HOT, WET & STICKY vs COOL, DRY & COLOURFUL

As immigrants living in Vancouver we get the best of both world: Expensive Canada and cheaper America.
We get to celebrate Canada Day on July 1 and Independence Day on July 4th! Remember, we live just a skip, jump and roll down from the US border.
Canada Day was a sticky affair to say the least: We had over 30 degrees Celsius here in our neck of the woods.

Our plan was to be tourists in our new country and join the festivities at the annual Steveston Salmon Festival. Hurrah, our family plus 50.000 other fish loving, entertainment seeking families I might add. Were our boys excited about our planned event? To get pushed around, being hot, sweaty and sticky for the longest time?   Oh well, we as parents want to fit into the "awesome' category of our boys. Therefore, we decided doing what the boys rather wanted:

Here we are getting ready for our annual family tubing event down the Alouette river!






Skip three days and we are at Independence Day. The border was clear and Dominic and I set off to watch the fireworks  we missed during Canada Day. Here we are in BLAINE, literally 5 minutes across the Canadian border.

Upon arrival, we saw this:

Oops, that isn't a good sign, is it? Nevertheless, we are here now, we

 eat some delicious ice cream (check out their flavours),

hung out with the crowd,

enjoyed the sunset over White Rock

and watched some seriously amazing FIREWORKS!

As I just said, we are spoilt. The next big twosome will be in October and November:
Here in Canada we will celebrate Thanksgiving on the first Monday in October, 5 minutes across the border the same day is celebrated on the last Thursday in November! Go figure- we are in, one way or the other!

SALMON RUN

All salmon spawn in fresh water, usually in streams. Many salmon, especially Pacific salmon spend their adult lives in the ocean, returning to their native streams to     spawn. Unlike other salmonids, Pacific salmon die after spawning. They are     famous for their ability to home precisely to their place of birth to spawn.I found this at: www.kanada-british-columbia.de/en/salmon_run/index.htm

You most probably know this!                                                                                                                                    As embarrassing as it sounds, I was blissfully ignorant of the spawning habits of Pacific salmon until we moved to British Columbia. Until our relocation, salmon were an expensive delicacy on our dinning plates. Now, with the new gained knowledge I have tremendous respect for these swimming creatures. Today, whenever I eat them I can taste the added flavours of respect, admiration and the slight hint of sadness.

What I want to know is this:  Do the salmon actually know they are going to die after they spawned? Do they know they are paying with their life for ‘reproduction’? Come to think of it, I don’t believe fish rank high on the evolution ladder (dear fishermen or salmon experts, please correct me if I am wrong!). 

Why am I telling you this?                                                                                             This extra-ordinary behaviour is in full swing and it is happening right in front of our door steps!

On our way to school we are walking along the Alouette River.



As soon as we get close to the water our children accuse me of having a ‘gastro-intestine’ problem. How often do I need to say it:” It is not me, it is the fish! The stink comes from their dead bodies, plugged apart by seagulls or left, half eaten, by bears.



Let me take you on a tour to prove my innocence:

The river runs for app. 100 km until it reaches the Pacific Ocean – i.e. for this length the adult fish swim and fight against the current to reach their original “breeding” ground.



This in itself is a major accomplishment. If you add the current heavy rain falls, the thought of swimming against a very heavy current just to spawn is extra-ordinary indeed.





I can’t leave you with the image of dead fish! I will keep it fishy, but will switch from real life to the silver screen: Whenever you feel like having salmon, try this one:

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen:

Full of wicked British humour, spiced with silky smooth Scottish accents, embedded in beautiful scenery!  It is delicious!