Trains, rains and automobiles

Saturday 24 July

Having slept through Indiana and Ohio, as well as into a new time zone, I woke up in Pennsylvania and caught a few glimpses of Lake Erie as the train sped onwards. I went through to have breakfast in the dining car (French toast and bacon - yum!) and not long after that the train arrived in Buffalo. I had read that the Lake Shore Limited is sometimes known as the "Late for Sure Limited" but it didn't live up (or down!) to that this time, pulling in on schedule at 9am.

A quick taxi to the nearby airport and I picked up my rental car which will be my transport for the next ten days or so. It's a sleek black Chevrolet Impala - very smooth and comfortable.

Niagara Falls from the US side...

I drove up to Niagara Falls and parked up. From the US side you don't get the best view but you do get to stand very close to the Falls. They are an amazing natural feature but marred by the blatant commercialism of the area. Before I even got to the falls I went into a shop and was offered a four-hour Falls "Experience" for "just" $65. I decided to walk instead, qhich cost precisely $65 less! It was already getting busy at 10.30am and there were souvenir stalls and food vendors all over the place.

After taking some photos I got back in the car (even the parking was $10!) and drove to Rainbow Bridge which crosses the border into Canada the border crossing was very quick and easy and once I had found a cash point I then looked for somewhere to park - the first place I saw wanted $20! (The US and Canadian dollars are currently about equal). I managed to find somewhere a bit cheaper and wandered down to see the Falls from this side. This was certainly a more spectacular view - amazing to see such a volume of water cascading down. However, there were even more people and even more chances to part you from your money. I had thought about a boat trip but the weather was quite dull and I didn't really have enough time as I had told the people at the Toronto guest house I would be arriving around 5pm.

...and from the Canadian side

Probably unfairly, I compared Niagara Falls to Victoria Falls which I visited a few times when I lived in Zambia in the late 90's. The Vic Falls are taller and more spectacular and not surrounded by tourist development. Interesting that I felt I got more out of going to the Vic Falls, which are between two of the poorest countries in the world (Zambia and Zimbabwe) than the Niagara Falls which are between two of the richest.

I got back in the car and headed for Toronto. The traffic was quite heavy and the heavens opened and there was torrential rain. I got to the Comfy Guesthouse at about 4.30 and checked in. The weather was still pretty bad so I took a little drive around the downtown area and came back for dinner in a pub near the guesthouse - delicious!