Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

World Trip 2006: Day 131 – Seattle, USA

August 6, 2006

Sunday 6 August 2006
Highlights: Major League Baseball match – Seattle Mariners Vs Oakland Athletics 7-6

Take me out to the ballpark!!! The main reason for my visit to Seattle was to attend a Major League Baseball game, and today I witnessed the Seattle Mariners vs. the Oakland Athletics at Safeco Field.

What a match I got: Seattle started strong in the first inning, scoring 2 runs, but from the 3rd inning on they were down, getting as far behind as 4 runs by the 5th inning. They came back very strongly to eventually win 7-6. At the start of the game, they sing the American anthem; at the ‘7th innings stretch ‘, they (by which I mean the entire crowd) sing ‘Take me out to the ballpark’ and later ‘God Bless America’.

BTW, don’t buy anything at the ballpark if on a budget; it costs $7.50 (plus tax) for a hot dog (around $10 Australian) without a drink!!

Major League Baseball, Seattle, USA
World Trip 2006: Day 130 – Victoria to Seattle, USA

August 5, 2006

Friday 5 August 2006
Highlights: None

What a big day travelling; first I had to get from Victoria to Vancouver via ferry and bus. Then I caught a SkyTrain to the Central Train Station, then caught a Greyhound bus to Seattle. I just made my Greyhound connection, missing what would have been a 4.5-hour delay.

Now for the American border, what can I say? Well, if you want to be treated like a criminal, visit the USA. Unpleasant border officers who grill you on why you can come to their country- a good question, actually, given their attitude, i.e. getting fingerprinted and your photo taken like a criminal. For this great service, you then have to pay $6 in US dollars? Then the attitude was, “What, you don’t have any US currency?” Well, obviously I was a pain in the ass to these guys; everyone living outside the US should have their currency at all times, I guess.

Maybe it’s time to start doing this to their citizens; I mean, we should be fair and even-handed. I’m sure the baseball match will make up for this attitude problem Americans seem to have. People here seem to like getting in your face. I witnessed a local getting kicked off the bus for no reason at all.

Canada, Seattle, USA, Victoria
World Trip 2006: Day 129 – Victoria, Canada

August 4, 2006

Friday 4 August 2006
Highlights: Beautiful Butchart Gardens, British Columbia Legislative building

Today is the last full day of the tour and the only event I had on the agenda was a visit to the Butchart Gardens. These gardens were established on the site of an old limestone mining operation by the family that owned the mine. It’s a very good way to bring the areas back to life. The gardens cover 55 acres and have been open since 1904. The colour arrangements and the different sections (especially the Japanese Garden) help you appreciate the natural beauty in nature. While it was very beautiful nothing could top the tulips in The Netherlands I saw earlier in the trip.

In the afternoon I walked around Victoria taking special interest in the Legislative building. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and holds around 300,000 residents. Vancouver however is the largest city.

Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll make the greyhound bus at 2.45 pm from Vancouver. I’m not getting dropped off at the station so it might be tight. Otherwise I have to wait 4.5 hours for the next bus and I’ll get into Seattle at around 11 pm and still have a 1.5 km walk to the hostel 😦

Canada, Victoria
World Trip 2006: Day 128 – Whistler to Cheainus and Victoria, Canada

August 3, 2006

Thursday 3 August 2006
Highlights: Ferry ride to Vancouver Island, Murals at Cheainus

Some of our group managed to see a bear during their early morning walk, I doubt now that I’ll see one however that not a big deal for me having seen some in Europe. Today with left Whistler and headed for British Columbia capital Victoria which is located on Vancouver Island. This meant I got to take a 1.5 hour ferry ride which allowed great views from the sea.

The highlight of the day was Cheainus, a small town on Vancouver Island. This town was a logging town which when the mill shut looked likely to fold the town as well. Local artist however started painting some murals and the town began very famous in these parts. The murals are some of the best work I’ve seen. Vancouver Island is the only piece of Canada below the 49 Parallel which was settled with USA after a border dispute. Originally the USA wanted up to Alaska (ie. leaving about 30 kms to Canada)!

Canada, Cheainus, Vancouver Island, Victoria, Whistler
World Trip 2006: Day 127 – Kelowna to Whistler, Canada

August 2, 2006

Wednesday 2 August 2006
Highlights: Grand views of Nature at Whistler

Not really a big day, we come into Whistler around 4.00 pm after a lengthy bus drive of over 9 hours to see the resort town that will be the home of the 2010 Winter Olympics. This is mostly a town for the rich and shameless to live but it’s hard not to fall for the great views and beautiful apartments/hotels. Tourists are everywhere.

This is really a small town so it will be interesting to see how they handle the Winter Olympics in 2010. I managed to call home and get some news; it seems my thoughts are starting to turn to home more often each day.

Canada, Kelowna, Whistler
World Trip 2006: Day 126 – Banff to Lake Louise and Kelowna, Canada

August 1, 2006

Tuesday 1 August 2006
Highlights: The Majestic Lake Louise

Today we left the Canadian Rockies for the last time. The highlight easily of this day was the stop at Lake Louise.

The Chateau at Lake Louise costs $600 minimum per night (cost saver purchase). I hiked around the lake towards the glacier for around 1 hour; at times it was hard to tell were the mountain/glacier end and the lake started. This is one of the great sights in the world, stunning. I could have hiked all day. The night stop in Kelowna was just an overnight stop not worth exploring at all (we got in late anyway).

Banff, Canada, Kelowna, Lake Louise
World Trip 2006: Day 125 – Jasper to Banff, Canada

July 31, 2006

Monday 31 July 2006
Highlights: Gondola Mountain Ride, magnificent Chateau Banff, Dinner show

A fantastic day of exploring and laughing. I started the day with a gondola (aka cable car) ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain. The view was spectacular of the area and the weather cold at the top. Most of the group did not do the hike from the cable car post to the weather station but I found it far too good a chance to explore a mountain at this height (2,000 metres). During the day I explored Banff which is definitely for tourist (Banff – Be Aware Nothing is For Free). The Chateau Banff in particular was impressive (US Presidents have stayed here and played on the golf course out the back).

At night I went out to see a dinner show called “Oh Canada, Eh?” which is a send up of Canadian stereo types. I didn’t know if this would be a good use of my money but in the end I had a great night, even joined in singing on a few occasions (something you should be glad you missed). Your host for the nights also gets up and sings and your table tries to make the most noise for your host/server so he/she can get a prize, unfortunately now my table was a little too quiet. A great night, I also learned some Canadian history, like they changed their flag in 1961 to set themselves up as not the United Kingdom (they are still a Commonwealth nation). I found this interesting given the debate in Australia over our troops fighting and dying under the flag in the world wars (just like they did).

Banff, Canada, Jasper
World Trip 2006: Day 124 – Jasper and Columbia Icefields, Canada

July 30, 2006

Sunday 30 July 2006
Highlights: Walking on the Athabasca Glacier

Today I got to walk on a 10,000 year old glacier, the Athabasca Glacier. Just getting to the glacier was an interesting experience riding a ‘bus’ that the use at the North Pole. The glacier as you can imagine is very cold despite this being the hottest month in Canada. While walking very carefully on the glacier (there are potholes that go down about 1 km) I tried some of the water which was incredibly pure (our guide recommended you try this, I was the only one willing to walk across to some running water).

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Canada, Columbia Icefields, Jasper
World Trip 2006: Day 123 – Jasper, Canada

July 29, 2006

Saturday 29 July 2006
Highlights: Hiking around Edith Clavell Mountain, visiting Jasper National Park

A huge day saw a visit to Maligne Lake deep in the Jasper National Park and then a visit to Edith Clavell Mountain. It’s very hard to explain just have stunning Maligne Lake actually is, because it is so remote it has barely been touched. A lot of the great postcard / photos from Canada come from this area. Spirit Island in particular looks great with the sun rising just above it (unfortunately I couldn’t get a workable photo). I doubt we deserve to have places like this sometimes, especially the way we are quickly destroying them. At least I might be able to tell the next generation what they missed out on.

In the afternoon I visited Edith Clavell Mountain and went on an hour hike. Our small group (most didn’t come on this excursion) visited a melting glacier (like they all are in Canada). I got to touch ice that has been there for at least 5,000 years. Unfortunately in my lifetime (assuming 50+ years) this glacier will probably no longer be with us 😦

The wildlife that lives in this area will struggle once this resource is gone.

Canada, Jasper
World Trip 2006: Day 122 – Lac Le Jeune to Jasper, Canada

July 28, 2006

Friday 28 July 2006
Highlights: Canadian Rockies

After saying good morning to the local squirrels we headed off for Jasper National Park and into the Canadian Rockies. The most impressive place we visited today was Mount Robson which stands at over 12,000 FT. It is so big that you can be very far away and think it is only a short distance to go however it is an optical illusion due to the height of the mountain.

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Canada, Jasper, Lac Le Jeune