Vancouver Island

It's hard to believe we've been here in Parksville, Vancouver Island, for two weeks now. Maggie and her sons Ben and Dan, and dogs Roger and Max, have made us so welcome we feel totally part of the family. Their wonderful house is full of personal treasures and surprises and I still don't know how many rooms there are.

It's so hot and dry at present we live mainly outside, lazing on the flower-filled deck or under the willows and chestnuts Maggie grew from seed many years ago. Food from the barbecue might be wild salmon caught by Ben or Canadian reared t-bone steaks that melt in your mouth, together with local-grown sweetcorn and salads to add a healthy touch. Deer come to eat the hostas in the garden, and raccoons fight under the trees, while eagles flap above the firs. Wonderful.

At night we switch off the house lights and stay outside to watch the sky; our fabulous stargazing has revealed the Milky Way, Jupiter, shooting stars and lots of satellites scurrying on their secretive missions.

Maggie has been a great hostess and a wonderful tour guide, and our local sightseeing has included the best beaches, waterfalls, harbour views, and even goats on a roof in a country village.

On his day off Dan drove us to the west coast of the island, where the Pacific Ocean stretches all the way to Japan with nothing in between. We stopped en route to admire a grove of massive Douglas Firs in a forest of red cedar (no wonder so many Canadian homes have beautiful hardwood floors), and the whole journey seemed to have a rushing river, soaring peak, or stunning lake round every corner. (Oh, and bear number 5 was round one corner, just when we'd almost got over the excitement of bears). We stopped frequently to walk some of the cliff-top trails and admire the glorious seascapes before having lunch overlooking a picture perfect harbour in the pretty town of Tofino. The wilder, surf topped sea of the west coast and long sandy beaches reminded us of Cornwall and the dogs enjoyed their run along the shore.

It's been so hot this second week our main occupation is wading. We go to the beach, wade into the sea up to our knees, and walk around the bay, enjoying the breeze. Doesn't sound too exciting I know, but it's heavenly. There are herons and Canada geese to observe, amazing starfish that seem to be made of purple and pink velvet stitched with sequins, and tiny crabs scuttling round our toes. If we look up for a moment we see across the blue Straits of Georgia to the smaller islands and the snow-topped mountains that frame Vancouver.

If you're under 50 you should start filling in your immigration application immediately.

Vancouver Island has all the best features of Canada packed into an area about the size of Holland, with a similar population to Nottingham. What makes it so special and desirable as a place to live? - plenty of other places around the world have good shops, schools, services, nice communities. For me it's the awesome sense of staggering natural beauty that is around you at all times; everywhere you look you see mountains, forests, rivers, islands, ocean, the strong scent of pine clears your head, and the sound of crickets chirping deafens you. All that, and the promise of changing seasons. The people here even speak a language we're fluent in, sort of. More on that later.

British Columbia

July 14th, and time to head out of Jasper National Park and seek out the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, Mount Robson. This staggering sight is hidden from view until the last moment, and takes your breath away if you are lucky enough, as we were, to catch it when the top isn't shrouded in mist. As I recall, Mount Robson stands at 3954 m, more than three Ben Nevises stacked on top of one another.

Continuing west towards Vancouver, we left the grandeur of the Rockies' national parks to explore the provincial parks of British Columbia. Again, our route was lined with beautiful forests and spectacular mountain scenery, although instead of the pristine, showcase grandeur of the Rockies the BC mountains showed evidence of human life in the shape of farms, ranches, settlements, and hydro-electric power plants. No wild animals in evidence here, but lots of gleaming well-groomed horses to admire.

The wild flowers that lined the roads and filled the meadows were a delight - some we recognised (ox-eyed daisies, purple vetch, lupins, dog roses, wood anemones) and others we didn't (Indian paintbrush).

Our journey along the Cariboo Gold Rush trail took us through some interesting old towns, and we enjoyed driving the back roads through the mountains, stopping by picturesque lakes and tumbling, rushing whitewater creeks. One part of the trip I didn't care for so much was a twelve mile stretch marked 'unimproved road' on our map. This was basically a gravelled pass winding up and down a mountainside with steep gradients (ie, 1 in 4) and drops of hundreds of feet down, and the possibility of landslides from the sheer cliffs above. Imagine that you are in a left hand drive car, on the wrong side of the road, feeling as if you should have a steering wheel in your hands, no safety barriers, and you might understand why this was a nail-biting, bum-clenching white knuckle ride rather than a pleasant afternoon outing.

Our few days in BC were blessed with hot daylong sunshine, and we only broke the rural idyll to take a stroll round Whistler and note its preparations for the 2010 winter Olympics. After a night in a fairly seedy motel on the wrong side of the tracks a couple of hours from our destination, we resumed our journey through the impressive coastal mountains, became excited at our first sighting of the ocean cradled in the estuary and framed by pine forests, and finally reached Vancouver to hand back our hire car without disaster.

Our ferry crossing to Vancouver Island was pleasant and uneventful, and we were excited to see Maggie and Ben waiting to greet us in arrivals.

Rocky Mountain High

What can I tell you about the Rockies that you haven't already heard?

Driving through these wonderful mountains was truly stunning; snow-capped soaring peaks, lush forests of pine and aspen, fast-flowing glacial green rivers, majestic glaciers, and my favourite sight of all - exquisite turquoise lakes - for hundreds of miles.

Our best places to stay were the mountain towns of Canmore and Jasper; best river, the lovely Bow; best lake, the breathtaking Peyto, which could only be spotted by walking the timberline and looking down to see it perfectly framed in all its turquoise glory by snow-capped peaks and sentinel pines.

We'd not been driving long on the Bow Valley Highway when we were alarmed to see ahead of us vehicles scattered all across the road, and people running around waving their arms in a frenzy. Good grief, we thought, there's been a terrible accident and there's a pile-up. As we got closer, we noticed the flash and click of cameras, and we realised a bear had been spotted innocently dining on blueberries in a roadside clearing.

We enthusiastically joined the shutterbuggers, and took our own photos of the grizzly beast. Later that day, on the ski lift at Lake Louise, we saw our second grizzly, again feasting unconcerned in the bushes. Two bears in one day - wow!

The following day we got a really close look at a bear feeding on the river bank and stopped to take our snaps, but our big bear moment came an hour or so afterwards when a black bear lumbered across the road in front of us, and obligingly dug up some roots to eat while we got our best shots.

Other wildlife highlights were two elk feeding by the roadside in Jasper, and an enormous moose - I swear he was as big as an elephant - in the forest as we left Jasper. Almost better than the Masai Mara!

What won't be recorded on our photos of the Rockies is the silence and stillness when we were miles from the highway, the light that always startled in its clarity when we got out of the car, and the thin-ness of the pure air, reminding us that we were usually six or seven thousand feet above sea level.

On a negative note, Brian fell victim to the many flying beasties that lurk in the forests, and was bitten to within an inch of his life. He has the scars to prove it, and will be able to tell you exactly how many bites on each part of his body should you care to enquire.

As for me, my favourite colour is now officially turquoise; maybe David Icke knows something after all.

Apples and Angels

The downside of arriving in Calgary in Stampede Week was that all accommodation in the city was booked up solid, so we looked on the internet and picked out Apples and Angels, a B & B in the nearby small town of Airdrie. This turned out to be a wise move, as Apples and Angels was a peaceful haven where we could recover from our delayed flight and jetlag, and relax in a sumptuous home or wander along the creek to downtown and explore small town Canada. Our hosts were lovely people who made us very welcome and fed us with wonderful gourmet breakfasts every day.

Due to an unexpected hiccup, we found ourselves staying in Airdrie for four nights, collecting our car on July 10th in readiness for the start of our short road trip.

YEE-HAW!

Our arrival in Calgary, Canada, co-incided with the Annual Stampede, a world-famous festival of all things cowboy - rodeo riding, chuck wagon racing, and bronco busting to name a few of the activities. Everyone at the Stampede ground seemed to want to show off in a stetson and a neckerchief, and I was no exception (pictures to follow shortly). The day we spent there started off hot and sunny, and we were soon applying Factor 30 sun cream to the backs of our necks.

We walked through the Indian reservation exhibition and admired the beautifully decorated tepees on display, with intriguing names like Debra Snow Bird over the entrance. We watched in fascination as a squaw in full traditional dress solemnly prepared buffalo meat and draped it over twigs to cook on an open fire. A brave nearby, a feather in his long plaited hair, was expertly boiling water in a blackened pot. Sadly the whole effect was spoilt when he asked, "Ma, where did you put the teabags?"

As always at these events, huge storm clouds formed in the afternoon and we had to run for cover as the heavens opened. We used this time wisely, sheltering in a bar which served Canadian beer and smoke roasted beef dinners.

The final highlight of our day at the Stampede was being sworn in as deputies of a society which celebrated mules (don't ask; it's a Canadian thing).

Homeless

Since selling Rose Cottage and leaving Kneesall at the end of April we've been homeless and at the mercy of family members and friends who have been kind enough to put us up and put up with us. Our UK travels have taken us to Bestwood Village, North Wales, Norwich and back to Bestwood Village.

Our furniture is still with the removal company and other goods and chattels are scattered across Nottinghamshire with anyone who was willing to spare a corner in a garage or bedroom.

As we didn't manage to find a new house we liked enough to buy, we decided to remain homeless for a while and become full-time wanderers.

We've found foster parents for Toby the dog, packed our rucksacks, and bought round the world (well, part of the world) tickets.

On Tuesday 7th July we'll be saying goodbye to Blighty for eight months and heading off for our first stop, Calgary in Canada.

We hope you'll follow us on our travels and let us know your news (it's good to keep in touch!). Briefly, our itinerary covers Canada, Alaska, Fiji, Australia and South East Asia. We'll look forward to reporting our adventures, and please let us know if you have any tips!

Bye for now.

Brian and Viv