Run to the Chinese border film. Let's make it to the Canadian border

- How long can you hold it? - asks Bill.

“My strength is not what it used to be,” says old Dorset, “but I think I can vouch for you in ten minutes.”

“That's enough,” says Bill. - In ten minutes I will cross the central, southern and midwestern states and have time to freely reach the Canadian border.

O"Henry "Leader of the Redskins"

I honestly wasn’t going to feed you any more sweets, but on Saturday afternoon my friend called with a question: Nadya, can you tell me, off the top of my head, some quick dessert?

OOPS!!! These are the pies that I call “Run to the Canadian Border,” and in my understanding this means that they can be prepared 15 minutes before guests arrive. I’ll tell you about them now, because I mentioned them to my friend.

1 pack of folded dough (my favorite is “Star” without yeast)

2 large sweet apples

Cinnamon…

Remove the core from the apples, cut first in half, and then each half into slices.

Of course, it is advisable to defrost the dough in the refrigerator first, but if fate is not at all favorable to you, then quickly put it in the microwave for defrosting mode. I won’t tell you about the defrosting time, because... Everyone's microwave oven is different. It is important for us to get the dough in a condition suitable for rolling out, and not in the condition of runaway porridgeJ.

Place the dough on parchment lightly sprinkled with flour and roll it out. Why did I write different numbers of pies? Because if you don’t roll out the dough, then from one pack there will be 12 pies with a very high dough. I don’t like thick dough, so I roll it out and make more piesJ.

R rolled, cut into squares as shown in the photo and made the same cuts in the corners.

Next, place 2 apple slices on each piece of dough diagonally and sprinkle it with cinnamon. We pinch the edges of the dough and get this cute little envelope.J.

Speaking of apples! Filling options may vary:

If the apples are sour, sprinkle more sugar on top

If there are no apples in abundance, take an apple + a pear

Place the envelopes in the oven preheated to 180 degrees. Bake until done. 20 minutes, maximum.

We eat everything in 10 minutesJ

And it would be completely stupid not to take advantage of this chance.
So, a story about two cars, six people and one waterfall...

Niagara has a couple of tricks.
One trick - they talk about it awesome enthusiastically.
Chip two - to there just five hundred miles. From Chicago. In a straight line.
And feature three - half of the waterfall, generally speaking, is in another country. And I want to go there too. =)

And at 19.30 on Thursday, six people in one house were arguing about when two cars should leave. A lot of arguments, inconsistencies in terminology and ideological differences. Well, I also have a plate of dumplings. But she doesn't count.
Like any argument, it ended with something in the spirit of taking the “weak” approach to the ability to get ready in 30 minutes.
But I kept quiet. I also didn’t have anything collected.
But when did it get in the way?..
...Fifteen minutes later I was flipping through my friend’s feed...
...At 20.00 the Nissan crew set out on the route...
...And at 20.05 - the crew of the Daewoo with me in the radio operator's seat...
CP 1 - Detroit.

We honestly had a tent. And hope for camping.
However, the American scientist Sasha Shemyakin still argued that normal people book hotels in advance. To which I answered in the same confident tone - “Unsportsmanlike.”
True, it still didn’t work out to refuse the offer to find us normal free places.
I even have SMS messages with an encrypted description of where to go.
Maybe we could have flocked there in droves.
But then it came But.

The Nissan drivers, without hesitation, missed the short turn to Detroit. We slipped about ten miles without noticing anything. And since we missed it, we decided to cut further, following the signs. Maybe they won't let you down.
Our navigator gave the signal on time, and at that moment we made up for twenty minutes /two pit stops/ of the backlog.
And be happy.
If it weren't for the road repairs and detour. Well, not at all indicated on Google map route sheets.
And leading into the rainbow / well, nightly, actually.../ distances.
What something wrong, was discovered only when the street was finally found, lit up on three fragmentary pieces of the map, a quarter remained of the tank, and the required turn was missed by the same ten miles.
We turned around. With the mood: “Hurray, we don’t need to go any further into this wilderness, LET’S TURN OUT!”
Of course, we got excited about the wilderness.
The Canadian Embassy - yes, it was in the very center - for now, however, at two in the morning, and therefore closed.
And a tip from another crew - “Well, we went to bed, stopped in the parking lot - to reach it you need to turn yyy onto the street to the left, then from there - to the right, there will be a large store with a red neon sign, here we are in the parking lot nearby.”
We were not yet frightened by the fact that the tip was given in a sleepy voice.
And off we went.
On an unforgettable excursion into Detroit culture.
No, well, we are in theory / and that’s not all. =)/ knew that the city was half dead, but still ranks second in the United States in terms of crime.
But this is not a reason not to appreciate the burnt-out high-rise buildings in the city center and the ragged black man with a wheelbarrow of garbage, showing clearly obscene gestures to the only white person on the street, that is, to us? Or someone suspiciously peering into a car from a rusty bicycle...
In general, the spiral through the center of Detroit was wound twice - the sleepy tip did not lead anywhere, except for occasional drives under a brick and past the police building.
Well, past unfriendly blacks with abandoned houses, yes.
Well, we got to the parking lot. We met with our people at the embassy - and got there on their tail.
All the signs were in place... However, only after we drove into the often mentioned parking lot.
And that street goes in two parts...

The next morning, from the “Renaissance Center”, where that same embassy was found, we /well, we can’t wander around the most “spectacular” places alone, even during the day?../ didn’t get out under the motto: “We were looking for the biggest - so, Detroit is the biggest SCRIPT we have entered!”
We filled out a carbon copy of the application, gave it to us along with our passports and letters stating that we were good, honestly paid the visa fee and went to have coffee.
And then they returned to pick up their passports.
The first one went... Declined.
The second one was also wrapped up.
The third one is me. Sorry steward.
Approved. Wow.
The fourth - with a visa, the fifth - the documents are not ready, the sixth - a citizen of Estonia, and a visa to him is like salmon wings.
This is arithmetic.
And if it’s closer to life, then for now only those who cannot move in because they don’t have rights can move in.
Two drivers were turned away, and the third is waiting.
There would be a drum roll here, but the embassy is impossible...
Tadam.
Our entire crew has visas.
All not ours - no visas.
True, the hot Estonian guy doesn’t need it.

And here we made one logical move, which we then cursed at for the rest of the days.
We swapped cars - the two-door Lanos seemed much more suitable for two people than for four. And “Nissan-I-don’t-remember-which” is the opposite.
No one yet knew that from the inside everything was slightly the opposite.

Changed - have a good trip - let's break...
...Canada greeted me warmly. A friendly, cheerful border girl and a thick smell of manure.
They had nothing to do with each other, but still.
And this was KP-2.

On the way we found London. Even the Welcome Center said that there was nothing there...

According to conservative estimates, only on the bed of a double room in a small roadside hotel You can put eight people...
But we had sleeping bags.

KP-3 - obviously, Toronto. If you look for everything, then in the middle there will be the highest Observation deck. CN Tower, Toronto, 13 meters above Ostankino at the top of the tower, 447 meters - the height where civilians like us are allowed.
Why am I...
Really high. And we were lucky with the weather - Niagara is really visible /only faintly/.
And with stormtroopers flying under the windows.
It looks like it's such a skill to get to the towers at the time of an air show.
And also... More... More......
There was air there.
In general, I’m now sitting and drooling at the photo, because the card reader got lost somewhere.
But I'll show it. /At least, if you really ask./
Well, there's no need to do anything else with it.

A girl from the Welcome Center gave us a map and drew circles on it. We wandered around the parks - and indeed, the circles looked like something worth visiting in Toronto.
But the main thing began at five in the evening, when all the museums closed.
Including the castle of one new Canadian, near which we stood and thought - either to go inside, or the devil was with him, and just decided to disperse according to our interests...
So, at five the museums close.
But not as a substitute O To.
It turned out that a certain clearing was already being set at the New Canadian tables...
...The next circle was Chinatown.
True, for some reason Muscovites think that this particular circle meant not: “Watch!”, but: “Don’t interfere, he’ll kill you!”
And for me it’s quite colorful.
...The mugs remained. One. Called "Fort York".
So we were waiting to see something...
Even then they waited until they went out to the log barn behind the fence and checked on the map to see if everything was correct with the landmarks.
But there was a fort.
And there was a clearing there too.
So... Fort, view from the outside - earthen rampart, grass and roofs.
They didn’t take it by storm.
For some reason.

The very best KP. Niagara. If not the longest, then the most famous waterfall.
And around two in the morning we went to see him - by ear.
The driver and navigator got out and chuckled: “Where is he?” - and returned to search further.
It turned out later that the Horseshoe was right below us. =) Literally five minutes later, when we stood near the side, watched the jets fly racing...
...And a dozen cars were flashing their emergency lights - well, what can you do, it’s an “emergency” section, everyone has something broken for some unknown reason - under the signs “no stopping”.
But the Canadian police are not asleep... They generally have roads - like in Russia, and the police act in exactly the same way. =)
At the very first sign from the nimble, all the cars were miraculously repaired and fell off no worse than those very jets from that same Horseshoe cornice.
And the police caught the weakest and sickest member of the herd.

It’s not for nothing that Niagara lies at the latitude of Sochi.
No matter how shabby and inn-like the yard was, the price at the counter was no lower than at Marriott. And they offered to cheat with payment methods. And they offered a bunch of other things when they saw crazy tourists who, for sure, wanted to sleep at three in the morning.
The wrong ones were attacked. /Not even those were attacked by the Large Predatory Beast, which was creeping up on our navigator while he was knocking on the door. Didn't they feed him at the hotel? The wounded man definitely needs bed rest.../
It almost ended with the car stuck next to the parking lot tourist buses behind an unknown house.
Almost.
Operational reconnaissance of the area showed that we managed to miss about twenty meters from an open campsite with free places.
And we had a tent.
And that’s where it ended.
And in general... Camping with a shower and hot water is already a resort...

General view from Niagara... Uhhhhh... Impressive.
I may write a lot about it separately. With illustrations.
In the meantime, so as not to remain silent, I’ll send you to listen to an Indian legend.
Now, of course, the “Maid of the Mist” is not the same - just an excursion ship diving into the Horseshoe Cauldron, into the heart of a foggy cloud...
It would seem - only a shower on all sides.
It seemed. Would.
The wind is blowing, seagulls are circling in a whirlwind of spray, water is flying with them in a thin suspension... Cold white smoke. The shroud, the lost top and bottom - not to mention the north. Air and water - together - are so strong that they no longer ask if you want to be acquainted with them - they simply stroke your collarbones and grab your shoulders.
They let me remember. Everything about wind and water.
And then - the opposite course, tourists in wet polyethylene, streams flowing down the “wings” of the hood.
Some of them felt - no less.
Someone - no, you won’t recognize it.
Dial enough words will still not come out from either one or the other.

General views of the waterfall - we are waiting. For a walk down to the base of the waterfall there is a queue of an hour and a half.
An alley, a rainbow in the purest two orders, jumping over the fence where you really want, transparent and smooth streams of water - breaking into pieces a meter below, at the base of the threshold...

An hour and a half later - a tunnel under a rock, behind a layer of flying water. Somewhere here he should go to the portal. And it's true...
Phrase of the day: “I walked here, hoping to see something incredible, enlightening the soul and giving food to the mind, I waited and hoped, I walked - and now, on the edge of the abyss, I only have one question left... SO WHAT?”
The first portal showed television ripples. White structureless, and characteristic noise.
But it was not in vain that I hoped that this was not all.
In another portal - jets are visible.
And on the set...
...In general, one might think of me that I forgot to put on my hood.
It’s not in vain that I forgot.
Specially.
It opened up at the edge and caught the most enchanting flurry of spray provided by the excursion.
Do you feel...
Naturally, you feel how you instantly get wet from the soles to the tips of your ears.
And also...
Well, guess for yourself.
The motor ship is only twice as close, and open on all sides.
Forget that you are not of the elements.
And then remember.
But that will come later.

And then we lost the hot Estonian guy.
No, it’s clear that everyone needs to steal something from the souvenir store, and with how many / and what / people are waiting on the other side of the planet, it’s not a sin to buy up half of Canada.
But we honestly stood in line and took the first exit from the ticket office.
And they sat down to look at the rainbow - there was no way out.
And after half an hour they thought that in that time they could buy up the whole of Canada. Without leaving half for the followers.
Let's go look.
In hot places - no.
The sellers refused to remember the answer: “Estonia” to their traditional question: “Where from?”
The Wellcome Center is hospitably closed with a barn lock.
The phones die, but the connection is not established.
We've arrived.
The world, of course, was saved by SMS - and then it turned out that out of three exits, my friend chose the farthest one, and didn’t even care about the other two... And he honestly headed to the car.
Found.
Thank the gods.

Night. Fireworks...
Let's wait for the photos. =)

And then we returned. The border guards frowned, trying to understand why we needed two identical DSKs, and we were already afraid that the problem of spending the night had been solved radically - until the identities were clarified at the border.
The identities were established within ten minutes.
The overnight stay was cancelled.

So he asked: “Where are you coming from?” - I thought it was stupid to answer: “From Canada” on the US-Canadian border. Almost already answered: “From Niagara” and realized that we were going from the Canadian city of Niagara to the American city of Niagara...
-...and blurted out: “From Russia.”

Excerpts from Buffalo:

..."-I already remember this place!!" - said on the third and a half lap of the first roundabout encountered in the United States. I'm afraid the hot Estonian guy remembered Zadornov's joke about "no more than three times."

Straight or right?
-Directly...
The car takes off forward.
-...the scribe is full, TURN RIGHT!

I understand that this music perfectly tones up, drives away tiredness and prevents fatigue, and this is why it is wonderful in the current situation... But, ***, it already seems to me that a crowd of wood-sexual maniacs is chasing me!

"- Are you bringing apples or lard?" - every time I fly to the States, I remember a scene from the movie "Brother 2". And the horror story before my first trip, when they scared me about America: " It’s not enough to get a visa here, you also need to convince the officer that you won’t stay!".

The US-Canada border is the longest unguarded border in the world. Customs supervision is carried out only at the most big roads between the USA and Canada. There are no customs checkpoints or border fences of any kind in the villages, fields or forests. Despite the fact that after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, police and border controls were strengthened on the main US-Canada roads. However, the increased control caused a mixed reaction from ordinary residents of Canada and the United States, as well as business representatives, who were forced to face additional checks that were previously unusual.

Part 1. From America to Canada

It's usually a three-hour drive from Vancouver, including the border. The main thing is to choose the right checkpoint from the three available: Peace Arch on Highway No. 5, Pacific Highway a little to the east, or Lynden near the American town of Delta. There is also Samas, but it is already very far from Vancouver. The border runs exactly along the 49th parallel, along which Zero Avenue is laid on the Canadian side, connecting all the checkpoints with each other. In the USA, there is also the possibility of a detour if you suddenly find yourself in a heavy traffic jam.

1 In our case, we chose the lesser evil: leaving on Friday evening was a mistake, traffic jams at each border lasted for hours, although there was visually less “red” on Pacific than on Peace Arch.

2 We drove along the “gardens” according to the navigator almost to the border line. A traffic jam at the intersection leads to the border. Today everyone is there. Most cars have Canadian license plates.

3 People are freaking out. Some try to get to the front of the line, but most behave decently. Compared to what is happening on the borders of Russia (and Georgia, Ukraine, Finland), everyone is very disciplined. But we had to crawl for an hour before we saw the border terminal.

4 Life hack for the “smartest”: first fly along the free lane to Duty Free, then pretend that you are leaving with purchases and join the general queue. There is also a free lane on the far left, where it says NEXUS ONLY. Nexus is a system “for our own”, verified and frequently moving between countries, citizens of both states. They don’t even need to show a passport, just put a special card on the reader, and if the border guard sitting in the booth doesn’t have any questions, they can pass through in a couple of seconds.

Everyone else needs passports, and this was introduced relatively recently. Previously, Americans and Canadians used to travel to each other with a driver’s license, but after 9/11 and other terrorist attacks the rules were tightened, and you have to get a full-fledged international document.

5 The peculiarity of both countries is that there is no border control at the exit from both the States and Canada, only at the entry. In theory, this can be used to travel to duty free, without going to Canada, return home (although there you will have to go through full border control and answer questions about where you are coming from). In practice, they ask not to do this, implying a violation customs rules- crime.

6 Finally, the Canadian checkpoint. The border crossing itself took no more than a couple of minutes; we did not get out of the car, did not open the trunk or show the contents of the cabin. I simply handed two passports to the policeman, he took them in his hands and asked questions before opening the documents. They are the same almost every time, but may differ depending on your answers to them:
* where do you live?
* purpose of visit to Canada?
* How long are you going for?
* where will you live?
* who owns the car?

Although in most cases, they didn’t ask about the car at all. It was a rental car from the Seattle airport, where we flew in and where we will fly out in a month, and so we travel around the USA and Canada. No documents were needed for the car at all. The Canadians never opened the trunk.

After a short conversation, the border guard opens the passports, scans them and puts an oval blue stamp. After entry, you can legally stay in the country for up to 6 months. In the USA they hand write you the date by which you need to leave; in Canada they don’t do this.

Part 2. From Canada to America

7 Now I’ll tell you how to get from Canada to America. It's the same thing, but there are nuances. There are boards along the routes with up-to-date information about the length of the queue at different crossings. If you go not on Friday or Sunday evening, not on the eve of major holidays, crossing the border will take a maximum of 20 minutes, including the queue.

8 There is also no control when leaving Canada; you can turn around and go back if you change your mind about going to the States. Who might need this and why? The option “forgot your documents will not work” - at the entrance to the country the officer will talk in the same way as if you had just come from America. And the answer option: “Yes, I just turned around” will not suit him; he will have to present a document and explain the purpose of the visit to Canada. This happened to us when we missed a duty free turn and decided to go around. It’s good, at least I didn’t put a new stamp on it. They don’t install them at all if you saw that you had already moved in recently.

9 Duty-free shops are usually located at the exit of the country, but there are joint American-Canadian ones.

10 The assortment is like in any “deluxe”: perfumes, souvenirs, alcohol. Lots of maple syrup and candies/cookies with it. There are caps/hoodies of average quality. I only had a $10 Canadian dollar bill and decided to spend it on a great Furry Friends moose throw pillow. Click on the photos on the right arrow and scroll through, there are other pictures hidden there. Happened? Do this whenever you see arrows :)

11 And now - to the States! Canada has two state languages, and in French the US is written as EU! Do not confuse it with the European Union, then UE (Union Européenne), but here - États-Unis!

12 Passing the American border is practically no different from the same procedure on the Canadian side; all the officers are outwardly relaxed and friendly. I wonder how they do it in Mexican?

The border guard took the passports and first checked the visas. Then followed the same questions about place of residence, purpose of visit and type of activity. Having learned that the trip began in the USA and we were just returning, I paid attention to the license plates of the car. Rental? Again, no one asked for documents. But the woman became interested in the contents of the trunk and interior. She came out of her booth and asked to open the trunk. I pressed the button on the panel and remained behind the wheel. She looked at the suitcases, closed the lid herself, then opened the back door behind me and saw a small cooler bag. She asked what we were bringing and whether it was possible to open it. I saw packaged cold cuts, cheese and berries. The berries were produced in the USA, lucky. Otherwise, they could be asked to throw it away; there is strict quarantine of plants and food at the entrance to the States.

13 Canadians don’t have this: while you’re standing in line with an officer, you’re scanned, recorded, and photographed by half a dozen cameras.

14 I reached the Peace Arch, the main border crossing between the USA and Canada at the very end of the trip. I went specially to visit this unusual place. Exactly on the border of the two countries, on the 49th parallel, there is a ten-meter white arch with an open gate. You can approach the arch from any side and walk in the park, freely crossing the border without documents.

15 The Peace Arch was built at the border crossing in 1921 to commemorate lasting peace between the two countries and was the first such structure in the world.
The park on this site was created in 1939, moving the checkpoint a couple of hundred meters.

16 It turned out to be an excellent area for walking, with hectares of lawns and flower beds.

17 On the Canadian side of the park, a huge living carpet was grown in the shape and colors of the national flag.

18 This one-story house has a free toilet. Clean and well maintained. I checked both Canadian and American, they have different plumbing :)

19 The moment of crossing the border.

20 The flags of two states are placed on the same level, but the illusion arises that the flag of the country on whose territory you are standing is located higher.

21 “Children of a common mother” - written on the pediment of the arch. Can you imagine the same monument and the same words on the border between Ukraine and Russia? Here's an example of how it could be.

22 The arch became tourist site, and no one cares that people walk around in the restricted area and take pictures. In fact, the border itself can be easily removed here; no one said a word to me. Schoolchildren from both countries also bring excursions here to talk about friendship and fraternal peoples.

23 How do you like an international marathon that starts in one country and ends in a neighboring one? It was somewhat reminiscent of the Russian-Norwegian “Friendship Ski Track”, when once a year the border is opened and you can walk all the way to the border post and even take a photo. And the rest of the year you won’t go into the border zone for a cannon shot. The park here was created for people to walk and have a great time at the border. They could put in a couple more restaurants, like in the highlands, where you can come from Bavaria to eat Tyrolean sausages or vice versa.

24 While we were walking, there was a traffic jam at the American checkpoint. We drove it in 10 minutes.

25 Canadians have a British Columbia Visitor Center in this place, but I saw it too late, I was too lazy to turn around.

26 A road sign reminding Americans that Canada has a different measurement system and speeds are shown in kilometers rather than miles. This is exactly why American cars need duplicate values ​​in km/h.

27 There are other borders, forgotten and abandoned. You won't see people there anymore. Now everyone uses personal transport, but there was a time when America traveled by train. This one is boarded up Train Station was the first and last stop on the Canadian side, border guards came here and checked documents, just like Suzemka or Cossack Lopan on the border with Ukraine!

28 There are still trains here, although more and more freight trains. Although there is also passenger service, the Seattle-Vancouver train takes 4 hours versus 3 by car. Has anyone traveled on a train like this? Share your impressions in the comments!

29 Traditional border devastation in the small town of Blaine, USA. Although this is only one type, on the other hand everything is decent (see the following photos, this is the same Blaine).

31 Currency exchange in a border town. This is where all Canadians buy gasoline. It costs more than at other gas stations in the state, but much cheaper than in British Columbia, where the price jumps to $1.5 per liter.

32 For dessert - the sweetest thing! Abandoned border crossing! I couldn’t leave readers without something unusual. Noyes, Minnesota was once a strategically important and busiest border crossing east of the Great Lakes! North of Noyes, on the Canadian side, is the town of Emerson, Manitoba.

33 When countries built large, modern crossings a couple of miles away, traffic through Noyes dropped to zero: almost ten lanes and booths there, only two here. The Canadian government closed the Emerson crossing in 2003, and the Noyes crossing was retired in 2006.

35 Inside there is the usual devastation and desolation for such places, the wallpaper is peeling off due to dampness, fungus has grown on the walls. Without people, buildings deteriorate quickly.

And get into amazing country, where a person breathes so freely

In three weeks it is difficult to understand the depth of such vast country, like Canada. However, the impressions from being in its Olympic scales are more than enough to acquaint R readers with some of the characteristic features of this amazingly curious country.

Babel

The first thing that caught your eye in Vancouver was the international composition of its population. Here, like no other country in the world, and I have had the opportunity to visit more than two dozen of them, there are a lot of people from China, India, other Asian countries, as well as the former Union. For example, at the metro station, next to which the main stadium of the Winter Games is located, there is also Chinatown. And its name is appropriate - Chinatown Stadium. For a moment, it even seemed as if I had never left the Olympic Beijing 2008, there are so many people from the Middle Kingdom here. Conflicting dialects surround you throughout Vancouver, although, of course, English predominates and, to a lesser extent, French - the two official languages ​​of Canada. By the way, official representatives of one of French regions of this country, expressed indignation to the organizers of the Olympics over the fact that their native language was practically absent at its grand opening.

As it turned out, the consequence of the “Babylonian pandemonium” in the province of British Columbia, which is home to about 4.5 million people, and partly in all of Canada, is that all the conditions have been created in it to attract foreigners. This is one of the few countries where it is quite easy to obtain a residence permit through a variety of immigration programs, which makes it today perhaps the most accessible and attractive in the whole world. Evidence of this is the repeated recognition of Canada by the UN as a state with the best living conditions for people. And if you take into account the climatic, economic, demographic and other conditions of British Columbia and Vancouver in particular, the third largest city in Canada (2.5 million people) after Montreal and Toronto, it is not surprising that this particular area has become the focus of such a number of ethnic groups.

It's better to beg than to steal

The capital of the XXI Winter Games is located on west coast Canada and has a very mild climate and an exceptionally picturesque location. average temperature here in winter it does not drop below plus 6 degrees, and in the mountains, where half of the Olympic competition program took place, it fluctuates around zero. In summer - about 25 degrees. The paradox of this region is that in one day you can go yachting, then skiing, and then play golf or tennis. According to the authoritative English publication Ekonomist, Vancouver today is the most comfortable city on the planet, and in terms of basic indicators of quality of life it is constantly among the leaders, sharing laurels with cities such as Zurich, Vienna and Geneva. Thus, the average life expectancy for men here is 75 years, for women - 81.4. These and many other factors cannot but attract people from all over the globe, including the disadvantaged. The large number of them, especially during the Winter Games, was an unpleasant surprise. Beg for alms, earn it with the help musical instruments in crowded places. Moreover, some of them, without hesitation, immediately lay out their simple belongings, often with their four-legged dog friend. Indeed, it is better to beg than to steal, as one French proverb says. It is also noteworthy that Canada has very strict environmental legislation, and, for example, throwing a dog, cat or breaking a tree into the street can result in a very substantial fine.

The largest concentration of poor souls in one place happened to be observed in the suburbs of Vancouver, when we got to the training camp of the Belarusian national hockey team. At the stop where we changed trains, there was an ambulance and a fire truck. On the opposite side of the street, about 50-60 homeless people set up a bazaar-station, exchanging belongings directly from their “homes on wheels” and from shopping carts. Some drank, smoked, including rolled-up cigarettes, possibly with weed, and did not pay any attention to the police who were checking the documents of the motley crowd. Alas, these are the costs of the beautiful and heavenly life of the “concrete jungle” of fashionable Vancouver. Tolerance, attention, and care for this category of people, who have lost their life guidelines, are also an integral part of Canadian democracy. And as one of the volunteers of the Olympic mission of Belarus said, they especially tinker with them in the cold season so that, God forbid, they don’t freeze. But not every one of them agrees to the guaranteed warmth, shelter and food of a night shelter or shelter. But I haven’t seen a single priestess of love in Vancouver, which has been traveled far and wide. Perhaps they live in strictly designated places, on red-light streets.

Greenpeace is from here

As it turns out, Canadian reality also implies complete equality of rights for men and women. And the number of representatives of the fair sex in police and military uniforms, in the uniforms of firefighters and road workers spoke most eloquently about this. The means of transportation of the first of them are also curious: cars, horses, bicycles and on their own two feet. Everything will fit to perform functional duties. One day, at a metro station, I was surprised by a serviceman, in full military regalia, with a long black beard and mustache. And one city bus driver, it seemed, never took his turban off his head despite the same thick “vegetation.” Evidence of respect and tolerance for all diasporas, religions, views and the attitude of security forces towards the protests of environmental and other organizations against the holding of the Olympics in Vancouver (by the way, the world-famous “green” society - Greenpeace - is from here). Peaceful processions were simply accompanied by them, while aggressive ones, breaking store windows and setting cars on fire, were harshly suppressed. But I think the overwhelming majority of Canadians still welcomed the universal sports holiday. The best proof of this is the filled stands even at “pass-through” matches of a hockey tournament, or at qualifying competitions in other disciplines. And the genuine interest of the natives in the “Russian House”, where the XXII winter Games in Sochi, and even resulted in a queue of half a kilometer or more on weekends. The fans were also intrigued by the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, tickets for which were sold out long before these ceremonies. And just before they started, the price of tickets from speculators went through the roof for a thousand dollars. And they bought it, since the average income of city residents per family is 53 thousand Canadian dollars per year, almost equivalent to the American one, and about 4,500 per month. If desired, even an unemployed person could do this, because the maximum benefit in Canada is 55 percent of the average salary. And why not live in one of the richest countries in the world?! Including energy resources, for which Canada is second only to Russia. For a country that cannot be understood with intelligence, its final results in Vancouver cannot be measured with a common yardstick. Our allies planned to win ten gold medals, but they received three. And the southern neighbors were left without a single award! So, compared to the comparative background of former compatriots, the Olympic set of medals for Belarus is a super achievement. By the way, it was the Ukrainians, whose diaspora in Canada has already exceeded a million people, who most often congratulated us on the Grishin, Novikov and Domracheva medals.

The main asset of the country

One of Canada's treasures is, of course, environment, its plant and animal world. For example, half of the serpentine 120-kilometer route to the Olympic Whisler ran along tall mountains on one side, and along a strait on the other, beckoning with its landscape and line of snow-white ships and yachts. The mountains are multi-colored, covered in some places with lichen, but mostly with dense forests. Streams flow from some rocky cliffs and even small waterfalls. Some of them are covered with a metal mesh, and in especially dangerous places they are also treated with a special film. The nature here is truly pristine. Vegetation in this area of ​​British Columbia is dominated by spruce forests, larch, pine, cedar and small shrubs. Occasionally you come across oaks and dear birches. Forests occupy half the province's territory, and the trees here are the tallest in Canada. As a result, the most prosperous sector of its economy is timber processing. It’s easy to guess that the next most important is tourism. Majestic mountains, beautiful parks and well-equipped beaches attract about 20 million people every year, for whom a wide variety of recreation is provided. Thus, in the above-mentioned strait, very educational and exotic excursions are held for tourists. From the shore they can feed seals, walruses and fur seals, and from the ship - whales and killer whales. Mining is also an important industry in the province. Coal, metal ore, precious and rare metals are being mined in mines and mines. By the way, British Columbia ranks second in the country in gas production and third in hydropower.

There is also plenty of wildlife in these parts. In the ocean, rivers and lakes, in terms of the number of which this country is ahead of the rest, up to 80 species of fish are caught. I had a chance to see Canada geese live, and in Vancouver - gulls, herons and albatrosses. It is noteworthy that the birds are not at all afraid of humans, allowing very close quarters. In the surrounding forests there are grizzly bears, which frightened our Olympic athletes in Whistler, wolves, lynxes, cougars, foxes, raccoons, marmots and many other animals. Every 10-15 kilometers on the way to the second Olympic Village there are residential and outbuildings, cottages and luxury hotels.

Whistler himself is world famous ski resort and a fabulous town located at the foot of beautiful mountains. It was founded in 1900 and owes its name, which means “whistle” in Russian, to the marmot that lives here and makes this piercing sound. An Olympic village was built 15 minutes’ drive away, in which standard IOC living conditions were provided for all sports delegations. No frills, but quite tolerable, as some Belarusian athletes noted. But the special attraction of this area, and this was said by everyone without exception, is the pristine beauty of nature, the intoxicating mountain air and the ringing silence.

And yet, it is not flora and fauna, but people, a significant part of whom are emigrants, that are Canada’s main wealth. The world's best social security system they have created allows the country to be one of the most peaceful, politically stable and safe places to live in the world. And how can one not recall the immortal phrase of the literary hero O’Henry, included in the title of the material, which also interprets the essence and originality of this international country.

In the photo:"Russian house".

Photo: Konstantin BELOUS

Let's make it to the Canadian border
A phrase from the film “Business People” (1963), directed by Leonid Gaidai (1923-1993) based on the stories of the American humorist O. Henry (pseudonym of William Sidney Porter, 1862-1910), including “The Leader of the Redskins” (1907) .
In the original (end of the story):
“As soon as the boy discovered that we were going to leave him at home, he started howling like a steamship siren and clung to Bill’s leg like a leech. His father tore it off his leg like a sticky plaster.
How long can you keep it? - asks Bill.
“My strength is not what it used to be,” says old Dorset, “but I think I can vouch for you in ten minutes.”
That's enough, says Bill. - In ten minutes I will cross the Central, Southern and Midwestern States and have time to freely reach the Canadian border.
Although the night was very dark, Bill was very fat, and I could run very fast, I only caught up with him a mile and a half from the city.”

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

See what “We’ll have time to reach the Canadian border” in other dictionaries:

Let's make it to the Canadian border- there is still enough time left... Live speech. Dictionary of colloquial expressions

WE WILL HAVE TIME TO REACH THE CANADIAN BORDER- adj. There is still plenty of time left... Dictionary modern colloquial phraseological units and proverbs

Business people Genre comedy Director Leonid Gaidai Scriptwriter Leonid Gaidai based on the short stories by O. Henry ... Wikipedia

Books

• Collected works in 3 volumes (number of volumes: 3), O "Henry. The famous American writer O. Henry (William Sidney Porter) is the author of popular short stories, a master of original plot twists, colorful dialogues and stunning endings.…
• O.Henry. Collected Works (set of 3 books), O. Henry. The famous American writer O. Henry (William Sidney Porter) is the author of popular short stories, a master of original plot twists, colorful dialogues and stunning endings.…
• Kings and Cabbage The Noble Rogue The Voice of the Big City Stories, Henry O.. The famous American writer O. Henry (William Sidney Porter) is the author of popular short stories, a master of original plot twists, colorful dialogues and stunning endings.…