Now there aren't any photos of me actually night skating, but here are some of the shots of us putting on our skates in the marquee they set up on the frozen lake. I am still wondering how they managed to pin down the Marquee, given it was on ice. With the strong windchill factor it was colder than minus 25 and as a group led by Phil and Triscilla we bravely skated out. I could see the ice particles being blown off the canal like white dust and going one direction, the wind was so strong we did not need to skate at all, just point our skates in one direction and be pushed along by the wind. Of course, skating into it was harder coming back.
The Rideau is the longest ice skating rink in the world. The Skateway is equivalent to over 100 hockey rinks end-to-end, is accessed by almost 40 stairs along its length. See
http://www.foundlocally.com/Ottawa/Sports/Rec-RideauCanalSkateway.htm
for a map. We headed north from Dows' lake for a few kilometres that evening before turning back.
Like night skiing, which I did in Montreal, night skating is not as scary as it sounds. The way in which the light moves over snow and ice at night can help better identify them apart (avoid snow on the ice if you're skating) (avoid ice on snow if you're skiing). Clear as mud?
The Ottawa Backpackers Inn is a dump. No wonder travellers prefer to stay at the Gaol. If you think I'm joking, check out http://www.hihostels.ca/OntarioEast/en/index.aspx?sortcode=2.0.7
Thanks again to Phil and Tris for a great evening, out and at their home. After Calgary, the city of Ottawa would definitely top list of my places to live in Canada.
No comments:
Post a Comment