Travelling B16's

May 11th

At dinner the night before we discussed what had been said in the car and inevitably the conversation turned to the King and women’s rights. One of the group said she had been told that the only reason the King supported women’s rights was that he had a 15 year old daughter and was concerned that she would be forced into a marriage with someone he didn’t approve of. She said that Morocco had an appalling record when it came to forced marriage, domestic violence and women’s rights in that it allows child marriages and polygamy, stigmatises and discriminates against children born out of wedlock, blocks marriages of women with men of different religions and disadvantages widowed, divorced or single mothers and their children, who therefore often find themselves in particularly precarious economic situations.

We asked Yassine about this and told him what was said about the King. He was vaguely amused at the comment and said there was no way the Kings daughter would be forced to marry – particularly to someone the King did not approve. The King had been very involved in progressing equal rights for some years.

He agreed that in its current form, the family law does not meet the requirements of a progressive country, but it is undergoing revision and there is a will for change. He also pointed out that there is a difference between Western idealism and Arab realism – that many who criticise his country don’t understand. A very high percentage of women (particularly in rural areas) are financially totally dependent on their families until they marry. Poorer families tend to marry daughters earlier to ease the financial burden and it was important financially for women that the family based culture remained. Change would only come with financial independence and that was reliant on a growing economy for Morocco and higher employment.

There is also a difference between forced marriages and arranged marriages. In his view arranged marriages were much more successful as the parents knew their daughters best and would choose a man who would respect them and could provide for them and their children for the future. Marrying for ‘love’ did not take this into account and, in his opinion, more often ended in divorce with all the economic ramifications. He has two daughters and it is obvious he would prefer a marriage with the family involved in the choice of husband.

His third point was that in a regional comparison, Morocco is one of the countries with the most progressive legal systems for women. They enjoy equal access to all functions in political and economic life, at least in legal terms. A quarter of the parliament is female and a high percentage of University students are female. Women of legal age have no guardian, enjoy freedom to travel, freedom to choose their profession and can run for all political offices. These supposedly trivial rights cannot be taken for granted in the Arabic-speaking world. 

His last point was that whilst women in Western Democracies had more freedom, the West also had big problems with a high percentage of marriages ending in divorce, domestic violence and homelessness. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?

We pulled over for a break after our discussion and moved on to other topics but I was interested in his views and did a bit more research.

Morocco is in the process of reforming its family law and the impetus for reform has not come from organised civil society nor – in the form of protests – from the streets, but from King Mohamed VI himself. In his capacity as political and spiritual head of state, he had called for the principle of equality to finally be realised and the Moudawana (the legislation that regulates the basic civil rights of women) has been revised and submitted to Parliment.

Nothing has happened as a result because the parties in the ruling coalition were too divided. So the monarch has repeated his demand and set the prime minister a deadline. A commission made up of representatives from various ministries and religious bodies had to submit a reform proposal for the Moudawana. This will be assessed by the king and returned to the prime minister. However, the public will only find out about this proposal when the prime minister submits it, presumably in a modified form, to parliament for approval and it is not yet clear when this will happen.

Whist the legal system for women are less discriminatory, in civil and criminal law, numerous discriminations and disadvantages against women persist, which are deeply rooted not only in the legal system but also in society. This can be exemplified by two of the currently most discussed passages of the family law – those on child marriages and inheritance rules.

The hottest topic in the reform debate is inheritance law. In Islam, women receive half of what the men entitled to inherit receive. So if a son and daughter inherit from their parents, the son receives 2/3 and the daughter 1/3 of the estate. If there are only female heirs, widows or daughters have to share the inheritance with distant male relatives of the deceased husband or father thus condemning them to economic dependence. Some women’s rights organisations have long denounced this as unfair and outdated. In contrast to other rules of Moroccan family law, however, the relevant provisions can be found verbatim in the Koran. Even progressive human rights organisations therefore often shy away from demanding equal rights for women in inheritance law.

In 2022, 44% of respondents in a representative survey stated that they were categorically against any changes to inheritance law. Only 36% said they could envisage changes. 20% abstained. In other words, when in doubt, the commitment to Islamic identity beats the desire for more equality.

On the one side of the discourse are conservative and religious forces that see the country’s Islamic identity at risk and warn that the country cannot allow what God has forbidden – presumably a reference to the Koran. On the other side, progressive and liberal organisations demand that the current law should no longer lag behind social realities.

Whatever the outcome, the reform process and the accompanying social debate in Morocco is remarkable in that region and attests to the country’s sincere desire to continue its extraordinarily successful development of recent years, not only economically but also socially.

Whilst we were driving and talking, the countryside was gradually changing from green to brown. Marrakesh is known as the gateway to the desert and this was becoming very obvious. It didn’t look as if it would produce anything and yet the inhabitants appeared very resourceful. Long low sheds in the middle of nowhere with a silo beside them housed chickens and herds of goats were plentiful. There was even a van, in the middle of a long stretch of uninhabited road that produced, according to Yassine, the best coffee in Morocco!

The brown suddenly transformed to green again and we had arrived in Marrakesh and ahead were the entrance gates to the city. It was time to farewell Yassine, check in to the hotel and join the group. It had been an enjoyable and educational couple of days

7th May

“Explore the rich cultural heritage of the city of Tangier! Influential figures like Matisse and Paul Bowles have been inspired by its Bohemian atmosphere, creating an artistic and intriguing legacy. This white city is perched on a small hill, watching over Europe and Africa, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The contrasting architecture reflects the many powers that have occupied the city over the centuries, including the Spanish, English, and French. Explore the old town, the winding streets of the medina, Mendoubia Gardens, the historic synagogue of the Jewish quarter and the American Legation with house museum and courtyard”

It all sounded great but not for us. The day started early and ended late and involved a lot of walking. By now both of us were definitely feeling unwell and decided to have a day of rest by the pool and lazing around with lots of naps. We will probably never get back to Tangier and what we did see of it driving around looked interesting but that’s the way it is. 🙁

We had heard rumours of a hidden Speakeasy in the hotel, and had caught a glimpse when we were group dining the night before, so, with our appetite not completely gone, we went in search of some dinner. We were directed down a corridor where there was a plain door with a knocker.

All you had to do was knock three times!

and were ushered in and served cocktails and a traditional Moroccan feast. Hade we been in better form we would have done it justice but we did our best

As we were heading back to our room we ran into some of our fellow travellers. They hadn’t been back long and looked exhausted. We’d made the right decision.

8th May

Off to Fes today with a stop in the famous ‘Blue City’ of Chefchaouen. Founded in 1471, it became a fortress from which Moorish exiles fought off Portuguese invasions of northern Morocco. We visited the remains of the original fortress, or kasbah, still standing today then wandered around the streets of the old town, where the buildings are painted striking shades of blue.

We called in to one of the blue hotels for a drink. The decor was interesting and I thought attractive.

We later joined the others for a smorgasbord lunch. There were a couple of other buses there too and lots of food. I wasn’t hungry and the food was heavy and a bit greasy so I didn’t eat much. About a hour into our drive to Fes I started to get violent stomach cramps and had to get the bus to pull over to a rather dilapidated service station.

Our guide was very concerned that the facilities would not be up to scratch and he wasn’t wrong! A dirty cubicle with a hole in the floor and a tap and a bucket. A couple of our fellow travellers had come down to assist me and I made it rather shakily back to the bus. Deep breathing and a few prayers got me to Fes without further incident but that was the final straw. Ed was really miserable with what he described as ‘the worst cold he had ever had in his life’ and I couldn’t face another two days travel by bus.

We told Matthew we would be leaving the tour and would meet them in Marrakesh. He, Xavier and Riad put their heads together and came up with a Plan B.

May 9th and 10th

The next day we spent in the hotel with lots of lying in the sun for Ed and a light diet for me. The day after they organised a private car with driver to pick us up from the hotel about 10 o’clock and drive us to Rabat for an early check in and to meet up with the others.

Promptly at 10 o’clock and obviously well briefed, a solicitous Yassine arrived and shortly after we were ensconced in a comfortable back seat with bottles of cold water and our luggage dealt with.

Whilst we missed out on guided tours of Fes and Rabat we learned a great deal about Morocco over the next two days. Yassine was a Berber, born in an oasis in the desert. He learnt his English working on film sets for, mainly, American companies. He also learnt to drive – a big step up for a boy from the desert. He worked in the film industry for a number of years during the shooting of, amongst others, The Mummy, Mission Impossible and Gladiator.

Realising that the tourism industry had a big future in Morocco he studied and became a licensed tour guide. He speaks three languages and is qualified to do city and desert guiding. Morocco is very strict about who can guide the tourists and doing so without a proper license can lead to imprisonment. He mainly does private work now with individuals or groups.

We asked him about the King. It was fairly obvious from talking to guides and hotel staff that the King was well respected and held in high regard by everyone we spoke to. His photo is everywhere, in pride of place, even in small shops. Yassine explained that the King was very progressive and determined to improve Morocco and the lives of his people. He is an astute businessman and has businesses operating across industries like banking, mining, real-estate, tourism, insurance, telecommunications plus substantial land holdings throughout Africa.

He had the foresight to invest heavily in the Port of Tanger-Med which is a crucial hub for global trade, particularly in container handling, and is the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean. The port is a key link in the east-west maritime trade route and a vital link in global trade between Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Everything that goes through the Port adds to Morocco’s coffers and, like our guide and tour bus, every job that can be done by a Moroccan is done by a Moroccan.

A number of people proudly told us that the King ultimately contained the Arab Spring protests by implementing some reforms and that Morocco was not very affected unlike other countries which were now much worse off. This appears to be generally if not completely true. Certainly none of the King’s power was conceded.

My father always said, rather facetiously, that the best form of government is a benevolent dictatorship citing Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew. Maybe it is in this case. Certainly those who had been in Morocco five or more years ago say it has changed beyond recognition – for the better. The king has introduced progressive reforms that would never have passed if the country was a democracy, and he tries to counter the very strong religious right without antagonising it but gradually introducing reforms, which is the most pragmatic approach possible.

His long-term vision and programs (green morocco program, industrial acceleration plan, the transition into renewable energy…) have had a lasting impact on the country and the stability the comes from having a monarchy encouraged many big companies to invest in the country.

Rabat is the centre of government and the drive in was very attractive with wide avenues and green landscaping. We passed the entrance to one of the King’s palaces (he has a number of palaces in the Royal compound – this one was for visiting dignitaries). It was very well guarded – we noticed security was very tight all over Morocco.

I took a photo of the entrance and the guards. Yassine was a bit uncomfortable and told me that it was illegal to take photos of the police, the guards and the military. However he didn’t think they noticed and so we made it safely to our hotel to continue our recuperation.

5th May

Today we travel from Granada to Malaga with a stop for lunch in the pretty whitewashed town of Antequera. Antequera is known as “the heart of Andalusia” (el corazón de Andalucía) because of its central location among Málaga, Granada, Córdoba, and Seville.

After a quick lunch we visited the Municipal Museum of Antiquera which was inaugurated by the Prince and Princess of Spain and housed in the beautiful old Palace of Nájera After an expansion in 2009-2011, it was reborn as the “Museo de la Ciudad de Antequera”, and now covers five thousand square meters and stands out as an iconic Andalusian municipal museum.

It is a very well organised local museum and definitely worth a visit. The Ground Floor and First Floor are about the early development of the area from Neolithic times through the Roman era and displays an impressive collection of Roman artifacts from the surrounding area, including glassware, jewelry, stone carvings and fragmentary mosaics. Its pride and joy is an elegant and athletic 1.4m bronze statue of a boy, Efebo. Discovered on a local farm in the 1950s, it’s possibly the finest example of Roman sculpture found in Spain.

Upstairs is a huge repository of religious items, from paintings to ornate silverwork. Floor Two is medieval Christian art and Floor Three displays artists from about the 1850s. The top floor is reserved for exhibitions of the work of world renowned Spanish artists.

You may disagree with the philosophy of bull fighting, but the bullring in Antiquera has been fully restored and is now one of the most beautiful in Spain. We had time to explore it and have a glass of wine before setting out for Malaga.

Warmed by the wine we got back on the bus for the remainder of the trip to Malaga. We went through some beautiful country with well established farms,

arriving in Malaga in the early afternoon and checked into our hotel, a restored old Andalusian palace in the old city.

On the agenda was a walking tour of Malaga and a visit to the Picasso museum. We had visited a Picasso museum in Montserrat and walking through the narrow cobblestone streets of Malaga held little appeal. On the other hand, the spacious room with a comfy bed and the very welcoming staff at the hotel held a lot of appeal.

6th May

The next morning we had to have all our luggage out by 7am and be breakfasted and ready to go by 8.30 so we didn’t lose our booking on the ferry across to Tangier, our gateway to Morocco. We were due to set sail at 12.00 pm. We arrived at 10am and the Ferry Terminal became our home for the next six hours as they kept cancelling and delaying ferries. We eventually boarded and settled down in relative comfort whilst one custom officer methodically and slowly processed every passenger (hundreds). Fortunately he finished before we got to the other side.

Morocco requires you to change your tour bus for a Moroccan tour bus and your guide for a Moroccan guide so we had all our luggage with us – in our case 4 cases – which we had to put in a container on the deck for the duration of the voyage. When we reached Tangier we were informed the lift was not operating and we would have to manhandle all our luggage down three flights of stairs. Thank god for teamwork!

If our impression that Morocco was a backward country was in place when we boarded our tour bus then it was soon dispelled on our drive to the hotel. Wide avenues with beautiful landscaping, parks and green spaces everywhere, people picnicking and playing sport and everywhere signs of progress and affluence. Our guide told us it was because of the King.

We arrived at our hotel, the Tazi Palace Fairmont Hotel, (without doubt the most luxurious of all our hotels) and met for dinner – except for those who got food poisoning from the tuna rolls in the ferry terminal – before retiring to bed. It had been a long day.

3rd May

Grenada is our destination today with a stop to explore Priego de Cordoba.

Situated on the eastern side of the Sierras Natural Park, Priego de Cordoba is a town considered to be one of the most majestically beautiful in Andalucia. Baroque architecture predominates – so much so that the town is known as the ‘Baroque Jewel’ of Andalucia.

After admiring the town and it’s buildings, we continued our journey towards Granada driving through endless miles of well kept olive and orange trees and by mid afternoon the snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada mountains were in view.

Granada is situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s known for grand examples of medieval architecture dating to the Moorish occupation, especially the Alhambra, a sprawling hilltop fortress complex encompassing royal palaces, serene patios, and reflecting pools. Also known for the fountains and orchards of the Generalife, the summer palace and country estate of the  Nasrid rulers.
We headed for the centre of town and after having a bit of a look around stopped for a rather indifferent lunch at one of the sidewalk cafes.

It was on one of the main streets opposite a lovely park and, being a festive day, many of the women and girls had dressed up for the occasion.

Not to be outdone, the men had groomed their horses and were putting them through their paces and generally showing off their horsemanship.

We stayed watching for a while until it was time to checkin to the Alhambra Palace Hotel – a stunning five star hotel situated only meters from the Alhambra and overlooking the whole of Grenada.

4th May

The day to explore the Alhambra and the Generalife gardens. Many of the group had joined the tour for this reason and there was a general air of excitement at breakfast.

A World Heritage site, the extraordinary Alhambra is regarded as being the Moors’ greatest legacy in Europe. Perched on a hilltop overlooking the city, this fortress and palace of the Nasrid sultans is a fine example of intricate stuccowork, elegant archways, and intimate courtyards.

The Generalife became a leisure place for the kings of Granada when they wanted to get away from the official affairs of the palace. In the Generalife there is no kind of decorative excess or points of interest in its architecture. Unlike the Alhambra, all the buildings of the Generalife are quite solid, but in general poor and simple. This indicates an intimate and peaceful atmosphere that the kings were looking for when they retired to these gardens to rest. There are only some decorative motifs of plasterwork, which are not very varied, but are exquisitely fine and tasteful.

We all agreed that these two gardens had been the highlight of the trip so far

It’s the 2nd May. After the long day yesterday, and a night spent coughing and spluttering, Lyndal showed a marked reluctance to leave the comforts of the hotel,p so I joined the rest of the group for a walk through the old town.

Our eventual destination was the Gardens of Alcazar but there was plenty to see on the way there . Córdoba is an intriguing place that exudes history in every twisting lane and flower-filled patio of its old centre. With the Festival of the Patios in full swing many of the streets were decorated with flowers and a number of patios were open for viewing.

We passed The Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Palace of the Christian Monarchs). With its thick defensive walls, it served both as a fortress and a palace. Roman and Visigoth ruins lie side by side with Arabic remains in this magnificent building. It is almost rectangular shape with its long walls made of solid blocks of stone and four corner towers.

It was once the favourite residence of Ferdinand and Isabella, who united the Spanish provinces of Aragon and Castile in 1469 and were also, incidentally, the first parents-in-law of England’s King Henry VIII, who married their daughter Katherine of Aragon. It was used as a royal residence and as the headquarters of the infamous Spanish Inquisition. The Alcazar was later used as a prison, but it now serves as a centre for Córdoba’s municipal government.

We didn’t go into the main building but stopped to inspect the Roman ruins and then entered the small Baroque chapel, the Hall of the Mosaics (formerly the Chapel of the Inquisition) where a series of Roman mosaics, discovered underneath the Corredera, are displayed around the walls.

Next on the agenda was a visit to the Gardens of the Alcazar. The original gardens comprised extensive vegetable gardens and orchards and were surrounded and protected by the walls of the fortress.

The current gardens are much reduced and are divided into three different levels, all of them housing fountains and big pools, as well as a rich variety of native flora. The garden’s borders have changed throughout history and its current appearance differs a lot from the original.

The Jewish community in Islamic Córdoba played an important part in the city’s life in such roles as administrators, doctors, jurists and poets. On our way back to the hotel we went through the old Jewish quarter, the Judería, which remains a warren of narrow medieval streets – some now lined with gaudy souvenir shops, others remarkably silent and calm.

The rest of the tour was planning to visit Medina Azahara, a fortified palace-city on the western outskirts of Cordoba. The city was built in the 10th century and covers 112 hectares. It was sacked during a civil war and remained abandoned for the next 1000 years. In 2011 work started to restore the city. Only about 10 hectares of the 112 hectares (0.43 sq mi) of the city have been excavated and partially restored, but this area includes the main palaces. A dedicated archeological museum, located on the edge of the site, was opened in 2009 and contains many of the objects uncovered in the dig.

Though it sounded interesting, after the mornings exertion I decided I’d had enough and made my way back to the hotel to join Lyndal for an afternoon of relaxation. Yvonne, a lady we had met on the Victorian garden tour, had managed to get three tickets for the Andalusian Equestrian Exhibition that night, which we were very much looking forward to.

In 1567, the Spanish Horse breed with formalized standards was created by Royal decree of Phillip II and the Royal Stables of Cordoba were established. This was the setting for the evenings performance. It proved to be everything we had hoped for. Yvonne had managed to get excellent seats and we were able to skip the very long queue to get inside.

The 70-minute performance seamlessly combines classical, cowboy, and high school dressage with the passion of flamenco. As the dancer moves in harmony with the horse, the result is a breathtaking display of artistry and precision

No photos were allowed during the performance so we just enjoyed the show. However there was an opportunity to download some photos after the Show.

Afterwards we went backstage to meet some of the stars.

An early start today with a fair distance to cover. El Coto Las Canteras in the hills above Osuna was an opportune time to take a break. An ancient quarry that has been providing building materials since before Roman times. Known as the “Petra of Andalusia,” for its stone reliefs and carved murals, it includes the ruins of the 17th-century Shrine of the Via Sacra.

Next stop Osuna, which has one of the best-preserved historic centre in Andalusia. San Pedro Street is one of the most beautiful. This broad and straight street is lined with palaces and stately houses of great splendour. Many of the houses have portals styled along Roman lines, family coats-of-arms over the doors and beautiful wrought-iron balconies.

Onwards to Cordoba, stopping to admire the old Roman bridge before entering through the city walls. Some free time to explore Cordoba’s historic center, one of the largest medieval quarters in Europe, and to grab a bite to eat before our scheduled visit to the Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba, (Mezquita).

The site has an extraordinarily rich history. It is believed that a temple to the Roman god, Janus, was here originally, until the Visigoths invaded in 572, when it was converted into a church. In 785, the church was converted into a mosque and rebuilt by the last descendant of the exiled Umayyads (a wealthy and powerful clan who formed the first Islamic dynasty before being overthrown in 750).

Exiled to Spain, the last surviving descendant, Prince Abd al-Rahman I, established control over almost all of the Iberian Peninsula and attempted to recreate the grandeur of Damascus in his new capital, Córdoba. He sponsored elaborate building programs, promoted agriculture, and imported fruit trees and other plants from his former home as part of his vision to elevate Cordoba as a center of science, culture, and arts.

The Mosque was expanded by his descendants over the next two hundred years. It comprises of a large hypostyle prayer hall, a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, an orange grove, a covered walkway circling the courtyard, and a minaret (a tower used to call the faithful to prayer) which has been enclosed and is now a bell tower for the Catholic cathedral.

The expansive prayer hall seems magnified by its repeated geometry. It is built with recycled ancient Roman columns of jasper, onyx, marble and granite from which sprout a striking combination of two-tiered, symmetrical arches, formed of stone and red brick.

In 1236, Ferdinand III of Castile conquered Cordoba, leading to the reconversion of the Mosque-Cathedral into a Christian church. Rather than demolishing it, Christian rulers opted to preserve and enhance its beauty with new spaces and monuments.

Altogether a fascinating part of the history of this part of the world. Our guide was obviously proud of the history and very knowledgeable…….and determined that we should take it all in. We did our best but it was becoming a very long day!

As the bus was unable to navigate the narrow streets it had gone direct to our hotel with our luggage which was now waiting in our rooms. We were assured that it was not a very long walk back to be reunited with our luggage and we could visit some patio entries on the way and have some wine whilst we viewed them.

The streets were decorated with window boxes, the patios were lovely and the wine was welcome but not as welcome as the sight of the hotel as we stumbled round the last corner.

It’s the 29th April and the Welcoming Dinner tonight is the beginning. We spent the day doing a bit of shoe shopping then relaxing on the Terrace, swimming (Lyndal went in – it was icy cold ) and reading and being thankful we had arrived before the blackout.

Our travelling companions arrived by various modes of transport. Those who had booked to fly were now on trains and those who were on trains waited for many hours at the train stations trying to get seats. One mother and daughter unable to find any transport took a taxi from Barcelona to Seville.

Matthew (our team leader) and Javier (our guide) spent the day tracking people down and getting them to the hotel. As we gathered for the Dinner all but one were present and she was on track to arrive the next day. We were a group of 17 – mainly Australian and mainly women – from diverse backgrounds and many extremely well travelled. Some were on their 10th Ross Tour overseas and were old hands and one of our friends was there from our last tour.l

We started as we were to go on – walking through the narrow streets to the selected restaurant. (Our bus couldn’t get through the narrow streets of most of the towns so we walked everywhere). Our restaurant, Cabonata, was a seafood restaurant with a Michelin Star and each course was superb.

After several glasses of good wine we headed back to our hotel. Matt and Javier were like a couple of sheep dogs trying to get everyone headed in the same direction. It was a very convivial start to our tour.

The next day we boarded our bus to visit two renown courtyards. The first stop was the Hospital de los Venerables. Originally it was developed to house destitute elderly priests in the 16th century but, other arrangements being made, it is now the Seville Cultural Center with a sunken courtyard that is a beautiful blend of cloister and patio.

We explored the Santa Cruz quarter, Seville’s picturesque medieval heart and checked out the Cathedral, ending up back in the Plaza de Espana. We spent a little time there looking at the tiled alcoves that feature colourful murals of Spain’s provinces and then it was our time to enter the Real Alcázar de Sevilla.

We headed back through the gates in the city wall, lined up and had our passports checked against our tickets and went though a metal detector before entry.

The Alcázar of Seville is recognized as the oldest royal palace in Europe that is still in use. The upper chambers of the Alcazar are still used by the Spanish royal family as their official residence in Seville. It is one of the best examples of architecture in the style of Mudejar (the Moorish style). The original palace, called Al-Muwarak, was built by the Almohades in the 12th century. Since construction, it has been constantly reworked and expanded, acquiring new stylistic features. It is a stunning building set amongst beautiful gardens, also Moorish-style.

The Palace and gardens were the primary filming location for the Water Gardens of Dorne in the fictitional kingdom of Dorne in Game of Thrones. Specific scenes were shot in various areas within the palace, including the Grotto Gallery, the Baths of Doña María Padilla, the Dance Garden, and the Hall of Ambassadors. 

Returning to our hotel, we decided to give further exploring a miss. Lyndal was sneezing and had a sore throat – the first sign of the head cold and chest infection that were to plague us for the rest of the tour.

26/4 : We got to the station about 7am for the 8.30 train which was just as well because the check in security was similar to an airport. The swiss pocket knife in my big suitcase (for corkscrew and apple peeling duties) was spotted and very reluctantly handed back. The Spanish high speed rail network is the longest in Europe with trains travelling up to 320km/h. The 828 km to Seville took 5 hours with half a dozen stops so we averaged 165 km/h – makes our trains look pretty pathetic. It also made photography from the train rather difficult with very blurry foregrounds !

The first part of trip was surprisingly bumpy and rattley, bit like the Vietnamese train, except about 100 times the speed ! It smoothed out later. The country of the central uplands of Spain was very hard and rugged with rather anaemic cereal crops and a lot of olive plantations. It improved further south with extensive citrus plantations and later on in Andalusia we saw much beautiful country.

We arrived to find Seville in a state of high excitement. The Grand Final between Barcelona and Seville was on that night and fans were pouring in to show support for their teams. The train station was very busy and the taxis in high demand. After being rejected by a number of taxis, due to the amount of luggage we had, we were finally whisked away to our hotel by a charming young man who became even more charming in Lyndal’s eyes when he battled back through the traffic 20 minutes later to return her phone that she had left behind in the taxi.

Our hotel was situated in a beautifully renovated old building in central Seville.

When we had settled in, we ventured out into the crowded streets, found a tapas bar, and sat back to watch the passing parade. That night Barcelona beat Seville by a narrow margin and when we woke the next day the streets were virtually empty.

We decided that the best way to get our bearings was to do a circuit on the Hop on Hop off bus and decide what we wanted to see the over the next couple of days. The only hitch in our plan was that the stops were very badly marked and we spent a lot of time chasing red buses before we finally cornered one.

It was hot on the bus so after one circuit we hopped off and adjourned to the El Cairo to try their highly recommended paella. It is made fresh to order and we were warned it would take about an hour so we partook of a couple of their highly recommended gin and tonics and passed a very painless hour watching the parade of immaculately dressed Sevilleans gathering for lunch.

The 1929 Iberian-American Exposition was a big event in Seville and in preparation they renovated much of the southern part of the city. The centrepiece is the beautifully landscaped Parque de Maria Louisa, so we made that our destination for the day’s exploring.

It was originally the gardens of the Palace of San Elmo and extensively renovated by one of Seville’s leading landscape designers. Ten countries built pavilions in and around the Park for the Expo and today many of the pavilions remain and are in use either as Consulates or museums. The Argentinian Pavilion is a school for Flamenco.💃🏽. The buildings have also been featured in a number of films, including Lawrence of Arabia, The Wind and the Lion and Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones. The most featured of them is the Plaza de Espania.

The park is amazingly beautiful. There are lush plantings of palms, orange trees, Mediterranean pines, and stylized flower beds with bowers hidden by vines. Paths meander through linking numerous tiled fountains, pavilions and ponds. Everywhere there are benches to sit on and admire the various features and the many monuments. The narrow roads resound to the clip clop of horses as the carriages pass by and the mounted police keep vigilance.

When we arrived there were fountains running everywhere……

At about 1pm all the fountains turned off. We speculated whether (a) they were saving power (b) they were saving water (c) they were worried about evaporation (d) they hated all the tourists

Disappointed but not overly worried we continued on our way

It wasn’t until we went to call a taxi that we realised we had no internet and no way of finding our way back. We managed to scramble on to a hop-on hop-off where we had a birds eye view of total chaos

The blackout covered Spain, Portugal and part of France. All the shops and restaurants were closed. Lifts had stopped working with people stuck inside. It lasted for 6 + hours. We made it back to our room (fortunately we were only on the second floor) and waited in the dark until the power came back on – thanks to Morocco we were among the first to get power. We ventured out again looking for a meal, most places were shut but the Red Steak was operating and we had a very nice steak with barbequed vegetables.

The next day (24/4) Lyndal decided she had done enough walking and had a day off to explore the comforts of our Apartment, so I took the hop on/off bus for a look around the city. Notable in Barcelona are the hundreds, indeed thousands of motor scooters lining the sidewalks – a popular and very practical mode of transport in the narrow streets. Compared to those you see in Australia most of them are more substantial, more like step through motorcycles.

The bus took me passed most of the sights we saw with our guide on the first day but I got off for a couple of hours at the Maritime Museum, which is recognised as one of the finest maritime museums in the world. It was most impressive and interesting, going back to the days of Columbus when Spain was a great power.

In the evening we were looking for a nice meal, not too heavy. I had a walk around the area and spotted a nice Sushi restaurant.

So we dined there and it turned out to be very nice indeed, beautiful food

– and also rather expensive, which we would have known if we read the reviews before we went, not after.

The next day Lyndal had booked a coach tour to Montserrat monastery and a vineyard about an hour’s drive out of Barcelona.

It was to these mountains that a Benedictine monk fled with the monastery’s most treasured possession. A small wooden statue of the Madonna and child that is believed to have been carved in Jerusalem at the beginning of Christianity. Found in a cave centuries later, a small chapel was built to protect it, which over the years evolved into the Montserrat Monastry and attracts millions of pilgrims each year

The monastery is at 1,240m near the top of a granite mountain – a spectacular setting. It was also rather cool naturally and since I failed to take note of the elevation I went up there without my jacket, so had to buy a jumper from the monks who cleverly kept plenty in stock. Spectacular buildings and a beautiful cathedral, most of which had to be rebuilt after being destroyed by Napoleon’s troops because it was seen as a political centre for the Spanish guerilla resistance.

Many of our group chose to hike down to the sacred caves but we chose to explore the Museum of Montserrat, which has a wonderful art collection with more than 1,300 works on display by great artists such as Caravaggio, El Greco, Dalí, Picasso, Degas, Monet and Renoir. 

It also has static and interactive displays showcasing the Monastry’s thousand year history as well as a soundproof cubicle where you can lie back and immerse yourself in the music and voices of one of the oldest choir of boys in Europe. The Montserrat boys’ choir of altos and sopranos are renown around the world for the high standard of the music they produce.

Needed another day at least!

We were to rejoin the coach at the bottom of the mountain so took the mountain tramway down – rather a thrilling and spectacular train ride.

From there we went to a one of the local vineyards for wine tasting and lunch.

After tasting some very nice wines we looked through some of the original old barns and wine making equipment before sitting down to a delightful multi course lunch. Then it was back to town for a quiet night to get ready for an earlyish start in the morning for the Seville train.

A leisurely start to the next day with bacon and eggs for breakfast and a lot of lying round reading and sorting things out.  At about 11 o’clock we roused ourselves, repacked our leave-behind bag with our boat and wedding attire and set out for the Lockering depot.  

After a rather rocky start (due to miscommunication we were in the wrong depot) we managed to deposit the bag and head off to go sightseeing. It’s a neat system. You enter your special pin and the front door opens, you enter it again inside and a picture of a locker appears with a number.  Tap the picture and the numbered locker opens. You deposit your bag, close the locker and depart.

This was the day that Barcelona celebrates the Festival of Sant Jordi.  It is an immensely popular festival that combines culture and romanticism, celebrating both World Book Day and Valentine’s Day. On this day, it is customary for couples to exchange gifts: traditionally the men receive a book and the women receive a rose. Book and flower stalls are set up along the streets and all over the city are people carrying a red rose.

Many of the houses are decorated with roses and Gaudí’s Casa Mila is one of the finest, so that is where we headed first. Then off to window shop down Passeig de Gracia , a wide tree lined avenue with a large number of buildings renown for their originality, beauty and history and a paradise for luxury shoppers, as they house many of the well known high end brands.

Placa de Catalunyai is a large square in the centre of Barcelona generally regarded as the city centre and known for its monuments, fountains and pigeons.  It is where many of the city’s most important streets and avenues meet and where Passieg de Gracia ends and La Rambla begins.

 La Rambla is considered one of the best-known streets in central Barcelona. A tree-lined pedestrian street, it connects the Plaça de Catalunya with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell.   It is a tourist hotspot, always full of people strolling among its dozens of kiosks, flower stalls, artists, living statues, terraces, restaurants, and shops.

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About halfway along was our destination, Mercado de Boquera, a large public food market featuring every type of food you could wish for.

There we had a late lunch of seafood and fresh fruit

and purchased provisions for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as wine and chocolates, before catching a taxi home, laden with purchases and rather footsore. We had walked about six kilometres.

We are off on the first leg of our journey- cruising over the Timor Sea on our way to Singapore and thence to Barcelona and our adventures initially in Spain and then on to Italy, France, UK, Denmark, Holland, Germany and Switzerland.

We are going to be away for 3 months and are combining a tour of the Gardens of Spain and Morocco with a Mediterranean Cruise, a wedding in Scotland and a Rhine River Cruise.  In between we will be travelling by train through Italy and France, driving through England and Scotland, flying to Denmark and Holland and exploring Switzerland by train before flying home in July.

We managed to fit everything we needed for hot and cold weather and casual and dressy occasions into our suitcases, without going over the weight limit, left our home and chooks in the care of some good friends, farewelled family and in the predawn headed for the airport.

Ahead we have a 9 hour layover to experience the attractions of Changi Airport before departing at midnight for Barcelona.

Edgar : Across Australia we flew over country very familiar to me – Emerald, Clermont , Cape River, then west of Charters Towers and on towards Darwin past the southern Gulf. This is country I had flown over for close to fifty years, first in our little single engine Beech Bonanzas at lower altitudes and later in the Beech King Air at high altitude. A well worn road.                

With admirable efficiency Singapore Airlines delivered tasty meals, clean toilets throughout the flight, a speedy exit, good advice on what came next and let us loose in Changi Airport. A little shopping, a visit to the Crystal Garden and the Butterfly Gardens and we settled down in the Ambassador lounge, where for a small fee we got two free alcoholic drinks each, a very adequate meal and comfortable chairs to wait out the remaining time.

The next 15 hour midnight to dawn flight was, as expected, tedious and offered little sleep.   We arrived late due to headwinds,  but were through immigration, collected our luggage and exited via the Nothing to Declare gate in less than 30 minutes.  We were met by our Welcome Pickup driver and within minutes were on the road on our tour of The Highlights of Barcelona

Bhagwant had lived in Barcelona since he was a boy, and his obvious love and pride of the city showed as he shepherded his, somewhat jet-lagged, passengers around. Some of the highlights we explored then and some we noted for later, but it was a terrific way to spend the time before we could check in and to get advice and information from a local.

Our last stop was the Gothic Quarter.  Cars are not allowed in the narrow streets so the plan was for him to drop us off on one side and pick us up on the other and he would  stay with the car and luggage.  He gave us a list of places to see that formed part of a map from one side of the Gothic Quarter to the other and with some trepidation sent us off

We negotiated the first couple of turns following the clues

A great place to stop for a couple of baguettes with delicious filling, a coffee and a syrupy hot

It’s a fascinating place with lots to see and we eventually made it to the other side to be met by a somewhat relieved Bhagwant who, I think, had been a little doubtful that this rather vague couple would make it!

By this time our Airbnb was ready.  It was housed in a beautiful old building surrounded by other equally beautiful buildings

Though true to the photos, it was rather poorly equipped, which probably explained the reasonable price for a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment within walking distance of the city centre.  However it was clean and the beds were comfortable and, after a quick visit to the nearby supermarket, we crawled into them for a well-earned sleep.

After two full days, day three was a day of rest and some shopping to help stock the pantry and freezer before the baby arrived. Andrew and Christine had chosen the dishes they would like so it was off to No Frills for the basics (like many stores in Canada they don’t take Visa – so there went my supplies of cash) before we moved on to Loblaws for a much superior shopping experience. Back to the house for an afternoon of chopping and sautéing and then generally lazing around.

Day four and we were once more back on the train. Toronto has an excellent rail system that is generally under utilized and once we had worked out the intricacies of the Pronto card we found this the best way to get around. Our destination was the Allan Gardens to be followed by lunch in the city.

It was a very pleasant walk through the Park. The trees represent the northern tip of the Carolinian forest with species such as black cherry, American beech, red oak, sugar maple and sassafras. Most are over one hundred years old. It is also home to three varieties of squirrel, the gray, the black, and, unique to this park, the red tailed black squirrel as well as home to the city’s largest flock of pigeons, a roving peregrine falcon and a statue of Robert Burns. It was named after George Allan, a former mayor and senator who donated the land. The Allan Gardens Conservatory is over 100 years old with a garden-filled greenhouse that covers over 16,000 square feet displaying seasonal plantings as well as a permanent plant collection of botanical importance. Rare tropical plants from all over the globe are nurtured inside five greenhouses.

The entrance to the Conservatory is through the Bee Gardenswhere hundreds of varieties of plants and flowers attract bees and butterflies. There are a number of bee hotels of various shapes and sizes to house solitary bees, which make up over 85% of the bee population.

The Victorian style conservatory, known as the Palm House, was built in 1910 and houses bananas, bamboo and a huge Screw Pine. The Cool House has a waterfall, small pond and citrus trees and the Southern Tropical House has a waterwheel and tropical orchids and bromeliads whilst the Northern Tropical House has varieties of hibiscus, datura and cycads. The Arid (Cactus) was moved from Exhibition Park in the 1950s and has a wide variety of cacti and succulents.

We had a very pleasant couple of hours wandering through the Conservatory. It is a popular spot for photographers of both people and plants and has plenty of places to sit and view the displays of plants.

Back into the real world of Downtown Toronto we headed off to find some lunch. The neighbourhood looked rather seedy as we headed down Dundas Street

but the Grand Hotel in Jarvis Street looked inviting and we had a lovely relaxed lunch there.

We chose to sit inside in a very pleasant dining room overlooking the outside dining area.

That afternoon we set off for the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Our route took us down Bayview Avenue, one of the wealthiest areas in Toronto where homes sell for mega millions. Arriving at the Botanical Gardens we found our old friends Zimsculpt were about to open an exhibition. Based in Harare, ZimSculpt is passionate about promoting the work of some of the best Zimbabwean sculptors by holding exhibitions around the world and making sculptures available for purchase online. They currently represent over 200 sculptors and boast the largest Zimbabwean sculpture collection in the world. Run by Vivienne and her husband Joseph, they tour around the country, hand selecting every single piece that is displayed.

On our last trip to Canada we called in at the Van Dusen Gardens and bought a rather large sculpture of two lizards on a rock. We were lucky that time in that the exhibition was closing and we got the lizards for a good price, which included the shipping of the 126kg sculpture back to Australia. This time we were out of luck as the exhibition was just opening and the only affordable piece for us was already sold.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens covers about 4 acres and has 17 garden rooms. We spent some time wandering through the various gardens admiring the plantings and the statues before having coffee at the Garden Café.

After our coffee we did part of the Woodland and Bird Habitat Walk before heading back into the more formal gardens. Everywhere there were these fantastic sculptures

and we totally fell in love with one called Migration – unfortunately way beyond our budget even before we considered shipping it home.

Home to put our feet up, have a drink and discuss the day’s activities before dinner and bed.

Christine, wisely, decided to stay at home the next day when we headed for the inaugural Harold’s Fish Festival, which offered a “fusion of fish and seafood dishes with a perfect blend of wines, beers, and signature cocktails, bringing you a fish event like no other.” It was to be held at Ontario Place and we duly headed downtown in the train in search of this exciting event. Our other choice had been the “Beer Festival” and we could hear the music thumping as we got off the train

We spent hours wandering around Ontario Place, which used to be a very popular park and theme park. It is located on the shores of Lake Ontario and is build out into the lake on three artificial ‘barrier’ islands. I think the description that best fits it is ‘its like wandering through a post-apocalyptic landscape as it awaits redevelopment’. No cafes or anywhere to get some lunch except an upmarket restaurant or a pie cart. There are plans to redevelop it into a green space with free activities aimed at all ages but it has a long way to go. In the meantime it is a lovely park to wander it but not much to do.

We never did find Harold’s fish festival and later found it had been cancelled but they forgot to put the fact on their website. Disheartened we decided to head for the Sky Tower after briefly considering the Beer Festival but the day was hot so we decided to give it a miss.

Things brightened up when we came across Roundhouse Park a 17 acre park in the former Railway Lands. It features the John Street Roundhouse, a preserved locomotive roundhouse, which is home to the Toronto Railway Museum and, more importantly, Steam Whistle Brewing where you can sample the beers, have some lunch and do a tour of the Brewery. Having walked for miles we opted out of the tour but enthusiastically sampled the beers and had some lunch.

On to the Sky Tower where we again faced disappointment. This time it was cost. Tickets to go up to the three levels were $60 each and the waiting time was about an hour unless we wanted to pay a rather hefty fee for an expedited trip. We had noticed that you could get a meal plus admission to the Sky Walk for $60 each and decided that that would be a better option at a later date.

Back home we picked up Christine and went back to the Toronto Botanical Gardens for an hour or so and to check out the ZimSculpt Exhibition, which had officially opened that day.

They had a gallery of smaller pieces and, after much consideration, we purchased a small carving of impalas before heading back home to get ready for our trip to Ottawa the next day.

We had found that food tours were a great way to learn about a town and find the good places to eat so, having convinced Andrew that it was a good idea, selected the Culinary Adventure Tour of St. Lawrence Market. Christine had been told that the 200 year-old markets were a must-visit for anyone coming to Toronto.

We linked up with our guide, Leo, and the other four members of our party and headed for our first stop – coffee at Balzac’s Coffee Roasters. Named after Honoré de Balzac, a prolific and celebrated 19th century French novelist, whose prodigious output was famously fueled by copious cups of strong, black coffee consumed throughout the night, this popular café is situated in a beautifully restored heritage building with it’s large patio facing the St. Lawrence Market.
After we had indulged in some very good coffee (and Chia Latte) we gathered for a talk about the history of the Market and the surrounding area known as Downtown Toronto. The area formed part of the original city of York, and was later known as Old Toronto. In 1904 the Great Toronto Fire destroyed most of it and after the reconstruction it was amalgamated with other municipalities to become the modern day city of Toronto. We had a walk through the area past the Cathedral and some of the other historic buildings that the Fire had spared; including the flat iron building, which had a fascinating history. Originally the Gooderham Building it was built to house the Gooderham & Worts Distillery and is wedged between Front Street and Wellington Street where they join up to form a triangular intersection. The building is the focal point of one of Toronto’s most iconic vistas: looking west down Front Street towards the building’s prominent rounded corner, framed on the sides by the heritage commercial blocks along Front Street, and with the skyscrapers of the Financial District towering in the background.

The Gooderham family was a very prominent and influential family owning flourmills, schooners, the distillery and later branching into railways. The patriarch of the family was William Gooderham who with his son George was instrumental in starting the Bank of Toronto. Originally the building was very close to the docks and it is rumored that there is a secret tunnel linking it to the Bank. Supposedly liquor was smuggled out on the schooners and the money went down the tunnel to the Bank.

St. Lawrence Market is an historic food market in Toronto’s Old Town. You can come to the market to experience the bustle of a traditional fresh-food market, sample everything from fruit to seafood, browse exhibits and antiques and improve your culinary skills. The market has three buildings to explore and a huge range of wares and cooking classes.

St Lawrence Market North has hosted weekly farmer’s markets and antique markets since 1803. It is currently being redeveloped and we went across to have a look at the plans and photos of the radically different building being constructed. In the meantime the farmer’s and antique markets are being held behind St Lawrence Market South.

The South building was originally the City Hall and also housed the police station and jail cells. The old council chamber is all that remains of the original city hall and is located on the gallery’s second floor.

It is now the venue for the food stalls, some of which have been there for thirty years. Spectacular butchers, dynamic fishmongers and a collection of unbelievable bakeries make visiting a feast for all five senses. It’s no wonder that National Geographic voted the market the world’s best food market.

Our first stop in this iconic market was to the Carousel Bakery to sample an iconic dish, Toronto’s Peameal Bacon sandwich, which is almost obligatory to eat if you visit Toronto.This was followed by a visit to Scheffler’s Delicatessen & Cheese to try their cheeses and charcuterie board. , Mike’s Seafood was very popular, particularly the Oyster Bar and the samples of hot and cold smoked salmon. We called in at European Delight to try their Pierogi, (little dumplings filled with a sweet or savour filling) and snacked on fruit and berries from the various fruit stalls before ending up at Churrasco of St Lawrence to try another of Toronto’s iconic dishes, Portuguese Custard Tarts. As we went Leo told us the history of the people who had, in many cases, run these stalls for generations.

After Leo had departed we explored the Markets on our own. I was keen to get some samphire or sea asparagus that I had spotted earlier whilst the boys headed for the meat section to buy a large steak for dinner that night. Christine and I split up in search of Cinnamon and Raisin Bagels but all the bakeries were sold out – we had been pipped at the post by Edgar who arrived with a bag full – he had bought the last ones in the Market!

We left the Market and headed for the train station detouring past Berczy Park. The distinctive feature of the park is a large, two-tier fountain with life-size cast-iron statues of 27 dogs and a cat. The dogs are all looking up towards a large bone perched on the fountain’s peak. The cat is looking north at statues of two small birds perched on the arm of a lamppost about 3 metres away from the fountain. Each of the dog statues contributes to the fountain function by sprouting water upwards from their mouths. The fountain also includes a ground level trough to provide drinking water for real dogs!

By now a terrible thirst had overcome us and the need to find a bathroom had driven us into a nearby Irish Pub where we tried a couple of different beers, and a gin and tonic, before heading home on the train.

It had been a fun day and Andrew had really enjoyed the history element and completely changed his mind about Food Tours.

Our flight from Juneau with Alaskan Air went off without a hitch and we had a very pleasant if somewhat late night at the Crowne Plaza in Seattle. Off to the airport to catch the Air Canada flight to Toronto the next morning and a slow check in was followed by total chaos. I know they are doing upgrades at Seattle Airport and they had five flights boarding in the same area but Air Canada’s boarding plan was random to the extreme and it took well over an hour to complete boarding a 737.

Things didn’t improve in the air and we were very relieved to arrive in Toronto and excited to see Andrew and Christine.

They had been allocated a lovely spacious home in a pleasant suburb of Toronto and we quickly settled in. Christine had prepared a delicious dinner and whilst we ate we made plans for the coming week. They hadn’t been in Toronto long and an unexpected trip back to Ireland had meant they hadn’t had a chance to look around, so it was new to all of us.

Niagara Falls was high on the list so we decided to go there the next day and we had had such successes with our food tours we decided to do one the day after that. Andrew was keen to see Montreal and Ottawa before he started his course so we scheduled those in as well as the Allan Gardens Conservatory, which had come highly recommended, the Toronto Botanical Gardens, also recommended, and the Sky Tower.

No time for lying around with so much to see and we were up bright and early the next day for the hour and a half trip to Niagara. We had looked on line the night before and had tickets for all the attractions so were anxious to get started. A quick breakfast at Maccas on the way and we were fueled and ready. We parked next to Dinosaur Land Put Put Golf and made our way to the Falls.

Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of New York. Dressed in attractive red ponchos we headed for our boat to take the trip under Horseshoe Falls.

It is obviously a popular cruise and there were plenty of people on the same mission. Fortunately we had got there early and the wait wasn’t too long before we off cruising past the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and on to Horsehoe Falls.

The American Falls is the second largest of the three waterfalls and the third, Bridal Veil Falls, is beside it. The volume of water going over the American and Bridal Veil Falls is an impressive 567,811 litres per second, which is approximately 10% of the flow from Niagara River. This coupled with the height of the Falls, 57 meters from the top of the Falls to the river, makes it a spectacular sight. Visitors can view the falls from the American side, where it is possible to approach to within several meters of the edge of the falls.

Behind the Bridal Veil Falls was a natural cave, the Cave of the Winds, some 40m high, 100m wide and 30m deep. Originally you could descend a staircase close to the falls and go behind into the cave where winds could reach up to 110kph. A rock fall closed the clave in 1954; today, the “Cave of the Winds” is the name of a tourist attraction near the same site. An elevator takes you down to the level of the Niagara River, where a series of redwood decks and platforms allow sightseers to walk right up to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls with water crashing down right on them and flowing beneath the decking. This is where we went the first time I visited Niagara Falls and I can still remember the massive power of the water.

If the American Falls is impressive, the Horseshoe Falls are awe-inspiring. With a height of 59 meters and a width of 793 meters, the average volume of water is 2,271,247 litres per second. They are one of the best-known and largest waterfalls in the world and approaching them in, what seemed, an increasingly small boat is quite an experience. The roar of the water is so loud you can barely hear and the mist so dense you can only make out shapes. A lot wetter thank when we started we emerge out of the falls and, passing the hydroelectric building, head back to where we started.

We wandered back along the top of the Falls, stopping to admire the Police Station

and to grab a bite to eat before making our way to the top of Horseshoe Falls. Looking at the speed and volume of the water going over the edge you couldn’t help thinking it must have been a hell of a ride in a barrel!

We headed back to the top via the Incline Railway, which gave us a good view as we ascended, and walked back through the various hotel gardens, past the casino and on to the Skylon Tower. We had debated whether to have lunch there but the reviews were not good, so we only went as far as the Observation Deck where we had a terrific overview of the Falls and the Niagara River beyond.

Niagara-on-the-Lake has a well deserved reputation for being the prettiest town in Ontario. It sits on the shores of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Niagara River and is in the heart of Ontario Wine Country. The flower-filled, tree-lined old town features 19th-century buildings and numerous boutique shops, boutique breweries and lovely restaurants. Near the river sits the 19th-century Fort George, which was built by the British to defend against American attacks.

We had chosen to have lunch at Treadwell’s Farm to Table Restaurant, which had excellent reviews. Stopping on the way to visit one of the wineries we arrived and were ushered to one of the tables on the patio where we watched the world go by whilst we partook of a very pleasant lunch washed down by local wines and beers.

After lunch it was time to do some window shopping. We visited the Christmas Shop, the Hat Shop and a number of other interesting little shops offering all sorts of delights.

We finally took mercy on the boys and retired to the Exchange Brewery where we tried a couple of their flights of beer.

Feeling rather replete we went for a walk in Queen’s Royal Park on the edge of the lake. It was sunny and warm and there were a number of people swimming. It looked very inviting but we resisted the temptation due to the fact that it was a bit cool, the pollution level was only just above acceptable and we didn’t have anything to swim in.

Instead we decided to visit Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery. Wayne Gretzky is a Canadian former professional hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed “The Great One” he has been called “the greatest hockey player ever” by many sportswriters, players, and the league itself. Gretzky is the leading scorer in NHL history, with more goals and assists than any other player. At the time of his retirement in 1999 and persisting through 2017, he holds 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records.

The complex is the first of its kind in the region, featuring both wine and distilling production. Nestled among the vineyards, the distillery is home to state of the art distilling equipment, while the winery features a beautiful barrel cellar and collection of Wayne Gretzky memorabilia. You can enjoy a tour, wine and whisky tasting bars, good food and even participate in a cocktail making course. If you are feeling in an expansive mood you can go to the VIP tasting room and try the high-end wines. As is appropriate for such a highflying ice hockey player, the fountain in the courtyard turns into an ice rink in the winter.

We were a little late in the day to do any of the tours but the boys had a fine time at the whisky tasting bar trying out the different whiskies. Not being whisky fans Christine and I settled for one of their special cocktails!

Christine had only had a tiny bit of alcohol and was nominated to drive home. We had a fabulous day and will definitely be back to Niagara-on-the-Lake for another visit. There are still so many places we haven’t visited! For food we need to see Cheese Secrets, Greaves Old Fashioned Jams, Jellies & Marmalades, the Pepper Palace (for all things hot), the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Maple Leaf Fudge and the Fruit Shop Farm Market & Bakery; for clothes and gifts there is Irish Design, the Scottish Loft plus a number of galleries, micro breweries, restaurants and cafes and we definitely need to revisit Beau Chapeaux and the Christmas Shop. Then there are the wineries…………..

Might need to stay overnight!

Our last day in Sitka dawned cloudy and showery, which was not what we wanted as we were flying to Juneau on Alaskan Seaplanes and were hoping for a clear sunny day so that we could enjoy the view on the way up the coastline. This was not to be as, although it was clear when we left and clear when we arrived, the middle part of the journey was above the clouds.

It was however a good indication of how necessary radar is in this part of the world as we flew among high mountain tops jutting out through the clouds and could only imagine what was below us.

In 1906 gold rush pioneer John Olds built one of the grandest homes in all of Juneau, high on the hillside, overlooking the bustling waterfront. Now the Alaskan Capital Inn, this was our destination for our stay in Juneau. The Innkeepers, Linda Wendeborn and Mark Thorson, have preserved the early memories of this pioneer’s historic home in the décor and memorabilia offering a glimpse into another era.

After we had checked in and partaken of tea and coffee and some of the freshly baked biscuits and muffins (which were among the snacks and fruit left out for guest consumption and constantly replenished), we unpacked and headed down to the waterfront for Tracy’s Crab Shack and lunch.

The waterfront was now completely unrecognizable with the rather ramshackle docks replaced by boardwalks and restaurants. Tracey’s was no longer a shack but a large custom designed building housing one of her four restaurants. The boilers were still going flat out but (maybe it was just our imagination) the crabs didn’t seem so fresh and the crab chowder was much more spicy.

Still there was only one cruise ship in and the boardwalk was uncrowded and it was pleasant to stroll in the midday sun and take in the sights. Our crabs were still good and we greedily consumed a bucket washed down by some local beer.

After eating our fill, and more, we headed for the Mount Roberts Tramway, which is an aerial tramway that makes a six-minute ascent from the docks to a height of about 1,800 feet up Mt Roberts. A restaurant, theater, nature center and retail shops are located at the top of the tramway, as well as connections to trails leading both up and down the mountain. The view from the top is spectacular and we spent some time admiring it before heading into the retail section and purchasing a couple of short sleeve ‘souvenir’ t-shirts. The weather had been unseasonably hot and we were sweltering in our long sleeve shirts.

On the way out we called into a gallery displaying native art and were particularly taken by Richard Shorty’s work. A self taught artist, he was born in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory and belongs to the Northern Tuchone Tribe. Richard is one of the most sought after Native artists, with works in many galleries. He is very versatile, working on drums, paddles, masks, rattles in addition to his paintings and his pieces are collected internationally. Though we were restrained at this time we later purchased a print of his called ‘Cycle of Life’.

Up early the next morning we headed down the hill stairs to board the “Outward Bound” for our trip up the Tracey Arm Fjord and a visit to the Tracey Arm Glacier. We had done this trip previously and had thoroughly enjoyed it so were looking forward to doing it again. Being earlier in the season the boat was more crowded than previously but the crew were still friendly and efficient and the scenery still stunningly beautiful.

We passed the floating icebergs and waterfalls until eventually reaching the glacier. .There were plenty of fur seals watching us as we wended our way through the ice flows to get closer to the glacier. It had receded quite a bit since we were there last, but obligingly calved for us sending a wave of water towards the boat. We spent about half an hour there and about the same amount of time manoeuvring our way out before heading back.

No whales or bears this time but on the way out of the fjord one of the larger icebergs split in two with an almighty crack and once again our boat was riding the wave.

On our return we had a bite to eat at one of the numerous restaurants lining the waterfront. During our absence another couple of cruise ships had joined the one already there and most places to eat were crowded. We climbed the steep hill back to the Alaska Capital Inn passing the lovely bear sculpture and the houses of parliament.

The Alaska Capital Inn is a true bed and breakfast experience. The aroma of fresh roasted coffee announced breakfast, which was served in the formal dining room with the table set with the finest china. Breakfast is a multi course affair. Our entrée was fresh local raspberries and cream with homemade granola, the main course was Oeufs en Cocotte served on a bed of potatoes with thick cut smoked ham and home baked rolls whilst the dessert was freshly baked cinnamon scrolls. You are encouraged to linger afterwards and enjoy coffee and conversation in an unrushed atmosphere, sharing plans with Linda and the other guests or recounting your previous days adventures.

We had decided to fly out that night to Seattle rather than catch an extremely early morning flight so I spent the morning lazing around the Inn catching up with paperwork and reshuffling my bags whilst Edgar went down the stairs again and had a look at the very fine Alaskan Museum. We had been there the last time we were in Juneau and found it very interesting but I balked at descending the hundreds of stairs to get there.

Our last meal in Juneau had to be Alaskan Crab and as Tracey owned a number of trawlers, hers were still considered the best. We headed for the smaller quieter venue with it’s outdoor tables and, what looked like, the original shack. It was situated away from the cruise ship docks. Unfortunately for us it was closed on a Sunday so we had to walk downtown to the other one. We had been warned that another cruise ship had come, there were now five in port and the docks were bedlam.
The tour operators’ tents were everywhere and in every spare space there were spruikers trying to sell tours and experiences. We had to push our way through, fending them off, until we reached Tracey’s. There, despite it being after 2pm, there was a long line reaching out the door. We went to another bar and had a drink and waited for things to quieten down. When we went back there was no line but every table was full. We decided that, seeing as we were there, we would have a couple of crab cakes and legs and eat them at the bar before leaving.

We did manage to get a table and enjoyed our meal but knew that we would not be coming back to this part of Alaska again. Whilst we were on the Outward Bound we had sat with a very pleasant Indian couple and their children. He worked for one of the companies owned by the cruise ships and spent his time divided between Alaska and the Caribbean and told us proudly that this was an expanding market. We had been told in Sitka that there was a strong push to put in bigger docks to cater for more and larger cruise ships.

If we had not been there before it became so popular, maybe we would have been more tolerant of the crowds and the hassle and the hard sell. Looking into the future, we will have to go further afield to find what we are looking for. One of the smaller Alaskan Marine Ferries, MV Tustumena, does a monthly run in the summer to Kodiak Island and out the Aleutian Chain, which might suit us better.

So it was farewell to Juneau and off to Toronto and to Andrew and Christine.

The MV Columbia is the flagship of the Alaskan Marine Highway fleet and the largest. She is 418 feet long and 85 feet wide, with a draft of 17 ½ ft. The Wrangell Narrows is a winding channel between Mitkof Island and Kupreanof Island in the Alexander Archipelago and is only 300 feet wide at it’s narrowest point – barely wide enough to accommodate the ferry. It is used by fishing boats and cruisers and does not allow for the passage of the larger cruise ships.

Known to Marine Highway officers as “The Ditch,” the waterway wends its way around islands, boulder fields, rock ledges, reefs, shoals, and mudflats for twenty-two and a half nautical miles.
It is nearly impossible to turn around and retreat once a ship is committed to the channel, regardless of fog, heavy snow, or complete darkness without moonlight.

In the Narrows

With tides that can range from a high of 21 feet to a low of -4 feet in one day, the water rushes through the Wrangell Narrows adding to the navigational challenges. A ship must conduct its business and be out of the narrows before the water level becomes too shallow for transiting.

No wonder many a captain has heaved a sigh of relief when, in impenetrable fog so thick they are totally reliant on radar and their skill, they see the amber dock lights of Petersburg showing faintly through the murk a few feet in the distance. As one captain said: “It sure does focus the mind”.

We left for Petersburg in daylight with no fog or snow in sight – just a clear run through the beautiful landscape. At times it seemed as if you could almost jump ashore the ship was so close to the land. Not that you would want to – apparently the islands are inhabited by brown bears who have wiped out the black bears, the wolves and the deer and reign supreme

Petersburg is an island community that makes a living from the sea. In the nineteenth century, Peter Buschmann, a Norwegian immigrant, settled there, building a cannery, sawmill, docks and the early structures. The settlement was named Petersburg after him, and it flourished as a fishing port. The town attracted mostly immigrants of Scandinavian origin, thus giving Petersburg the nickname “Little Norway”. Three other canneries were built and the four have operated continuously since.

Commercial fishing is the dominant economic driver of Petersburg’s economy. The top producers harvest well over a million dollars of seafood each and every year. The main producers in Petersburg are the 58-foot limit ‘seiners’. These 58-footers harvest salmon, halibut, black cod, king, tanner crab, and herring. Many of them travel west to trawl, longline and pot cod in the western Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. The fleet now boasts crew jobs that approach six figures.
There are three beautiful harbours, which attract the smaller cruise ships, private yachts and pleasure boats to town in the summer months.

We arrived at around 7.30pm and only stayed for 45 minutes so didn’t have time to go ashore. Instead we opted to visit the dining room where we had a magnificent meal as the ship wended it’s way towards Juneau, the next stop. It arrived there at 3.15 am, by which time we were well tucked up in bed!

Our next stop was the Port of Haines, one of the most beautiful ports of the Inside Passage. Their docking facilities only allow for one large cruise ship and possibly a small ship so unlike many other ports you may visit, the town is less crowded.

In sharp contrast to Skagway. We had enjoyed our time in Skagway in 2010 and had bought some lovely pieces from the interesting and helpful galleries, so had decided to go ashore there and have a bit more of a look. The town had changed almost beyond recognition from a shopping point of view. We later learned that the cruise companies buy up many of the shops and galleries and put in their own people and merchandise. In the winter months the people and the shops move to the Caribbean and then back again the following summer. The result is lots of diamonds and furs and artwork that is not unique and can be picked up at any of the ports. The salespeople tend to be high pressure and have little knowledge of the pieces or the artists. We found a nice pair of orcas done in baleen and bought Andrew a lovely knife for his birthday but the town was crowded and pushy and we had no desire to stay.

When we got back to the docks we saw that another two cruise ships had arrived to join the others already there.

The cruise ship industry is a double-edged sword. In many cases the economic contribution brought in by the hordes of tourists is dwarfed by the disruption caused each holiday season. Unlike other visitors, cruise passengers tend to enjoy a vast array of amenities on board reducing their need to spend money ashore and when they do, it is often in facilities owned by the cruise companies. Most Alaskan towns are small and the impact of several thousand people completely overwhelms them.
Nevertheless there is a race on to build bigger docks to encourage the bigger ships and, whilst the ships are discouraged from staying overnight, the hours are being extended in most places from 10am to 10pm. The places you can go and still find the unhurried relaxed atmosphere of a true Alaskan town are fast disappearing. It’s a pity that, like Haines, some of the towns don’t put a limit on the number of ships docking at the same time and thus get the benefits without destroying what attracts people in the first place.

Our trip down to Sitka was also very interesting as we sailed through more picturesque narrows. Squeezing to only 300 feet wide in one spot and a shallow 24 feet deep it is notoriously difficult to navigate due to raging currents and whirlpools. All vessels wait until slack tide when the currents are at their slowest to start manoeuvring. The narrow passage wanders through the heavily forested steep hills of the Tongass National Forest.

Walking the streets of Sitka, you may find it hard to believe that this quiet coastal community was once the hub of the West Coast: a center for trade, diplomacy, and the arts. When San Francisco had less than 10 residents, Sitka was home to 800 Russians, Europeans, Tlingits, and Aleuts. The oldest town on the West Coast, it was the capital of Russian America—called New Archangel—and was booming from the early 1800s through the United States’ purchase of the territory in 1867.

Sitka was our favourite stop in Alaska. We checked in to our hotel, the Super 8 (definitely budget end but clean and with good facilities), picked up a hire car from the airport and headed in to town. The streets of Sitka are relatively uncrowded and the Russian influence is quite noticeable. Here many of the gallery owners have banded together and refused to sell out to the cruise companies and the number of ships is limited so shopping is pleasant. We found some lovely pieces – some of which we bought and some we just lusted after. Our first stop was Robertson’s Gallery where we met Gay, who showed us a number of pieces by local artists. One in particular took our fancy. It was a brown bear carved in soapstone and was one of the nicest we had seen. Gay gave us a lot of information about the local galleries who had held out and refused offers to sell and we worked our way down the street visiting them. We found a lovely copper necklace crafted by one of the local artists, which we bought for Christine’s birthday and some beautiful pieces in whalebone. As there was some question about getting whalebone back into Australia we bypassed them and returned to our bear.

The bear was sculpted by Dale Hanson, an accomplished sculptor, carver and artist, who has certainly led a life of adventure. He is a black belt martial artist, writes literature and poetry, parachutes, flies airplanes and gliders, does aerobatics and is a Special Forces underwater diver. He is also a member of MENSA.

During the Vietnam War, Dale was a highly decorated Green Beret who served three years as a commando in the famous SOG program, whose missions involved extremely dangerous raids far behind enemy lines. On one of these raids, Dale had his right hand mangled by a burst of machine gun fire earning him a purple heart . It is ironic that he became a sculptor, a field in which one’s hands are so critical. Most of his sculptures are of wildlife and can be found in collections all over the world

He lives in Sitka and has his studio there. He has a reputation for being somewhat reclusive so our request to meet him and look over his studio was doubtfully received by Gay. To all our surprise he agreed and asked us to come around the following evening. We finalised our purchase of the bear, organised it’s shipping and headed for the docks for dinner on the waterfront. A table overlooking the water, a gin and a whiskey, two seafood jambalayas and a couple of desserts saw us well satisfied with our day.

The next day we had decided to go to the Fortress of the Bears, where they rescue bear cubs whose mothers have been killed. It was not well marked and we were busy looking at the scenery so overshot the mark and ended up in a parking area for hiking through the National Parks. The paths looked inviting and we were contemplating going for a bit of a walk when a ute pulled up and one of the locals got out with his dog to take him for a walk. We couldn’t help notice that he was wearing a pistol in a shoulder holster and when we queried him he told us that there was bear scat everywhere and there had been lots of bear sightings. He regularly walked this area and had had several encounters with bears. He hadn’t had to shoot one but had come close. We decided to go back to the Fortress of the Bears and forgo the walk.

Whilst the theory behind the rescuing of the cubs sounds good, in practise it leads to a rather depressing result. It is customary when a mother is killed for the rangers to shoot the cubs rather than leaving them to the mercy of the elements and other bears. Once a bear cub has been taken into captivity it cannot be released back into the wild and has to be kept in captivity for the remainder of it’s life. There is a limited demand from zoos and often the area they are kept in is small. The bears at the Fortress of the Bears were in a much larger area but there was little for them to do and they could not get away from the viewing public. They displayed all the signs of bored animals – rocking and walking to and fro. Whilst the volunteers were obviously passionate about what they were doing we left feeling quite depressed.

Rain was threatening and we had heard good things about the Sheldon Jackson Museum so decided to pay it a visit. It is housed in an interesting octagonal building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. It was constructed in 1895 and is the oldest concrete building in the state.

The collection is extensive and includes items from Eskimo, Aleut, Athabascan, and Northwest Coast cultures. Masks, carvings, tools, and boats from all the cultures are exhibited here; highlights include an Aleut baidarka (skin kayak) and Tlingit dugout canoe. In the center of the gallery are drawers that contain artifacts organized by category (rather than culture) where you can compare Tlingit and Eskimo tools, children’s toys, and hunting and fishing tools. Because the items were collected at the turn of the century, you can trace the impact of European materials on Native crafts.

What was going to be a relatively short visit turned into hours and we only left because we had our appointment with Dale at 5pm.

That too was a short visit that turned into hours. He was a charming host, both interesting and interested. He had fought with Australians during the Vietnam war and had a great admiration for them. Our conversation ranged through the war, the military and into politics and Australia in general, his life after leaving the army and our travels through Alaska. We then went into his gallery where he had his latest works, mainly bronzes with some stone and wood.

He explained his process when approaching a new work, how he did a template then discussed it with a forest ranger, a zoologist and a kinesiologist to make sure he has it absolutely correct before casting or sculpting the piece. If he doesn’t, he explained, people write to him and tell him what he has wrong. One of the bronzes he had, which was lovely, was of a timber wolf at rest. He rather dejectedly told us that pieces like this were hard to sell as people wanted their wolves snarling and their bears attacking! He showed us some of his poetry – he has published several books – and we finally bade our farewells and left. It had been a most enjoyable visit.

We left Dale just before 8 o’clock and hastened to the Channel Club for dinner. It came highly recommended and when we got there we could see why. Located a few kilometres out of town it overlooks the water and has a varied menu of seafood and steak. It was packed but they managed to find us a seat and we had a couple of very good steaks washed down with red wine. They offer a free pick up and set down for those who want to indulge, which could prove very handy if you were after a night out on the town.

A slow start the next morning and then off to the Raptor Center. Here they take in and tend to all injured raptors and either release them or rehouse them. We started off with a talk about the work they do and were introduced to a juvenile bald eagle, who fixed me with a very stern look when I took out my camera to photograph him.

Unlike the Fortress of the Bears this was a most inspiring place with obviously dedicated staff and volunteers. We were taken first to the flight hall where the recovering birds are taught to fly again. The process is so simple but so effective. Raptors hate to walk on the ground so they are first placed on the ground at the bottom of a slope and their food about a metre off the ground half way up the hall. As they regain their ability to fly they move to higher and higher perches until they are flying freely. Then they are scheduled for release. Those who are too badly damaged to release are kept and become ambassadors for the breed going to schools to educate the young about raptors.

We had lunch and a local beer at the Sitka Inn and set out to visit some more galleries and buy a birthday present for Frankie. The Rose Gallery was a stand out with some marvelous bronzes by a husband and wife team, Jacques and Mary Regat, which we would have loved but didn’t have enough left in our budget having already bought two sculptures, a print by Ray Troll and a painting by Mary Deveau.

Wrangell is one of the oldest non-Native settlements in Alaska. Starting off with fur trading it became a bustling centre of commerce in the gold rushes. Good times continued with the growth of the fishing and fish canning industries, which provided much of the economic life for the town before the rise of logging in the 1950s.

Changes in legislation led to the collapse of the timber industry in the early 90’s and the decline in fish numbers hit the fishing industry. Wrangell went from a bustling city to a sleepy town existing on some fishing and tourism with most of the young leaving to find work and houses for sale everywhere

In 2006 some enterprising businessmen decided to take advantage of Wrangell’s sheltered and ice free deep harbour and invested heavily in a full service boat yard and storage area. The yard now employs 120 people and has three lifts (300 ton, 150 ton and 40 ton trailer). It hauls out about 270 boats per year with the numbers rising as boats from all over Alaska take advantage of their service.

Our abode for the night was the Stikine Inn, Wrangell’s foremost hotel. We arrived early and had coffee and a bite to eat sitting out on the deck overlooking the harbour before being shown to our very comfortable room with the best deep bath I have ever come across. Ed went for a walk in town whilst I used the space to sort through the bags – and have a bath! Our stay was somewhat marred by the super thin walls and the guest next door who had his television blaring all night despite me thumping on the walls – a pity because otherwise it was a lovely place.

Wrangell is not back to its former glory – a sleepy rainy Sunday is very sleepy – but there are new houses being built and things are looking up. The tourist industry still plays a big part and is based mainly on fishing and hunting and, during the summer months, the Forest Observatory at Anan Creek.

Anan Creek is an ancient Tlingit native fishing site at the south end of Wrangell Island and has the largest pink salmon run in Southeast Alaska. It attracts significant numbers of black and brown bears to feast on the bounty during the months of July and August. It is a unique spot because of the interaction between black and brown bears. Generally, brown bears run off the smaller black bears and the two species don’t share habitat. But at Anan Creek, most of the brown bears are adolescents, and the large, adult black bears don’t always back off, so you may spot brown and black bears fishing the same hole for pink salmon.

We had a great trip up the river to Anan Creek. It takes a little over an hour, the scenery is really beautiful and the going smooth. Our boat is purpose built and can be run up on the beach when the tide is out so you don’t get wet feet! James was our guide and Glen, having spent 10 years in the Navy, our expert helmsman (necessary because of the amount of logs, timber and crab pots in the water. When we arrived at Anan Creek we were given a safety brief and warned again of the dangers of taking food ashore as this would attract the bears and lead to an interaction that you don’t want.

Anan Creek running into the sea at low tide

There is a half -mile trail leading to the observation deck and it is highly likely that you would see bears on the trail. The Forest Ranger at the trailhead again warned us about food (if you have anything other than water take it back to the boat immediately) and provided information on how to negotiate the path safely. If we met a bear coming the other way we were asked to keep our voices low and not to make any jerky movements that could upset the bear and whatever you do don’t run (emphasised and repeated several times) as bears will give chase.

James advice was to back off and leave him to deal with the bear. In his opinion the most dangerous part of the walk is falling off the walkway whilst looking around or photographing, the second most dangerous thing was slipping in the bear scat, which is everywhere. The bears see no reason to traverse the area through the wet forest when there is a perfectly good, dry walkway built for their convenience and they are very indiscriminate about where they poop.

In the event we did not come face to face with a bear, brown or black just enjoyed the beautiful scenery Though we were warned there was a brown bear ahead it had crossed the path before we got there and we spotted it ambling along the beach. This was the only brown bear we saw.

The facility consists of a covered viewing shelter, decks and a photo blind overlooking the cascading falls where the salmon jump up river and the bears catch their meal.

You get 15 minutes in the hide with four others and the rest of the time you can see the bears from the platform – which is nearly as good if not better.

When we arrived there was a young black bear up a tree, calmly observing us, with two others in the creek fishing. During the time we were there we met Arrow, the largest and oldest male bear, who hangs around the platform ambling down to catch a salmon every now and then and retreating to under the platform to eat his catch.

He passes so close you could pat him if you weren’t concerned about losing a hand.Due to his eating habits there was a definite fishy smell on the platform, which we were informed got worse as the summer progressed until in August it is almost unbearable. The eagles can’t get in under the platform to clean up and the rangers understandably won’t!

All in all we saw about 20 bears including Contessa, a mature female who was feeding her two cubs on a rock just across the stream. There is a system of caves on the other side where the bears live during the summer and they kept popping in and out of the caves to fish or just wander about.

There are a large number of bald eagles, as well, who fish for the salmon a little further up. I watched as one hooked a salmon and settled down on a rock in the middle of the creek to eat his catch when a black bear came out of the forest and swiped it amongst a great flurry of wings.

We spent a couple of hours at the Observatory and then traced our way back to the boat and headed home to a very late lunch/dinner before boarding the MV Columbia in the late afternoon. Our trip to the Observatory was such a unique and interesting experience and it is no wonder there were people from all over the world there and why it was one of the highlights of our trip to Alaska.

We rose late, tidied our apartment, sorted out the intricacies of exiting our high security abode and headed for the ferry. We had a pleasant, if rather windy, crossing through the little islands that dot the ocean between Vancouver Island and the mainland; with views north of the snow clad mountain area we were heading towards the next day.

The Pacific Gateway Hotel proved to be a good choice with a comfortable room, pleasant staff and a shuttle bus to the airport every twenty minutes. It was quite warm so dinner that night was outside in the courtyard and was a beautifully cooked sirloin steak with Yorkshire pudding, vegetables and lots of gravy. It was so massive I couldn’t finish it and Ed had to help me out. Even so I opted out of breakfast the next morning.

The next day was clear and sunny – perfect weather for our flight to Prince Rupert. We flew in a Dash 8 and I had booked us both window seats so we could see the amazing scenery below. We flew along the coast with alternating views of coastal inlets and snowclad mountain ranges – quite spectacular! There is no suitable place at Prince Rupert for an airport so it is on the adjoining Digby Island. Last time we flew in our bags were put down on the edge of the strip and there was an old bus to take us the rest of the way. This time there was a marked improvement with a new terminal with baggage handling facilities and two shiny shuttle buses to take us on the ferry to the mainland. Tourism must be looking up, though the young man who served us at the bottle shop, who had lived in Prince Rupert all his life, couldn’t understand why anyone would bother to come.

In actual fact Prince Rupert is a charming town with an excellent museum,

some lovely gardens

and if you walk down to Cow Bay, some good places to eat and shop.
The Crest Hotel, where we stayed, is a top class hotel with spacious rooms overlooking the water and an excellent restaurant.

The next day we went through customs and passport control, left Canada and headed for Alaska aboard the MV Malaspina. The Malaspina is one of the smaller boats in the fleet and doesn’t have all the facilities of the bigger boats, like a dining room or a cinema, but it has plenty of space to walk the decks and look at the scenery and the staff, like all the Alaskan Ferries, are very friendly and helpful.
Our cabin was basic but comfortable with a good size window looking out on the passing scenery and a fairly spacious shower and toilet.

Prince Rupert to Wrangell is not one of the premium routes, so the boat was not crowded. We got a good table by the window where we downloaded our cameras, caught up on our blog and had our meals – all the time attended by the redoubtable Eleanor, who made sure we were looked after, gave us plenty of advice, expressed surprise that anyone would pay to see bears that wandered freely in her backyard and offered to show us around Juneau so we wouldn’t be ripped off by the touristy places (including her good friend Tracey of Tracey’s Crab Shack, though she did admit she had the best crabs).

The meal was served cafeteria style where you lined up with your tray and proceeded through the doors to the galley. There you told the cook what number meal you wanted. #1 was hamburger and fries #2 was corned beef, mashed potatoes and gravy #3 was (very fancy) French Provincial Chicken and fries with vegetables. This simple way of serving meals was very effective because if you asked for anything by name you got a blank look and were asked again what number you wanted. I might say the meals, though basic, were very good.

After dinner we sat in the lounge and alternately watched the scenery go by and read getting up to go outside when a particularly spectacular view passed by. We waited until the sun set (about 10pm), took some photos and adjourned to our cabin. The next morning we were packed, ready and breakfasted

as the ship cruised into Wrangell

We had enjoyed the breakfast at Darwin’s Café so much the day before that we decided to repeat the performance before heading off to Victoria.
The weather had significantly improved since our trip down and we got to enjoy the fabulous scenery of mountains, lakes and rivers on our way to the first stop, the Old Country Market at Coombs. More than a million visitors arrive each year to see the goats that live on the roof of the Old Country Market. The goats first appeared approximately 40 years ago. It was the Coombs Country Fair weekend, and the grass on the sod roof of the market was higher than the owner liked. Legend has it that after a few drinks, a friend suggested they borrow some goats to mow the grass and perhaps provide some entertainment to passing cars. They proved such a success that the goats became permanent tenants of the Coombs Old Country Market that day.

While some of the visitors stop only to have a look at the permanent four-legged tenants, others stay to immerse themselves in the many unique galleries, studios and shops that share the area with the famous goats. The Coombs Old Country Market itself is a great place to shop. They carry international foods, fresh-baked goods and a superb delicatessen that specializes in a variety of international meats and cheeses. There is also a donut shop with a very wide selection of donuts, an ice creamery that is about 20 meters long and a farmer’s fresh produce market.

By the time we had finished browsing through the market we were well equipped for our stay in the airbnb apartment in Victoria – breakfast, lunch and dinner!

From Coombs we headed south to Chemainus. If you ever visit this quaint and quiet town, then you are in for a real treat! Chemainus is a beautiful little seaside town and well known for its outdoor gallery of murals. The town has a number of very interesting shops and gardens, which are well worth visiting. Unfortunately for us most of them were closed on Mondays so we missed out on the year round Christmas Shop

and the Hansel & Gretel’s Candy Store.

We peered in rather wistfully, as both looked different and exciting. Behind Hansel & Gretel’s is a secret garden, which is full of carvings from fairy tales and must delight many a child.

On to Cowichan Bay, a unique and historic waterfront town famous for it’s floating homes, occupied by independent characters that live and work on or near the water.

Then it was Victoria and our downtown apartment which turned out to be a bright airy two bedroom apartment perched high above the town and with it’s own tiny balcony to witness the mayhem below.

We soon learned that downtown was not the most salubrious area and that sirens were almost a constant background. At one stage we had seven police cars and two ambulances attending a situation across the street. High above all this, we were not affected and had everything we needed – comfortable chairs, comfortable beds, a well equipped kitchen and best of all a large washing machine and dryer!

First order of the day was to unpack our purchases from the Old Country Market and settle down to wine and cheese followed by a mushroom and vegetable pasta. Over the next 12 hours we emptied our suitcases and processed them through the washing machine and dryer before repacking with Honolulu on the bottom and Alaska on the top.

We caught up with our correspondence, organised to move Suzanne into her new berth and did some reading before leaving for the Butchart Gardens about 3pm.

The Butchart Gardens covers more than 55 acres and began from an idea Jennie Butchart had to beautify the her husband’s worked-out limestone quarry. The Gardens, through the skillful mixture of rare and exotic shrubs trees and flowers collected by the Butcharts during their extensive world travels, continually expanded over the years to become the world famous gardens they are today. The Gardens are still operated by the family and are visited by over a million visitors each year.

As we had spent two days at the Butchart gardens on a previous trip, this was a chance to see a slightly different season and to see what changes had been made. We planned to have a look around the gardens, have dinner at the Dining Room, listen to the band playing on the Concert Lawn until it got dark and then revisit the Sunken Garden and Japanese Garden to see them lit up.

First stop was the Sunken Gardens. Instead of going down into the gardens we viewed them from above, skirting around the perimeter and looking down into the various garden rooms. We passed the Bog Gardens

and finished up at the Ross Fountain, designed and installed by Jenni Butchart’s grandson. The fountain rises 21 meters and continually alters, with jets of water weaving themselves together as if dancing to a hidden orchestra. At night it is lit and is quite spectacular.

We then made our way to the Rose Carousel, a menagerie carousel with 30 hand-carved wooden animals and two chariots. The Carousel was imported from France where the Butchart’s spotted it on their travels. Each animal is different and the attention to detail in both the carving and painting makes them absolutely exquisite.

We didn’t linger at the Firework Field, the Organ Pavilion and the Dahlia Border (just coming into bloom and spectacular when it does) but spent a little time sitting in the sun at The Dragon Fountain before wandering through the Rose Garden (though there were still some lovely roses it was past the Spring and early Summer flush and not quite into the Autumn one) and arriving at one of my favourite fountains, the bronze Sturgeon Fountain, cast in Italy and featuring three entwined sturgeons.

Situated between the Butchart’s house and the house dock at Tod Inlet, the Japanese Gardens are the oldest gardens, started by Jenni as an adjunct to the house in 1906. Through the Torii Gate you find a non-traditional garden that weaves it’s way down to the inlet through Japanese maples, bonsai trees and bamboo with lots of water features to delight the eye.

A quick walk through the Italian Garden, to my mind the least interesting of all the gardens, and it was time for our dinner.

Situated in the Butchart’s original house, The Dining Room is one of the leading restaurants and I booked several months ahead to get in and get a highly prized table on the verandah overlooking the garden.

We started with a Gin and Basil Cocktail whilst we perused the menu. After a lot of toing and froing I decided on West Coast halibut cheeks with Nettle leaf raviolo, sea asparagus, shimeji mushrooms and beurre blanc sauce as an entrée followed by a Half rack of Peace River lamb with a buckwheat celeriac blini, king mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, northern birch syrup and cashew aioli as a main course. Ed was taken with the Albacore tuna with compressed cucumbers, garden radish, Gemlik olives, Meyer lemon, coriander and Gulf Island mussel vinaigrette followed by Alberta beef tenderloin with Tiger Blue cheese sourdough bread pudding, bush beans, hemp seed, kohlrabi pickle and garlic scape pistou.

Our meals were so beautifully presented and interesting in their flavours it was hard to pick which of us had made the better choice! To finish, Ed had coffee whilst I tried the Verrine – a light and frothy combination of raspberry gelee, rose mousse, vanilla honey macaron and Italian meringue.

We could hear the music from Chris Millington and his band coming from the Concert Lawn so made our way up there. There were about a hundred people sitting on the lawn listening and thirty plus up dancing on the stage. There were some very good dancers up there strutting their stuff and we decided to join them for a bit of fun. We danced our way through a variety of numbers as the skies darkened and the lights came on, then it was off to see the Gardens by night.

Ed felt there should be more overall lighting rather than the lighting of individual areas but I liked the way they had done it. In any event the overall effect was stunning and well worth staying up for.

It was midnight before we got back to our apartment and fall asleep to the sounds of sirens wailing in the night.

Next morning we decided to go for a morning walk in the Tofino Botanical Gardens after having breakfast in Darwin’s Café. Darwin’s Cafe has been described as a cross between a library, a living room, and a cafe! There are books to read, sofas to sit on and excellent food

We chose an outdoor table on the verandah next to a comfy sofa with a sign saying ‘Reserved for those over 65 and retired’. There was a gentleman there who smiled at us as we sat down. I asked him if he fitted the criteria and he replied “You never retire when you have a garden”. This was George, the owner of the garden and a keen gardener and resident of Tofino for over 30 years.

Twenty years ago he decided to develop a garden on his 5 hectares of waterfront land – a garden to share with others. After spending a year climbing trees to peer through the canopy and planning the garden and walks, they started with the closest gardens, the café and the gift shop and gradually worked their way out. Having sculptures in the garden were always an objective and George started approaching sculptors to ask if they would loan some sculptures to be displayed in the garden.
Now the garden is an interesting mixture of semi formal gardens, waterfront walks and old forest areas with large trees. Everywhere there are whimsical sculptures and quirky signs . Sculptors now approach him to display their work and everyone benefits – not least the visitors to this obviously loved garden.

We had a very sustaining breakfast of power packed granola, baguettes with homemade butter and homemade jam and hot chocolate/coffee and then wandered around the gardens until it was time to check in for our kayaking adventure.

We met Adam, our guide, and T. J. our boat driver and also the owner of the company. Adam kitted us out and warned us to use the washroom as for the next 4 hours the only toilet facilities would be squatting on the beach whilst everyone looked the other way or going behind a bush and risk running into a bear. Needless to say he had instant obedience and we all dutifully traipsed off to the washroom.

Down a steep walkway and onto T.J’s boat we headed for bear territory. After about 30 minutes we came into a bay with a bear and it was time to launch the kayaks. Adam demonstrated and I noticed I was not the only one looking nervous. We were assured that no one ever fell in and then had a briefing on what to do if we did.

Not reassured, the first ones to board were a young lieutenant in the British Army and his 20 something girlfriend. After a somewhat shaky descent they were in and paddled off the side. Then it was our turn – Ed first and me second with both Adam and TJ holding the kayak firmly. Piece of cake, well almost! We set off for the beach and the bear promptly disappeared into the bush.

It was a beautiful sunny day and quite warm on the water. We paddled around the coves for about 2 hours. No bears but plenty of birds including some beautiful herons, a seal rolling around in the water cleaning itself and dolphins. It was a lovely way to spend a day, so we weren’t too stressed out about not seeing any bears. Our concerns about keeping up with all the young ones were baseless and we soon hit our rhythm and put on a very credible performance.
Back on board the boat (somewhat more difficult than getting in having been sitting in the same position for over 2 hours) we went in search of bears further afield and soon found one in a cove and then a very large female a little further along. We got in quite close and took lots of photos. No sign of cubs or male bears – not a good combination as Adam related how they were horrified to witness a big male kill a cub the previous week.

Slightly weary and rather damp we returned to the hotel for a shower and change into dry clothes before having an early dinner at the Ice House Oyster Bar.
This time we chose to sit inside which was very pleasant, if a little warm. We had perused the menu the night before so were pretty quick to make our choices.
There were six different types of oyster on offer so we each had one of each type with a side of Hokkaido Scallops.

For main course I had the Mushroom Risotto – probably one of the best I have ever eaten – unfortunately there was a mix up and they added another side of Hokkaido Scallops on top, which I was forced to eat as well.

Edgar had the early dinner special, which was Phillips Tiger Shark citra pale ale beer batter with local snapper, savoy cabbage and apple slaw, smoke potatoes and a rémoulade sauce. He also tried a beautifully presented selection of local preserved vegetables and pickled eggs as a side.
To drink I had Black Widow Pinot Gris from Naramata, BC and Edgar tried a couple of the local beers.
We adjourned to our hotel for a quick walk on the beach and then a quick trip up the road to Chocolate Tofino for dessert. Their honey lavender icecream was something else!