Skip to main content

A walk along the Ocean - Stanley Park Seawall

On a bright May afternoon I found myself on the Stanley Park Seawall in Vancouver facing the Pacific Ocean. This was the ocean hike that I was most looking forward to. Now before I go any further you might ask me.

What is the Seawall?

There you go, the picture below should answer your question very well 👇

Stanley Park Seawall (Courtesy: Tourism Vancouver)

How did I get there? 

Simple via public transport (TransLink).

In front of me was a 10 KM hike right next to the Pacific Ocean and I was grossly unprepared (didn't even have a bottle of water with me). But water or no water I wasn't about to back out from exploring this beautiful waterfront trail .

My first pit stop allowed me to take in the sights of Vancouver downtown along with the docks.

Vancouver Downtown

Vancouver docks and the Pan Pacific Hotel

Pan Pacific Hotel from the top (Courtesy: BC Ferries Vacations)

The next sight to behold my attention was the 100 year old Brockton Point Lighthouse which was constructed to aid ships navigate the rough waters strewn with rocks. If only there was a lighthouse which guides our lives just like the one which guides the ships.

Brockton Lighthouse (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

From the light I walked into the shadow, the shadow of the Lions Gate Bridge the spiritual twin of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. People built the bridge to foster development and economic growth. Here's to a world which builds more bridges for humanity.

Lions Great Bridge

As afternoon turned into evening my walk entered the mythical realm when I saw the Siwash Rock. Legend has it that 'Skalsh the unselfish' was turned into a rock for his unselfishness. The present day requires the opposite to happen, we need a lot more rocks to turn into human beings and a lot more selfish ones to turn into rocks.

Siwash Rock basking in the evening sun

Siwash Rock in the bloom of the day (Courtesy: TripAdvisor)

Just as I was getting a bit tired, the sands, stones and logs of three Stanley Park beaches beckoned me as I sat down to watch the sun's rays play with the ocean currents.

 
Stanley Park Beaches

As I left the park, I reminisced about the hike and the profound impact the sights I saw had on me. It's been almost a year since the walk but none of those sights have left me, I doubt if they will ever leave now because now they are a part of me (just like the walk in KBR). 

Stanley Park has been rated as one of Vancouver's Top Holiday destinations and is undoubtedly in my mind the best place to visit in Vancouver. If Stanley Park is a great vacation spot then the seawall is the crown jewel of Stanley Park. Don't miss out on the breathtaking views which will have you clutching at your cameras at every turn. If you are walking or cycling (there are plenty of places from where you can rent bikes close to the park) please do make it a point to follow the designated lanes. Take plenty of water, you will find refreshments after crossing the Lighthouse but there's practically nothing after that until the beaches. Benches became scarce as you approach the Siwash rock so be prepared for a thorough workout. May you all have a memorable walk, for once keep the phones away and let the thoughts flow.

Rated: Must Visit

Until Next Time,

Your Travel Guide,
J.J. Chaitanya

Comments

  1. If you ever want to go aboard, Cheap Indian flights are the best choices you have out there.
    You can also check out Pakistan flights too.
    I have travelled with them and their services are very good.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Mahabharata by C.Rajagopalachari

There are books which you read and then there are books which make you read them and change your life. Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari's (Rajaji's) Mahabharata belongs to the latter category. Mahabharata introduced me to the joy of reading books as a kid and today I couldn't have picked a better topic for my 25th post. I cannot describe what a pleasure and honor it is to extol the virtues of this classic book during this holy festive season of  Makar Sankranti . Mahabharata by C.Rajagopalachari The story of Mahabharata is as old as the mountains and has been retold several times. Mahabharata by Rajaji however stands out in my mind because here is a story which is spiritual yet not religious, is thought provoking yet not preachy, is compelling yet not tedious. The story left an indelible impression upon me for several reasons which are: Rajaji uses extremely simple language to convey some of the finer aspects of the saga. I was 10 years old when I read Mahabharata

KBR National Park

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the fifth largest city in India - Hyderabad lies KBR (Kasu Brahmananda Reddy) National Park . It's difficult to imagine a natural habitat in the center of a concrete jungle but that's exactly what KBR park is - an oasis in middle of an urban desert . One of Hyderabad's prized tourist attractions which in my opinion doesn't get the attention it deserves. The Entrance I don't remember when I first noticed the park but it soon became a sight which I couldn't miss during the course of my everyday commute to work. I always wondered what lay beyond the entrance but never found the time to check it out for myself until last year. But let me back up a bit, there's a back story to my first visit to the park. In my ' Count Your Blessings ' post, I talked about how a walk around my office building started a positive change in my life. That incident made ' walking ' a fixture in my everyday ro

Zamarrud Theatre Hyderabad

More than two decades ago a 5 year old boy (yours truly) found himself in Abids which was certainly then the microcosm of Hyderabad. Abids in the 80s <Courtesy: OkaTeluguAbbayi > The occasion was a family outing to Zamarrud Cinema. And we are stepping out for not just any movie my friends, my parents decided that nothing less than the Raj Kapoor blockbuster Chori Chori was good enough for us. To be honest I wasn't exactly enthused about watching a black and white film of a bygone era even though the movie had all the credentials of a classic. But that was before I saw Zamarrud, the theatre where the movie was being played. Nested in the heart of Abids, Zamarrud was the perfect amalgamation of Hyderabad's old world charm and new fangled ways. Zamarrud was not just any theatre, it was one of the first air conditioned halls in Hyderabad, a premiere cinema hall which used to host the best of what the film industry had to offer and the place to go for Hyderabad'

Chhatrapati Shivaji Biography - Challenging Destiny by Medha Deshmukh-Bhaskaran

I guess it was destiny that the 150th post of Life Etc Etc had to be about Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji rose like a phoenix from humble beginnings in the 17th century and laid the foundation for the Maratha empire which changed the course of  history. The history I studied at school restricted his life and achievements to a single chapter and quite erroneously credited the British Rule with the decline of the Mughal empire. I found out later on that it was in fact the Marathas under the able leadership of Shivaji who hastened the Mughal empire's downfall. They were the preeminent power whom the British had to checkmate in order to wrest control of the Indian subcontinent. Despite such monumental achievements my history syllabi had very little information about Shivaji. It was therefore a no-brainer for me to pick up this book and discover for myself why the history of India would never be complete without the mention of Shivaji.  In order to understand any historical c

Black Eagle (1988)

I have a soft corner in my heart for the action films of the eighties . I am also a huge fan of movies where stars are cast against type ( see Vera Cruz ). So, when I got a chance to watch 1988's  Black Eagle  pitting international action star Jean-Claude Van Damme as the 'villain' against acclaimed martial arts guru Sho Kosugi ,   I just couldn't let it pass by. Black Eagle 1988 Plot When a US F-111 jet carrying a laser tracking device goes missing in the Mediterranean, agent Ken Tani (Sho Kosugi) code-named ' Black Eagle ' is summoned to retrieve the device before the Soviet KGB acquires it. Ken unwillingly lands in Malta and is immediately targeted by Soviet Agent Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Will Ken acquire the tracking device? Who wins? (Guess that answer is obvious!) The Cliches Cliches are the life and soul of action movies. When you have a martial arts movie in the spy genre those cliches only double. So here are all the noteworthy cli