Missed opportunities

It's great to see that Port Place mall in Nanaimo is finally starting to re-emerge with some retailers and services moving into the shops facing the new roadway that will eventually run up the centre of the revelopment.

Such a pity though that it looks like the area has already been set out as just another parking lot - wouldn't it have been so much better for Gabriolans if the street layout had been designed to accommodate a new transit exchange? 

Instead we will still have to walk to the top end of Front Street for buses to the hospital, and (in March) we hear that the 'express' bus to Woodgrove (replacing routes 8 and 9) will no longer serve  Port Place, but will instead follow the same route as the hospital buses, departing from the top of Front Street, close to the Service Canada building. Only the snail-pace #1 bus to Woodgrove will serve Port Place - and that's hardly going to entice us to leave our cars behind, is it?

No doubt the thousands that were spent on 'upgrading' the Prideaux exchange rule out the common sense alternative of relocating the terminal to the new Port Place. Foresight? I don't think so. 

Don't mess the seats......

So finally we have some decent seats back in Quinsam - well, the same seats really but with some padded seats and backs bolted on.

Strangely, we're told these were "left over" when alternative seats were ordered for the Bowen Queen. They're a one-time opportunity though - and if they're vandalised, they're gone.

Within days, notices have appeared in Quinsam's lounges indicating that some damage has already been reported - and (if the perpetrators can be identified from the security CCTV footage) the RCMP will be brought in.  Let's hope there's something on the CCTV tape - and if it's not enough to identify those involved, maybe BC Ferries will post the images in the lounge so someone else can identify them.

After all, as the notice says, if it happens again we'll all be "back sitting on cold, hard metal seats". Now, I'm trying to remember - did BC Ferries tell us at the time that we would be getting "cold, hard metal seats" as part of the $16m refit?

Just a hop away.....

For those of us who have travelled through airports in Vancouver, Seattle or London, the greatest frustration is the time spent standing in line for check-in,  security, and at the boarding gate. Then, when you arrive it starts all over again at immigration, at customs control and baggage reclaim.

It's a world-wide problem - and all for our own good, we're told - but it really does put the 'pain' into plane travel.  We've flown to many destinations in Europe with 'budget' airlines that seek out smaller (and presumably less costly) regional airports and although these are often remote from the cities that they claim to serve, it's always a pleasure to discover how much more relaxed and friendly those smaller airports are. Many of them, and the communties they serve, depend heavily on tourism for their economic survival and with just a handful of flights each day, it's surprising just how much effort some airports make to woo the traveller back. My personal favourite has to be Nimes, France which handles a mere handful of flights each day to Britain and Belgium, yet boasts (for me) one of the best restaurants in town - the “Côté Sud”  open lunchtimes only, with a daily 3-course menu for just 15 euros ($20). It's worth checking in early for an afternoon flight just to experience the restaurant!

Nearer to home, Nanaimo Airport strives to achieve that same excellence in customer service - especially for long-haul Air Canada passengers who can avoid the long check-in lines at YVR with check-in and security this side of the water. 

With no more than 50 passengers to check-in for each flight, the whole process is completed in a matter of minutes, leaving you time to relax before your short flight to Vancouver. And yes, you can hop outside to talk to the bunnies while you wait!

Facilities for passengers are, in fairness, functional rather than exciting - yet the calmness and cleanliness of the surroundings go some way to making up for the lack of things to do. 

So what are the downsides of travelling through Nanaimo airport? 
 
Well, cost can be a factor - though not always its seems. Flying from between Nanaimo and Ottawa in February can cost just just $40 more than flying from Vancouver.  Flying transatlantic to London, the cost difference can be $75 - again, less than the cost of a one-way floatplane ride to YVR.  However, book a flight from London to Nanaimo on the same dates and the extra cost rockets to almost $300! It's time that Air Canada acknowledged the value of incoming business as well as offering inducements to local passengers.

There's also the question of getting to the airport. Nimes Airport, 22km from Nimes itself, provides a shuttle bus meeting each flight for just 5 euro (under $7) each way. That's $2 less than the cheapest advance fare from Nanaimo to the airport by Greyhound bus (connections not guaranteed) and just a quarter of the price of using the Nanaimo Airporter shuttle. 

Nanaimo Airport Commission's mission statement is “To provide a safe, efficient and financially viable airport, offering excellent services and value to all users while fostering economic development.”   It seems that their objectives of excellence and value to users have yet to be embraced by some of their partner organisations. 

BC Ferries closes Duke Point until further notice

I wondered why there was no 3.15 departure from Duke Point today. Now we know!

My perspective

No matter how long I spend gazing our from our home across the Georgia Strait to the Sunshine Coast, I still cannot reconcile the fact that this view is pretty much the same distance away as the French coastline is from the cliffs of Dover. 

There's not much of the Pas-de-Calais to see from Dover Castle - and even from Cap Gris Nez, the cliffs of Dover seem incredibly distant and small.

So I'm still blown away by the sheer scale of the view from our window - and in some light conditions it's just begging for a photo. And yes, I can cheat a little using a telephoto lens.

Yet there remain so many unanswered questions. Where is the horizon?  My guess is that the sea ends about 8-10 miles out. But how much of the Sunshine Coast is hidden below the horizon? And most perplexing of all, how many trees are there in this picture? Answers on a postcard please. You may need to click on the picture to view it larger.

As others see us......

After three years, I'm still discovering Gabriola - and it's often difficult to describe the place to those who've never been.


Such was the challenge set to a group of ethnology students enrolled at Royal Roads University in Victoria - to describe the meaning of Gabe in a postcard and 400 words. 



The result? Well, take a look for yourself here on the Royal Roads website.



This series offers a view of our island culture that maybe we're all still discovering........

Halloween on Gabriola

Under clear skies, Gabriola celebrated Halloween this evening - with bonfire, fireworks and its very own 'golden mile'.  For one night only, the tunnel (North Road's tree-canopy) attracted a constant stream of families driving at walking pace enjoying the spectacle of hundreds of carved pumpkins flickering in the dark. Our own offering joined a small, select group marking the start of the display.

For a short while, the line of traffic was vaguely reminiscent of that other 'golden mile' in north-west England. The difference?  In Blackpool, the illuminations don't get eaten by the deer!

Flying in the face of reason

We're always being told that flying from Vancouver is expensive - but it seems that's only if you start your flight in Vancouver. Take a look at this price comparison -  based on the same Air Canada flight from Vancouver to London Heathrow and back.....

The basic price - including taxes - is $1,126 for a return flight from YVR to Heathrow. That's $545 in fares and a massive $581 in taxes.

But we're also told there are great deals for flying out of Seattle, where the taxes are lower.... or are they? Let's have a look:

.....yes, that's a full $350 saving on the same flight if you make the journey to Seattle before boarding your Air Canada flight from YVR.  But just look - the taxes are only $6 less than flying from Vancouver - but the round trip fare has dropped to just $187!!!  Now far be it from me to ask why.....


Mind you, you don't have to look that far before you find similar "deals" for local flyers.  Have you noticed that Tofino Air's Silva Bay flights now continue to Nanaimo?  And that a flight from YVR to Silva Bay is now $82 + taxes?  

Not bad, you may think - but did you realise that if you stay on the same plane for the extra 15 minute flight into Nanaimo, you could save yourself nearly $20 each way? Even with the cost of a ferry ride, that's still a round trip saving of more than $30!!

Someone's taking us for a ride.........

A visit to Seattle's Museum of Flight

Time to spare in Seattle?  Down opposite Boeing Field is the Museum of Flight - a great place to while away a few hours, with an awesome collection of aircraft from more than a century of aviation.

Mister Boeing's Airplane Company has recreated the original woodworking benches in the "Red Barn" on which the first production airplanes were handcrafted

Meanwhile, across the road are some of the icons of modern aviation - including the prototype 747 Jumbo Jet, Air Force One - the presidential aircraft used by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, and one of the world's 18 remaining Concordes, donated to the museum by British Airways.

Reflected in the windows of the Museum's latest addition, the new space gallery (opening soon), this magnificent aircraft has lost none of its magic.

In the Personal Courage wing are fighters from World War I and World War II 

Ten fighter planes from World War II 
represent all the major combatants.

Iconic images at every turn - like this Lockheed Super Constellation of Trans Canada Air Lines

and the Douglas DC-2 of Trans World Airlines.

Just look at that for luxury - real curtains!

Among the 'flying' exhibits in the Great Hall is this lovely DC-3 of Alaska Airlines

And, not to be forgotten, the ubiquitous deHavilland Canada Beaver DHC-2. Designed as a bush plane, many were subsequently fitted with floats.  A museum piece, maybe,  but with more than 1,600 built between 1947 and 1967, it's amazing to think that there are hundreds still in daily service along Canada's coastline today.

Dozens of DHC-2 Beavers still ply the islands and inlets of the BC coast - a tribute to the rugged simplicity of the original design.


This Tofino Air Beaver flies regularly to and from Silva Bay on Gabriola.




Read more about this fascinating museum at www.museumofflight.org

First signs of fall?

 

New colours are emerging as our short summer draws to a close.