Recently I travelled north of the border to a place where the people are the butt of many an American joke, Canada. It's not my first visit to Canada, I've been lucky enough to travel there on several occasions both for business and pleasure, I've always found it has a kind of rugged beauty to it, and the people are both warm and friendly a lot like the folks of the mid-west.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, a good friend of mine from the North East moved to Canada several years ago, and so my visit had three purposes; to see my friend, his wife and their two young boys, to see some of the breathtaking sites this part of Canada has to offer, and also to answer a few questions I've had rattling around the old grey matter.
I flew into Ottawa where the temperature swings from -40 in the winter to +40 in the summer, to say it's a city of extremes is an understatement, but thankfully for me it was a balmy +8 so no need for thermals. Travelling from the airport I witnessed the clean up operation that was underway in the city to sweep away the debris of the harsh winter months, and a coating of 3-4 feet of snow.
I was told that it's not unusual to find the bodies of people buried in the snow during winter only once revealed in the spring melt, homeless people in the main who've succumbed to the cold and fallen into a never ending sleep. In this part of world I guess it's just a yearly cycle that they must go through, and yet regardless of the conditions the beat of life continues.
CN Tower Toronto
We drove to the town of Stitsville where my friends house is, houses in Canada are similar to houses in the U.S, they all tend to be very large and airy but constructed very simply using light materials which are quite often prefabricated. I received the grand tour from the lady of the house and was shown my friends outdoor pool which I gather is his pride and joy, not bad for a northern lad.
Over the course of the evening whilst enjoying some prime Alberta beef, I heard about my friend and his families new life together as Canadian residents. I heard all about their lives, where they worked, what they did to relax, what they liked to eat and drink, and even what colour they were planning on painting their new house. For me it was greatly humbling to see my old friend as an established family man to such a beautiful young family.
Art Institute Toronto
The next day we took the boys out to a cold war nuclear bunker, a subterranean, self sufficient and self contained underground mini city. The bunker had everything you could possibly need to exist under the surface of the earth for months on end, from an operating theatre to an office for the fisheries minister, and a vault containing all of the gold from the bank of Canada.
I couldn't believe how big the bunker was, spread over 4 vast floors, the planning and the conception of this bunker must have been a massive undertaking, and to think it was built in secret over 2 years. I'm pretty sure my friends young boys enjoyed it too as they were both very well behaved, but for my part I didn't realise how tiring two young lads could be.
The next day we jumped in the car hand railing Lake Ontario toward Toronto, an easy 5 hour drive by Canadian standards because of the vast distances between provinces. Toronto, like Ottawa was undergoing it's spring makeover and with the overcast skies of the day the main part of the city looked a little drab. After a short tour we took a small ferry over to Toronto Island, in the summer the island looks like the place to be with it's municipal beaches, piers, play parks and restaurants it must be a welcome respite from city living over the water.
However, at this time of the year the whole island was like a forgotten town, cafes, bars all deserted, not a single car on the road and not a soul on the beaches, this made for quite an eerie feeling especially with the sun fading fast.
Looking out from the pier it's easy to forget that you're not looking out to sea, Lake Ontario is so big it's nearly the size of Wales, it's really more like an inland sea. On the other side of the island we patiently waited for twilight to descend, when it did we were treated to a spectacular few of the city across the water, the whole cityscape reflected back at the sky in the waters of the lake.
With the Island now in complete darkness the walk back to the small ferry was like something out of a zombie apocalypse film, with the island deserted and only ghostly silhouettes to dimly guide us back. It was nice to have the entire island to myself but I'm sure a hot summers evening spent on the beach there would be even better.
Final day, final destination for my mini Canadian adventure and the target for the morning was Niagara falls. Now I knew the falls would be big, for anyone reading this from the North East of England we've all visited High Force, and so we are not strangers to waterfalls but nothing prepared me for this.
The best description I can come up with is, "it looks like an entire sea falling off a cliff". The noise, the spray, the vibration was utterly breathtaking, I still struggle to comprehend the quantity of water cascading over the rock to the violent turbulence below. There's so much energy in the water that standing anywhere near the top of the falls is enough to soak you to the bone, even though the deluge of water is colliding 53 metres below you.
Leaving the falls behind I headed for Buffalo airport, this meant crossing the Canadian border and heading back into America. Approaching the border crossing it all seemed a little strange to European eyes, since the advent of the Schengen agreement which lead to a borderless Europe, we think nothing of passing from country to country without the need for passports or vehicle checks, I guess the yanks don't trust their crafty Canadian neighbours? After a quick document check I was sent on my way and Omaha bound once again.
Now the more astute amongst you may have noticed that I haven't got to the meat of the sandwich in this blog yet, I haven't elaborated on the questions I had hoped Canada might help me to answer, and yet your probably quite happy I haven't began with my pointless rhetoric.
So, as a special treat I'm going to let you enjoy the stills above and save my ramblings for the next instalment. X
