I was so excited when the plane landed in Vancouver and our Canadian Contiki tour would continue through the West Coast.

I’ve been to Vancouver and Victoria before, but was so looking forward to driving through the Rocky Mountains and seeing a whole other side to my country!

When we got onto the bus that would be taking us around British Columbia and Alberta, we made a stop at a hotel to pick up the newest members of our tour group – the people who only signed up for the West Coast side of the Canadian cross-country tour.

And before I knew it, the bus was loaded up with new friends, and we were on our way to Whistler.

Whistler is a mountain town that is known for being a ski destination. As someone who has never cared much for skiing, I’ve never even thought about visiting before.

But I’m so glad it was on this tour; Whistler is gorgeous. And our hostel was one of my favourite stays.

Pangea Pod is a hotel where each large room sleeps around 12 people, and each person sleeps in a small “pod”. Think bunk beds, but with walls. I was a 32-year-old grown up on this trip, and loved every second of being in my cozy little pod. And my Contiki pal Sophie was just above me.

With the jetlag, it was almost impossible to stay awake. I think I fell asleep before dinner, oops.

But the very long sleep was definitely needed, because when we woke up, we’d be doing one of the hardest physical activities on this tour.

*Canoeing in Alta Lake, Whistler (July 2022)*

Had I ever paddled a canoe down a flowing river before? No.
Had I ever been in a canoe ever in my life? Absolutely not.

Did I opt into the canoe activity in Alta Lake? Of course I did.

I figured this would be a great opportunity to try something I’d never otherwise try. What I didn’t consider was that paddling a canoe and steering said canoe would be a mission.

I have no upper body strength and was not prepared for this.

Sophie and I shared a canoe, and it was hard. We started with me in the front (paddling power) and Sophie in the back (steering), which we realized halfway through that was a mistake. She is a lot stronger than I am.

Once we made it through some practice in the lake and it was time to get into the creek, we switched it up. I was a lot better at steering than leading the canoe.

Was it embarrassing how bad we were compared to the other adventurers? Yes.

Was I so proud to have tried it and done it? Absolutely.

The afternoon was a lot more relaxing. Sophie and I went for a little hike down Valley Trail to Lost Lake. Much-appreciated time back on land, for me.

I was constantly stopping along the trail to take photos and just exist in the beautiful landscape that was Whistler. I was so glad to have made such a good new friend to share these moments with along our adventure.

That evening’s group activity was a visit to Vallea Lumina: an outdoor night walk through the forest with beautiful multimedia art installations. Imagine fairy lights and calming music throughout the dark Whistler forest at night.

At the end of the night hike, Sophie and I were able to sit and enjoy a s’more before getting back on the bus to the hotel. S’mores at night, with my new best friend, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Easily one of my favourite cross-Canada moments.