Vancouvery Good

Canopy Walks And Tangerine Roses, Seagulls And Towns Trapped In Time—vancouver, To This Dreamy Traveller, Was Very, Very Good

- Ishani Chatterji

From the sea plane, I could spot the treetops that I’d later I identify as the foliage in Stanley Park, followed by rows and rows of skyscrapers. It was a 40-minute ride from Victoria that had brought me to Vancouver, a two-day stop on my trip to Canada early last year. Time was scant and my enthusiasm soaring, so lashings of cold July rain did nothing to alter my itinerary. Armed with an orange raincoat, I was out to explore—on foot, occasionally hitching rides in state transport buses.

A WALK IN THE CLOUDS

I’d first heard of the Capilano Suspension Bridge almost a decade ago, a passing reference in my psychology class with regard to a 1970s experiment. And here I was, walking the wobbly, 450-foot-long bridge, hanging resolutely at 230 feet! The bridge, over 128 years old, and a 15-minute drive from the town centre, was filled with tourists. Some were holding umbrellas, some clutching onto rails—the braver kind taking selfies against the jade tapestry of douglas firs and below, the Capilano River. If the 10-minute walk was slightly unnerving, what awaited on the flipside—a tiny baked goods shoppe called Dr. Wood’s Cabin—offered sweet solace. Warm mugs of hot chocolate and cookies relished, I was ready for the rest of the trail. This comprised the Treetops Adventure, a series of smaller suspension bridges through a thick canopy. Moving from one fir to another, I fancied myself to be a squirrel, at home among trees, many of which are over 250 years old. (www.capbridge. com; Adults $46.95/2,460, free for children under six.)