Here we go! We’re embarking on a three-week journey to explore Western Canada. The adventure began with a glimpse of how empty the Quebec City airport is. We were disappointed, but not surprised, to find the lounge closed. What's more striking is to see how much its space was reduced. Security screening is back to pre-renovation days, with a single lane. They’re also cordoned off most of the terminal, leaving a couple of gates and their seating area open. Québec City Airport was never busy, but now it’s a ghost town. There’s no service. There’s nothing to see. You would not be startled to see a tumbleweed pass by.
Flying in itself is pretty much the same. Boarding, however, is slower. The gate staff must check your temperature, ask you to show your face, and, what creates the most delay, offer a little pouch at the entrance of the plane with water, snacks, and some protective gear. Not only must a crew member explain to each person boarding what it is, but he must also reassure half the passengers coming in that it’s free. Our first 20-minute flight took half an hour to board, even though the plane was about 3/4 full.
Travelling during a pandemic means getting used to wearing a mask for an extended period. I’ve always respected people working in the service industry (restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, etc.). Still, after putting on a mask when we arrived at the airport in Quebec City, only to remove it once we exited the car rental in Calgary, my respect only grew. We had that thing stuck to our face for a little over 8 hours, and I felt I was done with it after the first 20 minutes. Doing so five days a week (or more) would make me want to scream. Definitely, I’ll have to increase my tips.
Arriving in Calgary, we’re confronted with our first scale issue. Like Texas, we now know that everything is bigger in Calgary. The Nissan Maxima, a car of similar size to my Tesla, or equivalent, the rental company promised me turned out to be a full-size SUV, a Mazda CX-9 if you’re curious. It’s almost as tall as I am, and I can seat seven people in this thing. Heck, we likely could camp in it on a whim. Not that we would, as it doesn’t have its own crapper, and that’s the minimum requirement for us.
Driving to the hotel, then to dinner, was easy and uneventful. We chose ramen, hoping to find something like the spicy ramen we had in Tokyo. You would think Calgary is an unlikely place to get spicy ramen. Steak: yes, ramen: not so much. However, you would be somewhat wrong. Understand that, coming from Quebec City, a city where spicy ramen does not exist, we’ll go for ramen in any city where we can find a listing for spicy ramen. Calgary has multiple options, making it a ramen city for us. It turns out that JINYA Ramen did an excellent job. They serve ramen with just the right level of spice, and the noodles are cooked to perfection. It’s at a level of decent ramen in Tokyo.
Tomorrow, Karine is getting back to her six-year-old self, and we’re going to see dinosaur bones!