Canada with Douglas and Keith - Vancouver

Douglas and Bonnie at Shannon Falls

I’ve been wanting to visit Vancouver for some time. I knew someone there _ Douglas – and I only heard good things about it. So, it was a great opportunity to break up our journey home from Toronto and to see Douglas again and see a bit of what Vancouver is about.

I met Douglas through the International Anglican Youth Network meetings. Douglas was working for the Episcopal church based in New York, and Peter Ball was the National Youth Officer for Church of England. They got the IAYN going again in 2004 with a meeting in New York, and I was a part of the executive until the meeting in Hong Kong in 2011 when I stood down in preparation for being a vicar. Douglas and Keith moved to Vancouver around that time and kept saying I should visit. So, we did.

Keith was unsure about us. They had recently had some visitors who didn’t help out much around their apartment and weren’t too keen on seeing anything. Not us! We had looked up Lonely Planet and knew what the top 10 things to do in Vancouver were. Keith and Douglas live in English Bay right on the edge of Stanely Park - Vancouver's largest urban park with beaches, trails & family attractions, plus the 10km picturesque seawall path around the outside. Turns out 3 or 4 of the things Lonely Planet say you should do in Vancouver are around that area. 

So, on the first morning, dressed for the cold, we headed out the door and into Stanley Park to tick of the must see’s. We had a lovely walk in this big park. We looked out to the mountains all around us that had snow on them. So picturesque. and it was clear why it was so cold. 

We walked the Stanely Park Seawall Path – on the Lonely Planet list, past 2^nd and 3^rd Beach – on the list, around to Prospect Point – on the list, which gave us magnificent views down Vancouver Harbour and across to Cypress Provincial Park and Grouse Mountain Peak. On the way we looked down to Bowen Island.

We found a lovely place in the park for lunch at a place near the Rose Garden. We then headed back through the park, down past the marina looking down to the city, and then round the Lost Lagoon – a freshwater lagoon in Stanely Park, and back to English Bay and their apartment.

You can find my Facebook photos from these days here. 

Douglas had retired but was back at work covering for the person who had replaced him who was now having some significant health issues. He  had hoped to be freer to show us around. But we were ok. when he finished his work, he took us over Lions Gate Bridge and then up through an area he called “English Hill” which was owned by the Guinness family – who are not English as far as I know. And then up to the Mt Cyprus Ski Field, stopping at an amazing look out on the way. having only lived in places where ski fields are hours away and up big mountains, it was a little mind blowing to be at one in less than an hour, and not that far up really. So different from our ski fields.

That night we went out to a Nepalese place for dinner, and on the walk home I had a close encounter with a skunk. It was on the footpath, and I was going to walk around it, at a distance. Douglas was incredulous and told me to stop. Which I did. You don’t get at all close to these creatures. I know now.

Douglas was working the next morning, so Bonnie and I bussed into Vancouver City to tick off some more boxes. We started with the Gastown Steam Clock on the picturesque Water Street. We spent some time around that area, and then set out for the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Gardens. Their website describes it as “a site of cultural heritage, learning, and reflection in Vancouver's historic Chinatown. Modelled after Ming Dynasty private scholars’ gardens, it is the first of its kind built outside of China. This neighbourhood gem has been named one of the world's "Top City Gardens" by National Geographic.” Serene, peaceful, quiet. It was a lovely space to be for a while.

We caught the bus back to English Bay, walking the last part and enjoying all that had to offer, including some outrageous pastries. So yummy. 

Douglas then took us to Granville Island - a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver, under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge. We got there on one of the cute False Creek Ferries. 

We had a lovely walk around the indoor and outdoor markets. At the at Inukshuk Gallery we were met by an inukshuk stone structure. The word “inukshuk” means “in the likeness of a human.” For generations, Inuit have been creating these impressive stone markers on the vast Arctic landscape. Inukshuks serve several functions, including guiding travellers, warning of danger, helping hunters and marking places of reverence. The Inukshuk (specifically a type called an inunnguaq) was the official emblem of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. It was named "Ilanaaq," which means "friend" in the Inuktitut language, chosen to represent the welcoming spirit of Canada. We realised that there was one of these on the Beach near where Douglas and Keith live. The Gallery itself promotes and sells Canadian and Native Art. It was beautiful.

You can find more photos of these days here. 

That night Douglas and Keith took us to Salmon n’ Bannock -  Vancouver's only Indigenous restaurant. The promote themselves as using the local and traditional ingredients that their grandmothers and grandfathers used to create wonderful and delicious modern dishes. And those dishes were wonderful and delicious. Douglas knows one of the owners. It was such a treat to finish our time away on. They also have Salmon n’ Bannock on the Fly at Vancouver Airport, and we availed ourselves of that the next day while we waited for our flight home.

But before that, on the day we flew out, Douglas took us on the drive up Howe Sound to Squamish – where Michael and Amy began their time in Canada. On the way we stopped at Shannon Falls - BC's 3rd highest waterfall, plunging 335 m. Squamish sits at the end of Howe Sound and is long and wedged between mountain ranges. 

Douglas knew a delicious bakery quite a way in. He seems to know all the good places to eat. Good knowledge to have. On the way back he found a way down to the shore and we got some nice photos. It was interestingly hard to get there and very industrial once we got there. We had some good views of Stawamus Chief, a huge granite formation that overlooks the way into Squamish from Vancouver. You see all my photos here.

And then it was time to finish packing, and to say goodbye. We had anticipated going back sometime soon but that will not be happening now. Sadly. But our days with Douglas and Keith were a gift. A really nice way to end 11 weeks of pilgrimage and travel for me, and 7 weeks for Bonnie.

During this time, we experienced so much, learnt so much, and came home changed, I am sure. For me it marked the end of my time as Minister General for TSSF. And it was where I made decisions about retiring and what I might let go of – everything it turned out. I knew it was important while I was living it and wanted to take the time to reflect using this blog. It has taken a lot longer to do this than I expected. A lot of that has been sorting photos. But this task of remembering – sometimes using the photos as a guide – has been more labour intensive than I thought it would be. It has been a gift .If you have red this far – well done. I hope it was helpful for you two.