Hotels, hovels and homes

Tripping between alternative accommodations

I’ve already written a few stories about different stages and aspects of our road trip through western Canada during the summer of 2017. The list is linked below this story.

It was great to see all that natural beauty in Canada, but the various accommodations were also interesting and (mostly) good to experience.

We’d started our trip with friends in Calgary, who made us welcome in their home, in very spacious and comfortable guest rooms. A home away from home, for our first nights in Canada.

However, after we left them behind, and “headed for the hills”, we didn’t really know what to expect. In Canmore, we stayed in the Windtower Lodge and Suites, a grandly-named, sort of alpine-themed establishment, where the room was small and.. unremarkable.

Off to Banff, where we did not stay in the famous and historic (but rather ominous-looking!) Banff Springs Hotel, pictured below.

Banff and Lake Louise are very popular towns, with many tourists in evidence. (Of course, we were also tourists, but we like to imagine that we are somehow different, haha!) So, in spite of the very grand setting, we did not stay in either the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, nor in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It’s possible that cost was also a factor :).

Instead, we had planned to base ourselves from an AirBnB place near Golden, from where we would be able to drive into the Banff and Yoho National Parks.

Finding this AirBnB, advertised as a “cabin in the woods”, was a mission. The directions were not very clear (or at least not to us) but after a few phone calls with the owners, we managed to find their cabin. It was indeed in the woods, being surrounded by trees, but also by a wide selection of toys, some vehicles and farm implements. These apparently all belonged to the occupants of the house nearby. The owners of the cabin were not on site, but the people in the nearby house provided the key so that we could enter.

Somehow, the setting of this place reminded us of some TV series about a serial killer. Marina and I have since then always referred to it as that “serial killer place”.

At first glance, the interior looked quite cozy. We noticed, however, that it was not entirely spotless, to say the least. When we realized that there were still hairs in the bed (from previous occupants, I guess?) we decided to stay only one night, and to spend it fully clothed on top of the bed, not between the sheets.

However, we still wanted to explore the abovementioned National Parks, and so, the next day we drove back to Field, where we were very happy to stay in the Truffle Pigs Bistro and Lodge. Very comfortable, and in a fantastic location. If we’d realised that it even existed, we would certainly not even have tried that “serial killer” setting.

Field is perfectly located for hikes into the mountains and forests of the Yoho National Park, towards the beautiful waterfalls, and so on. But I will keep that for a future story.

We’d had fantastic and eventful days in the Parks, we somewhat reluctantly made our way away from the Rockies and headed towards other mountains and towns in the West.

After some delightful walks in the forests of the Glacier National Park, we drove into Revelstoke, where we had booked a bed&breakfast accommodation, the “Big Shreddy BnB”. Access was through the garage of the owner’s house, where they obviously stored all their sports and gardening equipment, as well as their vehicles. We were a little concerned, bearing in mind our earlier experience at the “serial killer place”, but we should not have been, not at all. Once inside, we had very spacious, clean, and comfortable accommodation.

We’d spent quite a bit of time exploring some forest trails, so we did not have much time to spend in Revelstoke itself. But we did find out that the Village Idiot served fantastic hamburgers!

After leaving Revelstoke, we continued on our route towards Vancouver. We passed through Lumby, where our visit just happened to coincide with a celebration. (Read about “Canadian cultural celebrations”, the story is on the list linked below.)

Our next accommodation was in Vernon, a city on the shores of the northern Okanagan lakes, some parts of which could be seen from our verandah.

Our rooms in Vernon were technically in the basement of the owner’s home, but since this was built on a steep slope, we had a great view over the valley. And it was definitely the most luxurious basement that I’ve ever been in!

There’s another reason why Okanagan lakes reminded me of the concept “home”: Marina and I were walking along the shore, clambering over rocks (as we like to do) and talking to each other in our own mixture of Dutch and Afrikaans.

A young couple, two doctors, came up to us with their sons and asked us whether we were from South Africa. (The answer is complicated, but “yes” is not entirely incorrect.) They had recently emigrated from South Africa to Canada and had made their home in that part of the country. They were not entirely homesick, but still grappling with the idea that this was their new home. We could relate, having moved from South Africa to Ghana and to The Netherlands ourselves. Some five years later, I wonder how they have adapted.

From Vernon, we made our way to Vancouver, where we met up with an ex-colleague and current friend from our days in Ghana. Together, we took the ferry to beautiful Bowen Island, where they have their home. It was absolutely fantastic to share their company and their house for a few days, a beautiful home between the trees.

This accommodation, and the fantastic setting, were high points of our Canadian trip.

We concluded our trek through the country with a few days in Toronto, where Marina was participating in an international midwifery conference. In contrast to the beautiful accommodation on Bowen Island, staying with friends, we were once again into a basement AirBnB apartment. Not too much air, I must add.

Would we do this again, trekking between luxurious hotels, family homes and less appealing places? Most definitely!

More about this road trip in stories on the list linked below.