Eileen does not like the Canadian West Coast
Hey friend,
Lisa and I have gone on quite a few adventures since the National Parks. We traveled through Revelstoke and sipped on delicious maple syrup gin while bathing in natural deserted hot springs. Tall pines and waterfalls were just the cherry on top!
Exhausted by all the traveling, I stayed back in Whistler for a few days. There, I enjoyed some wonderfully sunny days and a lively ski town with loads of tourists. I don’t know if it’s the 9 months of living in somewhat remote places, but I did really enjoy seeing crowds of people strolling through shops and pedestrian streets. I also met three Australian guys who dumped – or donated – everything they couldn’t take from their caravan to my van before leaving the country.
After enjoying the clean and lively Whistler, I made my way to Squamish through sinuous roads and lovely blue lake valleys to meet up with Lisa and Felipe, her friend from Québec. Meanwhile, I discovered Canadians, similar to Alaskans, do not respect any speed limits nor do they know how to switch from beam lights to dipped headlights… Crrr… Squamish was a lot less fancy than Whistler, but had the charm of hosting important communities of climbers and slack liners.
As a good van-lifer, I got kicked out of the street I was sleeping on by lovely police officers, who apologized for scaring me and complimented my paint job and fairy lights. After a few days in Squamish, we were basically locals. Thus, we visited the community-built wild sauna and hiked up Chief Peak :p. It took Lisa and I three tries to get to Water Sprite lake. Our first day, we just chatted too much. The second day, by the time we stopped the car, it was time for food, and by the time we got to the trailhead, it was too late to start. Our third day, we finally managed to get the car high enough to get picked up by my Canadian guardian angels, Sheri and Doug. And what a treat… A perfect lake circled by rocky mountains, green pine trees, autumn red flooring, transparent blue waterfalls, and a fairy-like atmosphere.
I ended up driving to Vancouver hoping to have enough time on Vancouver island to surf and visit my friend Nathan. After stuffing myself with Asian food, I walked around Stanley park and Gastown. I also toured around Grandville Island with my friend Fady, who I met in Lake Louise. While I enjoyed my time wandering around the city and getting to know Doug and Sheri better, Eileen had other plans…. On October 11th, at around 11am, on the road towards Mt Seymour, I heard police sirens behind me and had to pull over. What did I do wrong? Did I miss a red light? While I tried remembering the address I put on my Alaskan driving license (yes, I am cool like that), police officers announced I was either fixing my van right away or it was getting taken off the road.
It’s been about a week now… So, to forget my sorrows, I created new ones by watching Ireland vs NZ and France vs South Africa. I ate much more Asian food. And had lovely political and social debates with Sheri and Doug about the state of Canada and the world.
I should finally get my van back tomorrow after numerous twists and turns. Then only, will I say goodbye to Vancouver and try venturing the Island… or not.
Love,
Cal