Hello traveling band, in this new collaboration I tell you how I managed to see the northern lights in Canada.
I did it with the agency Dream Destinations México since I know their experience and knowledge of the destination well. The package I contracted included one night in Vancouver (although I changed it to Calgary) and three nights in Yellowknife, the capital of the Canadian Northwest Territories.
Day 1. Hello Calgary
Flight from Mexico City to Canada with a stopover in Vancouver. The immigration in Vancouver was very fast, however I had to run because my connection time was very short (always consider a minimum of 2 hours) and I managed to get to my flight with final destination Calgary.
From the airport I took an Uber and stayed for two nights at the Hilton Garden in downtown. I did the mattress test in the style of Alan around the World and then I went around the center, still finding the Christmas/winter atmosphere and people skating on the ice in my wake.
Finally I had dinner at Modern Steak with some wagyu dumplings, a Black Angus with cremini and shiitake mushrooms, and for dessert sticky tuffy pudding. It was delicious!
Day 2. Calgary, Chinese New Year and the Super Bowl
I went down to run in the hotel gym and then to walk along the Riverwalk, which is frozen at this time of year. I passed by Prince’s Island Park and then reached the iconic Peace Bridge. A few blocks from there is the Hutch Café, where I had a delicious (and jam-packed hahaha) breakfast of a crazy croque madame, and a spectacular banana French bread with walnuts.
Photo: Hutch Café
Afterwards I walked through Chinatown to the Calgary Chinese Cultural Center where I had the last celebrations for the Chinese New Year of the dragon, and continued a few more streets to the symbol of the city: The Calgary Tower. It used to be the tallest in all of Canada and the northern hemisphere in its inception (1968) and then became the largest Olympic flame in the world when it was lit for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The views of Calgary from up there are great .
Once downstairs, I went to Studio Bell, home of the National Music Center. Its architecture fascinates me and it has several floors dedicated to Canadian music, its history but also its innovations and its musical legends, I loved it!
Finally I went for an ice cream at Village Ice Cream, I ordered it with strawberry and “red velvet” Phew, deli!, and I returned to the hotel to lock myself in and watch the Super Bowl, up with the Kansas City Chiefs!
Day 3. The polar bear and the baby seal
New flight now from Calgary to my final destination, Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. We landed and descended in the middle of the runway where everything was snow around. At the suitcase carousel you are greeted by the taxidermy of a polar bear and a baby seal.
They picked me up at the airport and took me to the Explorer Hotel in Downtown Yellowknife. Once settled in my room, I put on my winter clothes and walked about 15 minutes to Bullocks Bistro, a restaurant whose specialty is fish and chips in various ways and with different fish, I really liked it! I also had a local beer from Northest Territories Brewery (NWT).
On the way out I followed a man walking his dog and before I knew it I was walking on a frozen lake hahaha. Already at night, around 9 pm, they picked me up to take me on the aurora tour with a guide in English. They take you to Aurora Village on a bus and assign you a tipi with a heater and hot drinks, and there is also a larger dining room to buy food. There are different “hills” for observing the northern lights, and although we were unlucky that night, we had two more nights left in search of these extraordinary dancing lights.
Day 4. The dance of the Northern Lights
I got up for an early run at the hotel, and then had breakfast at their Trader’s Grill restaurant, which had beautiful windows decorated with the morning snowfall. A sandwich with egg and a bowl of fruit with yogurt to start the day right.
Afterwards, I spent the rest of the morning walking around downtown Yellowknife. As I passed by I saw their particular bicycles, a giant crow the size of my cats, but above all beautiful urban landscapes full of snow. I popped into a little coffee shop, Barren Ground Coffee, for a delicious Guatemalan coffee and then went to the other side of the main strip to see the frozen lake where people cross-country ski in the winter.
In the afternoon I walked to another restaurant, The Woodyard, next to the region’s largest brewery, NWT Brewery. I loved the place and what to say about the food and beer, they fascinated me! The spectacular Shack Burger with its mac and cheese with bacon, ugh! When I left the restaurant I saw an amazing sunset.
At night they picked me up to go to Aurora Village. Already from the bus something was beginning to be glimpsed but when we got off at the camp the northern lights were very bright, what a spectacle! I went to set up my GoPro to do a “Star Trail” and then I started taking photos with my camera, it was truly a dream come true!
When the intensity dropped a little I went to get into the heated chairs from where you can see the stars, deli! And I took some last photos before returning to the hotel. It has been one of the best experiences of my life!
Day 5. The march of the puppies
I had breakfast again at the hotel and then they picked me up to take me to Aurora Village. It is the same place where we observe the auroras and during the day it has a different charm.
I warmed up a chocolate on the fire and then went to my activity of the day: dog sledding. For many years I avoided this activity but I have also been informing myself. Here especially, the care and love for the dogs is exemplary, the routes are few and brief, so it does not imply extra effort for them. And in some ways they seem excited to run through the snow. I still gave them a lot of love and I loved it.
Then I went to throw the donut down an ice slide, so much fun! And around 5 pm we returned to the hotel where I ate the Valentine’s Day menu by myself hahahaha.
At night we got on the trucks to return to the camp and although there was not as good visibility as the day before, I did manage to see the northern lights in the sky. How extraordinary nature is.
Day 6. From North to South
Last day in Yellowknife, with its beautiful sunrise and everything. I went running to the gym and had a quesadilla for breakfast at the hotel that was delicious.
Then they took us on the buses to Aurora Village and now I had to do the snowshoe hike. They helped me place them correctly and then we went on a penguin march in the arctic forest.
The landscape was beautiful. Halfway there they showed us how to light a campfire using only matches, cardboard and pine branches. When I finished I went to warm up a little in the “dining hall” before returning to the hotel.
Finally I went down to have an early dinner of a vegetable and shrimp risotto, and I started editing photos until I fell asleep. At 4 am they picked me up to take me to the airport and take my flight to Mexico City with a stopover in Vancouver, which once again gave me some tremendous landscapes.
What a trip, I loved it. Now it’s time to rest and put on some shorts hahaha.
The tour I did with Dream Destinations Mexico starts at 1,300 Canadian dollars per person – flights are not included in the price nor are meals – and takes place every year from November to early April! So there is still time to go in 2024 or book once for 2025! I had an incredible time and it is a trip that I will never forget. Do you dare to go bandita?
Source: https://alanxelmundo.com/mi-tour-de-auroras-boreales-en-canada/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mi-tour-de-auroras-boreales-en-canada
