A sample of snaps before we settle on our favourites from today.
30 August 2015
Sunday. Views from the bus and the troublemakers.
Each time we rounded a bend another magnificent scene appeared. The day didn't start too well with Sam and I almost being sent to the principal's office.
It all started with Sam's willful disobedience and rule flouting when we arrived in Jasper. After having been on the road for around 11 hours we sat forlornly in the bus, watching the fading light on the magnificent mountains, while our not-so-very organised guide raced back and forth from the bus to sort "things". He insisted that we all remain on the bus until he organised our key, breakfast details and tomorrow's departure time. Finally Sam, camera at the ready, could take no more and she and another woman hopped off to take photos. Oh, I forgot to mention that while the bus is not moving,mths airflow cuts out, so after not too long I also got off to breathe some clean cool air. Mike, the bus driver, and I had a chat and I pointed out two buses had pulled in after us and those passengers had been granted freedom, luggage, room keys and presumably all other information they required and were merrily making their way to their rooms. Meanwhile our bus load was trapped, breathing stale air and luggage yet to be done. I said it was unlikely we would abscond if permitted to alight, given our luggage was on the bus. Mike agreed and most of the other passengers got off.
When Chris returned, he spoke only to the passengers still on the bus, and said "if you want to share this information with those who got off the bus, you can", meaning he wouldn't be talking to us. A little bit silly as we were all standing outside the bus anyway.
That night, Jeff the tour guide from the posh bus, made the mistake of asking us how things were going. He copped an ear full of our views about Chris and conceded several other passengers had complained about being treated like children. Jeff said he would offer advice to Chris the next day.
So .... At breakfast the next day, Chris came to our table and took us to task for not obeying instructions and staying on the bus. We attempted to politely explain the issue with fading light for photos and the non-air situation in the stopped bus. Chris said the trip was not all about us, and he needed us to obey his instructions/commands. We suggested that if things were organised better, he would know the details for breakfast and coordinated departure times before arrival - y'know like maybe have a mobile that worked in Canada to speak to hotels and other bus's guides. He said we needed to respect him and if we failed to comply, there would be consequences. I (perhaps unhelpfully) enquired "what are you going to do, expell us?" He replied "it could come to that, yes". Sam thought he was half joking when he said this, but he was looking at me at the time, and I can tell you he wasn't joking. After a bit of back and forth we ended on the cheery notes of Chris "I need to you follow my commands" and me "I need you to be organised and do your job".
Twenty minutes later as we were boarding the bus, he pulled us aside and said we had thought about what we said and would let people off the bus, fix the air-con and try to be more open to passenger needs. Clearly Jeff had a word after breakfast as well. We graciously (yes really) accepted his apology and I even tried to smile at him at times during the day. We stopped a million times for photo ops during the day. Clearly this was Sam's fault as he was trying to cater to her needs :)
29 August 2015
Today's update from the vehicle of torture
After only a few hours on our bus yesterday Sam and I were desperate, depressed and madly trying to figure out alternative means of transport. Our tour guide's delivery manages to be deathly boring, condescending, naive and plain stupid at the same time. If you can image Gomer Pyle combined with a not very good primary Maths teacher, stripped of any personality ... that would be a lot better than what we have.
Still, we've learned some amazing things; how to count three rows of seats (and were sincerely congratulated on our achievement) and how to calculate 10% of a bill (and gosh darn it if you times that by 2 if you don't have 20%!). He's also explained that going round a roundabout is just like a carnival ride and don't be frightened of the strange noise when the bus goes to the edge of the road, that's a new thing to warn you if you are drifting off the road. Oh you Aussies know about those?
By lunchtime we had two seats unable to be used due to water dripping on them, and the driver had to stop to tape part of the bus back on as it was flapping against the window. Several seat backs won't move from the recline position and a random loose screw in an aisle arm rest threatens a nasty injury passing unsuspecting legs.
However Sam and I came more prepared and are coping much better today. Our coping mechanism is to put on headphones and music whenever he speaks. This started out mainly as a means to block out the squealing PA system, however we soon discovered it makes for a more relaxed and better behaved Linda if I don't listen to him. In the brief moments I have heard his inane comments today, sarcastic smart arse replies have sped from my lips. I know this will surprise those of you more familiar with the placid and patient Linda 😇
But really, it's not my fault. An example. After a two minute soliloquy on whether we would have 21 or 17 or ??23 minutes for our lunch stop, he asked "how long do typical Aussies take to eat lunch?" ... Without realising, I replied "Depends if we have to catch it and kill it first".
Anyway, the sun has come out and we have great scenery to accompany our great music. No great pics possible through the streaky windows unfortunately, but I'll include a few later. Sam has her new iPad so is immeasurably less murderous than yesterday. For now. We still have a few hours to go and we have been so well behaved all day .....
Still, we've learned some amazing things; how to count three rows of seats (and were sincerely congratulated on our achievement) and how to calculate 10% of a bill (and gosh darn it if you times that by 2 if you don't have 20%!). He's also explained that going round a roundabout is just like a carnival ride and don't be frightened of the strange noise when the bus goes to the edge of the road, that's a new thing to warn you if you are drifting off the road. Oh you Aussies know about those?
By lunchtime we had two seats unable to be used due to water dripping on them, and the driver had to stop to tape part of the bus back on as it was flapping against the window. Several seat backs won't move from the recline position and a random loose screw in an aisle arm rest threatens a nasty injury passing unsuspecting legs.
However Sam and I came more prepared and are coping much better today. Our coping mechanism is to put on headphones and music whenever he speaks. This started out mainly as a means to block out the squealing PA system, however we soon discovered it makes for a more relaxed and better behaved Linda if I don't listen to him. In the brief moments I have heard his inane comments today, sarcastic smart arse replies have sped from my lips. I know this will surprise those of you more familiar with the placid and patient Linda 😇
But really, it's not my fault. An example. After a two minute soliloquy on whether we would have 21 or 17 or ??23 minutes for our lunch stop, he asked "how long do typical Aussies take to eat lunch?" ... Without realising, I replied "Depends if we have to catch it and kill it first".
Anyway, the sun has come out and we have great scenery to accompany our great music. No great pics possible through the streaky windows unfortunately, but I'll include a few later. Sam has her new iPad so is immeasurably less murderous than yesterday. For now. We still have a few hours to go and we have been so well behaved all day .....
28 August 2015
Ah Nexus
We are a little unnerved by our Nexus tour operators who have not yet demonstrated one iota of competence. When dropped off for our cruise we were exhorted to take the disembarking option of self serve, meaning leave with your own bags, so we would not get stuck waiting for bags and could head off en route back to Canada from whence we came. He also told us to meet the bus at the same place it dropped us off.
We all headed out wrestling our bags and headed for the place wed been dropped off. Nexus however didn't arrange bus parking allocation. So we stood around for several hours after being sent back into the terminal with our bags until all the other ship passengers had departed before we could board our bus. We even got moved along by the terminal staff before our buses were ready, leaving us feeling stateless and abandoned. The group started electing leaders Lord of the Flies style who mustered some semblance of organisation among us, albeit to no no end.
Once we finally set off Chris, the guide on the orange bus (the bus on which Linda and I are travelling which is not really orange) happily regaled us with the same tour information about Seattle that Jeff had only a week before on the way to our cruise. He also told us that we would soon each be moving 3 seats back on the bus to ensure that everyone had the opportunity for a different view, seemingly unaware that the people 3 seats behind us, say, would see the same thing we had seen just a poofteenth of a second before.
Even though all were keen to go directly to Harrison Hot Springs and start enjoying the wonders to behold there we stopped for 2 hours at the Seattle Premium Shopping Outlet which may be a little less premium than anticipated. At the allotted time for departure the bus started to pull away until our neighbours across the aisle became rather animated and pointed out that the Briggs family didn't appear to be on the bus.
In response Chris felt the highest priority activity would be for each passenger to hold their name tags to their faces mug shot style and for him to take a snapshot of each of us. Linda asked him what he intended to do with these and how they might remedy the lost people situation. Chris thought it would help him to learn our names. I suspect he will add a banner with 'have you seen this person?' In readiness for application to the back of a milk carton.
The Briggs family returned to the bus very sheepish and apologetic and asked Chris for his phone number to avoid future instances of getting lost. Chris advised that his phone doesn't work in Canada. We will very shortly be crossing the border into Canada for the rest of our tour which lasts another 5 days.
We wait with bated breath for what other joys Nexus brings to the tour. Royal Carribean - tick. Nexus tours - not so much.
We all headed out wrestling our bags and headed for the place wed been dropped off. Nexus however didn't arrange bus parking allocation. So we stood around for several hours after being sent back into the terminal with our bags until all the other ship passengers had departed before we could board our bus. We even got moved along by the terminal staff before our buses were ready, leaving us feeling stateless and abandoned. The group started electing leaders Lord of the Flies style who mustered some semblance of organisation among us, albeit to no no end.
Once we finally set off Chris, the guide on the orange bus (the bus on which Linda and I are travelling which is not really orange) happily regaled us with the same tour information about Seattle that Jeff had only a week before on the way to our cruise. He also told us that we would soon each be moving 3 seats back on the bus to ensure that everyone had the opportunity for a different view, seemingly unaware that the people 3 seats behind us, say, would see the same thing we had seen just a poofteenth of a second before.
Even though all were keen to go directly to Harrison Hot Springs and start enjoying the wonders to behold there we stopped for 2 hours at the Seattle Premium Shopping Outlet which may be a little less premium than anticipated. At the allotted time for departure the bus started to pull away until our neighbours across the aisle became rather animated and pointed out that the Briggs family didn't appear to be on the bus.
In response Chris felt the highest priority activity would be for each passenger to hold their name tags to their faces mug shot style and for him to take a snapshot of each of us. Linda asked him what he intended to do with these and how they might remedy the lost people situation. Chris thought it would help him to learn our names. I suspect he will add a banner with 'have you seen this person?' In readiness for application to the back of a milk carton.
The Briggs family returned to the bus very sheepish and apologetic and asked Chris for his phone number to avoid future instances of getting lost. Chris advised that his phone doesn't work in Canada. We will very shortly be crossing the border into Canada for the rest of our tour which lasts another 5 days.
We wait with bated breath for what other joys Nexus brings to the tour. Royal Carribean - tick. Nexus tours - not so much.
27 August 2015
Victoria for Sam
After a productive morning of visiting the maximus Canada office and hearing from my colleagues about our company's excellent work in this country, below is how I spent my afternoon. Enough said.
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| Fisherman's Wharf where Eagle Wing Tours launches from |
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| otter in the harbour watching everyone feed the seal and neglect him |
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| Very well fed harbour seal |
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| Seals at the light house on the tour |
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| sea otter, quite rare to see apparently |
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| Humpback whale |
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| Orca |
Fog at dusk
"I stood in freeeeezing cold to try and record this event, so please indulge me. Unfortunately the photos look very little like the actual scene. An amazing fog rolled in, causing a total white out of most ship windows. From the top deck, it was as though looking down on cloud formations from an aircraft, or as one fellow freezing photographer said, it looks like we're in heaven. The photos still show the water, but the eyes saw only the fog. Use your imagination people!
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