Today is our last day in Vancouver and we have a full day planned. Also we are going back to Maenam’s for dinner. Yay!
Our first and longest stop is at the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology. The mission of the museum is to present world arts and cultures with a special emphasis on the First Nations peoples of the British Columbia area. As you enter the building there is an enormous room full of totems and other artifacts.
One thing I did not realize is that the totem poles were used as structural elements inside their houses. The different carved elements brought different spirits into the house.
There is also a display of large ceremonial bowls that look like small boats used for tribal gatherings. There is a giant spoon to use in the left hand bowl.
The great vaulted exhibition room holds many fabulous totem poles.
Exiting the space devoted to the First Peoples of British Columbia, there is a large space devoted to the First Peoples of the Pacific Islands, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many of the statues are representations of myths that seem to include the capture and rape of women.
There is also a contemporary exhibit going on called Unceded Territories. The art deals with colonialist suppression of First Nations peoples and the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights to lands, resources, and sovereignty.
There are rooms and rooms full of everything the museum has collected. It is a little daunting. In back of the museum is a large outdoor installation.
After doing a pretty thorough job investigating the Museum of Anthropology we return to our hotel for a little lunch and feet up time.
This afternoon we head out to the Nitobe Memorial Garden, also at the University of British Columbia. According to their website –
“Dr. Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933) was an agriculturalist, scholar, Quaker, philosopher, statesman and educator. Dr. Nitobe was educated at Sapporo Agricultural College, University of Tokyo, Johns Hopkins and University of Halle (Germany). Early in his life he expressed the desire to be a “bridge over the Pacific” and he devoted much of his life to promoting trust and understanding between the United States and Japan.”
It is quite a serene place with a tea house and a walk that takes one from birth to death through decorative lamps and rocks. (Unfortunately my phone starts ringing as we are amidst the solitude.)
Next we visit some park land along the English Bay so I can take a panoramic picture of Vancouver.
Tonight is our final dinner in Vancouver so we decide to go back to Maenam knowing that the experience there will most likely be better than anywhere else. The waitstaff recognizes us and greets us warmly. The menu for the chef’s dinner has changed since we were here on Saturday so we have several new dishes. Once again it is so good. If I lived here I would come to Maenam’s at least once a week.
(I have only included pictures of the items we did not have last time. We had the fabulous clams and the duck salad again.)
We have had a great time in Vancouver. There were many interesting things to see, the city is clean and safe, the people are warm and friendly, and the food is OUTSTANDING!