Expedition Canada

Hot and Humid Wed Aug 3 Night sky over Van Island After the highs of the sailing regatta weekend, the last ten days have been interesting!  Much health related.  Ros tested positive for Covid  two days into her UK trip and had to cancel most of her plans. The couple who ran the business we flew around NZ with some years back, flew in to Wisconsin for the annual flying show - Oshkosh 2022 - and had to put an email out asking for help on their stand as they too had tested positive for Covid and had to isolate.  It's easy to see how international air travel helped spread Covid. Thursday it was my turn to check out the local health services.  Fred, not to be left out, has been providing personal food bank services to the local Mosquito population.  I tell her it’s because she’s so hot in bed!   Happiest in water Ros has since tested negative and arrived back in Canada late Sunday, the same day Oshkosh 2022 finishes. We’ve not heard if the NZ ...

Ferry Delays Sun Mar 13th Even if you managed to get past the lorry load of logs strewn across the Gibsons Way/Highway 101 junction Friday lunchtime on the way to the ferry, you would have been out of luck as five of the day's crossings were cancelled due to engine problems on the Queen of Coquitlam. The junction was blocked for about 3-4 hours while the trailer was righted and cleared away, and a new rig brought in to clear the logs.  There were no serious injuries. Not the first time a logging trailer has overturned.  High centres of gravity and fast cornering is never going to be a successful experience!  Local coverage here. The ferries were cancelled through to the following morning with the first ferry out and back from Horseshoe Bay being replaced by a 12-seat water taxi! The Queen of Coquitlam, at 139m can take 1470 passengers and up to 362 cars/trucks on three car decks.   Quite how a water taxi running to the ferry timetable was going to help was ...

Shipping Scheduled Ferry inbound to Langdale Fri Dec 17th With Christmas around the corner there can be few who are not contemplating the impact of the latest Omicron variant on being able to get together with family, particularly if they are overseas.  Although the stats for BC and Canada as a whole are proportionality lower than the UK's figures, Canadians are being 'advised' not to travel internationally at Christmas.  More announcements are being made daily and visitors have to self-isolate/quarantine for two days in non-shared accommodation.  Fred's sister who was due to arrive on Christmas Eve, has had to postpone her trip, as we feared, further restrictions are likely to be put in place in the next few days.   Snow capped mainland mountains Canada is significantly behind the UK in rolling out booster jabs so it is a surprise that the numbers are not worse than they are.  BC had 763 new cases yesterday and 183 hospitalize...

Bears don't just poop in the woods!  Sun Aug 29th Paddle boarder on Hopkins Landing walk Mon Aug 30th It was a still start to Sunday and a couple of paddle boarders were out on the water off Hopkins Landing beach. One with a dog, one without.  It was quite a serene setting. A Great Blue Heron was perched on Hopkins Landing Wharf and was silhouetted against the distant horizon with a sparkle of sun on water. Heron on Hopkins Landing Wharf Later in the day we went down to Grantham's beach, by which time the wind and waves had got up.  Not quite so ideal for paddle boarding.  Great for the kitesurfing foil-board riders and sailing boats. Not like the electric powered ones that go up and down the Thames and irritate Ditton Island residents!  Quite impressive skill. Entertained by the flying foil kitesurfer, Jack and I decided it was time for a quick paddle.  It was choppy and Jack was not as relaxed as usual.  But he stuck with it.  We landed 20 minut...