Early in the morning we hit the Sea- to- Sky Highway South towards Vancouver.

The rest of our trip we would be spending close to the ocean. We wanted to end our journey in Vancouver. For now, however, we barely graced the city. Instead we took the car ferry from Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver West to Langdale and drove along the Sunshine Coast towards Halfmoon Bay.

The drive to the ferry terminal took us along the Squamish River. At the entry to the valley we stopped at a view of the Tantalus Mountains and the River.

When I write that we would spend time at the ocean I didn’t say we were leaving the mountains. The beauty of Vancouver and its surroundings is that you have the best of both worlds. Even sitting by the beach you still see snow covered mountain tops in the distance.

We did another stop at Porteau Cove overlooking the Howe Sound and got a first sniff of the salty ocean air. The park overlooks the most southerly fjord in North America.

We arrived at the ferry terminal early and instead of the 12.10h we just caught the 10.40h boat to Langdale.

For the next two nights we were booked in the most incredible AirBnB in Halfmoon Bay right by the oceanfront.

The water here is extremely calm as this part of the coast is shielded from the open waters of the Pacific by Vancouver Island.

We spent the afternoon and evening sitting by the water and watching seals hunt for fish in the bay.