From sky to sea

We had yet another delicious breakfast and said a reluctant goodbye to Brenda and her lovely dog Kayla before making our way down to Whistler.

We had originally intended not to bother stopping at Whistler but Brenda had strongly recommended the Peak to Peak experience. We got there just after 10 so the queues weren't too bad, got our tickets and proceeded to have a really great 3 hours or so exploring Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains.

The first gondola took 25 minutes to get us almost to the top, then we decided to venture onto the chairlift to take us up the last few hundred metres. This was VERY high and steep so was a bit of a white knuckle ride for both of us but especially for Jon. He was pretty brave though and only said a few rude words when we first set off! Next the intrepid duo climbed onto the Peak to Peak gondola, which is apparently the longest unsupported span in the world at just over 4K, and takes 11 minutes to go across.

 After this we were feeling very confident so decided to take the chairlift all the way back down to the bottom. My confidence did waver a little when the bloody thing ground to a halt and left us dangling above the valley bottom, but apart from that the whole experience was huge fun and certainly one we'd recommend.

We then drove the Sea to Sky Highway down to Vancouver, which was a stunning drive with new vistas around every corner.

At 5.20pm we left mainland BC on the ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I really am running out of superlatives by now, but suffice it to say that we spent the whole of the 1 hour 40 minute journey up on the sun deck, desperate not to miss a single moment of this astonishing sea crossing.

Vancouver with Mount St Helen's just visible in the background

We are now happily settled in to the latest gorgeous B&B, the Eagle Landing near Qualicum Beach. We were given such an awesome welcome from our hosts, Anne & Jim, that they feel like old friends already. And the view.....!! But more about that tomorrow.