Garibaldi Provincial Park

My first hike this summer with the Meetup hiking group was up in Garibaldi Lake. This hike has been on my bucket list for a while and it did not disappoint. On a sunny Wednesday, we hiked up to Taylor Meadows and then continued on to Garibaldi Lake, a total of about 20km roundtrip.
The scenery is just spectacular and I hope to go back next summer, spend a couple of nights up there and explore Panorama Ridge and the Black Tusk.

Taylor Meadows

Garibaldi Lake

Garibaldi Lake

Catching the Black Tusk

Galiano Island

Galiano Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. We rented a cabin for a long weekend in the middle of nowhere and explored the beautiful nature on the island. The mainly undeveloped island with its unique shoreline with artistically sculpture sandstone formations, tidal pools, sandy beaches and wildflowers make it a wonderful place to explore. Mount Galiano offers spectacular views of the surrounding islands as well as Active Pass, the narrowest passage for BC Ferries. Galiano Island is a perfect place to recharge your batteries.

View of Active Pass from Mount Galiano 

Dionisio Point Provincial Park

Dionisio Point Provincial Park

Purple starfish at low tide

Wild flowers

Retreat Cove

Tidal pools

Cuban Architecture

Havana is full of beautiful old buildings, although the majority of them is decaying and in desperate need of restoration. These old buildings are a photographer's paradise. 

Faces of Cuba

During our week in Cuba, we met some pretty interesting people along the way. Rachel looked after us in the Casa particular that we rented in Havana for 3 days. She lived next door in a tiny little place and earned a few pesos by looking after people. She is a widow in her 80's, her husband and herself used to run a small grocery store around the corner but it was taken away from them during the Revolution. One day, she showed us old photos and told us about her life, fascinating!

One day, we came across a dance school in an old derelict building. We ended up chatting with a few people from the dance school including the dancer below and learned about upcoming their projects. It was super interesting hearing people's stories. 

Rachel

Mother and daughter

Violinist 

Girl at the dance school

Dancer