A short outing to Steveston, Canada

After coming to Canada I couldn't go on any proper trips for the first 3 months. Now, going 3 months without a trip is too much for me and I was beginning to get uneasy. So I had to go somewhere. After exploring the countless options I settled down on the little sea side town of Steveston. This is because of 3 reasons. One I wanted to go away from the city. Two I didn't want to go to the mountains. Three I wanted to visit a small town. Steveston fit the bill perfectly.

The trip was short so the account here is short as well.

My partner on this trip was Suyog, part of our group of 7.(We jokingly call ourselves 'The Magnificent Seven') We started from our respective homes at around 7 am. He, from his home in Kerrisdale and myself from my campus residence. We took the bus to Bridgeport and from there we took another bus which took us directly to Steveston.

We got down at the turn of the road near the Steveston beach. The first sight that greeted us was open lands and the serene waters of the sea ahead. The sun was shining warmly above and the sky spotlessly clear. The mere sight of the clear skies and the rolling ocean lifted our spirits. We strolled ahead and stopped near the edge of the water to take in the views. The water was gently lapping on the beach sand and on the logs scattered across the length of the beach. Far ahead, as were looking, a ship moved briskly over the waters as if gliding, towing behind it another vessel carrying a container. Our heads made a right to left motion as we followed the ship's path only moving ahead when it disappeared near a bend far away.

We resumed our walk and made our way to the right deciding to go as far as we liked to. After sometime we came across the Steveston Fishermen's Memorial. Its a simple structure with circular walls inside of which stands a tall pole. It actually represents giant fishing net needle and commemorates the lives and deaths of fishermen working out of Steveston.

Moving ahead we came across a stream joining the sea. This stream was parked with many boats and yachts. Far away I could see mountains topped with snow. The whole scene reminded me of the Mt Fuji posters that were so common in India when I was a kid. It was wallpaper worthy scene.

From here we moved on to the opposite direction, retracing our steps to where we started and continuing in the opposite direction. As we strolled along at a casual pace, we passed by a number of boats parked on the right. A little bit ahead we spotted a fish market. Eager to check out the stuff on sale we made our way on to the little jetty holding the makeshift tents. We went from stall to stall, asked a few questions about the fishes to the sellers. Some of them were very patient and explained to us what each kind of fish they were selling.

Next we came across a Tannery Museum which unfortunately was closed. I was actually looking forward to visiting this Museum but since it was closed there was little I could do so we continued on our walk. A couple of minutes later, we saw the famous eatery ''Pajo's'' setting its fish and chips stall. It looked like there was still some time before they opened for business so we went past it making a mental note to have some of their famous fish and chips on our way back.

Next we came across the museum showcasing the fishing industry of the 19th century. Steveston was one of the hubs of the fishing industry back in those days and the remnants can still be seen now. This museum contained some of the building structures of that era. Again it was not open but one can walk inside the park like museum, which we did.

After roaming inside the premises to our heart's content we started on our way back. We retraced the whole way we came by. In between we stopped for a plate of Fish and chips. It was delicious.

Overall it was a wonderful half day trip enough to keep my mind content for the next month.