The wildfire smoke cleared on the morning of our family wedding, just in time for the bride and groom to say their vows overlooking coal harbour. We took this as a sign that we needed to book our Vancouver seaplane flight, to really explore the azure harbour waters and take in an eagle-eyed view of this city.
I suppose it was ok… oh, who am I kidding, the harbour is spectacular. Let me also point out that none of these images are touched by editing. Like 99% of my images in this blog (the other 1% is cropping and making slight adjustments), these are entirely un-doctored.
We began as all good things do, by hanging out in their airport lounge, offered a mini-pastry and a hot beverage – I adventurously went for an ‘English Mist’, an Earl-Grey Latte to make myself feel a little more soothed boarding a tiny propeller plane (note: it didn’t work.)
With a slightly chaotic boarding process (more noticeable after such a serene start) we were too busy sorting out the seats to realise that we had hopped on board, and within in seconds it seemed, our pilot had lifted off smoothly in a flurry of water foam.
As we began to watch the world turn into a Lilliput version of itself, we barely blinked for watching beautiful vistas unfold.
From tiny little islands (the above Passage Island technically belongs to West Vancouver, known as the Hollywood suburb of the city, and a couple of the homes are allegedly owned by celebrities) where the residents enjoy views of downtown Vancouver, the University of British Columbia campus, Vancouver Island, and the snow-capped mountains of Howe Sound – to the fjords all the way along the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler.
They just scatter along the horizon, like a giant has skittered his toys along an azure sheet of silk.
We looped around, looking back over the stunning Stanley Park and towering grid of Vancouver downtown buildings. From prehistoric forests, to gleaming silver confections of modernity.
Did we love it? Do you even have to ask?
Alas, all good things have to come to an end, and after spotting out hotel, we eventually we made our descent, once more catching a glimpse of Lion’s Gate Bridge linking Stanley Park and downtown Vancouver with the affluent North Shore (where our lovely second home was awaiting us.)
Leaving our seats was hard, which surprised me no end, having been a bit reticent to board in the first place. There are several amazing seaplane routes that you can take around Vancouver, over to Vancouver Island and up from Whistler to the ice-capped fjords.
What is your favourite travel experience when discovering a city?
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