Category: Canada

52 Weeks Filled with Mementos

Welcome to a New Year, Welcome to a New Blog –

While everyone is stowing away their christmas ornaments for another year, I’m stowing my life away for another quest. Most likely the biggest one so far as I am leaving with no actual expiration date on my adventure. And this my friends is so liberating and scary at the same time.

And now I am sitting here in my room filling boxes with stuff I have gathered over the  years. More than ready to toss out those old cds from the 90s with embarrassing songs and that leather jacket I never wore because I bought it too small in the first place. Golden rule is, if you have never used it or wore it in the last year, toss it. Except for momentos. A lot of mementos from my travels I simply can’t throw out. It is just too damn precious. The memories you made, the experiences you encountered, the people you met on your road of life. Cherish every single on them. From the awkward little love note from your high school sweetheart to the drunken polaroid group shot from your trip overseas or that awesome pebble you found in the Mongolian Desert last year.

Still trying to decide to do something original with these momentos and take them with me or just leave them in the shoeboxes at leave them at my moms’ for now. Any ideas are more than welcome in the comments.

So here is to a New Year, A New Life and another 52 weeks filled with Mementos, which I will try to share with you on a weekly basis. Hope you and I both enjoy the memories we will make this year.

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Fifty Days of Summer Part 2: Garibaldi Lake / Black Tusk

Nothing ever becomes real ’til it is experienced.

After the wedding bells stopped chiming and my stomach was filled with delicious food over several cozy dinners it was time to leave the city and explore the beautiful lands of Mother Nature.

A good buddy of mine asked me if I was interested in hiking the Black Tusk, a trail that starts little bit south of Whistler and leads to a fantastic view over the area (if the weather permits it).

We drove along the scenic Highway 99 from North Vancouver through Squamish and a good hour later we arrived at the parking lot where our hike could start. We arrived around noon and the parking lot was quite full already.

We started our hike with our camping gear. We planned to stay overnight at the campground at Garibaldi Lake. The first two hours of the hike is pretty much a bunch of switchbacks in the woods. Once we got to the fork in the road we decided to set up our tent at Garibaldi Lake first and followed the signs for the Garibaldi Campground. We passed two more lakes on our right side before arriving at the gorgeous Garibaldi Lake. We installed our tent and had a late lunch.

We left our big bags behind and took a smaller backpack with us to start our climb to the Black Tusk. This trail leads you through the beautiful Taylor Meadows before you start ascending to the intimidating Black Tusk. During this climb you are treated with fantastic views over Garibaldi Lake. Once you face the “end of the trail’ sign you can still continue your hike up to the Black Tusk itself. From here on the climb is even a little steeper and it takes you some time to get to the chute of the Black Tusk but the view from up there is phenomenal. If you are a real daredevil you can consider to climb all the way to the top but I would not recommend it. Other hikers who did risk the climb up to the top told us it was pretty frightening.

We started our descend to Garibaldi Lake. Once we reached our tents we were treated with a smashing sunset that made the lake look like a magical wonderland. After that the temperature started dropping fast and the tiredness kicked in. We decided to call it an early night.

The next day we packed up our tents and explored a little more around Garibaldi Lake before starting our descend to the parking lot.

On our way home we made a stopped at the Sea to Sky Gondola and had a great lunch in Squamish to fill our empty stomachs and celebrate the beauty of British Columbia !

Fifty Days of Summer Part 1 : Wedding in Vancouver

Ever since I left for the Great North American Adventure last July I haven’t been able or trying to give you an update on my travels due to computer problems and time limitations. I have made tons of scribbles though that will never make it to this blog but some others will do.

And I will post those in the next few weeks.

Let’s rewind to the end of July when I shut the door behind me at 5 AM direction Paris Charles de Gaulle where I would take a flight to Vancouver.

All went pretty smooth. One travel tip ! If you fly Westjet and arrive with the train make sure to calculate enough time to walk all the way from the train station to the gate of your plane. At some point it felt like I would end up in the Paris Orly airport.

Westjet brought me all the way to Vancouver in one go.

The Wedding Days

The first few days were all about the wedding of two of my friends who live in Vancouver. He, a military guy from Vancouver. She, a young woman with a degree in psychology from Belgium. They met in a local bar in my hometown, Ieper and where both instantly smitten about each other.

They met up soon after and their love for each other has been growing ever since. Not much later she decided to leave her life behind in Belgium and follow her heart in Vancouver. The rest is history and on July 25th they sealed their lovely deal.

True story.

The wedding held place in a military base in downtown Vancouver, a great location for an unforgetable wedding.

Squamish (Winter)

It’s being here now that’s important. There is no past and there is no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one. 

I visited Squamish for the very first time on the last day of 2014 and it was definitely one of the best days of the year.

A friend of mine transformed herself into the local guide of the day (once more) and took me to some really great places.

We left in the early morning and the weather was just fantastic ! Blue skies and some decent temperatures for British Columbia for this time of year.

Before we entered Squamish we made a stop at Whytecliff Park. Check this place out if you can ! It’s a perfect spot to chill out for a bit.

By the time we got to Squamish we were already pretty hungry and made a stop at Mag’s 99. It’s that bright yellow building along Highway 99. You can’t miss it unless you are color blind. It’s a great place to get some delicious mexican food ! The restaurant has a funky interior and with the music playing and the sun shining bright through the windows I had a feeling I was having lunch in Guadalajara instead of Squamish. Great experience !

We continued our day trip until we arrived at the new Sea to Sky Gondola. This Gondola ride gives you a great scenic view over the Howe Sound. You also can see the Stawamus Chief which I still need to climb (hopefully this summer).

Once we got to the top we had a hot beverage at the Summit Lodge and I called my parents in Belgium to wish them a Happy New Year. Very odd I must admit when you are looking at the Sky Pilot (mountain) covered with snow on a crystal clear sky afternoon.

After we enjoyed our drinks and the calls were made we crossed the suspension bridge and made a little hike to the Chief Overlook Viewing Platform where we had some more mind blowing views of this beautiful area.

Time flew by and we had to get back to Vancouver to get ready for the New Year’s Eve Party but on our way back we made one short stop at Porteau Cove, another beautiful place to hang out. After we enjoyed our last sunset of the year we set course to Vancouver again. What a fantastic day !

The second time I visited Squamish was the day before my birthday. Seems like Squamish makes a great end of a chapter every time I go. This time we visited the Squamish Estuary and Spit, a great nice look out point and great place for kite surfers.

This summer I am going back to the Squamish Music Festival in August and I hope to climb the Stawamus Chief and explore more of this awesome area.

Vancouver Island

I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it. 

Skipping Vancouver Island on your trip through Western Canada is like going to Arizona and skipping the Grand Canyon. You would miss out on a tremendous amount of beauty.

From Vancouver you can take the ferry from Tsawassen (Vancouver) to Schwartz Bay (Victoria).

I visited Vancouver Island last October. I must admit, it’s not the best time of year weather wise but if you want to avoid the crowds, this is definitely your travel period. And it’s Vancouver Island after all, so you can except rain any time of year.

Victoria is quite cozy with a bunch of nice places to eat and drink. One of those place is Jam Cafe in Victoria. An awesome breakfast place with delicious food ! Go check it out before you start your stroll through the streets of the capital city of British Columbia.

From Victoria I started a day trip to Port Renfrew. Don’t except a lot of traffic on this Highway 14 once you passed Sooke. That’s where the beautiful and sometimes bumpy road of Vancouver Island begin. We drove all the way until the end of Highway 14 where you will find the Juan de Fuca Trailhead. You can park your car there and make a nice hike to Botanical Beach where some hikers start the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. A 47 km trail between Port Renfrew and China Beach. Unfortunately I only have a few hours left on the clock until I have to be back in Victoria. But no worries, there was time enough to get myself into some trouble.

On the way back through Port Renfrew we made a stop at the Port Renfrew Hotel for lunch. Unfortunately it was raining so we had to eat our lunch inside instead of the nice porch in the back. Once we stepped inside we could definitely separate the tourists from the locals. One of those locals walked up to my friend once we went outside and he told us about this beautiful grove we should check out. The Avatar Grove. The way to get there was kind of descriptive. They only thing missing was a wooden leg and an eyepatch to believe I was on my way to have a great storyline for a new Indiana Jones movie.

After making some snaps at the pier we took our chances and made our way to our next adventure.

It only took us one wrong turn before we found the first handmade sign to the grove. A little further we came across a fork in the road with no sign but made a right turn. From this point on we had to brace ourselves for some serious potholes so keep your eyes open. This bumpy road goes on for a while.

Just when we were almost convinced we took the wrong turn we saw a sign along the road with Avatar Grove. No parking lot, no cars, no other people since we left Port Renfrew. We parked our car along the road and made our way to the entrance.

It rained a little harder now.

We started with the lower trail and stumbled upon a hand drawn map that looked like a circle with a crooked stick and some tree names written on it. After all, the map was pretty accurate but unfortunately we had to turn around after five minutes because the whole trail was flooded.

We turned around and started the upper trail. This part of the trail also contained the Gnarly Tree. We made our way along the like coloured markers through the trees. They made it a lot easier to continue our trail. Due to the rainfall some parts of the trail were under water or washed out a bit. At the end of the Upper Trail you will find the Gnarly Tree, a giant curved tree.

I cannot describe the exhilaration I felt to walk between these massive trees. You feel so small but at the same time you feel one with this incredible place.

Getting soaked is part of the ‘Rainforest Experience’ !

So glad our local guy told my friend about this place.

But it’s time to move on.

From Victoria we left the following day to Ucluelet and Tofino, two awesome beach villages on the west coast of the island.

Our first stop was in Ucluelet where we rested our heads in the ‘Surfs Inn Hostel‘. This hostel has a good location and is a great place to meet other people. I would recommend this place to anyone. A lot of surfers stay here and they also give surf lessons (with a discount) if you stay there. Don’t forget to write your name on one of the surf boards before you leave.

Highlight of Ucluelet was the Wild Pacific Trail. This loop is an easy walk as long as the strong winds are not blowing you right into the ocean. It took me three minutes to get soaking wet. So make sure you bring a lot of clothes to the island because my clothes from the Avatar Grove where still drying on the backseat of my car. Or just bring waterproof clothes.

The drive from Ucluelet to Tofino goes along the Pacific Rim Highway and you are driving along a handful of amazing beaches. Make sure to make some stops here and also stop at Tacofino Cantina for some great food.

Tofino itself is just a paradise for every water sport fanatic and has a very chill vibe and is filled with young people. I absolutely loved it and hope to come back to this area to explore it some more.

And this is only a tip of the iceberg of what Vancouver Island has to offer so give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed !

While in Vancouver : West-Vancouver

The cost of not following your dreams, is spending the rest of your life wishing you had

After exploring Downtown and North Vancouver it’s time to stretch our legs in beautiful West-Vancouver. I visited West-Vancouver only a couple of times during my stay in Vancouver but every visit was memorable.

What I remember from this neighbourhood is a hike in Ambleside Park on Christmas morning with my roommates, a perfect Christmas start if you ask me, especially after that Christmas Breakfast with omelettes and eggnog. Not such a fan of eggnog but if you spike it enough it will be enjoyable at some point.

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On the last day of the year a good friend of mine took me on an adventure. We started the trip with a stop at Whytecliff Park, a popular place for divers and a great place to take some pictures. If you climb around the rock like a little monkey, make sure you pay attention to the slippery rocks ! No lifeguard around here to save your ass. IMG_3541

In my last week I was living in Vancouver I went to West-Vancouver twice. I already told you I am procrastinator and I had a bucket list to check off. And the list was still pretty long. I lucked out and was able to scratch two more things off the list before I left.

The first one was hiking up to the Eagle Bluffs. The hike starts at the Cypress Mountain parking lot. The hike has some switchbacks but once you get up there it’s a fairly easy hike. The hike itself is not the greatest but the view from the Eagle Bluffs is worth all of it.

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On my last day in Vancouver I went to visit Lighthouse park with two sisters from Belgium. I went to school with the oldest sister and didn’t see her for years. Funny to think that sometimes you need to be on the other side of the planet to meet people from your own country again. They showed me around and I absolute loved it, especially with Pippa, the mountain dog as company. There are a bunch of hikes to do in the park so I will definitely go back !

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While in Vancouver : North Vancouver

There are years that ask questions and years that answer

Only a sea bus away from Downtown Vancouver, North Vancouver is quite conveniently located for those who love to ski and stroll along the beach on the same day.

North Vancouver has two of the three ski hills in Vancouver. Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour. The third one is Cypress Mountain and is located in West Vancouver.

My favourites spots in North Vancouver (so far) are :

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Not as big and spectacular as the Capilano Suspension Bridge but less busy and for free. This bridge is located near the Lynn Canyon parking lot. You can do some easy hikes around here.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

The admission for the Capilano Suspension Bridge is not cheap but you do get access to the bridge, the cliff walk and the treetops. All cool adventures to go to with the family. Please note if you a permanent resident from British Columbia you only pay admission once for the whole year.

Make sure you bring a visit to the park during the winter holidays when the ‘Canyon Lights’ season is switched on (somewhere end November till begin January). The whole park is then lit up with thousand of christmas lights.

Capilano Lake and the Cleveland Dam

Very scenic spot to make awesome photos. Also a starting point to do some easy hikes in the area.

Lonsdale Quay 

A nice spot to hang out with friends or to go on a date. Stroll through the indoor market, enjoy the view from the deck or go up the red ‘Q’ staircase and have a great view of downtown Vancouver. Nice restaurants and bars nearby. Definitely give Raglan’s Bistro a try (poutine, burgers, yam fries,…).

Need more food ? 

For a hangover breakfasts (or any other meal) Eighties is your heaven on earth. Trust me, on a Saturday or Sunday morning you won’t be the only one looking hungover. The place is a little bit outdated but the food is great !

For delicious Thai food Krua Thai is always a winner !

While in Vancouver : Downtown

The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead. 

After a summer in the mountains I arrived in Vancouver for the ‘winter’ season. Six months I made one of ‘the most liveable cities on earth’ my home. The most liveable city if you keep in mind that it is also one of the most expensive cities on earth.

Nevertheless, Vancouver is and stays a great place to explore.

If you visit Downtown Vancouver then you should start your morning stroll along Kitsilano Beach Park. After the morning walk make a stop at Granville Island for lunch or coffee. If you want to be a true tourist you can take the aqua bus across to continue your walk through Sunset Beach Park. Here you’ll pass the giant Inukshuk and the famous English Bay before you enter Stanley Park.

You can walk all around the park if you have a lot of time and love the walking, it takes you about 2 to 3 hours to complete the whole Seawall around Stanley Park. Make the ‘detour’ to go up to the Lions Gate Bridge and Prospect Point for some cool views.

Want to keep going ? Sure, you unstoppable wanderer !

Keep going until you hit Coal Harbour and Canada Place for some nice snaps. If you keep going east from Canada Place you’ll end up in Gastown, a touristy and funky neighbourhood to wander through. Lots of restaurants (The Flying Pig, Steamworks,…) and bars (The Lamplighter,…) to go to.

Make sure you go check out Chinatown and its wonderful Dr Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden.

My walking tour stops here. Don’t go too far east or you’ll end up in the poorest and not so safe neighbourhood of Vancouver (stay west of Columbia street).

Just turn around and head to the Waterfront Station and take that sea bus to North Vancouver.

More about that in my next post.

Waterton Lakes, Alberta

Your life is an occasion. Rise to it. 

Last year I went on a road trip through Alberta, Montana and Wyoming with my good friend Gordon. Lots of driving, lots of breathtaking views and a good amount of hiking.

One of our stops on our road trip was Waterton Lakes. A Canadian National Park that is lying just on USA/Canada border. Everything on the USA side is Glacier National Park.

We parked our car at the information center and because we had ample time to spend in the park, we got the suggestion to hike the nearby ‘Bears Hump‘. It’s a pretty short hike that starts at the visitor center and offers you an awesome stunning view. Be aware it can be windy up there so make sure you keep your personal belongings and loved ones close.

Other things you want to do is visit the Red Rock Canyon and walk the short loop around the canyon. On our drive to the parking lot we saw a bear chilling on the side of the road. From Red Rock Canyon we made our way to Blakiston Falls, a 45 minute hike.

Drumheller, Alberta

Growing up as a kid I always have been a fan of Jurassic Park.

I never knew there was a place in this modern world where dinosaurs marched through the streets.

Until I heard about Drumheller.

Curiosity made me go all the way from the Rocky Mountains into the lonely badlands of Canada. The drive isn’t the most exciting one so make sure you have good music and cool friends on board.

Once you arrive in Drumheller you’ll see dinosaurs are king of the streets. And the citizens of Drumheller have adapted to this unique selling point. Hotels, restaurants, gas stations… they all have a reference to these extinct animals.

If you make the effort to go all the way over there you should definitely visit the Royal Tyrell Museum and the Hoodoos.