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We didn't sleep well, the first night on the train. Even though the beds were comfy, it takes a little time to get used to the constant movement, and I couldn't work out how to switch the lights off properly, which didn't help!
We woke up early, and our cabin attendant, Robert ( or Fat Bob, as he was quite portly ) put our beds away while we ate breakfast in the dining car. It can't be an easy job for a corpulent man, the cabins are snug for normal sized people, so he must really struggle to get around.
After breakfast we sat in the observation car and watched the scenery pass by, miles and miles of beautiful forests, we were hoping to see bears or moose, but no luck, not even any beavers, just ducks and geese.
The other passengers were either American or Canadian, apart from a couple of posh elderly British women, sisters who had relocated to Canada. They had decided that the front seats in the observation car were theirs, and left their gear there when they went to eat, like the Germans/towels/sunbeds situation! This naturally riled many people, until someone moved their stuff, and took the seat, when they went to lunch! From then on, they ate in shifts, so their seat was never unattended!
We shared a table in the dining car with different people at each meal, which was quite good because you always had something to chat about. We mentioned to a nice American couple that we'd been on the train in Viet Nam, 'oh, I used to bomb those trains, in the war! But as soon as I'd destroyed them, they'd build 'em back up again, industrious people!'
We briefly stopped at the buzzing metropolis of Hornpayne, Ontario, (population 57 people, and some ducks) and had a walk into 'town'! Sal bought a postcard with a picture of the town taken in 1952, it doesn't seem to have changed!
Back on the train, the time slips into a soothing cycle; eat, scenery, eat, sleep, shower (erm, maybe not!), eat, and sleep. It's like a old-folks home on wheels, without the medication, occasional abuse, and incontinence!
The scenery changed from forests to plains as we passed from Ontario to Manitoba, and we stopped at Winnipeg for the morning. We did a whistle-stop bus tour of the city, but it didn't start too promisingly, as the first stop was the park and shopping centre to look at the flood defences! I said to Sal, 'it's like doing a tour of Carlisle, but at least they've got a castle there', no offence mum and dad! It did actually get better, Winnipeg has some fine buildings, and the tour guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. I wouldn't want to live there, though!
We passed from Manitoba to Saskatchewan and the prairies rolled on, it's an incredibly huge country, and mostly uninhabited, and still the animal count remained at a couple of ducks and geese!
Overnight, we passed into Alberta, and briefly stopped at Edmonton, we jumped off the train to use the WiFi in the station, and they wouldn't let us back on straight away! Stranded in Alberta, how would we explain that! Thank goodness it didn't happen.
We started to see the Rockies in the distance, and the observation car was completely full, the posh English women had their front seat, as they'd marked their territory by smearing their own excrement over it (not really, but it wouldn't have surprised me). Fabulous snow-capped peaks, frozen rivers and lakes, and sparkling icy waterfalls, all passed by, all incredibly beautiful.
Next stop, Jasper, Alberta. It reminded us of Betwys-y-Coed; surrounded by beauty, yet so full of tat! We had an ice-cream, took pictures of huge cuddly-toy bears, and bought a fridge-magnet, quality entertainment!
Back on the train for the final leg of the trip, we passed through more stunning scenery, and passed into British Columbia. Time for bed, and Vancouver in the morning!
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