Beautiful B.C.!

On a glorious day. Summer really has returned and we have been exploring Vancouver all day.

We took the hop on hop off trolley bus from opposite the hotel this morning and rode to Stanley Park. Getting off at the Rose Garden we walked to the sea wall and started to walk along the eastern side of the park bordering the Burrard Inlet.

The sea wall is 6 miles around Stanley Park alone but it continues in other areas of the city ( approx 22 km) and took 36 years to complete. Half is for pedestrians and half for bikes and skaters. This is slightly raised keeping the two separated and the bikers have to go one way.

This is a view over the harbour from the start of the parks sea wall, just past the yacht cub with some very exclusive craft, looking across to the iconic Canada Place sails. The tower is the Harbour Centre where there is a lookout we intend to try tomorrow, maybe at night. We didn't walk the whole of it today, just the eastern side to Prospect Point and the Lion Bridge, (about half way).
We then walked back through the centre of the park on two of the many trails all suitable for walkers but some for wheelchairs and bikes.

Many of the trees are huge Western Red Cedars. When these die they rot from the inside and provide a good fertile start for new plants, not always the same species, so you may see a Rowan growing out of the stump of an old cedar.

Huge dragonflies were in evidence and apparently the park is home to 6 eagles.

Returning to the Rose Garden we picked up the trolley again and did the rest of the tour stopping off in Canada Place again and having some late lunch looking over Coal Harbour and the sea planes. Sometimes the only noise we could hear in the park was the buzz of these little planes constantly flying over.

Apparently the park doesn't belong to Vancouver, it was originally a military garrison and they now rent it from the army for a dollar a year!

We will return tomorrow, hopefully, to walk along the other side.

Rushing off to meet friends for dinner now. I can understand why they want to live in this beautiful city.