Both Philip and I have always wanted to fly in a Float Plane and today was the day. We had been given a heads up by a friend about the Mail Run that leaves Vancouver and lands at Ganges and Maple Bay before returning to Vancouver. It was perfect as we boarded around 9 and were back by 11.30 in time to meet a friend for lunch.
The plane we boarded was a twelve seater so it was not too small. It was almost filled to capacity. Some people were leaving the plane in Ganges (it was an option to return on a later flight) and some also alighted at Maple Bay and at both places we took on extra passengers.
The take off and landing of the float plane is incredibly smooth, much better than a wheeled plane on a runway and we flew quite low - around 1200 feet - so there was no turbulence. It was a spectacular day with full sunshine and we expect it to stay that way for the next few days. It has warmed up considerably so maybe we can put away some of those winter clothes!
Of course the views from the plane in all directions were beautiful and I didn't realise there were so many islands. Every island, even if it was just an acre seemed to have a dwelling on it. These people are really off the grid and you would have to be somewhat of a hermit to enjoy it. Boats! Boats in every nook and cranny but of course this is the only sensible way to get around. I imagine the fishing would be very good with salmon and crabs in abundance.
When we landed at Maple Bay we were allowed to disembark for a ten minute break. We had a quick walk around the village and it is very pretty with its backdrop of pine covered mountains. We even saw an Australian flag flying at the local pub.
It seemed all too soon that we were landing in the Vancouver harbour at the end of our flight but we were also excited to be meeting up with a young friend who landed in Vancouver yesterday. What a coincidence! We had actually tried to catch up with Brad when we were in Perth last year (his home town) but he was in Spain. It was providence that we finally caught up with each other, even if it was half way around the world!
Tomorrow will be an easy day with a bit of laundry to catch up on before we join the APT tour the following day. We might catch the water taxi to Granville Island for a look around and apparently there is a pretty good seafood restaurant there so that may be our lunch destination.
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