O Canada! Our First Winter in Vancouver, 2020

Well, it has certainly been a while since our last update. Our original pre-pandemic plan looked a little different to what we experienced in November 2020, which I can imagine was the same for a lot of people. After a painful few months we made the leap and managed to move to Canada, but only by the skin of our teeth. Josh carried a folder full of 100 different documents, all to prove we could travel, had a job offer, and extended our permit correctly. Originally our plan was to arrive in Spring so we could see British Columbia at its best, but instead we had to brace ourselves for the winter chill and accompanying darker days. 

We arrived at Vancouver airport and sighed with relief as we walked out with work permits granted. This relief was short-lived as we were quickly taken to our Airbnb suite where we would spend the next two weeks in quarantine until we were released into the wilds of the city. We were incredibly lucky to find such a wonderful place to stay, which we actually ended up living in for the next few months. This was all due to Krista and Greg, our kind and friendly hosts who helped us settle in.

Our first day out of the apartment was overwhelming to say the least. We tentatively ventured outside after being sat in the same room for two weeks, not knowing what lay on the other side of the door. We had to get accustomed to this bustling city's new sights and sounds, of which there were many. The city centre is incredibly boujee, but it was a shock to see the outskirts full of people experiencing homelessness and often addiction. It is certainly the most shocking example of a broken health and pharmaceutical system we have ever seen. 

The city itself is surrounded by the mountains; they're everywhere you turn, and on a good day you can even see as far as the magnificent Mount Baker in the US. We quickly made our way out of the skyscrapers in the city to head to the infamous Stanley Park, which can be found where downtown Vancouver meets the ocean. This was where we met our first Canadian friends, the Lost Lagoon raccoons who blew our minds with their cuteness. They have the loveliest little hands that act as their eyes. We watched them jump in the water stretching out their paws looking for tasty treats, whilst their heads scanned the area for danger. This would be in the form of dogs or even coyotes that also live in the park and around the city. As the sun set, we were also lucky to spot a resident otter who was chomping on a fish by the side of the lagoon. 

The trees in the Pacific Northwest are magnificent with giant Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Maple trees making this a Canadian paradise. The park is a fantastic example of a temperate-coastal rainforest of which there aren't many left in the world. Although it is being protected now, much of the old forest has been destroyed through logging and the park is working hard with natural regeneration projects. 

We spent the first couple of months adjusting to a different life and all the credit to our success goes to Josh, who pushed through and worked in some pretty awful conditions; one we now refer to as the railroad swamp. He'd often come home drenched from head to toe and we'd spend the next few hours trying to dry out his stinky work boots. It wasn't all bad though, because this was where he first met James, a Scottish guy from Ayr. Josh casually mentioned that we knew people from Ayr and it just so happened someone we met in Cairns, Australia was dating his brother. Also Josh and James have the same birthday, although James is younger by a year. It was fate! We went for dinner with them and I met Libe, his beautiful, kind girlfriend from the Basque Country who also has a December birthday. This was the start of a beautiful friendship and we love these guys more than anything. 

They were the ones that introduced us to all our other friends in Vancouver, which is only one of the reasons we'd be lost without them. In a sunny spring time BBQ we met Alex and Lucia, a shining light of friendly chillness, from the Canary Islands, and the ever cool and elegant Andre and Emily who had just moved from over East - along with Cam who let us ride his electric bike that looked like something out of a movie. These people are the reason we've had such an amazing time in Vancouver, which is a city that is easy to feel lonely in. We're so glad we met them! 

We couldn't talk about our first few months in Vancouver without mentioning the food. Our first real treat was the sushi which is super cheap in BC and SO GOOD, even as a vegan. There are amazing sushi spots everywhere, plant-based restaurant Mila we're looking at you, so you can't go wrong, but some of our favourite restaurants were on commercial drive where we lived. We moved to another apartment on the drive in April and although this street is full of some interesting characters, one example being the naked lady who ran for mayor, we fell in love with its community feel and charm. In fact, opposite our apartment we could go to a vegan pizza place called Indian Pizza Castle, pop in to a very authentic Filipino, visit an insanely good Thai, or walk down to the Indian veggie shop called Sweet Cherubim which has the best samosas filled with tofu, rice and chickpeas. Taking a stroll to the other side of commercial there is another vegan gem called Bandidas which has delicious Mexican style food. 

Main Street is another spot that settled in to our hearts, and stomachs, with more amazing vegan restaurants. This included one Libe took us to called Grano Pizza which I think Italians would even enjoy... Maybe! Chickpea has the best hummus in town, adored by Alex and Lucia, along with amazing fries made from chickpeas; I love this place with their vegan fried tofu and soy shawarma. The Wallflower also had a lot of potential, but disappointed us too many times. The final nail in the coffin was Libe being served a giant pile of plain pasta when the dish listed on the menu didn't mention it was pasta at all - it was hilarious. If you're veggie or vegan and have been to Vancouver, I'm sure you've visited Meet, which is probably the best comfort food burger place we have been to. We went here a few times with James and Libe, often regretting how much we ate, but thoroughly enjoying the masterful techniques and tastes of these massive burgers.

Let's take a step back from all this talk of food, and jump to November. I spent a few weeks applying for jobs and in all honesty finding life a bit difficult. I was incredibly sad and still couldn't cope with many things which made a tough situation more difficult. Josh was so supportive and I can't thank him enough for everything; he is the best, but I already knew that. Eventually I managed to secure a job to start in the new year with the emergency health service, but before that we had Christmas and of course my birthday. We didn't have a car at this point, so on my birthday we made the long bus journey into the north shore mountains which are just across the river from Vancouver. We were climbing up the hills in a small but mighty bus and could see white in the distance - it had snowed! I think this is the first birthday I can remember with snow and we loved trekking through the forest with the piles of white around us and eventually ended up at a magnificent cedar tree. This epitomises Vancouver, you can be on the SkyTrain, in the hustle and bustle, and in less than half an hour in the silence of ancient forests. 

It was Christmas a few days later, which was a fun experience living in the studio as all we had was a mini toaster oven. Chef Josh made it work and cooked up a full roast complete with flat vegan Yorkshires, and I even made a Yule log. We learnt that the fun of a Yule log is messing up the roll the first time, so you have another cake to eat whilst you make it again. Another Christmas gift was from Josh's parents, who surprised us with an eagle rafting tour in Squamish. In winter it is home to hundreds of bald eagles who come here for the Salmon, and it was fantastic to float down the river watching these birds of prey in the trees. 

It is near impossible to live in Vancouver, or BC in general, without hearing the mountains call to you. It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world and hiking is the best way to see it. It was the start of an obsession, which we began with hikes close to the city. We went with James and Libe a few times in the winter months, once around Capilano, where we saw gorgeous blue rivers that had carved massive gorges through the mountains. There is a suspension bridge in Capilano which is fun to visit and has a magical walkway up in the trees which is covered in twinkling lights. 

Vancouver had three main ski mountains just outside the city; Seymour, Grouse and Cypress. The latter is the largest and has a section where you can go cross country skiing and snow shoeing. Now we hadn't tried either of these before, but we were keen to experience some Canadian snow, so jumped on a bus that took us up the winding hills. When we arrived we picked up our snow shoes, effectively fancy tennis rackets for your feet, and took to the hills. We saw some huge mounds of snow as we trekked through the forest paths. It was so peaceful as the snow muffled any sound and we were able to stop and appreciate the white world around us. It was fascinating to see all the animal tracks dotted across the snow and imagine bears sleeping deep in dens below our feet. We returned for a cross-country skiing experience which was so fun, even if I was the most scared out of the group! We definitely all fell over enough times that our asses hurt as much as our stomachs from all the laughing.

Those first few months allowed us to settle in as we ate and hiked our way through the city, but we knew our next target was to get a car. It took us a while to find something, as in all honesty people in Vancouver are pretty terrible drivers and most cars had records of accidents. Interestingly, in BC you can see all the details about a car because they only have one universal company ICBC that's regulated by the government. This means insurance isn't competitive so it's a bit expensive, but they give refunds for low cost years and you can see a complete history of the car which we appreciated. 

One day, Josh sent me a listing for a bright orange Dodge Grand Caravan which I laughed at, immediately thinking oh, he can't be serious. We chatted about it at home, both mocking the colour, but it stuck in our minds. The more we looked, the more it seemed like the perfect car, so we went to take a look. We met a kind Canadian man who lived nearby, with a tubby dog that shed hair even whilst breathing, and fell in love with this car the colour of the sunset. It was perfect as a city car and would do us well for a road trip around the province. There Gina was born, kindly named by Emily and Andre as she's the colour of Orangina.

This led to our first trip where we chose to visit nearby Chilliwack. We got to travel through the flat plains of the lower mainland, which are full of farms surrounded by mountains. We stayed in a hotel, almost motel, as our car wasn't camping ready just yet. This hotel was pretty nice and had the most hi-tech toilets I've ever seen; think heated seats and a retractable butt sprayer. We were here to hike and our first stop was Lindeman and Greendrop Lakes. It was a sweaty walk up to the lake, which glittered green in the winter sunshine. It was the first Canadian lake we had seen and we were mesmerised at how clear it was with a perfect mountain background. The hike continued to another series of lakes through some thick snow, ending at a massive frozen expanse that I bet looks beautiful in the summer. 

Elk Mountain is another popular hike in the area and after this trip it became my nemesis. We visited on a slippery April day where the snow covering the steep, probably 60 degree, slope had turned to ice, and even with our spikes we were sliding away. It was pretty scary to be honest, as we had no control and saw a lot of people turning back. We got to the first viewpoint, I had a quick panic cry, and then we quite literally slid back down on our asses. In the summer it is a popular and pretty easy hike, minus the steepness, so we might go back to conquer the mountain. Our little trip was a great introduction to the varied landscapes of BC and filled us with excitement for the spring and summer. 

This was the start of our time in Vancouver which has been truly magical and tough at the same time. There will be more posts talking about some spring time adventures and a giant list of the summer camping extravaganzas which led us to fall in love with this place.