very happy boy.  While they headed out on the bikes, I chilled out at home with Alex’s mum.

Our final stop on the west side of Canada was in central Calgary with my friends Cheryl and Mike who I’d met in Africa about four years ago.  After so long it was lovely to see them again and they made us feel very welcome.  Mike fired up the BBQ and cooked us and their friend Kevin who was also in town, beer can chicken – 4 days of steak, even if it was Alberta beef was enough for us!  As Calgary weather was not what it should be, poor Mike ended up having to BBQ in the rain and hail!  It was the first match of the hockey finals between the Canucks and the Boston Bruins so after dinner we sat down to watch the game, and luckily the Canucks won – sorry Bruins fans! 

Mike very kindly ferried us around the next morning so we could get some chores done – I desperately needed a haircut and Le Roux had to buy some fishing tackle as he’s managed to secure a position at a remote fishing lodge in western BC for the summer.  Mike even treated us to a lovely Vietnamese lunch while we were out and about.  That evening we were flying out late to Halifax in Nova Scotia, but we had time for another lovely meal with Cheryl and Mike and Cheryl’s parents who were visiting for a few days.  Mike loves his BBQ so he fired it up again and cooked some spicy chicken wings and sausages, but much to his dismay it rained again!  It never rains in Calgary..?  What rubbish! It was such a shame we couldn’t stay longer but the east coast was calling.  After yet more goodbyes we set off for the airport.

USA Blog Part 4 – End of Oregon & Washington

After our gastronomic morning we drove inland to Portland.  We had hoped to couchsurf again but the person we’d messaged hadn’t bothered to respond, so we ended up in a hostel instead, which luckily had 1 room left.  It wasn’t a great hostel though: the receptionist decided to spend 10 minutes on the phone in the middle of check-in explaining to someone other places they could stay as the hostel was full on the requested dates – so rude!; parking was near on impossible and we ended up 3 blocks away having driven round for 30 minutes trying to find somewhere; the bathroom situation wasn’t good as the only 2 toilets in our building were in with the showers so every time you needed to go you could guarantee someone was having a long shower - Le Roux even had to get dressed and trek outside to the other building in the morning!; and they rented out the kitchen and dining area in our building for meetings so we couldn’t get in there to cook.  I would not recommend the HI Portland Hostel at all!

As Portland is known for its microbreweries, Le Roux was pretty keen to try some local beers so we checked out a local bar and after our parking nightmare, we justified a few drinks!  Later we headed back to the hostel to eat our way through a few of the treats we’d bought in Tillamook – the blue cheese dressing was so good we managed to get through half of it in one sitting!  The pate we’d bought in the supermarket was really delicious too and made a nice change as we’d not had any since we’d been away - surprisingly it isn’t available in most shops in the US, let alone in South and Central America!  In fact a few weeks later in Washington a shop assistant we asked didn’t even know what pate was!?!

We didn’t stay long in Portland as we’re not really city fans, but we did stop in at Voodoo Donuts, a Portland institution, on the way to the Columbia River Gorge.  We’d been recommended this place by a couple of people and given my love of all things sweet and cakey, it was a must.  The queue was out the door that Sunday morning and so we knew we were in for a treat.  The shop is filled with spooky voodoo related accessories and the names of the donuts fit in with this theme and so you can’t work out what flavour they might be.  We’d decided to get just 6 rather than a box of 13 (how restrained were we?!) and with the help of the server we picked out the Bacon Maple Bar, a Voodoo Doll, a Portland Cream, a Diablos Rex, a Grape Ape and one more I can’t remember the name of.  Needless to say they were all delicious and over the next day and a half we scoffed them all!

The weather was not going our way and as we headed out of Portland the clouds came in and the rain began.  This meant that when we reached Columbia River Gorge we could barely make out the scenery from the various viewpoints.  We used the bad weather as an excuse at one place to grab a coffee and tuck into a couple of our donuts while we waited for the clouds to clear a little.

Luckily over the course of the day the weather improved and we walked up to see the Multnomah Falls, which were nice, but not Iguazu!  We ended the day at a town called The Dalles further along the gorge where we found our cheapest motel yet – a steal at just $50 including tax!  It was actually a lot warmer and sunnier here as we’d travelled across the Cascade mountains and were now in a semi-arid area.  After being cooped up in the car we decided to go for a walk to find some wine, beer or cider tasting.  It turned out the wine place in town had closed down due to divorce so we ended up in a friendly local bar which let us taste a few of their wines and beers for free – very generous!  We then followed this up with some cider tasting at another place they recommended – not a bad afternoon’s work!

The next day we drove further down the gorge before crossing over to the Washington side, our 6^th American state so far.  As the weather had remained good we got some lovely views across the river as we headed back along the north side to Vancouver, Washington to visit one of Le Roux’s internet friends, Tammy.  She was a little surprised to see us, but we had a nice chat and got some photography tips (she’s a professional photographer) before continuing our journey to a campsite near Mount St Helens.

Having studied the volcano in geography at school I was really interested to see it and refresh my memory of exactly what happened.  The visitor centre was excellent with a film as well as a very informative exhibition, so we spent quite a while there understanding how the whole eruption played out.  Unfortunately for us we were there too early in the season to be able to drive all the way up to the last look out point as the road was still covered in snow, but we drove up as far as we could and got some great views across the valley to the volcano.

Even 30 years on you can still see the path of the mud and ash flow down the valley, which is quite eerie.  We saw a herd of elk grazing in the valley as well as nearly running one over on the road as it saw us coming and then decided to cross!  We decided to stop for lunch at one of the view points and we cooked up beans on toast while looking out across the valley to the volcano.  I have to say that despite Heinz being an American company, you cannot actually buy proper baked beans here – everything available in the US has brown sugar or molasses in it which makes the sauce way too sweet – I can’t wait to have proper English baked beans when I get home!

Having soaked up all the volcano information and scenery we could, we drove across to the Olympic Peninsula.  There appeared to be plenty of state campgrounds marked on the map so we headed towards Lake Quinault where there were a few to choose from.  However, yet again we were thwarted by the seasonal opening schedule as none of the campgrounds were open yet despite it being mid May!  We managed to find a private RV park and the lady kindly allowed us to camp there for half price.  It was a beautiful spot by the lake and we were the only people there, nobody else being crazy enough to camp yet!  There was a nice bar restaurant place on the site so we headed over for a drink to warm up after a delicious dinner outside of salmon, hollandaise, mash and broccoli.  Overnight it started to rain so our tent was nice and soggy for packing up the next morning, but luckily there was a shelter under which we could make breakfast so we at least stayed dry.

The road loops around the peninsula so we headed westwards to the Hoi Rainforest, one of the few temperate rainforests in the world.  Funnily enough it was raining even more up there!  The drive through the forest was lovely with the trees covered in moss and lichen giving them a spooky look, and we saw some black tailed deer up at the visitor centre.

Given the weather we weren’t feeling inclined to do a long walk so we hopped back in the car and headed off to the hostel recommended by the book – it was definitely not camping weather!  The hostel was not open until later that day, so we stopped in at a café down the road for a coffee and got chatting with the lady there.  We mentioned that we were going to stay at the hostel and she said that others who had stayed there had come in to buy cleaning supplies before they would dare to sleep there!  Apparently the guy was now managing the place on his own and standards had slipped somewhat.  That was enough to convince us to drive to Forks further down the road instead where there were a few clean motel options instead!

Neither Le Roux nor I have been gripped by the Twilight phenomenon so we were totally unaware that this was the town where all the books had been set.  Every place in town had signs and memorabilia around indicating its link with the books.  When we checked into our chosen cheap motel, the old lady recognized my English accent and started asking me about the Royal Wedding.  I had to stop myself chuckling when she asked if I saw them often!

Our next stop on the loop around the Olympic peninsula was Port Angeles, the largest town in the area.  On the way there we’d stopped at yet another big tree, this time a giant cedar, and we did a walk to a waterfall in order to stretch our legs.  Having got some photography tips from Tammy we decided to try out the smoky water technique by slowing the shutter speed.  We ended up with a reasonable picture for our first effort, although a tripod would have improve the result as the camera needs to be dead still.  We had lunch in the picnic area nearby but the grey jays were a little too friendly as they were eyeing up my French bread, so it was not a relaxing meal.

Again, on arriving at the hostel mentioned in the book, we discovered it was closed until later in the day.  We were going to wait, but as the coffee shop nearby was closed too we gave up with that plan and found ourselves another cheap motel.  We were keen to have some more Dungeness crab and as we were near the spit of the same name, we thought we should be able to find it at a reasonable price in town somewhere.  However, our bad luck continued as it wasn’t crab season, so no crab for us!  We instead headed to the Bushwacker restaurant for some steak.  We both had the prime rib which was nice, but the highlight was dessert.  The peanut butter cheesecake has won awards and with good reason – it was so light and tasty and I am desperate to find the recipe!

Our final stop in Olympic National Park was Hurricane Ridge.  It was still many feet deep in snow at the top and pretty cold, but it was actually quite a clear day so we got some nice views across the Olympic mountains.  On our way back down we stopped to cook up some brunch at a warmer viewpoint looking across the Juan de Fuca Strait to Vancouver Island.

As we were cooking our full English breakfast on our camping stoves, the grey jays started collecting in the tree next to us.  Uh oh.  This did not bode well after our experiences at lunch the previous day.  The birds were fearless and even when we stamped our feet and waved our arms around they weren’t phased.  The worst point came when I was eating my breakfast and was being dive bombed by one particular bird who was very interested in my piece of toast!  We ate quickly and headed on to Port Townsend.

Port Townsend is a lovely Victorian town with a nice atmosphere and interesting buildings.  As the sun had finally decided to come out, we wandered around the town stopping in at various shops.  We walked by the marina and came across a couple of happy fishermen who’d just returned from their trip with a large halibut – Le Roux was rather jealous!  Having worked up a thirst Le Roux decided it was time to try another local beer at the pub, so we sat overlooking the water while supping our drinks.

We cooked dinner that night just behind our motel right on the water and Le Roux go talking to this homeless guy who had stopped there.  He was a really nice guy, down on his luck and we ended up inviting him to join us for a dinner of chili and rice

It was now time to head on to Seattle and instead of driving all the way down and back up again, we decided to get the ferry across to the city from Bainbridge Island on the east coast of the Olympic peninsula.  Bainbridge is a nice town and we wandered around the farmer’s market before stopping in for a spot of wine tasting at a place on the main street.  The wine was a little disappointing, but it was a pleasant way to while away the time before our ferry left.  We also found a nice spot on the beach to eat the rest of the chili before getting in line for the ferry.

The journey across went smoothly, although it was pretty cold out on deck so we took it in turns to bear the bracing winds for photos!  Our first views of Seattle from the water were lovely as you get to see the Space Needle and the high rise buildings of downtown.

We’d decided to try couchsurfing again in Seattle and I have to say it was a fantastic experience.  Chris was an amazing host and we had the best time with him during our stay in Seattle.  (We messed up directions to his place though as I can’t get my head around the fact that there are so many roads with the same name with a little N, S, W or E at the end which means they are in completely different parts of town.)  He made us feel very welcome in his lovely home and went out his way to help us with the hire car drop off and a tour around the city. 

Now, you all know how important food is to me and how much I love cooking and eating good food.  Well, in Chris we met someone who is even more passionate about it than me!! To say that we ate well while staying with Chris is an understatement.  He is really into molecular gastronomy (scientific cooking like Heston Blumenthal) so we were treated to various gastronomic delights including: fresh spotted prawns and Dungeness crab with braised cos lettuce and blue cheese; feta with herby fava bean puree on crostini; sous vide veal cheeks with potato puree and chard; and pork belly with goose fat roasted potatoes & miso broccoli – all delicious and washed down with some lovely red wine.  Chris also introduced us to the delights of raw hairy Hungarian pig fat which has been marinated in herbs.  I know it sounds really odd and horrible, but wow, it is soooo tasty.  A little sliver either on its own or on a crostini as an appetizer is seriously good!

On our city tour we stopped in at an independent coffee shop to sample the drink that Seattle is now famous for – it was much tastier than Starbucks!  Although visibility wasn’t great we decided to go up the Space Needle anyway – the view was nice, but definitely not worth the $20 each it cost!  Next we stopped off in the Fremont district for a sushi lunch and a wander around, before stopping at “the Troll” under the highway for a photo.  We also took in Gas Works Park which had a nice view across the water to downtown and we wandered through the house boats which were featured in the film Sleepless in Seattle.

As the famous fish market – Pike Place – is very busy on the weekends we saved that for the next day and we enjoyed wandering around sampling various things such as hot smoked salmon, chili jellies, droewors (actually surprisingly good given it’s a South African thing), jams, honey, chocolate cherries and many more yummy things.  It was all pretty expensive though so the only thing we bought was some of the salmon and a couple of droewors to keep Le Roux happy.

Right by the market is my Mum’s favourite kitchen shop ever, Sur Le Table, so we had to stop in there and see what all the fuss was about.  It was a great shop, but given my luggage issues I had to walk out empty handed even though I was tempted by many gadgets and gismos!  Le Roux however, found is new favourite thing in there – his travel cafetiere/mug combo which he can’t go anywhere without now!  I have to admit I was tempted by one, but I’m not quite as much of a coffee fiend as he is, so I’ve been sharing his instead.

Our time in Seattle had come to an end and we were moving onto Vancouver, Canada.  It was sad saying goodbye to Chris having had such a great time with him, but hopefully we’ll manage to meet up with him again somewhere around the world.