Canada

I had a long-term desire to see the cities on the Eastern side of Canada with my family members, but I never got an opportunity to fulfill this dream. Finally, On August 19 of this year, my dream came true when our Sri Lankan senior association arranged a trip for us to the East Coast of Canada by a luxurious coach.

On the 19th of August at 7 am, we started our trip with 56 passengers. One of our friends gave us breakfast with bananas which we enjoyed very much. The tour began from the McDonald-Cartier Freeway to Kingston, our first stop. This was the former capital of Canada. We saw Canada’s first president, Sir John A McDonald’s house, the limestone wall of the city and Queen’s University. Our next stop was Ottawa, where we visited the Canadian Museum and learned about Canadian history. After that, we had a lovely dinner at a Sri- Lankan restaurant. The first night of the trip was at Montreal’s five star hotel.

On the Second day, we headed to New Brunswick and went to see maple syrup farms and had a traditional lunch, which was prepared from local maple syrup farms. We also saw the oldest settlements in Fredericton and the Saint John River.

On the third day, we stayed at Hotel Delta in Fredericton. The next day early morning, we moved to Nova Scotia and reached one of the most important seaside cities on the east coast, Halifax. There we took an hour’s cruise to the Atlantic seaside port and saw the historical lighthouse. Then we went to see Peggy’s Cove, where we spent the afternoon exploring the best view of nature.

On the fourth day, we stayed in the same hotel and were taken to the Confederation Bridge, the world’s longest bridge to cross the ice-covered water. It stretches for 12.9 kilometers over the Atlantic Ocean, connecting two provinces, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. I was mesmerized to see that bridge and was proud of Canada for building it. We also took a cruise to see Prince Edward Island and had a nice time with our friends. Here we also visited PEI National Park and the Anne of Green Gables house and museum.

On the fifth day, we stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Moncton. We visited New Brunswick’s Fundy Bay in the morning. This is one of the marine wonders of the world. After that, we were taken to see the Magical Magnetic Hill and the Reversing Falls. I couldn’t believe my eyes to see this natural phenomenon in Saint John River.

On the sixth day, we left New Brunswick and traveled to Quebec City. Finally, we went on a spectacular cable car journey to the top of Montmorency Falls to see the 272 feet-high waterfalls. This is 100 feet taller than the Niagara Falls. We also went to the old Quebec City and the St Lawrence River. At night we stayed in Quebec City.

Finally, on the last day of our trip, we took a cruise to see the Thousand Islands and took many pictures of their natural beauty. Most of the time, our friends sang songs and danced inside the bus to keep themselves active. Finally, we reached home town Brampton at 8:00pm.

We had a great time and thanked the organizers for arranging such a wonderful and educational trip. We are hoping to go on another similar trip very soon.