So its a big day today, a bus trip to the mighty Niagara Falls. And we know this because at last count weve received 19 reminders from the via email and text, and I think I might have even seen a carrier pigeon lurking outside the window earlier this morning. I suppose its just vaguely possible that you might forget that youd booked a tour to one of the worlds great natural wonders, but surely only if it had been a really bad day in the amnesia ward.
Our guide introduces himself as John, and he tells us he came to visit Toronto from London back in 1969 and never went home. The trip takes us round the east side of Lake Ontario, which probably isnt all that overly exciting, mostly flat with lots of industrial development, and most of the bus now seems to be in dreamland.
I dont know all that much about Niagara Falls, but perhaps just enough to not be overly surprised when were told that some ships struggle to navigate their way up the fifty metre or so vertical drop with what seems like half the worlds water cascading over it. But
no problem there; we cross the very impressive Welland Canal which were told carries ships through a series of twelve locks between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie at the upstream end of the Niagara River.
It seems we were right in thinking that Toronto felt like a bit of a cultural melting pot. John tells us the United Nations currently recognises it as the most multicultural city on the entire planet.
We stop to stretch our legs at the Niagara College Teaching Winery. Were told that their specialty here is ice wine, which is harvested first thing in the morning in January, when its typically minus twenty, and the grapes are full of ice crystals. The result is a sweet syrup which we get to taste. Its apparently fairly pricey, as it seems you need an order of magnitude more grapes to make it than you do for a regular wine. Very tasty nonetheless.
We climb up the escarpment towards the Falls. Well we thought it was the Falls, but we find ourselves in the back streets of somewhere that looks like a cross between Las Vegas and Disneyland - a mass of casinos and
fun parks, amusement parlours, fast food outlets, a ferris wheel, and where would we be without lots of that seemingly Canadian staple, the cannabis shop. Theres even a statue of King Kong hanging off the side of one of buildings.
The Falls are of course beyond stunning. The Canadian side Horseshoe Falls are massive and almost invisible through the mist, half blotting out the sun. Theyre otherwise known as the Canadian Falls, and I reckon the Canadians are probably more than a bit chuffed that they dwarf their American cousin. The American Falls look a bit more eroded with piles of rocks at the base. In between the two are the relatively much smaller Bridal Veil Falls separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island, so named because the Indians kept their animals there during one particularly brutal winter and only a goat survived. Were told that the Falls in somewhere around 400 in the worlds highest rankings, but they dominate when to sheer volume of water over a significant drop. They stopped for a bit over a day back in the winter of 1848 when the river was blocked by ice. Lots
of people, known otherwise as daredevils (I think I might have used a different term), have apparently had a go at launching themselves over the Falls in barrels and similar devices over the years; some of them have even survived. In 1960 a seven year old boy was swept over when the boat he was in broke down, and is the only person known to have done so unprotected and survived. This incident subsequently became known as The Miracle at Niagara.
Were served lunch in a restaurant overlooking the whole stunning scene, and are then herded with what feels like half the population of the planet onto a boat for a cruise along the River.
