Canada 2025

Sunday28September

Waking up in the Airbnb house located in Surrey, a city in the Greater Vancouver metropolitan area.

It is also time to leave our four-wheeled companion, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which valiantly carried us for 4171 kilometers from Calgary.  

Here we are in downtown Vancouver, in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery which occupies the former courthouse, a neoclassical building completed in 1931. And on the right, the Fairmont hotel inaugurated in 1939.

The Pendulum Gallery and the Georgia hotel.

In 1927, the Vancouver Block clock became the very first element of the city illuminated by neon, now replaced by LEDs.

The Sinclair shopping center.

The Harbour Centre, crowned by its circular panoramic platform which we are going to go up to for a nice view of the metropolis and the surrounding mountains.

Here we are at the top. 360-degree view of Vancouver.

Erected at the end of the 19th century, the Holy Rosary Cathedral has today become a time capsule in the middle of its skyscraper neighbors.  

Inaugurated in 1983, Vancouver's BC Place stadium became the country's first covered stadium. It hosted the ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It will also host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In the background, you can see the new Oakridge Park district, a vast urban redevelopment project extending the straight axis of Cambie Street.

The Woodward's tower.

The Dominion Building. In the historic Gastown district, the Dominion Building was completed in 1910.

The 1912 Sun Tower.

The W of the Woodward's Building.

The Gastown district and Water Street.

In the distance, the towers are lost in the urban mist.

Along the shore of Burrard Inlet, the Port of Vancouver is Canada's largest port facility and the third largest in North America in terms of tonnage. Every year, more than one hundred and forty million tons of cargo pass through here to more than one hundred and seventy countries.

Freight trains carry thousands of containers daily. Perhaps we see among these the ones we crossed in Jasper.

The cruise ship Noordam of the Holland America Line company.

The heliport is not idle...

The Canada Place terminal and its sail-shaped roof.

Opposite, at the foot of the peaks of the North Shore coastal range, the North Vancouver district plays with the clouds. We will go to Grouse Mountain later.

Back on the paved ground, in the Gastown Water Street district!

In front of the historic Waterfront station, the Canadian Pacific Railway memorial monument pays tribute to employees who fell during the world conflicts.

We join the Seabus dock to cross the Burrard inlet that separates us from the North Vancouver district.

Goal of the crossing: reach Grouse Mountain.

After taking a bus, we arrive at the cable cars that lead to the summit of Grouse Mountain.

Small hot-dog snack, once we arrived at the top.

Chainsaw sculptures  

  A silhouette that we have already crossed! But what is this grizzly doing here in the middle of the tourists?  

Actually, there are two of them. In 2001, two cubs were found and taken in at this refuge set up especially for them on the heights of Grouse Mountain. Today, Grinder and Coola live in semi-liberty in a natural habitat of over two hectares.

I had never realized the size of their claws! Unlike felines, their claws are not retractable; they are firmly fixed for digging the ground, shredding trunks, or searching the earth for food.

The grizzly's coat consists of a woolly undercoat providing thermal insulation, topped with long, oily hairs that act as a waterproof barrier against the elements.

The trail, which has become the Grouse Bike Park, has traded its skis for mountain bikes...

We take the chairlift to reach the highest part of Grouse Mountain. We pass over a black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) grazing peacefully, no doubt far from worrying about the presence of Grinder and Coola a few meters away.

At the summit, the Eye of the Wind wind turbine dominates the landscape, normally offering a panoramic view of the surroundings from its nacelle, but the nacelle is closed to the public!

Viewpoint over downtown Vancouver.

The wind turbine has become a subject of controversy in Vancouver. While it was built as a symbol of sustainable development, its energy performance has largely disappointed, fueling accusations of greenwashing for the benefit of a tourist attraction...

A small show is offered several times a day. It is a traditional lumberjack demonstration.

Springboard chopping match, an iconic discipline in lumberjack competitions. Competitors insert boards into the trunk to climb progressively before slicing off the top.

Followed by axe throwing.

And it continues with log sawing.

Then an impressive pole climb reminiscent of traditional techniques for pruning large conifers.

Balance test on a floating log.

While a fake tourist comes to finish the show as a crazy tightrope walker at the top of the poles...

Back down by the same cable cars as on the way up!

And back to the Seabus by the bus with wheels!

In the Seabus.

After the cable car, the bus, and the Seabus, the litany of transport ends with the subway!