It was all hands on deck this morning to get everything sorted and back in the suitcases. We are itinerants again, living out of the suitcases for this last part of the trip.

Of course, the alarms were unnecessary because we were a little excited and were looking forward to heading back to Mindy and Ian ...well, not the bus ride bit!

The whole "get off the boat" thing was a bit of an anticlimax. A last stop in the Garden Cafe for breakfast, farewell and hugs for Daryl, our last washy washy wave to Maria and we were trundling our luggage down the gangway. We were loaded.....the backpack was stuffed to make the bags lighter for the bus weighin and Mac had the mandatory bottl-o loot but we thought taking care of our own luggage was better than handing it over the night before.

We were armed with our declaration statement and passports and prepared for a long line to get back into Canada. It took a grand total of 2 minutes...no lineup...no passport check ....just a gentleman who said "Welcome to Canada." It was a little disconcerting in its simplicity, in fact, we didn't quite appreciate that we were "in" until Mac noticed the "shuttle bus" and "taxi" signs.

The whole process was so well organised. You are shuffled into a cab line ( no waiting) and within 15 minutes we were at the counter of the Greyhound Bus only to be told there were no seats left on the 10.30 bus and the next one was 2.30.

In truth, it was a much needed extended down time. Used the time to catch up on the news, including the Matildas' win over Brazil and to revisit the highs of the last fortnight.

The Sea to Sky bus ride was still spectacular . Those views are amazing and with the Sea Bands in place, I almost did the trip like the locals and stretched out and closed the eyes for a bit of a snooze as the bus jolted and bumped its way to Whistler.

And there we were for a home cooked meal with Mindy and Ian...chicken chow mien followed by Magnums and washed down with a little bit of bottl-o magic.

Have to confess I was useless - seem to be suffering from a post cruise cold. Need to shake it off by tomorrow...the mountains are calling and our Whistler guides are relentless.


Monday
Temperature: 16C
Pedometer: 3 580
Bear Sightings = 0

Total Bear Sightings = 12


Things @AuntyGail and @Paul forgot to tell us about cruising:

1. You feel nostalgic when you have to say goodbye to some cruise members.

2. Once it's time to go you are in a surprising hurry to get it done.

3. Once it's over, you can't believe it's over!

4. Even off the ship there are still big decisions about "Where to eat!"

But one thing that @AuntyGail and @Paul did tell us:

1. We would LOVE IT.

And we did....maybe one day ...we can cruise together....now wouldn't that be special. xoxox