After a very early night only interrupted by feet cramps! We left by 8.30 for the bus to Horseshoe Bay. 

I love a local bus. We went through the streets of Vancouver across to Stanley Park and West Vancouver then onto the ferry terminal. 

It’s obviously a good place to visit there were lots of cars lined up to get on the 9.50 ferry. We were with the walk aboard people. 

It’s a beautiful ride across passing islands and hoping to see a whale! No such luck. 

We connected to the bus for the 10 min drive to Gibsons  we didn’t have small change and the tap on feature was broken so the driver just welcomed us. 

Ready for coffee we headed to Mollys Reach. 

Who has heard of the new to Netflix show called ‘Murder in a Small Town ? It’s set here in Gibsons. Going back further there was a show called Beachcombers. I hadn’t heard of it but it too is set in Gibsons. That’s how photogenic the place is. 

Mollys Reach is a cafe by the marina and it features in both shows. In Murder … it is where Karl ( attractive laid back but clever cop) meets Cassandra ( attractive single lady – who happens to be the town librarian). 

We had a reasonable coffee served by a lady with very orange hair. She doesn’t feature in the tv show. 

We dropped down to the gravel path that runs along the seafront past all the boats and birds and walked from Lower Gibsons to Gibsons. 

We called into the public market. A lively spot with a great seafood market, deli, coffee, and saw a kids cooking class in progress. 

Walking up the stairs we passed a fish tank indicating there was an aquarium upstairs!  

I also spotted several tables of mahjong players. Being a keen player myself I walked to the nearest table as they finished a game. I got talking to a very friendly lady called Lisa who was so welcoming. She told me about the style of mahjong they play – American which is quite different to the style of play in Brisbane. Ours if ‘friendly’. Neither American or Chinese! 

She introduced the game to the locals in 2018 when she moved there from the US. She’s from Denmark originally and now lives with her husband in this beautiful part of Canada. 

She gave classes to locals , charging $5. All the money went into buying sets and game sheets. There are now over 200 enthusiastic players. They can be found in this Community area above the food markets.

The market is in a coop building so they fund everything themselves. 

Lisa told us to visit the Museum nearby which we were going to do. She’s on the board there and they just opened a new exhibition about the Japanese Canadians who were interned during WW2. 

Across we went to the lovely small museum and spent some to there hearing and reading about the Japanese people who lost everything they had built or owned to be put into horrible conditions for the length of the war and came back to nothing. 

A holiday to a new place is not complete with a visit to the town library. They are such friendly welcoming places. I didn’t spot many Australian authors though! 

Onto the upper part of Gibsons to visit Taphouse Brewery. There was a great deck with lovely views. 

Prices here in Canada are pretty similar to Australia. And the $ matches. Do not like visiting the USA! Our dollar there is not worth much. 

We walked a little more and made it to the bus stop for the connection to the ferry. 

Ferry is a great relaxing way to travel. 

Back to the hotel by 6 for a little rest then out into the evening light. I felt like Japanese so we found one down on the waterfront and had a small meal each. 

We sat planning our day tomorrow. Off to Granville island for the markets and the art and crafts