Last night was the worst night I ever had in a hostel. The bed was extremely uncomfortable. I couldn't really sleep as there were huge gaps between the wood of the slatted frame, so that no matter how I lay, I felt like that frame cut my blood circulation. In addition to that, my key card had stopped working in middle of night, so that I had to wake my roommates up in order to get back into the room after using the washroom. Due to all that, I actually wrote a bad review for the hostel on Facebook this morning - something I had never felt like doing before.
As some people of the group were taking their time (again), we had to sit in the bus for a while before we could really start our day. Since we hadn't managed to go to Jasper yesterday, we couldn't do any of the originally planned activities today.
The first thing we did after buying lunch in the Lake Louise village was to stop at the Takakkaw Falls. Apparently, we were lucky that the road was still open. This way, we got to see the second highest waterfalls in Canada and the drive to the falls was already very scenic.
At first we walked along the river and I tried to get closer to the water. This wasn't the best idea since I couldn't really get back to the road from where I had walked. Thus I had to walk back a little bit. The waterfalls were just a short walk further along that road. At first we marveled at the waterfalls from the lowest point possible. Then a few people started climbing up the rocky path next to the waterfall. After a while, I decided to follow them, although I only climbed up halfway. I already had an amazing view of the waterfall and the river below from there and I just didn't really dare to try and go up higher. Getting down from this height was already hard enough as all of the little rocks made it easy to start slipping. I still made it down and then back to the bus without too much trouble.
At first we walked along the river and I tried to get closer to the water. This wasn't the best idea since I couldn't really get back to the road from where I had walked. Thus I had to walk back a little bit. The waterfalls were just a short walk further along that road. At first we marveled at the waterfalls from the lowest point possible. Then a few people started climbing up the rocky path next to the waterfall. After a while, I decided to follow them, although I only climbed up halfway. I already had an amazing view of the waterfall and the river below from there and I just didn't really dare to try and go up higher. Getting down from this height was already hard enough as all of the little rocks made it easy to start slipping. I still made it down and then back to the bus without too much trouble.
Next we hiked around Emerald Lake. Me and a few other people had started walking right away. After a while we got a little worried... We were not sure if we were just at the front of the group or if we were lost since the rest of the group was nowhere to be seen. As it turned out, they were just super slow and finally caught up with us after about a fourth of the way. The hike was rather easy as it wasn't really steep or anything like that. It was still very fun since the ground was sometimes quite wet and muddy, which forced us to try and find the best way without getting too dirty. As there was no snow anymore around this area, I really didn't have to worry so much about getting my feet wet anymore, which was nice. We were back at the bus after about 1.5 hours but we still had to wait for a few slower group members.
The ride back to Banff took quite a while so I was happy when we finally arrived at the Samesun hostel around 4 PM. However, I didn't get off the bus then. Instead just a few people got off the bus and the rest of us went to the hot springs.
Being in the hot springs was amazing! The water was about 40°C, which was a welcome contrast to the cold air. The spring water was actually in an outside swimming pool and it was just the weirdest feeling to be out there in a pool while it was snowing! I knew from my last hot spring experience that it would not be good to stay in the hot water for too long, I went out a few times and took a short refreshing walk around the pool. Walking in a swimsuit outside while it was about -5°C seemed crazy but it was actually very nice. Going back in the hot water afterwards was an even better feeling.
I left after a bit less than 30 minutes in the pool in order to get a shower.
When Cody picked us up again to drop us off at the hostel, he had a cute little dog called Cinnamon with him.
Being in the hot springs was amazing! The water was about 40°C, which was a welcome contrast to the cold air. The spring water was actually in an outside swimming pool and it was just the weirdest feeling to be out there in a pool while it was snowing! I knew from my last hot spring experience that it would not be good to stay in the hot water for too long, I went out a few times and took a short refreshing walk around the pool. Walking in a swimsuit outside while it was about -5°C seemed crazy but it was actually very nice. Going back in the hot water afterwards was an even better feeling.
I left after a bit less than 30 minutes in the pool in order to get a shower.
When Cody picked us up again to drop us off at the hostel, he had a cute little dog called Cinnamon with him.
Later that evening we had a group dinner at the hostel. I had ordered the 'gourmet cheese', not knowing what exactly it would be. As it turned out, it was a grilled cheese sandwich with jalapenos, which was definitely too spicy for me. I tried removing the jalapenos as good as possible and still ate the sandwich with a lot of ketchup. Consequently, I wasn't really happy with my dinner and it also made me feel a little sick afterwards... but at least it was free.
Some of our group still planned to go out later tonight but I was feeling really exhausted from last night and since the hot springs had really relaxed me, I felt like a quiet evening would be a better choice.
Some of our group still planned to go out later tonight but I was feeling really exhausted from last night and since the hot springs had really relaxed me, I felt like a quiet evening would be a better choice.
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