Ireland day 0341. Sunday 04 September 2022- Canada2206

Today’s summary	Had another relatively leisurely breakfast in our AirBnB then packed up and checked out. Our Uber swiftly transported us to the airport where we are now waiting for the flight back to Dublin. As we travel on the precautionary principle, we currently have about three more hours to wait. Lots of spending opportunities.
Today’s weather	Cool and wet. No sun. Light easterly wind. About 19C

Today’s overview location (The red mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (No GPX today)

Commentary

Well, all good things have to come to an end, and being in Vancouver for most of the last week has been very good indeed. So I think we were both a bit sorry to be leaving today – Vancouver is a very easy city to live in, there’s lots to see and do and, for us, it’s been lovely to catch up with family. I think also that we have been very fortunate with the weather – warm sun all day practically every day (everyone we have met tells us that it’s not normally like this). But it started raining this morning, so perhaps it’s telling us it’s time to leave. The only downside to Vancouver is the cost of living. I think it’s even more expensive than Dublin – but there’s a price to pay for everything, I guess.

I’m going to keep this brief as we will be boarding fairly soon and the in-flight wifi is inordinately expensive. And in any case there isn’t a lot you can actually write about sitting in a metal tube for half a day because it’s not intrinsically very interesting. Plus today is eight hours shorter than normal so by definition there’s less time for noteworthy things to happen.

Normal-ish service will be resumed tomorrow, assuming I can stay awake long enough to write anything. In the meantime, I think we will both take the opportunity to wander round the airport for a bit – the last chance to uncoil the legs for a while. There is a very interesting “Animal Relief Area” to admire, for example. And a friend has just alerted me that there’s a “red aurora alert” today – so I’ll be taking a good look out of the window as we pass over Greenland this evening, to see if the Northern Lights put in an appearance.

Anyway, that’s it for now and from Canada. See you on the other side of the Atlantic!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


All those exotic destinations. Gives me itchy feet. But there’s lots of Ireland to see first!	I was reflecting on how most duty frees worldwide all look the same – some form of remarkable convergent evolution perhaps. Until Val pointed out that they are all actually run by the same company

Mask usage in Canadian airports and on Air Canada flights is 100% mandatory. I’d forgotten how nice it is not to wear one! Looking forward to breathing proper air again as soon as we get back to Dublin	Home for the next nine hours



There’s a giant fish tank in the middle of the departure lounge. It’s quite therapeutic to watch – though I do wonder what would happen if it sprang a leak