Expedition Canada

Family Reunion Sat Jul 2 Sunset over Van Island from the deck I am rather a fan of BC Ferries.  They ply 25 routes with 39 ships around some of the most stunning scenery, moving 22m passengers and 8m vehicles a year according to their website ‘ about us’ .  All three HorseshoeBay berths in use Their staff are friendly, vessels are kept in pretty good order and if they sail past a pod of Orca or the occasional Humpback Whale, they will announce it to passengers, even at the risk of all on board converging to one side of the ship!  But.  You can’t use a debit card or Canada’s Interac system to pay for a booking online, but they both work on a ferry.  The website is clunky, far from intuitive and not mobile friendly.  There is no mobile app to buy or show tickets and their scheduling and crisis management ripples through the fleet when a problem arises.   I popped over to Vancouver on Wednesday.  On my morning journey to Vancouver a former Smith...

Distinctly Chilly Thu Jul 1st With temperatures back down to near normal on the coast (17 C), we were able to enjoy a long walk this morning, just over 7k.  Jack and I walked up through Blueridge to the Hyannis trail, via a couple of connecting trails to Fishermans Trail, which runs alongside Seymour River.  It was a public holiday, so the outward journey was quiet, a few more walkers and runners were out by the time we walked back. Inland, temperatures have remained high and  contributed to more forest fires.   The town of Lytton  was evacuated only fifteen minutes before being largely destroyed by fire.   ' According to the B.C. Wildfire Service , there are 82 wildfires burning across the Province Thursday, with 52 of them starting in the past 48 hours. Lightning strikes, gusty winds and high temperatures have contributed to already intense conditions.' Camp fires, fireworks, lanterns and all other fire risks have been banned across ...