Wake up at 05:00 and off to the boarding dock of the BC Ferries ferry that must take us to Bella Bella and then take the smaller one to Bella Coola. We get in line and wait for the staff to hand us the boarding passes … She arrives, reads our ticket, looks at us and says (in the usual very fast English) – are you knowing that, the only way, to get out and away from Bella Coola is take the ferry again? – PANIC!

I get out of the car and go to the ticket office and ask for more info, they say me that all the roads that come out of Bella Coola are closed due to fires and many of the places we would have had to touch to get to Jasper National Park are about to be evacuated … the only alternative is to extend the passage by ship to Prince Rupert, a harbour a few kilometers from the border with Alaska. Ok, I buy the ticket paying the difference, the previously purchased cabin remains for me for the whole journey but the hotels? I ask the manager if they have an internet point … commiserating look which means “but in 2017 you don’t have a data connection?” ok away at our expense on booking.com to look for alternative solutions, a hotel for the night in Prince Rupert and another for the next night in Prince George. We have also written, worried, messages to the hotels previously booked for having info on their situation and to cancel previous bookings. They respond quickly reassuring us that they are fine and do not want the deposit (civilized and polite country!)

Then we line up to embark for this long cruise between and along the coasts of Canada, almost 18 hours. Rocked by the sea, between high and verdant coasts, dolphins, killer whales, fishermen, bald eagles and seals we arrived at sunset and we went there to rest in the cabin waiting to disembark. In Prince Rupert we went to sleep at the Black Rooster, around half past midnight.

The next morning we take the highway and proceed west to reach Smithers second stage of our transfer we stayed at the Aspen Inn. the next day we headed to Prince George last stop before the Canadian Rockies.

We rested at the Sandman signature where we prepared to move to Jasper National Park.