After our busy day-trip out to Butchart Gardens and Victoria we were looking forward to our semi-private city tour of Vancouver, BC. I went on-line to Viator, which we used with great success on our recent trip to Europe. From there I was able to find a 1/2 day tour operated by Michael (Mike) Lawrence. He specializes in small groups of no more than 7 people. He operates a number of different types of tours including city tours, nearby wine tours and tours of surrounding areas such as up to the Whistler ski area. Since we only had a limited amount of time in Vancouver we opted for the City tour. Mike would pick us up at the entrance of our campground and take us into the city and then return us at the end of the day. On this day, we only had one other traveller, Anne - a retired school principal, who was visiting from Melbourne, Australia. This meant we sorta had a private tour.
Mike was a very interesting guy. He and his brother grew up as son's of a career military man which meant he traveled around many parts of Canada. When his family settled on Vancouver Island in the late 70's he never left. In 1979, he settled in the city of Vancouver, where he successfully operated a fishing and outdoor guide business for many years. However, when he developed some health issues, he had to cut back on the rigors of, "taking softies to the great outdoors" as he called it. After that, he studied art, cooking and teaching English as a second language. He did stints in each of those areas, but then went back to what he loved the most and that was the tour business. Instead of the physically demanding outdoor treks, he would do what he does now. His endeavors have been very interesting at times, including when he took Katy Perry and her entourage on a tour that required him to book out an entire bowling alley for her party, going clubbing and concluded with everyone descending on a McDonalds at 3:00 am and sharing burgers with them. He said that during the entire trip, Katy might have uttered 4 words - none of them to him. He also told us about the time he took Mariah Carey and her entourage out and he told us that he understands why she has the "Diva" label. He told us about taking out Dolph Lundgren and described him as very nice and smart with a degree in physics.
We started our tour at about 10:00 and we first headed over to the Convention Center area that would afford us a great view of the City behind us and out across the bay and toward Stanley Park. This is also where the Olympic flame form the 2010 winter games are. While we were there, we got to see a couple of sea planes take off and land.
We then headed out to Stanley Park. Stanley Park was dedicated to the city of Vancouver by Lord Stanley, then Governor General of the region. Lord Stanley is also the namesake of the Stanley Cup of NHL significance. The land that Stanley Park now inhabits was originally home to many indigenous tribes and it would go on to be a military installation. In 1886, the city of Vancouver petitioned the Canadian Government to lease the land to them so that it could be dedicated as a park. The citizens of Vancouver are blessed to have had such visionary early founders, because at over 1000 acres of dedicated green space, it is a marvelous jewel for the City. Unlike many other City Parks, that are the work of landscape architects, Stanley park is naturally formed and contains various eco and climate zones. It has been beautifully developed to include outdoor space that is used by the citizens. It is filled with bike trails and walking trails. It has open park space, lakes and some beautiful vistas of Vancouver. We visited an area of the Park that was dedicated to educating the public about the "First Nation" tribes that originally occupied what is the Park today. There we learned about totem poles and the Potlatch tradition of the tribes.
The tribes of the area were many and varied. Unlike other tribes that in North America that would compete with resources and war with one another, the tribes of this region of the Northwest recognized that there was an abundance of food, in the form of wild salmon, and water. Enough for everyone to share. These tribes would hold what are called "Potlatch" meetings that were social gatherings among tribes so that they could trade with one another and also so that people from different tribes could find mates. The Potlatch, would be hosted by the Chief of one tribe, who would welcome visitors with gifts as a way to show the wealth and power of the tribe. Visiting tribes would also bring gifts and offerings to the hosting tribe. (I'm wondering is this is where we developed the term of "pot luck" dinners.) Unfortunately, it is also believed that the Potlatch tradition contributed to the decimation of the indigenous people because it promoted the spread of western diseases.
Also, while touring Stanley park Mike, who has also studied forestry pointed our rare trees in the parks some of which were over 1200 years old and one that is over 1600 years old. We saw a rare yellow spruce tree there in the park. He pointed out an old spruce tree that had been struck by lightening and how it burned from the inside out. Mike explained that the Western red cedar tree is basically hollow on the inside and that the living part of the tree is only 6 to 10 inches thick from the outer bark. He also explained that each tree is able to store thousands of gallons of water in its root system to help sustain it through periods of drought an dhow those roots may leach excess water out through the ground to help replenish streams in the mountain. He explained that the cutting down of these trees through logging is in part contributing to the decline of mountain streams and salmon spawning sights. Very interesting.
Our trip also took us into various parts of Vancouver, Yale Town, Gas Town, Shaunessy Heights, Granville Market and China Town. It was nice because we would stop along the way and Mike would lead us by foot and explain the history of each area to us. While at Granville Market, he explained how this was the heavy industry section of town where they had foundries that manufactured parts for the rail industry and other machinery. As these heavy industries began to shut down the area fell into disrepair. Developers approached the city asking that the city open it to residential development. Instead, the city dedicated the area to be a large Public Market - sort of Pikes Market in Seattle - only larger. Our walking tour took us through food markets, artisan stalls and much more. While there, we sampled some delicious soup - chicken and mushroom. I had the broth but my diet wouldn't let me eat the chicken. It was tasty.
We also toured Shaunessy Heights, which was developed in the early 1900's as the neighborhood for Vancouver's wealthy. The large victorian style homes are huge and start at about $3m C. The lots are large and beautiful. Mike explained that Vancouver is Canada's second most populous city and also most densely populated. Vancouver also has a very diverse population with 30% being from Asia. During the 1990s Vancouver welcomed immigrants from China and Hong Kong. The immigration policies allowed that immigrants that brought $800,000 C of investment could automatically gain citizenship. The influx of wealth and some of the most capable and talented people from other countries helped Vancouver withstand economic struggles that other cities were experiencing at that time. This economic prosperity has also contributed to Vancouver being one of Canada's most prosperous economies. Vancouver is home to over 128 $billionaires. It also has some of Canada's most expensive real estate. Vancouver is still experiencing economic and geographic growth.
While in China Town, we visited the Sun Yat Sen park. The park is dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat Sen who is recognized as the revolutionary that founded the modern Republic of China with the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. He was later exiled by Chinese party members that laid the seeds for what is now communist rule. Dr. Sun inspired Chiang Kai-Shek that led the resistance growth of communism. He is honored here in this beautiful park and gardens.
Mike concluded our tour by stopping at La Casa Gelato, a Vancouver area staple that was founded in 1982 by Italian gelato makers. The large shop, painted in bright pink, boasts over 258 different flavors of gelato, sorbets, ice creams and frozen yogurts. Each flavor is made fresh on premises. Elisa enjoyed a scope of Pumpkin Cheesecake and in spite of my diet, I splurged and had a scope of sugar-free chocolate gelato. We both thought we were transported back to Italy. It was sinfully good.
We got back to our campground at around 3:30 pm. So the tour ran about 5+ hours long. It had the right amount of driving and walking and Mike was a wealth of information. It was heavy on forestry given his education but he made it interesting. If you need a quick and comprehensive tour of Vancouver, I highly recommend Michal Lawrence tours.