New England, USA (& Toronto)

After a night in Saint John, New Brunswick at probably the worst motel we’ve stayed in (what do you expect for £35?!), we headed over the border back into the USA.  Having stopped at various visitor centres to collect maps and info, we arrived at the Big Moose Inn near Millinocket and Baxter State Park, in northern Maine.  Rooms were a bit pricey so we opted for the campground instead, although this meant braving some serious bugs – there were literally swarms of mosquitoes and black flies!  Our first priority was to liberally spray ourselves with repellent before setting up the tent. 

After an early dinner of sausage, mash, onion gravy and corn on the cob, we headed out on a DIY “moose croose”.  We did well spotting 7 moose in the hour or so we were out.  All of them were in the water eating so we didn’t get to see their crazy long legs but it was great to see them in the wild.  We had hoped to see one with a huge rack of antlers, but apparently they shed them each year and despite the fact that they grow an inch a day, it was too early in the season to see much other than brown velvet stumps – shame.  On our return we retreated into the lodge for a drink or two to escape the bugs.

The next day we headed into Baxter State Park for some hiking.  The first trail we did was to Sandy Stream Pond which is a good spot for moose viewing.  We were lucky and saw two moose across the lake, again in the water eating.  The second trail we did (Chimney Pond) was pretty tough – a 7.5 mile round trip, halfway up Mount Katadhin which mainly involved boulder clambering so by the end of it my legs and knees we in pieces even though I’d actually remembered to take my walking pole with me!

The views of the mountain from Chimney Pond were great and made it worth the effort though.  We also took in the gorgeous 360° vista from Blueberry Knoll, although it was a little early for picking blueberries.  As this part of Maine is rugged wilderness with little development, we could see only trees and lakes far into the distance.  On the drive back to the campsite we saw yet another moose – our 9^th sighting!


We were feeling lazy after all that hiking so we had leftover chili for dinner before retreating once again to the lodge.  It was the evening of the final hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins so we had to watch it.  However, it didn’t go well for the Canucks and we soon had our heads in our hands.  The rest of the bar were happy though as they were all Bruins fans!  We were still hungry after all the exercise so I indulged in a dessert of white chocolate crème brulee accompanied by a shot of amaretto, while Le Roux went for a savoury option of spicy chicken wings to go with his beer – naughty but very nice and I think we’d earned it!

That night there seemed to be even more biting things around and I got severely chomped on my butt when I popped out of the tent in the middle of the night for a quick pee!  We also had a thunderstorm that night which kept us awake for a while, but it did mean in the morning there were less bugs – thank goodness.

Le Roux was keen to do some canoeing on the huge lake next to the campsite  before we headed off to the coast, so we went out paddling for a couple of hours in the gorgeous sunshine.  We pretty much had the lake to ourselves, only seeing 3 kayakers towards the end, and it was so peaceful and serene just quietly paddling along.  We even managed to creep up quite close to our 10^th moose, before she got scared and stormed off into the woods.

Our next destination was Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine.  The lonely planet website highlights this as a must see, being one of the few coastal national parks and I have to say it was very pretty and definitely worth the trip.  Bar Harbor is the main town in the area, but it is a pretty fancy place so everything was quite expensive.  We stopped in at the NP info centre to collect a map and asked where we might find some cheap accommodation.  The young lad said he wasn’t supposed to recommend places, but just quietly he knew the cheapest motel in town as he was dating the owner’s daughter!  We thanked him profusely as it was so cheap – only $39 a night! - and promised not to tell his bosses.

After a few hours in the car, I was keen to stretch my legs so we walked into town to have an early dinner of lobster – it made sense to have it again while we were on the coast, well that’s how we justified it anyway!  The cafe had an early bird special so we ended up trying another seafood chowder (a very good one!) followed by boiled lobster with fries and coleslaw and a dessert of home-made blueberry pie with vanilla icecream, all washed down with a glass of sauvignon blanc – delicious!  We rolled out of the café and decided a walk around town was in order.  I ended up buying quite a few things – a couple of outdoor tops for me and some presents for my nephews – so it turned out to be an expensive evening!

The next day we explored the park, following the scenic loop drive, with Le Roux pulling over regularly so I could take yet another photo of the lovely coastline.  We had a lunch of fish and chips in North East Harbor before wandering around the Asticou Gardens, which were very pretty and colourful, with all the azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom.  More photo opportunities for me!

We were feeling lazy after that so we drove up Cadillac Mountain to admire the 360° view of the park and surrounding area, rather than hiking or biking up.  It was really windy and quite chilly at the top so we retired to the car to eat our afternoon snack of a “whoopie”.  A whoopie is a local bakery delight comprising two rounds of rich dark chocolate cake sandwiched together by a creamy filling.  We shared one between us as like everything here in the US, it was huge!  Both of us thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m going to have to look up a recipe for them when I get home.

After over 2 weeks of solid touring around, we decided to have a really lazy day and we didn’t actually leave our motel room until 5.15pm the next day!  At that point we decided we really ought to get some fresh air so we headed out for a walk around town, which ended up involving a ridiculously large, but delicious icecream (I had the black raspberry with chocolate chunks, while Le Roux had his favourite, cookies n cream), followed by a drink at the pub, which was also huge – they only served drinks in pint glasses so I was handed a pint of G&T!  The US is proving very very bad for my waistline!  While sipping my enormous drink I tried my luck at the dice challenge, which costs a dollar and you win the pot if you shake 5 of the same number – unfortunately it wasn’t my lucky day.  Having eventually finished my drink we headed home for a steak BBQ and the remaining corn on the cob.

After 3 nights in Acadia NP it was time to move on to New Hampshire, and specifically to Mount Washington for ride on the cog train, the world’s 2^nd steepest railway (the 1^st is in Switzerland).  On the drive down as it was a Sunday, we saw over 1,000 motorbikes and Le Roux was very jealous of all the Harleys that drove by.  We found a nice campsite by a little river in the White Mountains for one night.  However, we’d forgotten to pick up supplies before we got there and with only a tiny camp store to get ingredients from, our planned chicken stir fry dinner became omelette and baked beans! 

We were lucky with the weather for once and the sun came out and the skies were pretty clear for our trip up Mount Washington– miracle!  The 40 minute ride up on the cog train was lovely, with fantastic views over the valley.  As we got closer to the top the clouds kept rolling in and out with the high winds, so one minute you see for miles and the next you couldn’t see anything!

It was very cold at the summit, so we had to pile on the layers – I’d read the guide book the night before and realized that we would need our wooly hats, but it seems other tourists didn’t and Le Roux and I were chuckling at the people shivering in their shorts and flip flops!  Random fact: the highest wind speed ever recorded was at the top of Mount Washington in 1934 – 231mph!  Despite the unpredictable and inhospitable weather people used to come for holidays as a hotel had been built at the top and although it is still standing, it is now a museum.

That afternoon on the way to New London in New Hampshire, we stopped at North Conway’s outlet village for some bargains as there is no sales tax and the sales were on – double bonus!  I managed to spend quite a bit in a very short space of time, but got some great new clothes to replace the tattered, worn out things in my backpack.  

In New London we were staying with friends of Le Roux’s parents – Ruth and George – for a couple of nights.  They have a lot of wildlife in their garden so that first evening we sat on the patio watching the birds, the woodchuck, and the silver foxes come and go.  No bear sightings although there are some that visit the garden each week.  

The next day we hiked up nearby Mount Kearsage for fabulous 360° views.  On the way up we tried out Geocaching for the first time – a kind of adult treasure hunt using a GPS – which was fun but of the 3 caches on the mountain we only managed to find one - better luck next time.  After the hot and sticky hike we headed to the beach by Little Sunapee Lake for lunch and some relaxation.  The water was a little cold but we managed to get in for a swim, our first in North America.  It was so nice having some good weather after all the hideous rain and fog we’d endured through Nova Scotia and PEI. 

Our next destination was Boston, via Salem Massachusetts, home of everything witchy.  We were paying for our sunny beach day as the rain was back and it was pouring down.  We donned our waterproofs and wandered around Salem visiting various historic places connected with the Witch Trials back in 1692, as well as a number of very odd voodoo and witchcraft shops – an amazing amount of crazy stuff!  After a very average seafood lunch we completed our circuit around town and then drove to Boston via REI where I picked up a few more bargains in the sale!

 In Boston we stayed with Chris and Jess, a lovely couple Le Roux and I met in Iceland, who lived north of the city in a suburb called Malden.   We spent our first day in Boston wandering around Newbury Street, the main shopping street and in the shopping malls as the weather was still pretty wet.  We escaped the rain at one point at a fabulous cupcake shop where I just had to indulge in a caramel cappucino one - delicious! We also visited the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library which was great – a huge glass globe with the world map on the inside in stained glass.  You stand in the middle of the globe on a glass bridge with the world all around you and the acoustics are really intriguing – you only need to whisper and everyone can hear and in the middle you can hear yourself in surround sound.

That night we went out to one of Jess and Chris’ favourite restaurants – Red Bones, which is a very popular Southern Barbeque place.  We had massive racks of ribs and plates piled high with pulled pork, coleslaw and baked beans – delicious and very filling, even though we took a large doggy bag home!  My absolute new favourite though was the appetizer of deep fried pickles – so tasty!

Le Roux was keen to buy a digital SLR camera for himself and I was keen to take advantage of the cheaper US prices before returning to the UK, so we found a fantastic huge camera shop near Chris and Jess’ house where we spent a far bit.  Le Roux managed to get his camera 2^nd hand though through Craig’s List which was a result.

It was a busy weekend at Chris and Jess’ as they were having a baby shower so we made ourselves scarce on Saturday and headed out into Boston city again to see the Holocaust Memorial, walk the Freedom Trail, which allowed us to see the key historic sites and admire the lovely architecture, and to visit the Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts which was fabulous.  We’d seen some of Chihuly’s work at the Bellagio in Las Vegas which was impressive so we were keen to see the exhibit. It was very popular so we had to queue for a while, but it was well worth the wait – I loved his work and if it weren’t for the price tag I’d be buying some!

We decided to go out for a really nice meal as we were getting to the end of our trip so I booked a table at Atlantic Fish based on amazing reviews on Trip Advisor and we weren’t disappointed – the food was fabulous and we had a lovely evening.  I chose sea bass served with lobster ravioli and Le Roux had wahoo with chorizo.  We topped off the meal with a melting chocolate pudding – it was soooo good that I didn’t want to let Le Roux have any!

After 4 nights in Boston it was time to move on to Finger Lakes in upper New York state as recommended by Jess’ family.  It turned out to be a great recommendation as there was a lovely campsite located between Cayuga Lake and the Taughannock Falls, and right in the middle of a wine region.  The weather finally improved and we were able to enjoy a sunny day of wine, cider and goat’s cheese tasting followed by a hike to the falls and a leisurely dinner cooked by the lake as the sun went down.  We also visited Cornell University in Ithaca where Le Roux’s dad had studied.

Our final destination was Toronto as I was flying home from there.  On the way we stopped at Niagara Falls which was a mixed experience.  The town of Niagara on the US side is horrible – very tacky and naff with no charm at all but the falls themselves were pretty and worth a few photos.  However, Iguazu is still top of the waterfall chart!  Having seen the falls Le Roux and I hot footed it out of there as the hordes of tourists were driving us mad.  We headed over Rainbow Bridge into Canada and found ourselves a nice quiet café to have lunch and recover from the experience.

On arriving in Toronto we received a very warm welcome from Martin and Carlos who we’d met in the Galapagos.  That night we all went out for a proper Indian curry, something Le Roux and I had really been missing since leaving the UK.  It was lovely to catch up with Martin and Carlos nearly a year on as they were some of the first people we met on our travels rounds South America.  I have to admit to not doing that much in Toronto other than a little shopping and a lot of sorting and packing before my flight home.  We considered going up the CN Tower but at $23 each it seemed a bit pricey and we’d done the Space Needle in Seattle at great expense already, so we canned that idea. 

I was pretty sad in Toronto as it was the end of the 10 month trip for me and time to say goodbye to Le Roux who is continuing his overseas adventures.  He is spending 2 months volunteering at a fishing lodge in remote British Columbia before travelling around South East Asia.  Meanwhile I am heading back to the UK to catch up with family and friends before doing a cookery diploma course for 4 weeks in Devon.

I enjoyed our time in New England despite the inclement weather and the bugs, and Boston is a great city which I would love to visit again.

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.