Adventures in the Forest

So after a bit of a sleep in this morning I decided to backtrack to a path I found yesterday that needed exploring. It was only a 3.5km track so thought it would be very doable and allow me time to still see more of the island.

The track was obviously not frequented very often as most of the time I couldn't see any path at all. Thankfully there were white streamers on tree branches along the way to show me that I was heading in the right direction. At one point I saw on a map (there were some scattered along the 'path') that my route went along the edge of a marsh...or so I thought until I stepped on what looked like some moss and my foot ended up completely submerged in water. Do you keep going forward or go back. Well this is supposed to be an adventure, so full steam ahead. My tootsies were under water for about 100m until they found solid ground again. But it was all part of the fun and I continued on, squelching in my shoes. It was a lovely hike that took me around a point called Three Rivers, where funnily enough 3 rivers meet the ocean. A definite highlight! I came out at the end scratched, bitten by ruthless mosquitoes and with drenched feet, but thoroughly happy!

Next I decided to go and see another lighthouse, so randomly picked one on the map and off I went. The one picked was called Souris Lighthouse and was the last lighthouse on the island to have a keeper (it only became automated in 1991). And when I arrived what should be happening but a the Canadian Sea Glass Festival all set up in a marquee at the base of the lighthouse. I had a little look around and got talking to the mayor of a town called Georgetown who was showing me his wares. I had quite a few people come up and join the conversation, as what is an Aussie doing by herself on PEI? Was a lot of fun but tore myself away to go and have a looksee at the lighthouse itself. It was blowing a gale force so my hair got a natural blow wave at the top.

It was getting a little cool (it was grey all day with smatterings of windy rain here and there), so I decided to head back to Charlottetown and have a little look around town. Was interesting seeing all the shops and restaurants. Flower baskets hanging from old street lamps and wonderful old buildings. Found a pub and had some pretty amazing fish (PEI halibut) and chips for dinner.

Lesson for today...even in 'Paradise' in our fallen world it is never perfect. Today was pretty close but the mosquitoes were a great reminder that this world is not my home and the new one to come is still something to really look forward to!
Off to see Anne's world tomorrow :)

Prince Edward Island - Anne's country

I awoke this morning to a rather dreary greeting from PEI. It was very grey and drizzly. Luckily I had a new rain jacket which kept my top half nice and dry as I walked about 40 minutes to where my rental car awaited to be picked up. Saturated I started on my ramblings around this beautiful island. And that it is...beautiful!

Winding roads (some of them red dirt just like Lucy described NB: I am referring to Lucy Maud Montgomery of course, the author of the Anne books and so many others), rolling green hills, pastures with lazy cows, fields of purple and yellow flowers as far as you can see, and the quaintest houses all with front porches. I think I am in heaven! Of course I might think differently if I was here in winter. I found a lighthouse which I'm sure Captain James of Glen St Mary was the keeper of. Today I stuck mainly to the east side of the island.

I found a path today that is begging me to explore so I will find my way back to Roma tomorrow and see what I can see.

So these next few days will probably have more photos than usual. I promised Mum that I would take heaps of photos so she could feel like she was with me. Bear with me in all my Anne references.

Random extra photos

So here are a couple of extra photos from my time in Vancouver that probably didn't need an entire blog post devoted to it.

Granville Island - Walked down to this little island which reminds me a lot of Freo back home. Lots of art galleries, touristy shops and a market. Stopped in a park to read for a while and the Canadian geese kept me company.

Jericho Beach picnic - we met Julie's boyfriend and his housemates at a nearby beach for a BBQ one night. You have to bring your own BBQ and the water was freezing. The food was good and the company better though.

Last day adventures in Stanley Park

So for my last full day in Vancouver Julie took it off from work and decided that hanging out with me was much more fun (which I tend to agree with). We thought we'd go do something outside and had decided on a hike, but unfortunately Julie was super duper sore from her dragon boat escapades the night before, so instead we went for a wander in Stanley Park. It's a huge park right next to downtown Vancouver (although sometimes you would never have guessed) that is wonderfully maintained. Because we were walking around Julie saw so many things she didn't even know were there (she usually rides her bike and has missed so much). We stopped and had a late lunch at an old inn and it was very scrummy. Saw lots of wildlife just on the sides of the path. Was a really fun day and a lovely way to end my time in Vancouver.

Getting my education on

On one of my rambles around town I decided to be a bit touristy and visited the World of Science. It's a bit of a cross between a museum and Scitech back home. Was interesting to learn about some of the Canadian wildlife. They had an exhibition on sexuality, which didn't really give me any new info but interesting to see how it was presented. I also paid a little extra and went to an Omnimax movie (think an IMAX screen but it's in a dome that goes over your head). It was a documentary on the Arctic and how climate change is affecting the wildlife, narrated by Merryl Streep. Was excellent and probably the highlight of my visit to World of Science.

Berry Picking

I also got to go berry picking one Saturday. We went to a place called Emma-Lea Farms where you bring your own containers and can pick berries to your heart's content...raspberries, strawberries, blueberries (I have never seen so many blueberries in one spot before) and tayberries (a hybrid of raspberry and blackberry). Acres and acres of them. And even though you pick them yourself, it's a lot of fun, and it's a whole lot cheaper than buying them in a supermarket. We had a picnic lunch and finished off the day with an ice-cream as well.

Tayberries are definitely my new favourite berry. Delicious!

Richmond Night Markets

Julie, her boyfriend Brent, and myself all went to the night markets in Richmond. It's in an area of town where there is a huge Asian population to the point where there are shop signs that don't even have english on them. It was a great experience walking around the different stalls and sampling all sorts of interesting food. The food stalls are definitely the draw card and the most interesting. We ate at a Slovak stall for dessert...something like a doughnut (except it's baked in the shape of a cylinder) with cinnamon and sugar on the outside and then the filling of your choice on the inside. I chose apple and Bavarian cream. Delicious! And for some reason there was a huge duck at the entrance. Not sure the significance of it.

Exploring the Couv

So I've been spending the last 2 weeks hanging out in Vancouver. A quiet 2 weeks as my best friend who I was staying with, Julie, was at work most days. It's been good exploring the city, mostly on foot. The next few posts are some of the interesting things I've done.
Firstly I took a long walk (about 10km) around what is known as the seawall. Was a lovely sunshiny day and I had no place to be. Julie met me at the halfway point for lunch. It was interesting watching all sorts of people walking, running and biking. I even stopped for a bit and read a book (called Quiet which I highly recommend for anyone interested in trying to understand the power of the Introvert).