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Sunday, Sep. 27, 2009

Canada's glory a treasured trip

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — As I stood on an observation deck overlooking this beautiful city, often voted by travelers as the world's favorite destination, I breathed in the combined scents of sea air and evergreen forest, and marveled that it could be so balmy, 50 degrees, in March.

I needn't have worried. If I had wanted something more evocative of Canada in late winter, I had only to wait. A few days later, I was far away from the Pacific Coast in the hinterlands of Alberta at Lake Jasper National Park, and the temperatures had dropped considerably, to 20 below zero.

Ah, now that's more like it.

I had traveled from Vancouver to Jasper National Park by Via Rail, that most elegant method of transport, and temperatures aside, it is a journey I highly recommend, not the least because it actually combines three vacations in one.

Hoofing it in Vancouver

The pearl of British Columbia, Vancouver, which is gearing up for the 2010 Winter Olympics, is a feast for the senses. In addition to the breathtaking visual fabric of Pacific vistas, snow-capped mountains, evergreen forests and futuristic buildings, there's the tangy scent of cedar and pine groves that ring the city or the ethnic nosegays of saffron in Little India, orange blossom tea in Chinatown, and oregano and basil in the Italian district's markets. Ears will be soothed by the chime of church bells or the clip-clop of horses pulling sightseeing carriages.

The best way to see Vancouver is not by carriage but by foot as it is a great walking city with well-defined neighborhoods. Two of my favorites are Gastown and Chinatown.

Gastown, the oldest part of the city, stretches from Canada Place to Maple Tree Square along the bustling harbor. Walk the cobbled streets with their turn-of-the-century lanterns, and you will find the history of Vancouver — the ghosts of renegades and rogues, prospectors and fancy ladies — all those who had a hand in shaping the raw frontier outpost into today's cosmopolitan city.

At opposite ends of Gastown stand two of its icons: a statue of "Gassy Jack," the legendary saloonkeeper for whom the area is named, and the famous steam clock, 17 feet tall, weighing 2 tons and powered almost entirely by steam.

A few blocks away is North America's second-largest (after San Francisco) Chinatown. Its oddities include the world's narrowest office building and one of the only full-scale classical Chinese gardens outside of China. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens, modeled after the classical gardens of the Ming Dynasty, are cloistered behind the Chinese Cultural Centre, which offers guided walking tours of the area.

The Chinese weren't the only ethnic group to leave their mark on Vancouver. Punjabi Market in Little India is a hub of activity for the large Indian community, and Little Italy is a colorful mélange of shops, bakeries and restaurants.

Among the city's other sights not to be missed are the 1,000-acre Stanley Park, with its secluded walking trails and 8-mile seawall bordering the harbor; one of the world's largest collections of Northwest Coast native artifacts at the Anthropology Museum on the campus of the University of British Columbia; and Granville Island, especially at night when it comes alive with restaurants, jazz cabarets and innovative theater.

Jasper National Park

At 4,200 square miles, Jasper National Park is the largest park in the Canadian Rockies, an ecological marvel composed of rugged mountain ranges (younger than their U.S. cousins, the Canadian Rockies are less eroded), deep valleys, forests, alpine meadows, hot springs, waterfalls, wild rivers and the glaciers of the Columbia Icefield.

Seeing this vast expanse completely covered in a dazzling blanket of white and encrusted in a prison of ice left me with a dual feeling: awe that something could be so beautiful and fear that something could be so immense and untamed. Adding to the fear factor was the knowledge that this is the only place in southern Canada where the entire gamut of carnivores — from grizzly bears to wolves — roams freely. Although at this time of year they had better sense than their human counterparts and were cozily ensconced in some warm chamber for the winter.