True patriot love in all of us command
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The true North strong and free!
From far and wide
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
– National Anthem of Canada 🇨🇦
This is the first time I’ve written a piece from Canada.
I’m only here in Vancouver for a week, and it’s not for a holiday, although I’ve done some fun stuff, including swim in the Burrard Inlet fjord this morning (right); and, before you ask – no, it wasn’t as cold as the Cape Town tidal pools.
Primarily, I’m here to visit some friends; the bonus is that I’ve done some writing and even sold a few books.
Last weekend the spectacular views were obscured by smoke from the terrible fires raging 4-5 hours away in Kelowna, Vernon and Yellowknife (some great names, here); you may have seen it on the BBC news. Once that cleared, both the air quality and the view improved.
Meanwhile, rather than wax eloquent about other aspects country, I’ll just post some photos from this week. And no; we still haven’t seen any bears in spite of all the notices and even though one was reported to be going through the bins down the road last Saturday.
The Canadians are known for being law-abiding, apologetic and very polite. Making a fuss is not part of the culture. Certainly, no one seems to be kicking up a rumpus about a recent piece of legislation, passed in June by a historically liberal government, forbidding them to access news from any source outside the country on either Facebook or Instagram. Seems pretty repressive for such a democracy, whose anthem asks God to keep them strong and free. Maybe they should ask again a little more forcefully, but there you go; I’m just a visitor – sorry.
Back to the USA for three weeks from tomorrow; let’s see what adventures unfold there.
dancingthroughchaos 