Mittwoch, 12. September - Vancouver - Victoria

VICTORIA CONTINUED
Morning! Yesterday we picked up the Truck at Fraserway which is conveniently located to airport and BC Ferries Tsawwassen terminal. The into to the camper takes a while (minimum one hour incl. paper work), so it'll be good to take this into account when planning your trip. We were on a tight schedule, lost our reserved space as we were late (due to copilot misfunction) but still got onto the 11.00 ferry as there was space left. Breakfast, fog, sunshine, cold winds - we had a nice ride over to Victoria. Half way to Victoria we stopped at Thrifty Foods and Canadian Tires to pick up groceries and other basics to survive the wild. Groceries and food in general is less expensive in Germany - but in my opinion the word "Gammelfleisch" puts it all into perspective. Took the scenic marine drive through nice neighborhoods and along Beacon Hill Park to downtown Victoria and on to Westbay RV Park. Got there about 18.00 hrs. No time to unpack, got a cab into downtown (10 CAD) and discovered really nice neighborhoods and locations such as Chinatown with Fan Tan Alley and Market Square, the latter reminded us a little of Camden Town. Instead of having dinner downtown we took last harbour ferry back to RV Park. The harbour ferries actually are not taxis but offering tours (we paid 10 CAD each for the ride inner harbour to RV park - money well invested npt only because of the nice scenery!). Our captain was Heldor Schäfer, originally from Hamburg which he had left when he was 20, about 35-40 years ago. He lives in Vic for 20 years now, on a boat in Westbay. Funny enough, the four guest onboard were all Germans so he tried to do the commentary in German. Poor Heldor. Those of you who lived abroad for some time may know how quickly one looses words. Now it is time to hit the road, friends. Talk to you later!

To start with: We are exhausted, no, that is not true, I am. Markus got his „little“ toy this morning at Fraserway RV. He loves it. And I have to admit it indeed is a good, strong looking truck, nice colour. But to keep this log in a chronological order, I’ll rejoin you where I last uploaded the weblog, at San Francisco airport on Tuesday Sept. 11, around 8 in the morning. We took off and again a smooth flight and landing with UA in Vancouver. We were greeted by blue skies and sunshine. Took the Airporter to downtown Vancouver which is a great way to get a first impression of the city. The Airporter stops at a large number of hotels and is a good alternative to a taxi until the Skytrain connection will be ready in 2009. Stopped by at the office to say hello to my nice colleagues at Tourism BC. Went to the Lookout for a spectacular 360° degree view of the city and picked up our GyPSy Guide, a navi system which leads you to points of interest. Had a late but excellent lunch at the Irish Heather in Gastown (washrooms there are located what used to be the prison back in the old days). Didn’t complete my cowboy boot mission at OK Boots. Obviously there had been too many Asian female tourists this season and my size 34,5 (very small that is) was gone. Never mind, the shopping experience at OK was just hilarious due to the two elder shop owners. One of them is said to be born in Pakistan, have visited school in Scottland, do business in Kuwait and wants to go to the Octoberfest in October (!). Back to the office late afternoon to meet the girls and off to Gastown for some drinks and dinner. Thanks again for your time and the lovely evening at Social. Overnight at Josie’s and Chris’ in Richmond (CHEERS) who dropped us of at an airport hotel this morning so we could meet Fraserway RV shuttle and begin our RVenture. I think I’ll leave you right here as letters are dancing before my eyes. Promis to get back tomorrow. SORRY FOR THE LACK OF IMAGES, UPLOADING FAILED. Good Night!