Three Months On

Move to Gibsons

Sat Jul 3rd &. 

Jack meets a Rhodesian Ridgeback
at the ferry terminal

Sun Jul 4th

Saturday

It is three months to the day since we arrived in Canada and 'enjoyed' our first three nights in a Government approved hotel in Toronto.  It seems an age ago.  All direct flights to Vancouver had been cancelled and we had to wait until our Arrival Covid test came back negative before we could complete our journey to Vancouver; to the accommodation we leave today.  

We sat on the upper deck of our hosts house on Friday night and put the world to rights.  They were very welcoming three months ago and made our transition to Canada so much easier.  While we finished our quarantine they helped by taking Jack for a walk and obtained occasional shopping until we sorted out deliveries.  

Today we are back on the ferry to Langdale and are excited to be moving into a property that potentially will be home for the next twelve months.  We feel very fortunate to be moving in to such a beautiful property in such a stunning setting.  Gibsons, I was told by a former colleague who Googled the town, is the most livable community in the world. An accolade awarded in the 2009 UN-supported International Livcom Awards.  We knew we liked Gibsons, but knew nothing of the award.

Schools closed for summer on Wednesday.  We expected the ferry terminal to be jam-packed.  It wasn't and assume that with Canada Day on Thursday, Friday was taken as a day's vacation and families left early.  We stood on the front of the car deck on the way over, taking in the scenery.  We have done the forty minute crossing eight to ten times and have not tired of the views.  Every day is different.

Crossing complete we were off the boat and at the house within a few minutes.  The next few hours were a frenetic unpacking, assembling, unpacking, assembling ..........

An award winning Okanagan sparkling

Having spent a few years making oak and other furniture, I never thought I'd go back to assembling IKEA flat pack, alum-key, screwdriver and hammer technology.  In fairness it is more substantial than I remember their products and it will tide us over until we can ship some of our stuff from the UK.  Two bedside tables to put together.  The first one took an hour and a half, the second, half an hour.  Several hours later the bed, bedside tables and coffee tables were completed.  Freda meanwhile, was cleaning the kitchen cupboards, washing new linen, unpacking kitchen kit and washing crockery, cutlery and cookware.

By six thirty we were ready to call it a day.  Jack and I went exploring to check out the local beach between us and the ferry terminal, Fred tidied away the last few bits and pieces, before we popped open a bottle of sparkling from the Okanagan to celebrate our arrival.

We retired to our top floor room with the doors open (fly-screens in place) and listened to the waves on the foreshore, which sadly on this stretch of beach is only accessible by the waterfront houses.

Sunday we get reconnected to the outside world when our broadband is installed.

Sunday

I'm told there was a noisy ferry at 0040 this morning.  If there was I didn't hear it.  I was sparko.  Lovely new mattress and pillow.  Sooooo comfortable.

Final bits of unpacking today.  TV out of the box ready for the Telus tech to install Optik TV.  A quick trip into Gibsons to get some Network kit which proved unnecessary as said tech from Telus had everything we needed and was able to work out the house's fully wired system.  

Home internet and TV dist board

By the end of the day:

1.    Jack swimming twice on beach

2.    TV and internet working

3.    Bags unpacked

4.    Hummingbird feeder installed

5.    Hummingbirds found feeder by end of day

6.    Fridge and general provisions restocked (wound down prior to move due to lack of space in car)

7.    Fred cleaned the oven (cleaning now complete)

It's beginning to feel like home.

We are about 1 km away from the ferry terminal by road, 500m if you are a crow (there are a few about).  It means we regularly hear and see the ferry arriving and departing.  Occasionally, ferry horn blasts as they leave the terminal and the odd passenger announcement, interrupt the hum of their engines.   

The blog writing view

We like it but Jack disappears off to hide in a corner of the house everytime the horn goes! We rather like the presence of the ferries.  We have a few properties around us, but they are well blended into the hillside.  The presence of the ferries is oddly reassuring in the slightly, but preferred, isolated location. 

We do like BC and if the cards fall right, would like to stay.  It sounds great fun and it is, but it was a difficult decision to leave our home of thirty three years which we had lovingly restored, our friends and family in the UK and wind down our UK businesses.  We had many a sleepless night as we debated the wisdom of the move at the height of a Covid pandemic.  Constant checking of UK and Canadian Govt websites and the rules for international travel. 

Black tailed deer on Fred's walk

It was a minefield, but we decided to press on. We were fortunate that with Nick as a Permanent Resident (now citizen) we had the ability to travel under Canada's  family reunion programme.  Three months on, we would do it all over again.  It was easier than we feared and we would not have changed any of it.  Correction, we'd avoid the Canadian government quarantine and covid tests!