Riding Banff

4th August 2012
We got to sleep in until 9:00am this morning. We had a ‘home-made’ hot breakfast with A&S, plus another couple who visited. That gave us enough energy to ride another Gondola, here in Banff. More amazing views. The rest of the day was ours – we experienced the shopping and ice-cream of Banff. A $2 bus ride took us back to our chalet and we prepared ourselves for a riding experience. Tonight we went on a 45 minute horse ride into the forest for a steak fry, horse shoe throw and lasoo before we road our horses back to the stud. I rode ‘Shorty’, Mr J had ‘Rayleigh’. We walked most of it but occasionally had to trot and gallop, which made your heart race a little faster than normal. We had a well needed, quiet night tonight – ready to move onwards tomorrow. 7 days of Contiki down, its moving along fast, we love it. Contiki is a great way to see areas of the world without the stress of organising it yourself. Transport, accommodation and many meals are already sorted! Thankyou contiki.

Amazing Views

31st July 2012

Mr J and I woke up this morning not realising what amazing views were in store. After a free breakfast we were joined by two other males on our tour for a Peak to Peak Gondola experience. We were lifter higher than all the trees and mountains. The views were breathtaking. We reached the top of the Peak and were able to touch snow for the first time {technically second time, we don’t remember the first time though}. Many photos were taken.

Next, we met with the bus to drive 5 hours to our next destination. This trip included official introductions, embarassing stories, views from every angle and some lunch. We arrived at Kamloops, where we discovered our average hotel rooms that smelt very odd. Many of us distanced ourselves from our rooms as long as possible. Mr J and I joined a lovely couple {A&S} for a drink before dinner. We strolled to a local pub where we were all asked for ID, shared stories and got to know each other a little better. A&S are residents of England and have excited us to explore that area of the world in the future. Burgers for dinner with the group was yum. The restaurant had a beer menu of over 130 beers, regardless of that I tried a cocktail called ‘Kermits Third Leg’ {yes, it was green!}. I sat next to someone who has been to over 40 countries in five years and is doing five contiki tours in five months – what experiences he is living! After all our munchies were gone, we joined four others for a walk through the Main Street. There wasn’t much there therefore we were back at our hotel relatively fast. Great day.