2geonomads

A sleeping tablet last night has guaranteed a good night’s sleep and all that remains is for us to have a last look around the gardens in the vicinity of the hotel.
I have now had a chance check back over the various blogs and realise that I have omitted quite a few words at critical moments but I am sure that many out there will be saying ” I wish he had left one hell of a lot more out”!
I have often been accused of being overly verbose so I have lived down to my reputation.
I am sorry if I have bored you but the blog is really as much for me as anyone else. I have always kept a travel diary but Craig persuaded me to move into the IT age,hence the blog.
As a blogice ( Craig’s term for a novice blogger ) I will leave it up to you to decide whether I should go out in a blaze of ignominy after just one attempt or whether I should continue to inflict my musings on you poor souls.

Gail , Craig and I are off to Vietnam over Christmas so please let me have your torrent of abuse in good time for me to make a decision on my future as a blogger.

All the best

The Obese Ferret

PS For those out there who may wonder where the “Obese Ferret’ term came from it was coined by my UK nephew Andy after I had told him about what was for me a bit of a weight gain!

Lyn and Bert  head off through the Botanical Gardens towards the shops at the west end of Hong Kong island while Gail and I stay at hotel for Gail to carry out some research on the Canon camera which she is hoping to buy later in the day.
Meet up with L and B for a short drink and then go our separate ways once again.
I visit an Omega shop to try to have my decidedly old Omega fixed ( battery replaced ). This is successfully carried out but this return to real time leaves me with mixed thoughts. If the truth be known I have quite enjoyed my watch showing 3.40 all the time.
I have at various times been very early for breakfast, very late for lunch or very early for dinner and have gone to bed at a ridiculously early hour in an attempt to help this travel-weary body recover.
I have enjoyed this surreal experience so much I have decided to extend it for the foreseeable future and have set my watch to Reyjavik time.
Quick trip over to Hong Kong for dinner at the YMCA hotel,( this religious trend is becoming a bit of a worry) before returning to YWCA for some latenight blogging ( don’t read anything into that, folks )
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

Staying at the YWCA on Hong Kong Island. Lovely hotel  although the requirement to hold hands and bless the food in the breakfast room is not something with which I am totally comfortable.
First port of call on a very misty morning is the Peak Train to the top of Victoria Peak.
Not a great deal has changes withe train except that all of the seats face up to the peak and makes for inferior sightseeing during the trip in both directions.
I wimped out on taking the elevator to the Peak Tower but I missed little due to the heavy fog.
A walk along Lurgan Road provided some spectacular views out over Victoria Harbour and the incredible proliferation of high-rise buildings on both sides of the harbour.
Afternoon visits to Hong Kong Park and the Botanical Gardens give us some respite from the hustle and bustle of the city and an enjoyable day is wrapped up with a trip over to Kowloon to view the Light and Sound show featuring the high-rise buildings along both sides of the harbour. The show is impressive enough but one came away with the feeling that some more stirring music could have made for a much more memorable spectacle.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret
 

Arriving at the Rossellen Suites in the Stanley Part part of Vancouver we discovered that the owner, Jean had forgotten to record our booking and was fully booked for that night.
The poor fellow looked shell-shocked at his own incompetence, not to say more than a little embarrassed. Jean eventually found us another suite nearby although one has to admit that Mrs I was not in a particularly forgiving mood in spit of his ‘mea culpa’ . Having for almost an hour for a cab to transfer our cases did little to lighten the mood.
A nice cup of coffee at a local cafe the next morning did the trick and while Lyn and Bert went off shoppng G and I went off in a search of some computer games for Craig, with mixed success.

Returning to the suite we find that Jean from Rossellen had booked a limo at his expense to take us to the airport that morning- a very magnanimous gesture possibly brought about by Gail’s standing with her foot on his neck the evening before!
The flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong turned out to be one of our worst ever, with very heavy turbulence over the Bering Sea, cabin crew who showed no human emotions during 12 hours of flying and  one flight attendant who virtually ran through the cabin dispensing coffee at the same speed as the people used to spray insecticide inside the aircraft while everyone covered up their face.
To make matters worse we had a captain who could have been wrestling with the controls on the flight deck or molesting his first officer for all we knew. After advising us that he expected smooth flying conditions he did not say a word during 12 hours when a number of nervous passengers would have welcomed  a few comments reassuring us that we were not about to come a cropper on the frozen wastes of the Arctic.
Arrived to the usual steamy Hong Kong climate and had an early night in a bid to avoid to much jetlag.

Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

Early excitement when a black bear sighted on the tracks near to the Kamloops Lake.
Interesting information provided on the Native population ( referred to as the First Nation people ).
During the 1800’s the population diminished to about 15,000 due to such as TB, smallpox and it has taken all the time since to recover to the current level of approx. 300,000. Someone must be doing something right!.
Other news on the train- there are 39 carriages after the train from Jasper joined us at Kamloops, a record for the Rocky Mountaineer.
Two companies, Canadian National and the Canadian Pacific now share the railways with the former responsible for the eastbound services and the latter for the westbound. A third group called the Money Trains who are financed by private enterprise following a tender process have priority on all tracks.
Not long out of Kamloops we pass a range of copper oxide hills known as the Painted Bluff which has been used in films such as “The X Files’ and ‘The A Team’.
Meghan, one of the tour guides, related a story concerning an old farmer who became so upset by the whistle of the train as it entered a tunnel near to his property ( all trains in Canada are required by law to blow the whistle) that he took to appearing each time the train came by, fired a shotgun in the air, all the time totally naked. Meghan took this story to be mere hearsay until the old guy appeared on cue and presented himself full frontal to Meghan’s no doubt innocent eyes. She gave no further details on the old guy at the time!
The rest of the day saw us travel through Ashcroft, the driest place in Canada with less than 250mms per annum, Lytton the hottest area in the country with a record temperature of 48.3 degrees.
We see the confluence of the mighty Thompson and Fraser Rivers and the ferocity of the water passing through the Jaws of Death and Hell’s Gates rapids.
The splendour of the Fraser River Canyon is comparable to any of the magnificent scenery we have seen during our travels in the Rockies over the past few weeks.
As we approach Vancouver I am reminded of what has made this a truly trip: the superb onboard team, the food of the highest order, the never-ending supply of breathtaking scenery and last but definitely not least some delightful fellow travellers, notably Kevin and Hilary from the UK, John and Sharon from Canberra. Memorable for less positive reason was a guy from Worcester who had travelled extensively and had been in the army. To hear him speak ( and he did all too often ) he could easily have written ‘Hitler-My Part In His Downfall’ as poor old Spike Milligan.
Well, that’s another one crossed off the ‘Bucket List’ but it is still very extensive. Here’s to many more travels.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

I have been reminded that in my last blog I omitted a couple of items in my semi-comatose state in the early hours of the morning.
Firstly, I was remiss in mentioning that Gail and Lyn spent a considerable amount of time doing the laundry before we set off to Lakes Minnewanka and Two Jacks yesterday.
A highlight which I also overlooked was our visit to Cows Icecream Parlour in Banff. Their icecream has recently been voted No.1 in the world and their products certainly lived up to all of the hype.
Now on to Sunday.

Awake at 4.00 am after terrible night’s sleep, probably due to knowing that we could not afford to miss the train.
Finally get in touch with Craig who had had some phone problems. He had been putting some very long hours at work so he hasn’t learned from his old man. As always it’s good to hear his voice and to catch up on the news from Down Under.
Return the car to Hertz at Banff Springs and contrary to previous advice taxis were not in huge supply. A couple from York who are also taking the train trip kindly offer to share their cab so we do arrive at the Banff station well before the deadline for checking in.
As we were to learn over the next 2 days the Rocky Mountaineer is very professionally run and the whole operation ticks along very smoothly. Unfortunately, nobody told the the Banff station authorities that their waiting room is the first impression people receive of this world-famous train journey.
Organised chaos would be putting it too kindly and we were all glad to emerge from the throngs of passengers and board the train. The situation on board could not have been in starker contrast.
After being greeted by Adam and his colleagues, Meghan, Michael and Chad we were treated to a highly amusing explanation of the safety rules on board.
 This combination of humour and a high degree of professionalism was to be  an ever-present  feature of the trip.
Leaving Banff we viewed from a different perspective much of the superb mountain scenery which we had  seen while driving around the area. However, when we reached the famous Spiral Tunnels near Field we gained a far greater insight into the engineering feat of building these tunnels in1909.
The weakest link of the Canadian Pacific Line built in 1884 was a 13 km stretch between Field and Hector named the “Big Hill”. Not only was the 4.5 % gradient very dangerous but it was extremely expensive to run.
The Spiral Tunnels which involved the excavation of 557,500 cubic metres of rock reduced the gradient to a more acceptable 2.2% remain one of the greatest railway engineering feats.
There so many scenic highlights on the train journey but without doubt the most memorable moment of this first day was the crossing of the Stoney Creek Bridge towering 100 metres above the creek bed- yet another test of this vertigo-sufferer’s resolve.
The on board service was of the very highest order and Adam and Meghan provided us with a constant stream of informative and frequently humorous commentary on the places visited along the way.
Kamloops, the halfway point on the trip and where we would overnight is a town of 91,00 people which is attempting re-invent itself.
Not blessed with the natural beauty of other towns in the Rockies it has become a very important sporting competition centre with 19 golf courses, numerous soccer, football and baseball grounds.
Have an early night and give dinner a miss to prepare for a last big day on the train.
Apologies for all the boring detail of this first half of the trip but I’m just trying to educate you lot out there!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

Awake at 7.00 and look out of the bedroom windows to a scene of truly incomparable beauty, sunrise over Lake Louise with a totally breeze-free day giving us perfect reflections across the lake and beyond to the mountains.
We take our time over the buffet breakfast,hoping to milk the moment for all it is worth and eventually check out at just before midday after a memorable, if all too short a stay at the Fairmont.
Decide to take Highway 1A from Lake Louise to Banff rather Highway 1 and this gives us an opportunity to view many new sights, including the stunning Castle Mountain.
Arriving in Banff we check into the Tunnel Mountain Resort before setting off to Lake Minnewanka and Two Jacks Lakes. The evening light makes for yet another spectacular panorama and the sight of a herd of elks at close quarters nicely rounds off our time in this area ( we leave on the train for Kamloops tomorrow )
Sit up far too late catching up on the blogs but I have got there, albeit rather belatedly.
Cheers
A very sleepy Obese Ferret.

Decide to take a 7 kms trek up to Lake Agnes Tea House overlooking Lake Louise. B not too sure about it at first but fine once we get going on yet another magnificent,sunny day. On way up the trail we meet up with a German lady Gertie who asks if she might join us. She is delightful company and as she is married to a Swede we are able to have quite a chat along the way.
Halfway up the walk we come across Mirror Lake which is real haven of tranquility.
Finally reach the Tea House and Lake Agnes unscathed and enjoy a snack. Linger a while there while we soak up the fantastic setting.
I refuse Gertie’s invitation to join in climbing up to a lookout called the Big Beehive, a very wise decision when we later see some walkers perched above a precipice at the top.
Returning to Lake Louise we head off to Moraine Lake with its famous 10 peaks each of 10,000 ft or more. Incredibly crowded although nothing can detract from the beauty of the lake and its backdrop of the majestic peaks.
Check into the Fairmont Hotel and find that we have been allocated plum rooms on the 8th Floor looking straight over the lake.
Encounter a small hitch when our loo won’t flush but it’s soon sorted out.
Dinner in the Brasserie at 6.30 at a table with a great view out over Lake Louise, although we all feel that the meal falls short of the mark. Our waitress Erin, a vivacious girl who obviously speaks her mind confides in us that e new chef only 3 days in the job is”bloody useless”! Erin is shortly due to join her boyfriend in Perth shortly and she should go down very well with the Aussies.
Finish a memorable day with a quick tour through this famous hotel and go to bed tired but happy.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

Lyn’s 60th  birthday !
Breakfast at the Siding in Field as good as ever.
Drive to Banff to first take the famous Gondola. Very small cars and steepish climb which tests the old man again. However, the trip was well worthwhile with magnificent views of the whole area.
Return to the township and to the famous Banff Springs Hotel where we have Afternoon Tea to celebrate Lyn’s birthday. Our waiter Mike’s birthday as well and he shouts Lyn a glass of bubbly to mark the occasion. The tea offers a superb selection of food and the ambience in this classical old hotel is something very special.
Late afternoon drive around the Banff Springs Golf Course.Green Fees- Summer $225, Fall-$150.
The course is beautifully maintained and I imagine a very stern for any golfer.
The drive provide us with one moment of humour when we passed some elks on one of the fairways. One of the male tourists who had stopped to look at the animals commented that one of the bucks had followed a lady into the woods and looked in ‘rutting’ mood. The thought of this apparently came as a real shock to one of the female tourists until it was explained that the female in question was an elk and not one of the Scotch Wool Shop and Gaiter clad female golfers!
Return to Lake Louise to book into Paradise Cabins which are as usual very good standard.
Lyn has numerous messages for her birthday and all in all we think that she has had a lovely day celebrating her 60th.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret

Cold, foggy morning but the forecast is for fine weather later.
Drive to Field to have pancakes and coffee at the Siding before the drive up to Takakkaw Falls, disputably the highest in the Rockies at 254 metres. The drive up the valley is spectacular and on the way we stop to take look at the confluence of the Kicking Horse River ( clear white ) and the Yoho River ( silt-laden and cream). By the time of our arrival at the Falls the weather is bright and sunny and the 254 metre drop is a stunning sight. The day is also memorable for a lovely memorable written on a wooden bench in honour of a photographer with the words ‘ses photos seulement temoignent de son passage”. Would that we could all have such an epitaph.
Drive to Lake Louise with our first look at the world-famous lake and Fairmount Hotel. All of the superlatives are justified.
After a lakeside walk we call in at the Fairmont ( where we will be staying on 1st Oct for Lyn’s birthday )to book dinner in the Brasserie. During walk meet up with two Danes ( one of them Swedish -speaking so we both brush up on our language skills for a short chat.
Back to Field for very high quality dinner at the Truffle Pig (recommended to us by the manager at our cabins ). TV screens in restaurant showing video on the life of Terry Fox, mentioned in an earlier blog, which gives us all some food for thought.
Trip back to the cabins quite eventful when truck tailgates us in wet weather and nearly runs us off the road. B responds by speeding up to 110 in a 90 zone! All of which leads us to another classic Gailism.
Ber was explaining that you should never get out of your car if stopped for speeding but Gail explained  That in the USA the police are liable ask to get out of the vehicle and, HER WORDS, “straddle the bonnet”! This proposition has led to two outcomes:
1. Our future rental car options are limited to either a Mini Cooper or a Smartcar.
2. We have nominated Gail for the London Olympics in both the Horizontal Beam and the Floor Exercise, to add to the vault for which she is now a clear gold medal favourite!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

Short early morning walk down to Kicking Horse River after which we drive east to Golden in driving rain. Golden a fairly average town but in The Bean Bag coffee shop we find the best coffee yet in Canada.
Decide to visit a Wolf Park east of Golden and manage to bypass a landslide which has occurred further east and has blocked the highway, apparently a fairly regular event in the area. The Park is mediocre at best although the owners are gamely fighting a battle against the gun lobby to prevent what is basically the extermination of the wolf population. Apparently, the gun lobby and other pro-hunting associations have not learned anything from a similar experiment in the Yellowstone National Park where the cull of the wolves led to a complete breakdown of the food and vegetation chain.
Later, drive to Field, a delightful small town which was previously an important rail stop but has now ceded this position to Kamloops.
However, the town is beautifully maintained with many fine old buildings. General feeling that the inhabitants take real pride in the town as it tries to re-invent itself.
Lovely lunch at The Siding Cafe where I manage to break a glass with one of my more expansive gestures!
Highlights of the day:
The Natural Bridge over the Kicking Horse River – an incredible sight as the recent rains had created a torrent of tsunami-like proportions. The power of the water quite unnerving but the arrival of the sun and a double rainfall during a rain shower make for an unforgettable sight.
Emerald Lake – long regarded as the Jewel of the Rockies and it meets all expectations as the weather clears on cue with our arrival.
B and I take a short walk up to Hamilton Falls and we are faced with our first scenic disappointment. Without going into too much details we have renamed the Falls the Prostate Cascade!
All in all another great day even if for dinner yours truly is given the left over pasta from the previous day.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

Head south towards Lake Louise with the first stop a visit to the Icefields Centre to view the Columbia Icefield. Take Glacier Experience tour on large snowmobile of which there are only 23 in the world. Not surprising given the price tag of $1.2 million. 22 of these are owned by the Brewster which seems to monopolise the industry in these parts and one by the USA Army in the Antarctic.
The snowmobile takes us out onto the Athabasca ( alt 2000 metres ) glacier which is 300 metres deep. Other main glacier is the Double A located between the Athabasca and Andromeda Mts.
Dome Mountain above the icefield marks the unusual Triple Continental Divide with rivers dividing here to run to Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
Move on to yet another visit to a narrow,deep canyon, this time Mistaya Canyon. Cross Bow Summit ( the highest point on the Icefields Parkway and from there take a 600 metre walk to lookout over Peyto Lake, a truly picturesque glacial lake.
Arrive in the world famous Lake Louise to do some grocery shopping before continuing on to the Chancellor Peak Chalets midway between Lake Louise and Golden. Directions to the chalets somewhat lacking, especially in the light of some road construction work. After missing the turnoff we are forced to drive about 40 kms out of our way but eventually reach our destination before it gets dark.
Chalets in a superb location although somewhat lacking in amenities.
Highlights of the day-
Saskatchewan Cross where the Howse, Mistaya and North Saskatchewan rivers meet.
Crowfoot Glacier which used to have 3 toes but has now lost one as the glacier has receded.
Sorry for such a boring blog which simply doesn’t do justice to yet another spectacular day on tour.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

B and I go into Jasper to buy bread rolls but B ends up with a loaf called Italian Stallion which contains cheese, garlic,tomato and God knows what else. ( Gail later orders 5 of these on the name alone until she realises that it’s only bread.
Drive south to speccy Sunwapta Falls on the Athabasca River. Made a futile attempt to buy coffee and hot chocolate at the Falls cafe but sadly the Canadians share with their Americans a total inability to make such drinks.
Head to Athabasca Falls, supposedly the superior of the two but in my view the less impressive. Further north om the 93A we arrive at the confluence of 2 rivers, Athabasca and Whirlpool, the former a glacial blue and the latter a silt laden cream- a quite remarkable union of the two.
I take over the driving for the switchback road up to the north face of Mt Edith Cavell ( English nurse executed in 1916 by the Nazis for helping Allied prisoners-of-war ). Trip turns out to be very worthwhile as the views at the parking lot near the face are stupendous and the 3 glaciers, Angel, Ghost and Edith Cavell represent a fitting tribute to a very gallant lady.
Dinner at O’Sheas in Jasper. B orders a steak sandwich which arrives with enough french fries to keep the local potato farmers in business for a year!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.