SQUAMISH, QUEBEC ON MUST-SEE LIST FOR 2015
Obviously, cruising is No. 1 on my travel hit parade. However, there remains a passion from my preteen years for trains in particular and travel in general. So, my curiosity was piqued by a New York Times story published in January entitled: “52 Places To Go in 2015.” It was filled with familiar places and up-and-coming areas.
The editors poll their contributing writers and wind up with a couple of hundred suggestions. Then they narrow it down to 52, using various criteria.
I looked for places from Canada and found only two.
Quebec City was one. The provincial capital smells of history and good food, especially inside the wall that surrounds most of Old Quebec.
Quebec is the favourite city on New England-Canada cruises.
The second Canadian pick may surprise you: Squamish, B.C.!
Years ago, when I was part of the Friday-night traffic jam heading to Whistler, Squamish was a place to stop for gas and fast-food on the way to the ski slopes. Not today. The Times raved about the Sea to Sky Gondola that has carried half a million people, so far, to over 885 metres above sea level. Add accessible wilderness, hundreds of trails, glacial lakes, the annual eagle count and if you’re a climber — world-class rock climbing at Stawamus Chief Mountain.
Squamish is an hour’s drive from Vancouver, so if you’re cruising to Alaska, you have time to “do” Squamish and still be back at your ship by mid-afternoon.
Many of the Times’ 52 picks have a cruise connection. Some are home ports, ports of call or places available on a day trip while in port.
The majority of the top 52 are familiar to cruisers worldwide: Singapore, Lower Manhattan, Orlando (Port Canaveral), Miami, New Orleans, Adelaide, Greenland, Durban, Shanghai, Sri Lanka, Rome (Civitavecchia), Oman, and winter favourites St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Others on the list — such as Rabat, Morocco — are a day trip away from ports. I made this side trip to Morocco’s capital after porting in Casablanca. Like Squamish, it’s a short drive or quick train trip. The capital sits at the mouth of the River Bou Regreg, on the Atlantic.
Here in the Kasbah of the Oudaias, I drank mint tea, ate sweets and enjoyed the view.
The palace was off limits but the king seems to live well. Most embassies are here, including Canada’s. If you go, make sure to see the spectacular mausoleum of Mohammed V of Morocco and his two sons.
Having been to St. Vincent before, upon disembarking, a group of us rented a speedboat and headed to Bequia. It’s how the Caribbean must have looked decades ago. Tranquil Princess Margaret Beach sits at Port Elizabeth, a quiet seaside village.
More places on the list require day trips from cruise ports. Google 52 Places to Go in 2015 so you can map interesting side trips.