Woke up at 0430 – bloody jet lag, but went back to sleep after a while and eventually woke up around 0630. Popped around the corner for a coffee then watched tv until the bus came to take us to Niagara Falls. Stood outside the hotel waiting for the bus, then one of the staff told us that due to a marathon some roads were closed and the bus couldn’t pick us up so we needed to get a cab to the bus station. Got in a cab and he said he couldn’t take us to the bus station because there was a marathon on and some roads were closed. He dropped us as close as he could then we had to run there. Luckily the coach was waiting but it would have been nice if they had told us earlier. The coach drove through the old part of Toronto which was really nice, some beautiful buildings, including the university. Hit the highway and travelled through mostly industrial areas, I had hoped to watch some stuff I’d downloaded but the tour guide insisted on yammering on. Our first stop was at a winery where we had tasting and I was sure there would be ‘an opportunity to buy’. They specialised in ice wine which is harvested in winter and is very expensive.
Stopped at Niagara on the Lake, a quaint town but very touristy. The weather was getting a bit gloomy – the day started sunny but now it was overcast and started to rain.
The bus drove along the Niagara Gorge but it was difficult to see much, just the odd glimpse of the river. We finally climbed up high enough to see the falls. To be honest I didn’t think they were that impressive, but we were still a bit far away. We had a buffet lunch in the Sheraton Falls View restaurant which was pretty average but there was a good view of the falls (hence the name) with a small balcony that could fit about 3 people on it. Naturally there were about 50 wanting to take photos. We took a few then joined the group to get the boat into the falls. We could see them from the balcony and I predicted that we were going to get wet.
Grabbed a coffee from the starbucks in the lobby of the hotel and broke my record for the most expensive cup of coffee – $8.32 Canadian for a small latte.
Next stop was the cruise of the falls, wearing a ridiculous poncho but it was needed – I was amazed at how close we got to them. The boat went past the smaller of the falls, the American and bridal veil, then went up to the horseshoe falls and through the spray. My legs got soaked, but the poncho did it’s job and kept the top of me dry. The noise was tremendous and the wind strong, but there wasn’t much to see because of the spray and I didn’t want to use the camera in case it got too wet. Song took plenty on the phone so I’ll put those up.
Back on the coach and stopped off at another view of the Whirlpool which was basically a bend in the river with some swirling water, pretty decent but not spectacular. Song and I both thought that the Icelandic waterfalls were more impressive – Niagara Falls are much bigger, but for some reason we just felt the ones we saw in Iceland were a better setting.
The last stop was back to near where we had been, but at the top of the falls. Here we could see the rapids that lead to the horseshoe falls as well as the drop of the water – this was an amazing spectacle, the incredible amount of water pouring over the top, less than a few metres away from the path. Ok, it was probably more spectacular than the Icelandic ones when seen from this angle.
Back on the bus, then the trip back to the hotel – a fairly long day. We didn’t bother with dinner.
Tomorrow we fly to Calgary, but it’s not an early flight so we don’t have to get up early.
