I am back in Cape Town and this time, miraculously, my suitcase arrived on the same flight. The Ethiopian treasures are intact and Peter's specially requested Irish beer (bought in a dodgy London café) is chilling in the fridge.
This will be the last post for a while... that is, until the feet start itching again. Right now the only place I want to be is a hot bath and then bed.
Originally used by loggers in the late 1800s, the Capilano Suspension Bridge sways 70 metres above a river bed on Vancouver's North Shore.
The current bridge was built in 1956, in just 5 days. The guides assured us, however, that the massive concrete blocks anchoring each end of this 137m long contraption are still sturdy enough to hold an aircraft. With that nerve-calming information I happily ventured over the ravine. On the other side awaited a tree-tops adventure of suspended walkways between towering pine trees. Spectacular!
For more pictures, see the official website's photo gallery.
Glimpses of Squamish culture. On the left, red and black dominate native designs. On the right, a totem pole in Stanley Park commemorates the Raven Chief of Skedans.
Salmon iconography features prominently in this region: on roadside banners, restaurant menus, souvenirs, jewelry and particularly in native designs.
Below, a newly carved totem pole on the North Shore depicts leaping salmon. The fish are central to Squamish folk lore.
Read the legend of why the salmon came to the Squamish.
Vancouver's pavements are ordinary concrete. But, some creative soul decided to set them apart from every other city by stamping leafy patterns into the surface. Nice touch. And one that makes me smile every time I see maple leaves scattered around my feet.
Clockwise, from top left: here be sea planes; Gastown's steam operated clock; a painted bear project, similar to Cape Town's roving cow exhibit; Vancouver city
No luggage. Again. I'm starting to wonder if there's a deeper message I'm not picking up....
There's still snow on the mountains in Vancouver. We flew over Iceland and then north of Greenland to get here - nearly the furthest place I could be from home.
What do you prioritise if you only have one day of sightseeing in London? Everything! The only reason I'm fortunate enough to adopt this attitude is that I had a personal guide, he had a car, and I arrived so early in the morning that there was no traffic in town. We drove around for nearly three hours, passing all the major sights between Heathrow and Richmond Park.
Later, after a Starbucks run and pastries we hopped on a red double-decker to make the obligatory pilgrimage to Harrods. There I marveled at the price tags (beluga caviar at £3,000.00 a kilo anyone?) and broke the bank buying tea. To clear my head after such excess, we took a stroll along the embankment until Big Ben appeared through the trees. And then it was time to go again. Next stop, Vancouver. (But I've flagged the Michelangelo exhibit at the British Museum and a tour of the Tower for my return leg.)
