"Canada - So much to do, so little time " a Canada Travel Page by MichaelFalk1969

Again - we didnīt see a bear. Except for our last day day in Canmore on TV (CSI Miami: A grizzly murder) and - in the departure lounge in Calgary Airport - reading the local newspaper that a black bear had twice visited the Banff Mc Donalds. If only we had known earlier, I had invested in some BigMacs. We even considered pouring maple-syrup on our car in order to attract a bear (just joking). On the other hand, elk were as common as rabbits where we went, we saw other deer, bighorn-sheep, coyotes, marmots & pikas, and once a beaver family, so wildlife watching had its ups and downs, on the whole.

But that was the only (minor) disappointment in Canada. This XXL-country, 8000 km coast-to-coast, is an intriguing mix of great landscapes and nature with some really interesting urban hotspots like Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria and historic Quebec blended in.

It is a hiking and canoeing paradise ... Indian Summer, wildlife, woods, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, the Rockie Mountains, whale-watching - probably the best nature experience in the northern hemisphere (though Norway is at least on par, I think). Plus, the Canadians we met so far all lived up to their reputation for being friendly, easy-going and hospitable.

Very few things didn`t appeal to us in Canada - Banff and Japer townsite are very touristy and can be pretty crowded, the prices for some touristic venues are outrageously high, and lots of tourists choose to ignore national park rules against better knowledge which upsets me every time. But as a rule of thumb, even at the touristy places you quickly lose the hordes if you choose to do some of the more strenuous or longer hikes.

So far, we have been to Canada twice: First in 2000 when visting Ontario and Quebec and in 2008 when we did Vancouver - Vancouver Island - Wells Gray Park - Jasper & Banff National Parks.

This will surely not be the last time we go to Canada. My wife still wants to see Nova Scotia as a big "Anne of Green Gables" - fan, and the smaller or more remote parks like Waterton or Yoho are still on my travel wish list. And Iīd very much like to do another trip to Vancouver Island.