The World on the Other Side

Hi blog readers,

You may find it atypical to see a blog entry being written about the happenings during the summer months.  After all, this is a blog about a traveling teacher.  So what is this all about?  Well I thought it would be worthwhile to mention somethings that have happened during the summer as there are more travel stories and life lessons to be had from the 7 weeks I've been home.

Unlike last summer which was completely spent in the Toronto area, I spent a week and a half exploring places I've never been to before in Canada itself.  Macau and Canada provide a study of contrast.  Macau is tiny and is in the heart of eastern Asia with many different countries with different landscapes and cultures surrounding it.  Canada on the other hand is massive, with only one another (not so culturally dissimilar) country that could be described as being close to it.  Within Canada though, there are great differences on many fronts.

My vacation within a vacation travels this year took me to Alberta and British Columbia at the west coast of Canada.  It is a bit ironic that I've been to more east Asian countries in the last 2 years than I've been Canadian provinces in my entire life.  We started off in Calgary, Alberta before heading up to the capital, Edmonton.  After a quick day in Edmonton we headed off to the Rocky Mountain national parks of Jasper and Banff.  After a couple of days of enjoying the beauty of the natural world, I was off on a long bus ride to Vancouver and Victoria in British Columbia.  I essentially only had 3 days in BC, and spent a good chunk of it between Vancouver and Victoria.  I won't go through all the details of the trip but instead have the pictures tell the story.  I will say that if you ever get a chance to visit these places in Alberta and BC, you should not hesitate to go, especially to the Rocky Mountain national parks (Banff & Jasper national parks in Alberta, or Kootenay, Glacier, Yoho, or Mount Revelstoke national parks in BC).  Nowhere in the world, is the majesty of nature preserved better than in Canada, whether it be in the Rockies or elsewhere.

Here comes trouble

Cowboy hats for all at the Calgary Stampede

At the Calgary Stampede grounds

Downtown Calgary

An old fashioned train at Heritage Park Cultural Village

Like things were in the olden days at Heritage Park Cultural Village

Inside the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, Alberta

Twin pyramids

Overlooking prestine Medicine Lake within Jasper National Park

What a view

See the rushing water within Maligne Canyon below?

Pyramid lake just outside Lake Louise

Drinking refreshingly cold glacier water from the Columbia Icefields

Mysterious turquoise colour of the water is caused by glacial sedimentary runoff. 

One of Banff's inhabitants

Iconic Lake Louise

Native American art at the Capilano Suspension bridge in Vancouver

The famous suspension bridge stretching across a small part of the temperate rainforest in BC

Great Horned Owl

What a day for a bike ride through Stanley Park in Vancouver. 

Rock stacks in Stanley Park

Canada Place in downtown Vancouver.

Black bear within Banff National Park. 

The inner harbour area of Victoria, BC

Crystal clear waters.  Nature at its most elegant.

2 provincial legislatures in 1 vacation?  On the lawn of the BC legislature in Victoria