Our next adventure saw us setting off for Granville Island. This proved to be an interesting walk as towards the end the raised road towered over the island with no sign of a way down. Eventually we managed to ask a local and he showed us the way. We then decided to follow a young couple who we hoped were going there as well. 

We then spent a pleasant couple of hours exploring the stalls, watching the buskers and generally taking in the atmosphere. 

 We ventured  across the bay in a water taxi and decided to walk back along the beaches.

The first beach wasn't that inviting and was mainly used for dog walkers but as we walked  further the scenery improved.

Our first stop was to build a small sculpture using the large pebbles found on the beach. We even included a leaf to represent our stay in Canada. This idea seems to be spreading. We first saw it on a holiday in Lanzarote but since then have seen some impressive sculptures. Some are that good I'm sure they must use superglue!
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​The last sculpture done by a local artist certainly reflects this area, as well as being a symbol of Inuksuk, which is a human made stone landmark or cairn used by the Inuit, Inupiat!

As we moved on, we came to English beach, where people were spending the day sunbathing and relaxing. The interesting thing about the beach was the use of large logs spaced out along the shoreline. I'm not sure if these had a specific purpose but were certainly useful for resting against, and providing a windbreak.

 This had been a very long walk but had proved to be a fascinating insight into another side of Vancouver. We also had a long chat with a local man from one of the apartments, overlooking the beach. Meeting people on these occasions also gives an insight into local life.

I mentioned in my last post how we found the art gallery and to our surprise one of my favourite artists was being shown there. It was an exhibition of Monet's paintings from his garden in Giverny. 
We had tried to visit straight away but after queuing for over half an hour and hardly moving we decided to arrive early the next day.

This time the queue was not as long and we were soon stood in awe of all these great paintings spread over several rooms. One thing that was inspiring, as well as the paintings, was observing other members of the public, who would stand for ages taking in the nuances of individual pieces.

One of the sections was on his water lily paintings;
"To Monet, the pond was the perfect vehicle for reckoning with the fluidity of nature's appearances and translating this into a still image"

I have often been tempted to paint a picture of water lilies, such as a scene from Stanley Park; the day before, but feel it would be difficult when Monet has done it so well.

Another fascinating aspect of the show were his tree studies.  Again, this reminded me of some of the scenes from our walk the day before. These I may try to paint over the next few months.

​After being spellbound for a time, we moved on to the large modern art gallery on the floor above.

This proved to be an interesting experience and could be seen to reflect how much of an interest this type of art work holds for a lot of people. Here people merely glanced at some of the pieces and quickly moved on.

Whereas, the gallery, featuring the Monet paintings, was crowded and people were queuing all day to get in; then spending time focusing and commenting on the paintings. This gallery had a lively and exciting atmosphere and it was a joy to be there.

A tremendous and unexpected surprise and certainly something worth seeing. Work likes this inspires me to become a better artist.

We managed to disembark the cruise ship fairly quickly as we now choose to take our own cases. The idea was to get a taxi but the queue was too long and we decided to walk to the hotel. This had been a fairly easy walk to the harbour as it was  downhill and the cases wheeled themselves. This was not the case going uphill. I'm sure my arms were inches longer by the time we arrived.

​After booking in we had to decide what to do next. Eventually we just decided to wander around the area. The first area we found had a superb farmer's market. We were sorely tempted by the fruit but couldn't have eaten the amount they had to be purchased in. 

Next we found the city art gallery and this proved to be a gem of a find; you can read details about this in my next blog.

As it was such a nice day we decided to get the bus to Stanley park and boarded the first one we could find. When we asked if the bus went to the park the driver said we would be better off walking as the traffic was so bad,so off we set. And she was right!

 After having a drink and something to eat by the Aquarium, we followed a couple of the footpaths to explore the area. The first one led us to the lily covered pond, which was slowly being taken over by the vegetation. The most impressive sights were the large trees on the sides of the path particularly the stumps that were often highly coloured. These were slowly rotting or other plants were growing out of them.

After walking for a couple of hours we made our way towards the exit. Being the weekend, the park was very busy and it was nice to see how many people were enjoying the area; you just had to watch out when crossing the bike lanes.

On the way out it was nice to see local artists displaying their work. Although the man in the middle picture became quite aggressive when I took the photograph. I'm not sure if he thought I was going to copy his paintings or if he was just having a bad day.

 A really nice park and well worth a visit or two. With more time and if it hadn't have been so hot we may have seen more of it but it was interesting to just have a glimpse of what it offered.  A walk back  along the marina and Coal Harbour, passing designer yachts and condominiums took us back to our hotel. A lovely and successful first day!

After a busy time yesterday, this proved to be relaxing day looking for wildlife and strolling around the deck in between meals.

In Ketchikan we were too early for the salmon; here we were too late for the whale migration so only saw rare glimpses of possible sightings in the distance. Most of these seemed to be rocks though. We did stand with the naturalist group at times but still had no more luck.

The highlight of the day was just as we finished our evening meal . A pod of dolphins came into view. We unfortunately didn't have our camera with us and were afraid we would miss them if we went back for it. After watching them for a while we went down to the promenade deck for a walk just as a couple came right next to the ship and raced along side it for a while. A fantastic experience.

As we sailed further on we looked back at a beautiful sky as the sun started to set. A fitting end to the cruise.  

With that we made our way to the bar to relax to our favorite music with  BB's All-Star band.

After a very wet visit to Skagway it was nice to arrive in Ketchikan to nicer weather. Oddly enough a town that brags about being one of the wettest places in the country and even has a monument to the rainfall!

The view from the boat dock was my first sketch; of the coloured houses and forest backdrop before we went for a walk into town.

We were fortunate that as we turned left off the boat we came to the old part of town; Creek Street where the house were on stilts. They were now restored buildings of the old Bawdy houses, the 1800's 'Red Light District' and new craft shops and galleries had taken their place. A really interesting area and fascinating area to explore.

We then followed the stream for a way enjoying the scenery. Unfortunately a couple of weeks too early for the Salmon run upstream. 

 As well as the old houses, it was interesting to view the varied artists on display. Some demonstrating their cultural heritage, others capturing local scenes. 

An enjoyable last visit to a town in Alaska, with a sea day tomorrow, heading back to Vancouver.