Points east from Toronto

Followers of my blog are going to be surprised about this, but nothing untoward happened on this recent leg and I had a very enjoyable few days. I know, I don't know what has gone wrong in the universe either.

BUS TO ROCHESTER
Leaving Toronto behind, the packed bus is very quickly heading east. I am a bit disappointed to be squashed in like sardines but luckily it is only a quick journey.

The girl sitting next to me is from Niagara Falls and is going home for the weekend. Her father is a manager of one of the many wineries in this area and I am passing quite a few nice looking places on the way. (Anthony and Moira - really recommend this area for a wine tour, along with the wine area in and east of Cambria, California - south of the more well know Napa and Sonoma wine region.) When I confess to the girl that I have allowed only two hours to see the Falls, she tells me that, honestly, that is enough time and she doesn't understand the hype.

NIAGARA FALLS
Arrive 30 minutes late at Niagara Falls as the 12noon bus left late and didn't make up the time. So now instead of having two hours to see the falls, I have less than 90 minutes. I pay $2 for a locker and stash my luggage, go to the ladies, confirm departure time of 3.25pm and check out the shuttle bus to the falls. They are not frequent enough for my liking so I start walking at 2.05pm.

Again, the locals have a sense of humour and tell me it will only take 20 minutes to walk there from the Greyhound depot. Walking quickly it took 30 minutes to get within good enough piccie distance, let alone good viewing distance. So allowing for the walk back and time to reclaim luggage and get organised etc before boarding bus, I had exactly one minute to snap piccies without enjoying the destination (like the busloads of Japanese tourists in Cairns) and start walking back.

From what I do see, the falls are a lot smaller than I envisaged - both areas only about a 30 metre drop and the first fall is not much wider. I didn't get close enough to the main horseshoe shape fall to get a good idea of the width, so I can't really comment on that other than it sure looks bigger in all the movies ...

This photo is taken through a supporting arch of the bridge we cross to leave Canada and enter the USA. That tower structure on the left is a viewing tower and there are people on it so you can get an idea of scale.

Lots of tourist take the Maid of the Mist tour boat to get in close at the bottom of the falls. Even if I have the time, I don't think I would do that. My host in Rochester tells me that a much better thing to do is a day trip to the lake behind the falls which includes a hike into the valley etc and you often see local trout or salmon (?) fishers in the fast flowing waters. And she says there are much more spectacular falls in the nearby Finger Lakes. (Hey Chris, she says it is a fantasic bike riding region as they are avid bike riders. And her 64 year old husband actually departed for a month long bike journey the morning after I arrived).

Anyhoo, walking there and back I have the river on one side with a sheer drop of about 30 metres - but with a very sturdy walking path and solid metre high wall.

On the other side of the road are zillions of very quaint B&Bs and some motels. Closer to the falls, you get into the more upmarket hotels, a casino and all associated tourism facilities.

Heading back to the bus, panic about missing it can do wonderful things, so I must have really hoofed it back or broke through the fabric of time. But I had time to snap this piccie that gave me a happy moment. My other time worry was that I hadn't taken much notice of the landmarks I passed to get there and I had to allow for 'being lost' time. So I get back to the depot at 3pm and then the bus was late arriving so I had 45 minutes I could have used to get a better look at the falls. But I guarantee that if I had lingered it would have taken 30 minutes to walk back and the bus would be dead on time.

CUSTOMS
Back on the bus and after five minutes we are going over the bridge where I get a much better view of the falls - very brief and would miss it if I blink.

Straight after the bridge we are at the border and have to go through Customs to get back into the USA. I am really getting annoyed with myself that I keep forgetting about buying duty free stuff before a border crossing. So far I have crossed into USA, Canada, USA (Alaskan cruise), Canada, and now the USA again and missed every opportunity to buy a litre of Disaronna for about $20. Damn!

Not long after getting through customs we arrive in Buffalo in the United States of America where we have a short stop and a bus change.

WILDLIFE
Afer all of those days on the bus last week with little sightings of wildlife, I can't believe my luck on the few hours from Buffalo to Rochester.

I saw:
> A pair of foxes (ok, they may not be native, but they count as wildlife)
> A couple of deer and their fawns
> Three further individual sightings of deer
> And a blobby head and shoulders of an animal I am later told is probably a ground hog.

Then, once I arrive in Rochester, I see:
> Many squirrels
> A chipmunk

When I see the squirrel and comment to my host how exciting it is to see one, she makes similar comments about them that I make about scrub turkeys. She has only just dared to take off the cover from her strawberry plants to pick some as the squirrels always raid them before she gets to eat them.