- Spanish Banks 

Where the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, reaches westward into the Gulf of Georgia, there is a place called Spanish Banks. The name commemorates the meeting in 1792 of English explorer, George Vancouver, with Spanish explorers, Galiano and Valdes. The two parties worked in tandem up the Discovery Pass, exchanging information and at times socializing. These were the first Europeans to contact many of the indigenous peoples whose villages for eons have lined these pristine waters. Many of the Pacific Northwest place names date back to these historic expeditions. Track 10 of Ghosts of the Mighty Fraser (1999) I walked the road to Spanish Banks And where the cliffs rise o'er the sandy shoals below I wondered, how it appeared to them Two hundred years ago In wooden ships the iron men Braved the oceans from half the world away Venturing on to each new horizon Charting as they sailed What if they had seen the years unfolding Would they have believed a world so changed? Could they have foreseen in all their wildest fantasies This place that bares their names? When George Vancouver crossed the bay There met the Spaniards; Galiano & Valdes Names that leap from my atlas pages Were present on that day In tandem up the coast they faired Through Salish, the Nootka, Kwakwak'l & Haida Guaii The ancient people watched them pass and they knew Their world could never be the same What if they had seen the years unfolding Would they have believed a world so changed? Could they have foreseen in all their wildest fantasies This place that bares their names? Oh, I walked the road to Spanish Banks And where the cliffs rise over sandy shoals below I wondered how it felt to be alive Two hundred years ago music & lyrics by Bruce Coughlan (SOCAN)