I’M USED to traveling on my own.
Or, at least, to be traveling with a group of which I am the organizer/leader.
But since coming to Vancouver last month, people have been trying to fit me into their lives.
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I am staying with friends.
And at least two household have adopted me as their own.
Meaning, they have couches for me; and have prepared towels, et cetera.
They have actually food budget for my stay!
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People from my main house of refuge have taken me to Whistler.
It’s a fine city with its own charm.
Again, being a venue of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, it is hard to pass up on Whistler even if I’ve been there before.
I like Whistler, but I don’t want to live there.
I can stay maybe 10 days, maybe two weeks; but that’s about it.
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People from my other house of refuge have managed to squeeze me into a day trip in Victoria.
That was fun.
I’ve always loved Victoria; and I’ve fancied myself retiring there.
But only if I have someone to be with.
We went to Victoria as a party of five.
It was cool because we just took someone’s car.
I mean, the owner drove. Haha!
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I’ve been to Victoria a few times before.
The first visit was in 2008.
When we went to Victoria in 2019, I suggested to revisit the Butchart Gardens.
I’ve always loved the Butchart Gardens.
I know a little bit of its history.
But you can Google it for yourself.
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And then, there was this trip to Alberta, British Columbia’s neighboring province.
Somebody in their party got sick, and another wasn’t granted a day off; so they ended up with two empty seats.
Would Peter Solis Nery be interested to come along?
For a mere $250 for all of transportation and hotel, Why not?
You see, I’m that kind of person.
The always-Yes to opportunities kind of person.
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I shelled out $500, and took my host family’s teenage son with me.
We had a blast!
I mean, the trip was kind of my birthday gift to him, too.
If not a token of gratitude for hosting me.
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The trip to Alberta went as far as Calgary.
That’s about 1,000 kms away from Vancouver.
981 kilometers to be exact.
But we had stopovers in Banff, 848 kms from Vancouver; about 9 hours, 20 minutes drive.
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I knew we were going to Banff.
And it excited me the most because someone said that Banff, and Lake Louise in particular, is really beautiful.
What I didn’t know was it was to be a very nature-tripping kind of trip.
From Banff to Lake Louise is 57 kms; some 40-minute drive.
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Eight hours from Vancouver, 721 kms, we stopped by the Kicking Horse River at the Yoho National Park of British Columbia.
You cannot fault me if I think that it was part of the Banff National Park, because well, maybe the park is part of the provincial borders of B.C. and Alberta.
And don’t get me started with Parc National du Canada Jasper (duh, the Jasper National Park of Canada).
Suffice it to say, that it is part of the Canadian Rockies.
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The town of Jasper is 287 kms away from Banff.
That’s about three hours, 21-minute drive.
Banff to the nearest boundaries of the Jasper National Park is only 180 kms away, about a 2-hour ride.
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So anyway, this Canadian Rockies is a mountain range that spans B.C. and Alberta.
It has ice-capped peaks, which stays on all year-round.
I mean, the ice never melts even in the summer.
It is a region of alpine lakes, diverse wildlife, and great outdoor recreational sites.
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We visited several lakes along the trip: Emerald Lake, Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, Lake Bow, and all the other small ones I didn’t bother to know.
My favorite is Lac Louise.
I’ve also learned that it’s the most visited. (To be continued)/PN
