There are few travel adventures that give me butterflies more than the thought of a train trip. I love the romance. The journey. Weaving across country that roads wouldn’t bother tackling.
One of the greatest rail journeys in the world is The Rocky Mountaineer….but I don’t have that kinda cash. So instead I parted with $700 for a Via Rail rail pass, which is my ticket across Canada for the next few weeks. Vancouver to Halifax non-stop would take about four days, but I’m breaking up the trip along the way. A girl needs to shower.
The first stage of my trip was Vancouver to Jasper. I found myself struggling to get my backpack closed thanks to having to pack for almost a month in chilly Canada and even longer in Europe during its hottest months. Some jeans and hiking boots will be going in the post in a few weeks.
The train pulled out of the station at 8.40pm, gliding past graffiti-laden fences and truck depots. It was a disappointing last image of what is such a beautiful city.
Ten minutes later I’d met the people in the seats around me. Such conversation doesn’t happen on planes, or buses, but within minutes there was a group of us from six or so seats chatting away. In front of me was a seasoned traveller called Peter who was perhaps a little too chatty. I managed to escape most times, but the canteen attendant and some other passengers weren’t so lucky. Actually either was I….I still had to hear about his problems with going to the loo after eating certain foods.
It’s been a big week so I was changing into my pjs by 9.30pm, fluffing up my backpack to use as a pillow and making the most of my two reclining seats. I had hoped to snag a spot in the observation car like I did on the way to San Francisco but the seats there were more uncomfortable than my allocated one.
I woke in the morning feeling surprisingly well rested. I’m determined to keep to a budget on this trip so I’d packed some instant oatmeal for breakfast. I bought a cup of tea from the canteen and put half the hot water in my plastic mug to make my oatmeal. Definitely beats paying $6 for the oatmeal offered on-board.
The trip is timed so we travel through the Rocky Mountains during the day. It would have been a stunning trip a month ago, but even now there is still enough snow on the peaks to make it a beautiful trip. Unfortunately I was a bit tired (two more naps taken during the day) to really enjoy it.
We pulled into Jasper a little after 4pm and it was a bit of a rush to make it to my hosts place before he had to leave for work. But here I am, safe and sound, in Jasper.
