Canada

ESPAÑOL

“Oh Canada!” I love the chorus of the national anthem, defines what you feel while in this country. Its nature, people and level of development make this one of the best in the world for both the traveler and the resident:

Its nature. It is not the most varied on the planet; it is huge, but north, in the end almost everything are mountains and forests, but what mountains and forests…
- Niagara Falls. The best part is undoubtedly in Canada, not in the United States.
- The Canadian Rockies are one of the most extraordinarily beautiful mountain formations that exist. Banff and Jasper areas, with their mountains and turquoise lakes are among the most photographed in the world.
- Eastern areas, although less famous for foreigners, are also spectacular, especially Newfoundland.
- For those who want to avoid crowds, northern Canada is so vast that if you make the effort to go, you will have entire forests to share only with bears and moose.
- And in winter, the frozen subarctic landscape in the Northwest Territories or Nunavat, where natives still hunt polar bears.
- And one more incentive is that in any place there is a high possibility of seeing fauna, but I do not mean squirrels and marmots, but really impressive animals: bears, mooses, caribous and elks.
The cities:
- The Mercer scale measures the quality of life in the world’s major cities. In the last 5 years, Vancouver remains in position 5, and Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal between positions 15 and 25.
- In the English-speaking area they are mostly modern: Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto are examples of verticality, concrete and glass.
- But Quebec is another story; European style here is more evident than in the rest of America, especially Ottawa (in Ontario, but really close to Quebec), Montreal and Quebec City have many buildings somehow similar to those of the 18th century in France.
- Museums, restaurants, events… entertainment in general? The number of things any tourist in a major city in Canada can do is much higher than what they can cover in one visit, even more in good weather: what people here call “park”, in many countries we call it “forest”.
For the gourmets: in major cities there are all kinds of restaurants, and the portions are quite large. Typical dishes you can try here, more out of curiosity than flavor: moose and bison.
People are extraordinary. It is one of those countries where everyone gives the impression of being happy. I think I’ve never met an unpleasant Canadian. It’s all the time: thank you, please and many sincere smiles. It is not surprising is safer than most Western countries.
But everything could not be good, I think I see two drawbacks:
- It is very expensive… Too bad, but it’s true. Meals and transport will take much of the travel budget.
- The weather. Let’s face it, the weather is bad. It’s cold, and in some places are really very cold, but not as much as we believe: most tourists (and Canadians) we will stay in the south, and there the average summer temperatures are around 19° C, and in winter, between 4º in Vancouver and -10º in Quebec City.