Horseshoe Bay and Bowen Island (and how it is not all like West Pender in Vancouver)

No trip to Vancouver could ever be complete without a trip to some of the islands that are an integral part of this area.

Blondie and I decided to take in two islands on our vacation; Bowen Island for a day trip and then Vancouver Island for an extended stay.

The trip to Bowen Island involved a ferry ride from Horseshoe bay on BC Ferries to Snug Cove. This was very exciting for me as this whole area is close to the filming location of an ancient tv series called the Beach Combers.

This show was a staple of Australian television in the early eighties. It had a fantastic introduction that involved lots of logs floating down waterways and always appealed to someone growing up in a dry desert like part of oz. Sure enough Horseshoe Bay delivered on the randomly floating logs which clogged up the docks around where the BC ferry terminal was.

The highlights of the trip were a fantastic breakfast at Troll's Restaurant. My first pancake and maple syrup breakfast in canada for this visit (and certainly not my last !)

On Bowen Island we hiked to a very nice spot called Killarney lake.

The whole island was a fantastic respite from the craziness of Vancouver. Especially as our Vancouver hotel was on West Pender. Anyone who knows this street in Vancouver, which is right next to the world famous Gastown,will tell you that this place is the epicentre of a devastating opioid crisis.

We were really shocked by scenes all around us with hundreds of people camped out in the streets. The juxtaposition of a gentrified Gastown and the opioid crisis was very difficult to take in - even someone who is used to life in a big city like London.