DAY 4 - CANADA

CANADA – DAY 4    LEAVE VANCOUVER ISLAND TO WHISTLER

We drive north along Vancouver Island through forested roads and towns to Nanaimo to board a ferry.  We have the luxury of the front row seat in the bus on the off driver’s side, so get excellent views up front, as well as being opposite our tour leader Jennie to ask many questions.

Jennie tells us about a British Columbia cooking competition which was won by a resident of Nanaimo, and so the Nanaimo Bar became a reality for Canada.   Biscuit base with sweet custard filling and dark chocolate top.  Jennie has made some overnight for us all to sample, as well as handing out the recipe.   Very sweet indeed!!!!!

All the buses, trucks, motor homes/caravans and cars line up to load onto the ferry, which takes about 20 – 30 minutes to load/unload.  We go to the upper deck to watch our journey through Georgia Strait to Horseshoe Bay on the Canada mainland.

We journey along the Sea To Sky Highway as the road follows the rugged coastline and through the coastal mountain range.  The views are awesome.  Our first stop is at the spectacular Shannon Falls which is fed by hidden lakes from a glacier.

It is then onto the charming alpine resort of Whistler Village at the base of Mt. Whistler.

The village is packed as it is still the last week of school holidays.  Many of the 2010 Winter Olympic events were held on Mt Whistler, and since then this has become an adrenalin junky place to be, as during the summer months the mountain is a mecca for mountain bike riders, who challenge themselves on the multitude of steep trails.

We decide to take the gondola to the top of Mt Whistler…..tourists compete with the bike riders for space in the gondolas as they return to the top for another bike run descending some 1000 – 1500 metres.  The views are breath taking, and at the top we transfer to another gondola to do the Peak to Peak run to another mountain some 3- 4 klms away.  This is the largest suspension in Nth America if not the world.

We are down off the mountain around 5:15 and then walk through both the lower and upper villages, pausing for a drink at the upper village, before heading back to the lower village where we find a very busy Italian Seafood restaurant which manages to find a table for us.  The meal was extra special – Artic Char, Tuna and Duck with a great wine then followed by great sweets…..trio of berries with raspberry sorbet, raspberry macaron, white chocolate and mint, cherries on almond cake and Chocolate and caramel torte..with dessert wines to match.    Patrons were still coming in up to 9:30 with bookings.    We dined outside and were glad to leave near 10:00pm as the wind was getting cold.  It was then off to the Hilton Hotel to find our rooms.

A great dining finish to a great day.