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A final batch of photos from our recent trip to Puerto Vallarta.

We admired this Gaudi-esque public space which puts one in mind of the Parc Guell in Barcelona – though, naturally, on a somewhat smaller scale.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

Our all-inclusive resort was – unlike many others in PV – not directly on the sea front. It did, however, own a beach resort a mere five minutes away by car, the which included a very decent restaurant to which we repaired several times for our evening repast. As you might expect the sunset vied with the fare to provide the greater attraction.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

When we returned to Victoria from Puerto Vallarte The Girl and I were accompanied by a new member of our entourage. Gentle reader – meet Coyote:

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid

Coyote is an Alebrije from Oaxaca. The Mexican art site – Viva Mexico – has the following:

Alebrijes are creatures carved out of wood and painted with Zapotec patterns and fantastic designs from the artists own imagination. These colorful one-of-a-kind carvings are handmade using wood of the copal tree which is grown in the surrounding fields of the towns and is considered a sacred tree which only grows in the region of Oaxaca. This wood is sustainably sourced from the branches of the tree in order to preserve the life of the tree and ensure a continued source of wood for the future. Alebrijes are traditionally made in Oaxaca in the towns of San Martin Tilcajete as well as San Antonio Arrazola. These beautiful works of art have become very popular over the years among art collectors worldwide and are highly sought after. Add a splash of color to your home with one of our unique wood carvings by Oaxacas best artists!

He is – of course – a trickster, but he is also gorgeous… so he gets away with it!

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Here on Vancouver Island it is raining. No surprise there of course, though it is also true that temperatures are beginning to creep into double figures and Mother Nature is clearly signaling her intention of getting cracking on spring without further delay.

Why do I mention this? Well – The Girl and I are still in that state of travel denial that causes us to check over-frequently the current temperatures in Puerto Vallarte (as much or more than we do those in Victoria). Sadly we are just missing the warm sun on our shoulders!

Anyway – here are some more random photos from our recent trip to the land of our fellow recipients of the tangerine one’s tariffs (bah!)…

These pictures were taken around our resort:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid
This chap was pretty impressive too – and, as far as one could ascertain – harmless!

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid
None too shabby – I hope you will agree. Not our usual sort of establishment, in many ways. We (by which I mean The Girl, of course) normally prefer to find places to stay that enable us to cater for ourselves should we so prefer. This resort was all inclusive – which on this occasion suited us fine.


Photo by Andy Dawson Reid
This was one of a number of plaster masks that were mounted above the bed-head in our room. Spooky – some might think – but actually rather lovely.

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Guess where we are!

Yes! As trailed but a few short weeks ago in an earlier post we are taking a brief restorative break in Mexico; in Puerto Vallarta to be precise.

There will be more time for the writing of words shortly, but I thought you might care to peruse some images of what it is like to be here in the warmth of the Mexican spring.

Jolly lovely it is!

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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…with friends – on a cold but sunny day at Island View Beach.

Enjoy!

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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…to friends, acquaintances and gentle readers…

…from the Kickass Canada Girl and the Imperceptible Immigrant…

we wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Happy Hogmany!

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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(See what I did there?….)

Having a vista from one’s windows is a huge bonus and a blessing. Some folk prefer to live in the valleys (for protection one assumes) – other folk like to live on the hill (and thus be able to identify approaching threats). Of course, the latter option does also provide the dreamers amongst us with plenty of food for thought!

‘Anywho’ – (defined by the Urban Dictionary as: “An extremely annoying misuse of the word ‘anyhow’. Generally used by people who think they’re being clever“. Naturally, that just makes me want to use it!!) – this is simply a preamble to sharing some recent vistas as viewed from our casements.

You might want to double-click on these to get the full effect…

Enjoy:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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For the second day’s excursion on our recent trip to Nanaimo and its environs, The Girl, her mother and I paid a visit to an attraction to which I had not previously been – Little Qualicum Falls.

Our various previous journeys up island – to Tofino, Courtney and other points north and west – have taken us to within a short distance of Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park, but there are just so many places worth a visit on the island that it comes as no surprise that the ‘still to do’ list is as long as it is. Grateful thanks to The Girl for suggesting on this occasion  that we tick this one off the list.

No need of a lengthy screed on my part in this instance. I will let the camera do the work instead:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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“A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving”.

Lao Tzu

Earlier this summer – some short while after The Girl and I returned from our momentous trip to Scotland – we were sitting in the sun outside the Stone House pub in Canoe Cove, chewing the fat and contemplating the remainder of the season.

We were minded to seek out some culture – in the form of theatre, music… maybe even fireworks… or indeed any combination of the above. We toyed with a visit to Vancouver for ‘Bard on the Beach‘ – particularly for it’s coincidence with the ‘Celebration of Light‘ – though that looked like turning into a somewhat expensive trip…

We also looked at the offerings here in Victoria – but nothing really caught the eye…

Finally The Girl came up with a smart notion. Come mid-August we could head up the island to Nanaimo, just in time for the Nanaimo Fringe Festival – the which fortuitously happened to coincide with the Nanaimo Blues Festival. We could make it a long weekend and avail ourselves of some theatre and some music – as well as paying a visit to The Girl’s mother in the process.

So – we had a fixed plan… the possession of which – according to Lao Tzu – is a ‘no-no’!

…as indeed it turned out to be!

This has been a busy old year – particularly for The Girl. When it came down to it we didn’t spot anything in the Nanaimo Fringe programme that looked unmissable – and she really didn’t fancy getting caught up in the the sort of crowds that the Blues Festival would attract.

We decided that we would make the trip anyway – but that we would modify the itinerary.

For the first of our days around Nanaimo we settled on an excursion to Gabriola island, where once The Girl’s parents had lived (well before I knew her) and the which we had visited with them on an early trip from the UK.

It was good to explore the island again. Here are some photos:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidThese last images are of the Malaspina Galleries on Gabriola. When I was first taken to this extraordinary geological feature – back in 2006 – The Girl’s mother took a photograph of the two of us which is still pretty much my favourite image of us together. It was lovely to be able to go back and stand in the same spot getting on for two decades later.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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I first visited Canada in 2006, on which occasion I was introduced by The Girl to the delights of British Columbia and of Vancouver Island – along, naturally, with her family and many of her friends. The expedition was planned with the sort of thoroughness that is her hallmark and included my first meeting, in Nanaimo, with her father and her mother in law.

The four of us took a trip up island to Port Alberni and to Tofino. This memorable sojourn – the which included spending a day drifting down to Bamfield on the Francis Berkeley – has been replicated more than once when we have entertained visitors from outwith the province (or indeed the country).

Between Port Alberni and Tofino we paid a visit to Sproat Lake. Quite apart from being a very beautiful spot this 25km long lake is known for a number of interesting attractions, amongst which – until very recently – was that it was home to the Martin Mars water-bombers.

Now – I could regale you with the story of these huge and beautiful flying boats – built during the second world war and serving for many years fighting wildfires across Canada and elsewhere – but why don’t we let Wikipedia handle the honours in this instance. What gentle readers need to know for the purposes of this post is that ‘Hawaii Mars‘, which I believe to be the remaining flight-worthy aircraft (of the seven that were built) was this year donated to the British Columbia Aviation Museum, the which is right here beside Victoria International Airport.

A couple of weeks back ‘Hawaii Mars‘ made her final flight from Sproat Lake down to Victoria. For the last leg she was accompanied by the Canadian aerobatic display team – the Snowbirds. Many Victoria inhabitants turned out to view the spectacle, but we were fortunate enough to be gifted a grandstand view from our deck as the formation circled the airport.

As you would expect, this spectacle certainly brought a lump to my throat.

When the aircraft is finally ready for visitors at the museum I shall go and pay my respects.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A week or so back we had house guests – in the shape of one of The Girl’s cousins and a friend who had come to Victoria to walk the challenging West Coast Trail. We (The Girl!) picked them up from the airport on the first Saturday and dropped them at an ungodly hour on the Sunday morning (me!) at the Victoria Central Bus Station. The following weekend we met them from the bus on the Friday and spent the weekend with them before their return to Toronto.

Amongst other delights we enjoyed a splendid lunch at the Church and State vineyard, as a reward for the morning’s sun-drenched exploration of Butchart Gardens. Whereas I have certainly posted images from Butchart’s on a number of occasions it is my opinion that one can never have too many photos of natural beauty.

Enjoy!

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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