Hello from Vancouver (2) -
Stanley Park is Vancouver's famous urban paradise and I knew
weeks in advance that I would need to explore it in detail,
preferably on a bike. So this afternoon at about 1:30 pm I set
off from the UBC Campus, and navigated my way downtown by bus,
taking 3 buses to get to the eastern edge of Stanley Park. This
was my first chance to glance at the city of Vancouver. It is a
relatively new city and according to some accounts, its origins
date back to 1792 , the year when Captain George Vancouver
explored this region. Most buildings downtown west of Granville
Avenue were built relatively recently as Vancouver has
experienced a huge building boom over the last few years. A
large part of downtown is covered by modern residential
skyscrapers and Vancouver's building frenzy continues unabated.
It's evident everywhere that this is a very popular place to
live.
My rental bicycle was waiting for me at a place called Spokes
Bicycle Rentals, a place that had been mentioned to me several
weeks ago by the Vancouver's Visitors Association. I met one of
their managers, a young sporty guy named Phil who was extremely
helpful in helping me lay out my itinerary for this discovery on
two wheels. We started chatting and I found out that Phil is
originally from Montreal and moved to Vancouver 3 years ago. He
loves the outdoors and has gotten involved in snowboarding,
mountainbiking and diving and he mentioned that Vancouver is
among the world's top dive sites.
After laying out my route for me and giving me information on
all the important sights along the way, Phil selected a
comfortable bicycle for me that would be able to handle leisure
riding as well as some mild offroading. Once outfitted I hopped
on the bike and started my tour along the seawall of Stanley
Park. At 20 times the size of Central Park, Stanley Park is the
3rd largest urban park in North America, and its setting is just
stunning. From the east side you have a view into downtown
Vancouver towards Canada Place and the cruise boat terminal.
Several ocean liners were docked in town.
One of the first major sights along the bike path are the Totem
Poles, imposing in their height and number. I circled around
Brockton Point towards the north-facing side of the peninsula,
and a stunning view towards North Vancouver and the Lions Gate
Bridge opened up. As per Phil's advice, I cycled up to Beaver
Lake which is a quiet little oasis away from the hustle and
bustle of the seawall. It is a large pond surrounded by lush
forest, covered in a water lilies. I cycled all the way around
the pond and then headed back out to the seawall and quickly
came to the Lions Gate Bridge which is surrounded by Prospect
Point, the highest point in the park. From there I soon reached
the northernmost point of Stanley Park and started cycling
westwards again. Just past a single outlying rock called Siwash
Rock I arrived at Third Beach that was just completely teeming
with people. I bought a drink and relaxed for a while until I
resumed my trip and passed a group of inukshuk builders close to
Second Beach.
The crowds were intensifying and every conceivable spot on the
burnt-out grass was taken up by sun-worshippers. The largest
beach, located closest to the city, is English Bay Beach,
replete with daytrippers. The crowds were a bit too much for me,
so I crossed False Creek over the Burrard Bridge and explored
Vanier Park and Kitsilano Beach. The view from the bridge is
simply breathtaking. On the other side again there were
thousands of people, barbequeing, sunworshiping, and
picknicking.
I turned around and headed back on 4th Avenue, crossing back to
downtown Vancouver via the Granville Street Bridge and headed
straight across towards Canada Place and the seashore west of
Burrard Street. Since my stomach was growling after about 3
hours of cycling, I returned the bycicle to Spokes and asked
Phil for advice as to where to eat. He suggested an Italian
place named Ciao Bella almost right across the street. I took
his advice and plunked myself down on a nice patio and
thoroughly enjoyed an Italian meal in the evening sunshine.
At 8 pm I was ready to head back to UBC and walked up to Robson
Street, one of Vancouver's main thoroughfares. Thousands of
people were coming towards me since they were planning to catch
the fireworks. The sidewalks were just totally full with people.
I was walking in the opposite direction and ended up doing a
quick little photographic tour of downtown, including the Hotel
Vancouver. I saw a few more interesting buildings: the Vancouver
Block and the Art Gallery of Vancouver.
Quite exhausted from a full day I started walking down Granville
Avenue, still surrounded by throngs of people and had to wait 45
minutes for a bus since all buses were going down Davie Street
to take people to the fireworks. Finally the bus came and I was
listening to a bunch of teenage boys that were planning their
under-age drinking escapades at the occasion of the fireworks.
After a really long day I finally arrived back on the UBC campus
at about 9:30 pm. Now it's 11 pm and I can't wait to hit the
hay.