We’d been to Vancouver about 25 years ago and it was a quick visit. At the time we saw some of Stanley Park and its beautiful totem poles and a bit of the great harbor.
Although we loved it, sadly, like San Francisco, Vancouver is struggling with homelessness, mental health and drug addiction in some of their neighborhoods.
We dropped out bags at reception, took a leisurely walk along the harbor to Stanley Park and absorbed fascinating history just reading the placards positioned along the way. Over the 3 days, we had wonderful wine-food pairing dinners, lucked out with a hop on-hop off bus driver who has lived in Vancouver for 45 years and does the gig because he loves his city and thoroughly enjoys providing history and answering questions from cruise ship passengers (300 ships annually) who end up on his bus, and did a bit of fabric shopping as we explored the various neighborhoods. A great end to a great trip.
This ship, behind us, has just passed through Seymour Narrows, location of Ripple Rock. Read further to understand why our captain announced that we were going through it.
Photo courtesy of Campbell River Museum
From their website:
“Ripple Rock, an underwater mountain within Seymour Narrows near Campbell River BC, was a marine hazard responsible for more than 20 large vessels and at least 100 smaller vessels sinking or being damaged. Before its destruction in 1958, Ripple Rock claimed at least 114 lives.”
Ultimately, it was blown up:
“When Ripple Rock blew at 9:31:02 am April 5, 1958, the sight was stupendous. Seven hundred thousand tons (635,028 tonnes) of rock and water erupted in a blast that reached a height of 1,000 feet (305 m). The spectacle lasted less than 10 seconds before the debris was engulfed in a cloud of gas.”
“As a result of the project, 45 feet (14 metres) of water instead of 9 (3 m) now clear the south pinnacle at low tide, and 70 feet (21 m) flow over the north. Today, this mammoth undertaking is still considered to be a marvel of engineering.”
Arrival at our hotel, the Pan Pacific, in Vancouver. The Disney cruise had disembarked just before us – notice the ears on the little girl.
