Sunday May 6
On the Via Train and we just crossed over the continental divide and are going along the still frozen Moose Lake (a bottomless lake)! Jasper National Park is needless to say breathtakingly beautiful!
Leaving home on Tuesday was bittersweet as I was so excited to be traveling but miss my home and my cats. On the flip side of that I’m off to meet Peter in Vancouver! I love train travel and to go across Canada is one of the great train rides of the world. After five days on the train I’m still amazed with all the different types of scenery Canada has.
I was so welcomed in Halifax it was like I was still home. Zoie met me at the airport and her and Gaetan and the boys (Levi and Ira) made me feel right at home! I got to see my old friends Neil and Andrea just after their great news that they are moving back to Toronto! How exciting!
From Halifax to Montreal there was the Bay of Fundy with its incredible mud flats and pretty Maritime views (something I’m used to). Going into Montreal for even one hour made me miss that city terribly and I wanted to stay! (hugs to Lindsay and Ed for taking the time to come meet me. Ed good luck with your interview! And Lindsay – you are inspiring! I am traveling in economy aka coach aka “comfort class” and the Ocean train (Halifax to Montreal) was very nice but quite packed. It was pretty noisy at times but out west it has been sooo quiet and pleasant and spacious – it’s sleeper that is packed! On the Ocean we stopped in over 20 stops. Unfortunately, I lost all my pictures from this leg of the trip L The people were nice but as it was just overnight and most people were traveling with someone I didn’t make too many friends, but people were friendly.
The ride to Toronto along the St. Lawrence reminded me how long it’s been since I’ve been to central Canada. Toronto, of course was so welcoming with friends and good food. This trip has been full of seeing great friends (if only briefly!) My friends are all so different from each other but all such great people! I miss you all! A huge thank you to Lynn for letting me dodge over to her place for a shower! Life saver! Congratulations to Neil and Diana getting married on September 1st!!!!! Wish I could be there perhaps I’ll catch you in Ottawa? I started a tour of the McTaggart family seeing Neil in Halifax and Ev in Toronto. It was great to see Kelly again and reconnect off island J and it’s always great to see my old friend Chris and have a good conversation. Chris – can you believe we’ve known each other for 19 years! We’ll have to celebrate next year! I had such a good time in Toronto I forgot to take any pictures! There was a great thunderstorm while we were at Union station and I have this picture in my head of the windows lighting up. I heard later that the station flooded! Toronto was interesting as it felt so big city after home – so many people in such a big hurry! Guess I’ll have to get used to that in Asia!
I’m writing this from the dome observation car and everyone is playing – which is the highest mountain? That one? No... that one! We’ve just passed Mount Robson the highest peak in the Rockies at 12,900 feet, well over 4000 meters. The highest I’ve been is 4900 meters in Peru and the air was very thin! The train is not that high of course but we’ll go through the high pass soon!
Back to tales of the train...
Thursday – Day 3 was all about Northern Ontario. I was settling into the train I would be on for the next five days and getting comfortable. I met a railway engineer in the dome car who told me all about the signals and what all the bumps in the rail bed meant and how switches worked etc etc etc. It was great! I probably could’ve done without all the details of the frequency of derailments but those are mainly heavy freight trains, right? Our crew was fantastic. Claudette, Lloyd and Sunny. Lloyd has been working in the snack car for 45 years and has just extended his term by 2 years. As he says it’s not a job it’s a lifestyle and his hobby. He is away 7-9 days a month and home with the love of his life the rest of the time. I’m so pleased that I was on his train! The railway engineer and his friend got off in the middle of nowhere, unloaded their canoe and went off into the wilderness.
I also met some new friends on this leg of the journey from Toronto to Edmonton. Enrico, an Italian who lives in Olso and loves his proper espresso J; Ajay from Montreal going to Edmonton to do a wilderness survivalist course (his website is www.evolutionmovement.net); John who was works with a company that makes the breathalyser devices; Linda from Victoria who was traveling around on a CanRail Pass; and a French-Canadian guy (didn’t get his name) who was going back out west to work again with the Shriners Circus on the concessions.
By Friday morning all the trees and rocks and bogs of Northern Ontario gave away to vast prairies. The train stopped for a couple of hours in Winnipeg and Enrico and Ajay and I wandered off into the city to see what we could find early on a Saturday morning – not much but it’s a nice looking city and we saw the mall. We probably should have just gone to the Forks market but this way I saw a bit more of Winnipeg and went to the library for internet. After Winnipeg there was a little bit of excitement. We got on a double track and we were passing a freight train going in the opposite direction and just as we passed the end of it there was a bang! Not a bang I’d heard before! Suddenly the train screeches to a halt (it takes a while). Turns out that a CN truck didn’t know we were coming and it darted out in front of us. FORTUNATELY they made it across and I think that the bang was the emergency brake. Apparently those guys are very, very lucky! Thank goddess they made it across!
The rest of the day was lots and lots of prairie which is incredible in its flatness!
Saturday we made it to Edmonton and my friends left and new people came on board. Most of these people were going to Jasper. I have not met anyone else in coach going all the way across in one go. We’re not allowed to go up to the first class section except for the dining car (which is always booked up – so lots of Thai Kitchen noodles and Cliff bars for me and running to food stores at stops. I finally made it there today for brunch which was fantastic!).
I have to say that although Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are all pretty flat they are all so different! It’s hard to describe....
Today, Sunday we made into the mountains and to Jasper – what a nice little town with incredible mountains all around. So here I am still in the Rockies.
Apparently soon we’ll come up on a big waterfall and go over the highest pass. Looking forward to it! All for now!
Tomorrow morning will be Vancouver! Can’t wait for the left west coast!
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