A Day on the Water

We started our Tuesday with a fun water taxi ride across False Creek to Granville Island. Granville Island is one of those places that effortlessly blends local charm and tourist appeal.

Once an industrial hub, the island has been transformed into a lively cultural district, home to artisan shops, theaters, galleries, and a large Public Market. You can spend an hour wandering through the stalls checking out delicious pastries, sweet treats, colorful fresh produce, abundant meat and cheese displays, fresh seafood, and vibrant fresh flowers. We sampled our way through, picking up bites here and there.

Lunch was casual and delicious and included clam chowder pot pie, and French onion pot pie. Afterward, we explored a few of the local artisan shops, and then made our way to Vancouver Water Adventures for our afternoon excursion.

Our private 4-hour Zodiac boat tour turned out to be equal parts awe-inspiring, picturesque, and adrenaline rushing! Our driver guide, Simon, immediately gave us a taste of what was to come by doing a boat version of a “fly by” around a cargo ship! Once he saw our reaction, he decided that multiple “donuts” were in order during our tour, much to our delight (well, except for Nan, whose white-knuckled hands were tightly wrapped around the grip bar!).

As we set off toward Howe Sound, one of Canada’s 19 UNESCO Biosphere reserves, we passed Vancouver’s vast skyline and out toward Burrard Inlet, where the skyscrapers gave way to sheer natural beauty. One of our first stops was at the Point Atkinson Lighthouse perched on its rocky bluff. Nearby, Simon pointed out clusters of arbutus trees (rare, coppery evergreens that only grow in this part of the world). The stunning expanse of Howe Sound itself – deep blue-to-green, glacier-carved, and ringed with misty peaks, opened up in front of us as we continued. The overcast day provided drama to the sky, but made capturing the beauty of this place a bit more challenging.

We enjoyed seeing multiple coves and shorelines sprinkled with beautiful houses – some massive and modern, others smaller and rustic. With the deep green-blue water creviced between tree-lined mountains and weather that stays mostly mild in winters, we could easily see why Canadians call this area home.

We didn’t see as much wildlife as we had hoped, but did manage to catch several harbor seals resting their overly full bellies on a cluster of island rocks (clearly they had success in catching salmon running upstream today), as well as two bald eagles.

On one stretch of shoreline, we asked about a rather unusual building that stood out like it didn’t belong. Simon explained this was the old Britannia Mine, a former copper mine turned museum, nestled into the cliffs. Once the largest copper producer in the entire British Empire, the mine operated from the early 1900s until 1974, fueling wartime efforts and industrial growth. It’s now a national historic site, and a striking reminder of the region’s rugged, resource-driven past.

We made our way as far north as the town of Squamish, where we stopped to appreciate The Chief, a towering granite monolith and the second largest in the world (Half Dome in Yosemite is the largest). Viewing it from the water, you really get a sense of its scale. Just to the right of the Chief was Shannon Falls, a beautiful waterfall cascading 1,100 feet down the cliffside. We also noticed the further north we went, the water’s color changed to a milky green from the glacial runoff.

As we made our way back toward Vancouver, we stopped at Bowen Island, a sleepy and forest-lined island with a small harbor full of private boats and a couple of old floating houses. We stripped ourselves of the heavy life jacket suits, and went ashore to enjoy the short window of sunshine and an ice cream cone from the local shop.

We hit some rain on our final trek back (and were thankful for the suits, complete with hoods), but it honestly added to the experience. As we returned to Vancouver, we were windswept, happy, and totally in awe of just how much the landscape could shift in a single afternoon – from skyscrapers and bustling marinas to the untouched landscape of the fjord and surrounding mountains.

Once back on land, we stopped back by Granville Market and grabbed fresh meats, cheeses, some bread, olives, and gorgeous fruits, and served up a delicious charcuterie feast for dinner back at our condo.

Tomorrow’s adventure includes planes…that float!