It was a long drive up to Ucluelet from Victoria. I went through
Parksville and Nanimo. After seeing 1000 year old rainforest's, shops
with goats on the roof and having the terrain get so remote that there
were no radio stations on FM or AM for half an hour I was at Ucluelet.
Ucluelet is a very small town. First Nations and settlers live and
work together. Whilst in Ucluelet/Tofino I saw long sandy beaches,
mounds of sea kelp, whirlpools, lighthouses, craggy cliffs and rocky
shorelines. I also went rowing on the sea. It was a bit dodgy in a
small plastic rowing boat bobbing up and down on the waves.
A few days later I went to Denman Island and Hornby Island on the
ferry. There was cougar loose on Hornby Island which had swum across
from Vancouver Island. Hornby and Denman Island are very small and
have very small communities. The place I was staying was really out in
the middle of nowhere. It even had deer around it which is perfect
bait for the cougar. It also had a hot-tub and jacuzzi though so I
guess alls well that ends well. Hornby Island had white sandy beaches,
black sandy beaches and strange, alien-like holes and honeycomb
structures caused by eroded limestone. I also saw live jazz on Hornby
Island.
After going to Comox, Courtenay and Black Creek I was on my way back
to Victoria looking at the Elk warning signs next to the
road................
Friday, October 27, 2006
Canada 4
It was a sunny day in Victoria when I set sail on the Victoria Clipper from Victoria to Seattle but by the time we are out at sea the heavy sea mist came down. I had a visa (see picture) stapled in my passport for entry into the US. It was dark when I got to Seattle and drizzle was in the air. The monorail snaked its way around the soggy Pacific city. The taxi pulled up the steep streets and I was at my hotel. The next day I went to the Space Needle. I went to a Science-Fiction Museum, the Music Museum and walked around the downtown area of Seattle. I then went to the Science and Natural History Museum. I went in a simulator and in a planetarium. Then, as it was getting dark, I went to the top of the Seattle space needle and had dinner. After that I went to the very top and looked at the dark city spread out below me. The next day I went to the Pike Street Market which is the oldest market in North America. In the evening I went to a play/show/restaurant called Teatro Zinzanni ( http://dreams.zinzanni.org/ ).
The next day I went to Mount Saint Helens Volcano. As I climbed higher and higher into the Cascade Mountains I could see increasing evidence of the huge impact of the volcanic eruption. The ground was littered with dead trees 15 miles from the volcano. In some areas humans have replanted the forest and some areas it has been left to grow. The eruption in 1980 created new lakes, streams, hills, forests, wetlands and habitats. There were various viewing points as I got higher up into the range. At 4000ft low cloud took over and visibility was only about 30ft. That was when I was 5 miles from the volcano which is the closest non-scientists can go. In the parking lot of the Johnson Ridge viewpoint (the closest point the public can get to) the ground vibrated in a really odd way. It was an earthquake caused by the volcano. It was like standing in a house in London with an underground train going through a tunnel below. It was just under 4 on the Richter scale. I was told by a US GS guide that they happen every few days since the 1980 eruption. They are usually quite weak. He also said that the volcano has been slowly oozing lava for the last 2 years. There were signs around advising what to do if there is an ash cloud eruption and warning of huge fines if any flora or fauna is damaged. I descended the mountain and the cloud cleared. I picked up some pumice, took some photos and headed back to Seattle.............
The next day (today) I went back to Victoria on the clipper. The weather was clear but very windy. Tomorrow I am going to Parksville, Tofino and Comox which are towns on Vancouver Island. Tofino has strong storms this time of year so I will be doing some storm chasing. More soon.
The next day I went to Mount Saint Helens Volcano. As I climbed higher and higher into the Cascade Mountains I could see increasing evidence of the huge impact of the volcanic eruption. The ground was littered with dead trees 15 miles from the volcano. In some areas humans have replanted the forest and some areas it has been left to grow. The eruption in 1980 created new lakes, streams, hills, forests, wetlands and habitats. There were various viewing points as I got higher up into the range. At 4000ft low cloud took over and visibility was only about 30ft. That was when I was 5 miles from the volcano which is the closest non-scientists can go. In the parking lot of the Johnson Ridge viewpoint (the closest point the public can get to) the ground vibrated in a really odd way. It was an earthquake caused by the volcano. It was like standing in a house in London with an underground train going through a tunnel below. It was just under 4 on the Richter scale. I was told by a US GS guide that they happen every few days since the 1980 eruption. They are usually quite weak. He also said that the volcano has been slowly oozing lava for the last 2 years. There were signs around advising what to do if there is an ash cloud eruption and warning of huge fines if any flora or fauna is damaged. I descended the mountain and the cloud cleared. I picked up some pumice, took some photos and headed back to Seattle.............
The next day (today) I went back to Victoria on the clipper. The weather was clear but very windy. Tomorrow I am going to Parksville, Tofino and Comox which are towns on Vancouver Island. Tofino has strong storms this time of year so I will be doing some storm chasing. More soon.
Canada 3
Yesterday I went to Goldstream Provincial Park. It had trees that were 800 years old and they were huge- bigger than any British species I have ever seen. Its also salmon spawning season. It is banned for people to fish for the salmon in protected streams and rivers save for the First Nation peoples. And they are only allowed to catch salmon using their traditional method which is a pole with a hook at the end. While walking along the stream I saw a group of 4 young First Nation peoples. 2 had poles and 1 was carrying a huge salmon by its mouth. After seeing that dead fish I had to go and have sushi! It was as much as you can eat sushi for $22 (£11) I also looked round Victoria in depth today. I saw lots of totem poles. I also went to the IMAX theatre and saw Survival Island and Journey Along the Nile. The screen was 6 storeys high. I also looked around the museum of British Columbia, Naval museum of British Columbia, Madame Tussuad's of Victoria and Chinatown. Tomorrow after swimming and yoga I will be getting the ferry from Victoria to Seattle.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Canada 2
Yesterday I went to the Pacific Ocean. It was very calm and people were even kayaking in it! The shoreline was strewn with extraneous logs that had been sweep down the rivers from industrial logging. In the distance was the US and up the coast was the rest of Vancouver Island. It wasn't windy standing on the shore and the tang of salt was not as strong as on British beaches. The mist hung low in the distance. People were living in earthquake-proof houses right on the edge of the largest ocean in the world. There was a large amount of plants and trees that could survive so close to the sea. Look at the attached photos to see the view.
Alexander Cowan
Alexander Cowan
Canada 1
The following is an account of what I did on the 05/10/06 on my 21st birthday going to Canada.
I got through the security at Gatwick airport very quickly considering how long the queue was. I didn't even have to take my shoes and belt off! Eventually I got onto the plane after a slightly shambolic boarding. I had a window seat in the middle of the plane over the wing (which is the safest part according to BBC2s 'How to Survive a Plane Crash'). The plane was an Airbus A320. Everybody had their own TVs in the seat in front. The plane was about half full so I could stretch out quite a bit. It was direct from Gatwick to Vancouver.
We had no turbulence. There were 12 TV channels and 12 radio stations to watch whilst on the plane. The TVs were touch-screen. There was also a camera on the front and on the bottom of the plane which could be viewed at any time from the TV screen. The journey passed uneventfully for most of the time. It was sunny for the entire 10 and a half hour flight. I switched the camera on the bottom of the plane over Greenland/Baffin Island/Nunavut and could see the snowy, icy Arctic wastes. There were snow-covered islands in a bizarre jumble everywhere. Every mini island was a totally different shape. They looked like shards of a broken eggshell floating. After I crossed Hudson Bay I could see the snow suddenly end and green islands took over with snow only on the higher parts. Then there was cloud.
Over Alberta the clouds cleared. Below I could see the arid grasslands of the Alberta plains and Badlands. Soon after habitation appeared. I then recognised the city as Calgary- the last place where I had been on Canadian soil. I could clearly see from 36000 feet Fish Creek Provincial Park and downtown Calgary. But we were soon over Calgary and flying over the Rocky Mountain foothills. Then the mountains started and I could see from the camera on the bottom of the plane and from the window that there was a light dusting of snow on the peaks. I saw the lakes and the forests and I could also see Canada Highway 1 snaking through narrow passes. I saw Banff and realised that I was in Banff exactly a year ago to the day. It looked like a small speck of civilisation in the vast wilderness of the Rocky Mountain National Parks. A few minutes later I realised I was further than I had ever gone before. I was over the Rocky Mountains and flying over British Columbia. It was a stark difference to Alberta. It was totally covered in trees save for the rocky craggs and tiny areas of deforestation and forest fires. It has many rivers snaking towards the Pacific Ocean. Then the descent into Vancouver started but I hadn't seen any human habitation for hundreds of miles. I came over the Coast Mountains and could see lakes in the calderas of extinct volcano's. A legacy of the ring of fire. The plane was only a couple of thousand feet over the mountains. Then the terrain smoothed out and a solitary farm appeared. Then a road. Then another farm. Gradually human habitation developed. I could see thousands of logs floating in neat stacks down the length of the river. They looked liked matches in a matchbox. The plane descended lower and lower until it bumped onto the tarmac of the airport. After a lengthy wait through customs and immigration I was on my way to the Vancouver-Victoria ferry. I boarded the ferry and it set out on the very flat waters of the Georgia straights. Many small islands appeared and some were dotted with lighthouses and houses. Most were empty. (All photos are taken from the ferry). The entire journey I could see the Coast Mountains in the north and the Olympic Mountains (in the US) to the south through the mist. It was overcast and chilly on the ferry but the boat hardly rocked at all. Soon the boat docked into Victoria harbour and I was on Vancouver Island...............
More to come.
Alexander Cowan
I got through the security at Gatwick airport very quickly considering how long the queue was. I didn't even have to take my shoes and belt off! Eventually I got onto the plane after a slightly shambolic boarding. I had a window seat in the middle of the plane over the wing (which is the safest part according to BBC2s 'How to Survive a Plane Crash'). The plane was an Airbus A320. Everybody had their own TVs in the seat in front. The plane was about half full so I could stretch out quite a bit. It was direct from Gatwick to Vancouver.
We had no turbulence. There were 12 TV channels and 12 radio stations to watch whilst on the plane. The TVs were touch-screen. There was also a camera on the front and on the bottom of the plane which could be viewed at any time from the TV screen. The journey passed uneventfully for most of the time. It was sunny for the entire 10 and a half hour flight. I switched the camera on the bottom of the plane over Greenland/Baffin Island/Nunavut and could see the snowy, icy Arctic wastes. There were snow-covered islands in a bizarre jumble everywhere. Every mini island was a totally different shape. They looked like shards of a broken eggshell floating. After I crossed Hudson Bay I could see the snow suddenly end and green islands took over with snow only on the higher parts. Then there was cloud.
Over Alberta the clouds cleared. Below I could see the arid grasslands of the Alberta plains and Badlands. Soon after habitation appeared. I then recognised the city as Calgary- the last place where I had been on Canadian soil. I could clearly see from 36000 feet Fish Creek Provincial Park and downtown Calgary. But we were soon over Calgary and flying over the Rocky Mountain foothills. Then the mountains started and I could see from the camera on the bottom of the plane and from the window that there was a light dusting of snow on the peaks. I saw the lakes and the forests and I could also see Canada Highway 1 snaking through narrow passes. I saw Banff and realised that I was in Banff exactly a year ago to the day. It looked like a small speck of civilisation in the vast wilderness of the Rocky Mountain National Parks. A few minutes later I realised I was further than I had ever gone before. I was over the Rocky Mountains and flying over British Columbia. It was a stark difference to Alberta. It was totally covered in trees save for the rocky craggs and tiny areas of deforestation and forest fires. It has many rivers snaking towards the Pacific Ocean. Then the descent into Vancouver started but I hadn't seen any human habitation for hundreds of miles. I came over the Coast Mountains and could see lakes in the calderas of extinct volcano's. A legacy of the ring of fire. The plane was only a couple of thousand feet over the mountains. Then the terrain smoothed out and a solitary farm appeared. Then a road. Then another farm. Gradually human habitation developed. I could see thousands of logs floating in neat stacks down the length of the river. They looked liked matches in a matchbox. The plane descended lower and lower until it bumped onto the tarmac of the airport. After a lengthy wait through customs and immigration I was on my way to the Vancouver-Victoria ferry. I boarded the ferry and it set out on the very flat waters of the Georgia straights. Many small islands appeared and some were dotted with lighthouses and houses. Most were empty. (All photos are taken from the ferry). The entire journey I could see the Coast Mountains in the north and the Olympic Mountains (in the US) to the south through the mist. It was overcast and chilly on the ferry but the boat hardly rocked at all. Soon the boat docked into Victoria harbour and I was on Vancouver Island...............
More to come.
Alexander Cowan
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