Pack Stack and Repack : News

Hey guys, currently just finishing things off on Whistler, heading back to Vancouver tomorrow for a day and then off the next day to Germany, next day to Singapore and then same day Home. its gonna be a rush but more so for Mark who is skipping out earlier than me, heading back with no stop overs, im flyin solo from Germany onwards.

Canada has been great to see, however alot of things were slowed down or canceled due to the turn of bad weather here along the way. particularly in Whistler where we barely even got here to begin with .... so i guess i should explain that one a bit further, the story begins a day earlier and i don't know if you guys would have heard about it back home.

So we've had this run of bad weather and alot of rain everyday since we have been here so far, and on Thursday we decided to actually tackle it head on and just do what we always do, stuff the weather and hit the sights. it was overcast but not raining on the morning so we booked ahead and went out on a sea harbour excursion, a two hour bay tour on a Zodiac holding 12 people. the tour takes us through Howe sound and the bay area, lying at the base of the mountains, it too was carved centuries earlier by the same glaciers that had an impact on Yosemite and the mountains of the west coast. booking the tour we were told that today was the only day we could do it as Sunday was fully booked due to a landslide over the Sea to Sky highway (the way to Whistler via Rail and Car). We panic .....

Leaving the tour for a moment we start to freak out as now we hit the net, no emails or notifications from the rail services or float planes we have booked, but seeing the news, over night there had been a rock landslide covering the highway and rail line preventing all transport up to and down from Whistler and the surrounding mountains. now we are in a situation where we are unlikely to even make it up there and we have no other hotel reservations for Vancouver ..... not good.

Long story short we phone the Rail company, "oh yeh the rail link is closed can we rebook you" "No you can't", we're still after a refund, but we then figure if we can phone quickly we can possibly get the Float Plane service up there as well as back to Vancouver, a few phone calls later and we are booked on a plane for the next morning .... oh but the fun had only just begun.

Skip back to the Howe Sound sea bay tour and it begins to rain as we step onto the boat. it doesn't stop for another 3 days. so we shuffled round the bay on this awesome speed boat, raining, overcast, cold and windy ... just the way we like it lol. but positives were it was cool just to be out there. Dad, it reminded me of the Albany bay fishing trips we took out there in the dingy, minus the huge swells. i felt like dropping in a line. as we circled the islands on the two hour tour we got to see many Bald Eagles, Seals, marine life and forests. do it if you ever get out here. but linking these two stories, on the boat ride back in we actually passed the Sea to Sky highway and were able to view the landslide from the ocean, and man what a mess it was, this was expected to clear in a weeks time.

Skip onwards to the next morning and we get out to the float plane expecting, well, expecting what we paid for, a full flight to Whistler uninterrupted. this was not to be the case, not only had the bad weather stuck round, it had now sealed off Whistler in a cloud and rain bank that prevented flying. we were left with a delayed flight, and only flew 20mins, half way there, up to Squamish, and then we were bussed up the mountains a further 40mins. the best bit, no one bothered to inform us of this segway, and there were no compensations, hence to say i will not fly and will not recommend Whistler Air to anyone. unfortunatly we leave with them tomorrow as well, hopefully this time round we get out full flight, and a safe journey. (update: flight out of Whistler was a full flight, but passengers who booked during the weekend, post landslide were made to pay 30% more in ticket fares .... DO NOT FLY UP HERE WITH Whistler Air)

So things have been hampered here in Canada a bit but its all coming to a gradual end, and to be honest, its about time, we are kinda knackered and ready to just end the living from a suitcase life. when we make it out again i think it will be for a shorter time frame, but the same amount of hijinks. glad to have you all following along and commenting when you can. its been a great way to keep in touch and i wouldnt do it any other way. as a good friend in San Diego said on departure, go back to work, save your money, plan, travel, rinse repeat .... seeyou all soon. updates as we hit the floor home.

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