Sorry for the long delay between posts.  I had been hoping to visit the reconstruction projects along the Seawall at Stanley Park and English Bay but I’m afraid that keeps being put off (I’m hoping for city guides).  I somehow managed to convince myself to wait for the opportunity but since it’s been weeks it is time to get something up and today was a perfect day for it!  After several wonderful tours in Europe I was keen to go on some tours back here at home.  Luckily, not long after I got home Groupon put up a 50% off deal for a tour of the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia (UBC).  I have lived in Vancouver (off and on) for 11 years now and have somehow never made it to MOA – I have no excuse for that.  Heck, I was at UBC, steps from MOA for four years!  And now that I’ve been there I know I’ll be returning soon.

Nitobe Gardens at the University of British Columbia.

Click here for more photos of my day

The morning started well, I got a quick run in, grabbed coffee from the lovely little Italian place, Prego, down the Seawall, and walked up to the hotel to meet me Vancouver 2010 friend Rachael and our bus.  We were told 9am.  It came and went.  I’m a bit of a panicky tour person so I called to make sure the tour company hadn’t forgotten us, they hadn’t.  But it was after 9:30am before we got picked up.  At first that was a bit frustrating but I now suspect that it probably wasn’t the tour company’s fault…  Anyhow!  We got on the bus and joined a woman and her young daughter from Australia/New Zealand (yes, I know they’re different countries but I’m still not clear exactly which one they claim to be).  That was it!  Just Rachael, myself, two others and our tour guide!  Seemed a perfect size to me.

Our tour bus - awfully big for only four guests, but it was nice, and so was our guide Susan.

We drove out to Spanish Banks to look at the city and then onto UBC where we headed directly to the Nitobe Japanese Gardens (one of the world’s top five Japanese gardens outside of Japan!).  I did manage to make it to the Gardens a few times while at UBC and was happy to be returning.  It is such a serene, beautiful place – I always find it relaxing, and did so again today (despite distracting companions).  The moss, the water, the rocks and the trees all combine to make you feel like you are somewhere entirely different than Vancouver.

Moss on the top of a stone lantern.

The schedule was never made entirely clear to us so both Rachael and I were startled to be rushed off to the MOA (and more startled that our companions didn’t seem to understand that we would be late for our museum tour).  We scooted over to the museum and caught up with the tour.  I am very happy to say the guide at MOA had a lovely voice and I could wander around in quite a large area and still hear everything she was telling us.  The tour started with totem poles, bentwood boxes, serving dishes, canoes and more.  From there we went to basketry, masks, clothing and paddles.  We finished in the Bill Reid Rotunda.  I cannot begin to describe my astonishment and awe at the pieces they had on display.  I did honestly cry in the mask room.  I had no idea at the variety, the quantity or even sometimes the quality of what the museum houses.  As I said before, I will be going back, over and over again.

Potlatch serving dish and spoon. Notice the canoe behind it - potlatches were big feasts!

'The Raven and the First Men' by Bill Reid - awesome!

One of the interesting features for me however comes back to my childhood.  I grew up in the Secwepemc area of British Columbia; particularly with contact and education from the Kamloops Indian Band.  I did notice walking through the MOA that there is almost nothing from the interior of British Columbia.  I’ve also grown up exposed to the art and culture of the native peoples of the West Coast, such as the Haida and Musqueam.  It has always struck me as odd that there is a huge amount of art from the Coastal peoples and almost nothing from the interior peoples, despite being separated by not particularly vast differences.  I have always had my theories about why this is.  My main thesis was that in the interior of British Columbia they get a true winter.  Snow and cold.  While this weather is not unknown along the coast it is much less frequent or extended.  With more time devoted to storing food and building shelter for winter less time can be spent on artistic pastimes.  I did ask our tour guide if I was on the right track and she did agree with me.  I’m sure I’ve over-simplified it, but I’m glad to know I’m not entirely delusional.

Not the best photo but I wanted to give you an idea of how many objects are on display - it is truly overwhelming!

A frog on a Haida totem pole.

After MOA we were back on the bus for a short trip over to UBC’s Botanical Gardens.  The Gardens currently occupy 110 acres of UBC land, though once the whole peninsula was considered to some extent to be botanical gardens (evident still by some of the older trees on campus).  We had a lovely tour through an Asian garden, a food garden, alpine, succulent and native BC plant gardens, as well as the Physic garden, where medicinal plants are grown.  I have a growing fascination about plants (no, the pun wasn’t intentional) and was pleased to find my identification abilities improving.  I can’t wait to have my own garden one day, so many things to grow!  But maybe not Aconitum Napellus or Saponaria Officinalis…

Aconitum Napellus or 'monkshood.'

Saponaria Officinalis or 'soapwart.'

If you have a chance to visit these gardens and the Museum of Anthropology I certainly recommend it.  They are stunningly beautiful and a real treat in a world where most things seem rushed.  Take some time, take a friend, and let me know how it went!

Close up of a beautiful fountain in a new amphitheatre at the Botanical Gardens. Can you see our tour group?