June 14
Although we had a long wait at Vancouver Airport it is really a pleasant place in which to wait as there are several art works located around.  The evening sun was warm so for a while we sat overlooking these totem poles which are situated between the International Arrivals and the Skytrain and carpark.  Each pole is made of red cedar wood and carved with a variety of spiritual and supernatural beings or crests portraying stories associated with the cultural heritage of the three carvers. It was so easy imagining that we were in a little woodland with a curving footpath and native trees and plants instead of between two very busy roads.  Inside the airport building are some amazing sculptures and also with running water surrounded by real flowers and a large fish tank it seemed a very restful atmosphere, unlike Heathrow which was our next stop.
The extras show part of the woodland strip which must be at least 20 metres wide and perhaps 200 metres long.  In the morning we had watched men examining the 100 foot Centennial Totem Pole put up in 1858 with each foot representing a year since the colony of British Columbia was established.