One thing that struck us yesterday when we checked in and then went back to the hotel in the evening, was how quiet the hotel was. There was no restaurant or bar in the hotel, no real communal areas, it just seemed…empty.
Out of the 186 rooms the hotel has to offer, I got the feeling that 184 of them were empty, with us in one room, and the couple who checked in before us in the other.
However, at breakfast, I got the exact opposite feeling. Breakfast was a packed, noisy bustling affair. We had to queue for Waffles. Can you believe it!!
And this was with one girl buzzing around like a blue a*** fly. Spinning waffle iron after waffle iron, churning out waffle after waffle, serving tourist after tourist.
Off to the Whistler Peak to Peak Gondola
The Whistler Peak to Peak Gondola was always going to be a must do excursion for us, and wasn’t our first trip in a Canadian Gondola. Yesterday we parted with 123.80 of our hard earned Canadian Dollars. OK, English pounds that we converted into Canadian Dollars, but they were hard earned, I promise.
We climbed in, 5 of us in total. The other couple being from Oklahoma, and set off. Ahead of us we had a 30 minute ride to Peak 1. A 15 minute ride to Peak 2 (that must be where they get the Peak to Peak Gondola name from!). A 15 minute ride back from Peak 2 to Peak 1. And finally a 30 min ride down again.
On our first climb, we could see the Peak to Peak Gondolas in the distance, stretched out between the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, spanning almost 3 miles.
Dangling 100’s of feet in the air, in a metal and glass box, certainly requires you to put faith in the engineering ability of the people who installed it.
Things to do while on the Whistler Peak to Peak Gondola
At both peaks, you can find places to eat, toilets, things to have your photo taken in front of, and scenery that we have started to get a little blasé about, which is totally wrong. You do have to stand back, shut your eyes, open them again, and be in awe of what is in front of you.
Our trip back down was with another couple from Oklahoma. It must be a popular place for Oklahomians. Indeed, Whistler itself seemed to very popular with weekenders, looking to spend a couple of days in the village as a bit of a getaway. Most people it seemed though, were there for the mountain biking. Squeezing into a lift with bikes, to then throw yourself down a mountain? Not for us, thank you!
All in all, we are please we spent the money to go on the Whistler Peak to Peak Gondola, and would recommend it if you are ever in the villages.
After the Gondola
The rest of our day was spent ambling around the Village, a trip to a play park for Max, as a compromise for us going to the Museum.
Lots of history about how they battled to get the Olympics, consistently loosing those battles until 2010. They had local wild life and animals on display, along with Olympic Memorabilia.
They also had a Gondola from the ages. I think we would have thought twice before climbing into one of these and traversing up, down and in between mountains. The Whistler Peak to Peak Gondola has certainly upgraded!
Finally, with it fast approaching tea time, we hunted down somewhere to eat. Our first restaurant of choice refused to let us in. Despite it being only 5pm, they didn’t allow minors. A bit daft in my opinion.
However, that rejection proved to be to Max’s benefit, as he seemed to fall in love.
Again.
This time, the lucky recipient of his attentions was a hostess called Maryelle. Max was besotted and spent an age talking to her.
So much so, that as we were leaving, and he spotted the moon, he had to run back and show it to her.
We head back on the bus for our last night in Whistler, knowing it will be back in the car tomorrow, for our last real decent journey, a drive to Victoria, with a ferry crossing squeezed in between.
Until I write again…Richard, Suzanne & Max
Distance covered today – 0km
Total driven so far – 1,531km
