I am lying on my back looking up at the stars and watching shredded muslin clouds unfurl across the sky. I wonder, a little, at the wisdom of my plan to sleep on a beach without a tent on Vancouver Island – sleeping on the beach in Croatia is one thing and in British Columbia [...]
Tagged a place to stay, canada, pacific oceanThe fourteen hour ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy passes uneventfully enough. There are occasional whale sightings pointed out by the ship’s watch; humpbacks puff water vapour, a distant pod of orca put on an acrobatic display, a pair of porpoises swim alongside the boat – but I spend most of the time [...]
Tagged a place to stay, camping, canada, first nation, pacific oceanI arrive at Prince Rupert, where I am invited to stay at Penny and Ian’s house, late on Monday morning. Penny and Ian are friends of Danusia, who I met in Whitehorse. It is three weeks now since I have set foot inside a house or, more importantly, had a hot shower. Penny welcomes me [...]
Tagged berries, canada, hospitality, pacific ocean, people, wildfoodAnother inexplicable roadside attraction.
Tagged canada, on the highway, retro-bloggingEventually, I drag myself away from the revitalising waters of the springs and go back to my bike which I have left hidden in the bushes on the roadway.
I have been tarrying the last few days, in Stewart and here in the Nisga’a valley, and I feel the need, now, to cover some miles. I [...]
In the morning, it is not raining but everything is sodden and water is still dripping from the trees. The sounds of droplets falling on my tent discourages me from rising and it is later than usual when I get up to make breakfast and pack everything onto the bike, sopping wet and dirty. I [...]
Tagged canada, first nation, hot springs, magic, nisga'aSo far I have been extremely lucky with the weather; in ten weeks I haven’t had a really wet day, only the occasional shower. Today, rain pours down without pause. I ride into the Nisga’a Lava Bed Valley around lunch time only dimly aware of the tumbled chaotic rock forms created by the solidified lava [...]
Tagged canada, first nation, nisga'a, rainI continue on my way down the valley crossing a deep fast flowing bright green river.
As the shadows lengthen, a sign indicating the Dragonfly Provincial Campground opportunely appears and I find myself on the shore of a narrow lake. Low mountains lie opposite, higher snow-covered mountains to one end of the lake and open sky [...]
I’ve just fired up my computer when a cyclist with a touring load whizzes past – I hail him,“Ho, cycler!” He slows and enquires, “Are you Anna?” I am somewhat taken aback but I admit that I am as he comes to join me. He enlightens me. “I passed an old guy on the road, [...]
Tagged bears, border crossings, canada, cassiar highway, food, fortuitous meetings, friends, mountains, peopleFrom Meziadin Lake, my destination is Stewart, a small coastal town, at the end of a 65 kilometre dead-end road. I discuss the road with the park operator and he mentions that once I’m past Windy Hill the road is pretty flat. Windy Hill is a name that sets warning bells off in a cyclist’s [...]
Tagged bears, border crossings, canada, wildlife