Day Six - Banff to Calgary

We started the day in the Banff hot springs which we thought would be nice as it was a chilly morning - between 5-10 degrees while we were there. We got a free shuttle bus from the centre of Banff which was perfectly on time and then enjoyed a nice little drive up the hills to the springs on the outskirts of the town. The water was just about bearable at a toasty 40 degrees and it was a very relaxing start to day six. Alongside the hot springs there was a Starbucks which claimed to be the highest Starbucks in the whole of Canada at 5194ft which we thought was pretty cool. On the way back we did have a bit of a nervous moment when we saw the bus we had booked to take us to Calgary sitting outside our hostel in the distance. We both had to get a bit of a sprint on just before the driver left without us but thankfully we arrived in the nick of time - we seem to have an issue with catching buses!

One thing we've noticed in Canada is that the vast majority of vehicles only have a rear number-plate, not sure why. Also there is an abundance of pedestrian crossings and even despite this, drivers seem to be perfectly happy to let people walk accross the street in any old place, even on main roads. The same applies to other vehicles, people just pull out right in front of one another but no one seems to mind at all - much more considerate and tolerant than UK drivers! The other thing we've noticed which can be quite amusing in busy car parks, is that when cars are locked they automatically let out a mini honk of the horn. It was packed this morning at the hot springs and every couple of seconds you would hear a little squeal from the car park - it's the little things!

We arrived a little early in Calgary so our hotel room wasn't quite ready. We had a quick lunch at a local McDonalds branch which was very different from the UK version. Emily had a grilled cheese sandwich with a fruit yoghurt and a strawberry and cream cheese pastry - not your average McDonald's order! Once we'd got back to our room and planned what we are doing tomorrow we called a cab to get us to the old Olympic Park just out of town. Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics and much of the original slopes and bobsleigh runs are still there with one new addition - the luge run. Luging is basically a human sized version of mario kart. After a ski lift has taken you up the mountainside, you sit in a little kart with handlebars, no engine, just gravity to take you down to the bottom. You can pick up some serious pace on the way down and you control your speed by either pushing forward or pulling back on the handlebars. For $20 we got three runs down which were great fun and with it being the longest luge run in the world at nearly two kilometers long, it felt like it went on for a while and was great value for money. We saw a few crashes but we came out unscathed and were left wondering why it hadn't yet made it to the UK. We have a busy day tomorrow with loads planned on our final full day in Canada before heading to the States.

Day Six Highlight - Luging

Ski Lift at the Olympic Park