27/07/2019
Hi everyone, One dark, cold, January evening I began my search for my next holiday. On the recommendation of a family member, I chose to look at North American holidays, as I was after something out of the ordinary. I stumbled across Contiki ( ) holidays, a company specialising in young persons tours.
About a month ago I took a two week holiday in Canada. Here is my compilation of photographs; they are ready to share and are available to purchase.
This is my story of Canada…
Canada must be the most rewarding and incredible travel experience I have had so far, in my twenty-five years! How do I start to explain this amazing adventure, with the photographs of course!
Since looking through the collection this month, they have most certainly sparked enjoyable memories. I wanted to create my own story, doing what I do best by capturing these places in my own unique style.
Well, the trip was incredible, the scenery was out of this world, but still surprisingly on planet Earth, though you would be forgiven to think otherwise. The people I met were awesome! I started my journey from London Heathrow International Airport and flew over to Vancouver International Airport the day before the Contiki guided trip began. This being my biggest adventure to date, I was apprehensive yet excited to meet new people with a similar thirst for travel and exploration. The morning of our departure I woke up feeling refreshed, despite my flight being delayed two hours, but after a hearty breakfast, I felt relaxed and eager to embrace the days ahead.
We departed in a northerly direction from Vancouver to Whistler, (with the song of the trip still ringing in our ears, The Days by Avicii.)
For those of you that are interested Whistler was the venue for the Winter Olympics 2010. I loved it there, a lot of outdoor activities were on offer from mountain biking, cable cars and plenty of mountainous scenery.
The first few days I was exploring this pretty town and have to say it was stunning. (pictures 1-8) I ended up going on the cable cars up Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. I decided to walk up a bit further to Whistler Mountain, due to the rapidly thinning oxygen levels, I decided to retrace my steps back towards sea level.
The next few photographs I took we are on the way to Jasper. Might I add at this point that the coach was comfy and well equipped for cross country touring. We stopped at a few lakes and at Mount Robson, we were waiting for the clouds to disappear so we could see it in all its glory, (picture 12) but sadly we could only see a small proportion of it between the clouds.
We stopped at Moose Lake for a short time (picture 11) and I managed to snap a few pictures there. I came across plenty of lakes on this trip and they were impressive! We arrived in Jasper and decided to hike to Beauvert Lake via the Athabasca River. This river was, wide, free-flowing and quite noisy too! Arriving at Beauvert Lake, you noticed the tranquil almost mirror effect, deep blue body of water. Quite remarkable.
On heading back to the hotel, we stumbled across an A&W, which is similar to KFC. That was to be our evening meal.
The next day the weather drew in and after a short walk, we battened down the hatches for the day. But still, the convivial atmosphere continued, in the bar.
The day after, we got back onto the coach and headed south to Banff, en route we stopped by the Columbia Icefields to see a Glacier. Now it was cold, but exciting, nevertheless. We took an incredible trip on a specially adapted bus to the top of the Glacier. I felt it was surprisingly warmer up there than it was back down at the visitor's centre. A good spot for a snowball fight, some thought. Next was Maligne Lake this was exceptionally beautiful, the water was incredibly still and silent, plus the area was peaceful. Next stop was Lake Louise, this had many tourists visiting also. That saw the day come to a close, it was a very long but worth every second. I was really pleased with some of the photographs I took today. We arrived in Banff later that evening.
The first full day In Banff I took a Helicopter flight above Canmore and towards the Three Sister Mountains. This was the first time I have been in a helicopter and it was an enjoyable experience. I was very lucky with the weather and the views were just something else. (picture 24-26) Words cannot explain how awesome this was! We landed back down in Canmore and I relived this moment for a few minutes, just couldn’t quite believe how incredible it was. Later in Banff, I did a little bit of exploring around. Banff is an awesome town, set in some of the most amazing scenery.
The next day we had our last morning in Banff, to make the most of it we went up the Banff Gondola with incredibly breathtaking views. The air was thin there too but that didn’t stop us walking across to the cosmic ray station. Some amazing views from up here! It was then off to Vernon before our final stop Vancouver.
Over the next few days, I returned to Vancouver, a remarkable city with incredible scenery and architecture. Arriving in Vancouver, we headed to Stanley Park, I wish I had more time to explore this park further. I had the chance to see the totem poles in the park. The park had an incredible view over the Lions Gate Bridge, (Picture 33.) a bridge connecting the city of Vancouver to the North and West Vancouver.
Vancouver is a very interesting place to take street photography. I got to Canada Place and took the free shuttle to Capilano Suspension Bridge. I couldn’t take too many photographs there as it was too busy. Heading back to Canada Place I explored there for a short time.
The following day I walked to Granville Island, an interesting place with lots of quirky shops and interesting buildings. I took most of my photos on the bridge as it gave a different vantage point of Vancouver. I headed back into Downtown Vancouver and started to explore this vast city further.
On the penultimate day, I went to Vancouver Aquarium, I enjoyed this as there was plenty of different species of aquatic life. I took a couple of pictures and headed to Stanley Park where there were lots of wildlife, especially for a conurbation. The Aquarium was interesting but very busy.
I headed into Gastown a place that had old industrial buildings now housing coffee shops and retail boutique outlets. I had an enjoyable time here, some amazing buildings and a lot of old streets to explore.
Vancouver I enjoyed you. I will visit again as there are many more places I want to explore!
This has been Glyn Ruell, Inside Canada so you don’t have to be.
Right missive written. This was the most incredible trip of my life, fourteen days worth of photographs, new friends made and a damn good time! Would I do this again? Deffo!!
I feel this has really helped me with my photography and has made me feel more confident in taking photographs that I don’t usually take.
These photographs are my memories that I am sharing with you. This trip has really boosted my confidence and I will be certainly be doing another in the future. Canada was out of this world, a place that I have always wanted to go and explore. I needed to step out of my comfort zone and capture different scenery I haven’t seen before and Canada was the answer. Canada you were awesome! Who knows where the next adventure will take me, but this one will stay in my memories.
All photographs published are available for purchase in print or digital format.
Catch you all again,
Glyn.
