My Amazing Journey – Part Two

Vancouver was amazing but the best was yet to come and another early start meant, for once, I was grateful for the effects of jet lag as Rocky Mountaineer involves early morning starts. We gathered in reception around 6.45am  and were swiftly and efficiently transported by coach to the railway station to start our journey, our luggage would travel separately and, by magic, appear in our hotel room in Kamloops ! Hopefully we all thought!

I have read a lot about this train and its journey through Canada but I didn’t`t expect a piano in the station or  to be welcomed on board by a Scottish bagpipe player in full dress including the kilt, but that’s what happened , and, as our journey progressed we were to learn a lot more about the Scottish connections to this part of Canada. Ushered onto the train by the smiling staff and up the stairs to our Goldleaf seats I began to realise that this was a train, but a very special train, glass domed roof and loads of room between the seats, so no need to worry where to put your hand luggage despite the instructions from Rocky saying it had to be placed at your feet ! The staff were plentiful and very welcoming as we settled down and pulled away from Vancouver waived off by the staff who were not travelling on the train .

I can`t say the scenery just outside Vancouver is very spectacular but the further you go the better it gets. The trains stops quite a lot, not so that you can get off, but maybe there is another train ahead on the line or some other  reason, Canadian railways are renowned for their delays and not surprising as we were told some of them are 2 miles long.

Not too far into our journey it was time for breakfast, and the food was something I had really been looking forward too and I was not disappointed. Goldleaf passengers have a downstairs dining car, a proper restaurant beautifully laid out. With loads of choice on the menu I settled for a delicious egg and cheese soufflé with Canadian bacon and sausages, croissants to start and loads of coffee and juice to go with it. It was delicious and now I couldn`t wait for lunch! After a very leisurely meal it was back upstairs to watch the scenery change as we travelled on towards Kamloops.

As we journeyed on the staff came round with snacks and drinks, really as much as you wanted, gin & tonic, beers , cocktails, wine you name it they had it and very generous they were too, hardly time to finish the first drink before they came round again just to make sure no one was hungry or thirsty. The scenery is spectacular, especially the further along you go and best described by pictures, or seeing it yourself, as you sit back relax and enjoy the experience. Our on board hosts told us to look out for all kinds of wildlife and to let everyone know what we could see and it was not long before I spotted the first Bald Headed Eagle of our journey.

Lunch was a leisurely two hour  affair with a choice of 6 excellent mains courses, chefs start or soup and desert and, of course, free flowing wines local to the region we were travelling through. I went for the chefs speciality beef burger, which was excellent, and also decided to have the salmon the next day, but everything looked really good and it really was difficult to choose.

After lunch it was back upstairs to relax and take in the scenery as we made our way through the Fraser Valley, past Hell`s Gate and Cisco crossings, along the Thompson River, through  Black Canyon Tunnel before finally arriving, on time, in Kamloops around 7.30pm. It was a long day but well worth it and this was only the start of the adventure.