A sleepless night in Montreal

Our story begins with a weary traveller with enough researves of energy (and courage) after a 6hr flight and a brief stop in Toronto, to attempt the public transport of a foreign city to get her to her final destination, rather than fork out the dough required for a taxi. So, with a 15kg backpack and two pieces of handluggage, our intrepid traveller leaves the airport at 2000 hours with her faithfull lonely planet guide in hand.

Two buses, a ride on the metro and 20 minutes of literally walking in a circle (took the wrong turn leaving the metro station), our beloved nomad makes it to her destination at 2200. One dingy little hostel in thankfully a quite part of town. Oh, and did I mention that is was 29 degrees and close to 80% humidity?

So only slightly dripping with sweat... I knock on the door, no answer, the door is closed and no one is about. I look in my book for the number of the hostel and make a call. On the first attempt I think I have the wrong number as I can't understand a word of the guy on the other end (sounded arabic). I call again and get the same guy so hang up. I check the number a third time and wait while the phone rings... I get through and its the same guy. I tell him of my plight and eventually manage to stumble through his strong accent to find that he does work for the hostel im looking for, that I am actually standing outside where the hostel used to be located, and it now currently situated 700! yes 700 houses down the street. oh, and the reception closes at 2300. goody! there is also the fact that the old building still has their name on it. looks like my 2yr old lonely planet guide has actually let me down, for the 1st and only time.

I hitch up my backpack again and head off down the quite, deserted suburban street, counting down the house numbers as i go. I cross several street intersections and the roads begin to get busier. There are more people out on the streets, enjoying their saturday night, looking askance at the poor traveller plodding along with all of her luggage in tow.

After nearly 45 minutes of walking through the nearly solid wall of moisture that is the Montrealian night air, I come to another busy street corner, opposite stands a fairly crowded pub with people laughing and drinking inside and out. I walk closer and find that, just my luck, the hostel is right next door, with most of the rooms, including my own, located above the pub. Brilliant. I check in with a few minutes before the reception closes, looking a lot worse for wear, given the copious amounts of perspiration pouring from my brow. I'm shown to room where things only get better...

I find that there is no air conditioning and only one poor little window open to the night. This portal to the outside however, is more effective in letting the boistrous laughter from below and the near constant sound of traffic to drift into the room, as opposed to any form of relief from the stifling heat. How the other 7 people in the room are coping with this is beyond me.

There is some relief in being able to have a shower, but this is minimal as the bathroom is no more than a closet that has a window with ineffective blinds allowing the world to see in. I manage to cool off briefly under the running water, but the cramped quaters soon have me sweating again, while trying to avoid having anyone from outside see anything that they shouldn't. Changed and most definitaly ready for bed, I squeeze myself out of the bathroom and climb onto the top bunk of my very rickity, metal framed bunk bed. Anyone who is ever stayed in hostels will know that metal framed bunks are the worst when it comes to trying to roll over silently while also trying not disturb your bunk mate with too much movement. I sprawl out on the bed, trying to get comfortable in the still stifling heat, and having very little success. The noise from outside, the intermitent blaring wail as another ambulance rushes past, combined with the heat and humidity, all adds up to one very sleepless night in Montreal.

And so my adventure in Montreal begins. But as they say, it can only go uphill from here, and to that addage, Montreal lives up to it's true potential, leaving me having the best and most jam-packed 4 days on my travels thus far ^_^

Canmore

Ah Canmore. An unexpected delight. Two days spent in a town nestled between towering mountains. A true climbers paradise. Too bad I don't climb. I do however, hike. And seeing this from the window of Rich's house...


I really had no choice but to go and explore. The peak on the right is called Ho Ling Peak and was the destination for my next escapade. Leaving the house at midday, with rudementary directions provided by Rich, and nothing better to do with my day, I headed east to see if I could find a way to the top.


I wondered along in the heat of the day, with the fear of being attacked by a bear sitting ever so comfortably in the back of my mind. After about half an hour I came across a water filtering plantation and a large resevoir with its very own bridge and separate animal crossing. Strange that they only place these about 20m apart. Is a wild animal actually going to differenciate between them, just because one is covered in grass and few trees? Lets hope so.

I continue along an unmarked road and eventually find the trail that Rich mentioned that heads in the opposite direction I just came, but heads up to the crux of the mountains. There are other hikers about which eases my worry that Im heading in the wrong direction.

Following the path through the trees and lushes undergrowth, a slowly ascend, occassionaly having to step nimbly across a few, pebble strewn trickles of water. These turn out to be steming from a massive waterfall cascading down from the mountain crux and feeding the resevoir below. Climbing up and beyond the falls I come across the most amazing place known as Grassi Lakes. The second of which looks like this:


Who knew that water could ever be that colour? Stunning doesn't even begin to encapsulate how visually glorious this place was. Perfectly peaceful, with barely a ripple and surrounded by mountains and pine forrests on either side. Bliss.

I continue walking and come across an area in which there are enough rock climbers about, to associate them to the sight of ants on an anthill. They were all over the sheer cliffs to either side, and hiding amongst the boulders that were strewn everywhere. It was interesting to see. I didn't stick around for long, but meandered on, ever upward, through the boulders, along winding stone staircases, towards...

... another water resevoir that is guarded by Ho Ling Peak itself. That is where I was heading my friends. Intimidated? The thing was a monster of a climb! Not that that was where I hiked. There was a more user friendly path that is hidden at the back, amongst the trees. Unsignposted. Great for when you don't really know where your going or what your looking for.

I walked around the entirety of the resevoir, always looking to see if I could find any signs that would indicate that there was a way to the top of the mountain. Eventually came across a parking lot hidden in a valley beyond the lake. A wondered on down to see if there was a map of the area. Alas, no luck. Pleanty of cars about though. There must be a path somewhere. I continued walking down the dusty road that headed further into the mountain ranges and stumbled across an unmarked path that looked like it had the potential of heading up the mountain. With nothing to lose but time, I hiked on up.

The path was strewn with decaying leaves and pine needles, ever shadowed by the forrest that grew along the base of the mountain. There was many a switch back and after a little while I eventually came across hikers that confirmed to me that I was on my way to the peak. Huzah!

After many an hour, and a complete consumption of my meagre water supply, I make it to the top!

I could actually make out where I had started walking from. Plus another amazing view of the resevoir I walked around and the west face of Mt Ranard.

In reaching the top, I also bumped into a local family that were on their way down the mountain. Because I spent so long at the top, just staring at the view and making friends with local ground squirrels, the family had almost made it back to the parking lot before I caught up with them again. They were sympathetic to the fact that I had run out of water and gladly gave me a fresh bottle to get me the rest of the way back to Rich's house. They even offered to give me a lift, but I thought, 'I'd come this far, why not go all the way?' so I politely declined, thanked them repeatedly for the water, and set off back down the dusty road.

Past the resevoir... Grassi Lakes... the waterfall... the water filtering plant... and eventually made it back to the house... at 9pm. Thats right, after 9 hours of hiking more than 2500ft above sea level, I made it there and back again. A total of 22kms! Fwew were my feet sore! But it was great to be back as the rest of the Aussie crew that were staying with Rich had turned up. Alan, Cath and Neil. All climbers. Goody. You can just picture the ensuing conversations between them of mind boggeling climbing jargon and detailed descriptions of routes to conquer in the area. Yay!

The next day we all pile into Rich's van and head an hour and half away to Lake Louise. As everyone else was there to get their hands dirty and find some rocks to climb, I was again left to my own devices (with some advice from Rich about hikes in the area).

With my feet still aching from yesterday, I plod along to the Six Glaciers Tea House, placed so picturesqly at the base of the snow capped mountains, 7kms away.

Ta da! The mountains in their glory. I managed to also hike to the glacier at their base, witness a most spectacular avalanch that sounded like I was standing right next to a thunder clap, be blasted by cold air escaping from an ice cave, and enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee in the middle of a forrest. Couldn't get better really.

Oh, and I thought I would throw in a picture of the interior of Rich's house. The guy has a 5 story indoor climbing wall smack bang in the middle of his deceptively small house! Talk about obsessed ;)

After only 2 and half days in this most awesome of towns, I hop onto a bus and get whisked over to Calgary to catch a flight to... MONTREAL!!! Squee! (I provide the sentiments that were apparent at the time, almost 5 months ago! My bad.)

Kimberley and the Canadian Rockies

Adventures abound:

- A mountain bike ride through pathless forests and hip height grassy fields, littered with goffer holes and rocks the size of my fists. I wonderful way to loosen your joints while at the same time, jarring every bone in your body. And yet… I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I trailed behind my uncle, bouncing along through uncharted territory. Anyone up for seconds?

- Racing many thousands of rubber ducks down a river that flows through the centre of town.

- White water rafting down the Kootenay River with grade 3 rapids and half hungover wedding guests paddeling like mad through each churning, frothing expanse of white water. Hilarity engulfs us as one poor soul gets tossed from the boat behind us, nearly dragging the rest of passengers with her. Oh, and we can’t forget the stunning scenery and the freezing water that still manages to gush over the side of the rafts and seeping into your 3 layers of wet weather gear. Brrr!

- Horse riding for hours on end through the most picturesque Canadian countryside. The pine forests, the open grassy plains littered with wildflowers, the ever present shadow of the looming mountains, and the gentle rustle of leaves accompanied by the rhythmic canter of the horses hoof beats. We can forget the aching leg and butt muscles for now. A worthy price to pay for such a magical experience.

- Leisurely walks through forests scattered with wild strawberries, fields bordered by ever running creeks, places where the mind wonders to thoughts of the life of a neutron (yes indeedy, the places in which one becomes the buffet meal to many hundreds of mosquitos [see previous post]).

Kimberley truly is a magical place. Having an amazing aunt and uncle willing to provide shelter to a wondering niece also greatly helps. Plus a most generous cousin willing to spend her holiday time sharing her old haunts with me, while trying to care for a most energetic 2 year old son while being 8 months pregnant. A most amazing family I have :)

…some incredible photos of my road trip through the Rockie Mountains with my uncle David, on my way to Canmore…

On the road heading for the Rockies

Marble Canyon

Moraine Lake

Johnson Canyon and falls

Vancouver Part II

The next day I bump into another woman from the tour, Claudia, and I find out that she’s catching the ferry over to Vancouver Island today and would I like a lift with her. For the last several days I’ve been trying to work out a way of getting over there to try and see my Cousin Nigel and his family and here, part of the solution presents itself. I gladly accept her offer, with the proviso that we go and explore Stanley Park with another woman from the tour, Astrid, before heading out in the afternoon. Works for me. Stanley Park is kind of the equivalent to our Kings Park, but more foresty, surrounded by water on 3 sides, and containing racoons.

It was a great walk but I was excited by the prospect of getting over to the Island. Claudia and I head out, with the ferry taking a few hours to dock at Sidney, a book lovers paradise. Unfortunately all the stores are closed by the time we get there but we grab a coffee and work on our plan of attack. There’s a chance for me to catch a ferry back to the hostel but then the whole point of coming to the island would not have been achieved. And that would be to go to… The Centre of The Universe!!! Dun dun dunnn!!! Claudia offers to share her room at the inn she is staying at in the next town over (Victoria) and I accept. Having only met this woman the other day, why not hey? We then decide to grab fish n chips for dinner (best I’ve ever had, baked salmon with sweet potato wedges) and head over to the observatory otherwise known as The Centre of the Universe.

We have a great time learning all about Saturn, and then a viewing of the planetarium which was AMAZING! And slightly vertigo inducing. Followed by a meander through the actual observatory with the massive telescope which is still in use although its about 2oo years old. Oh, and it turns out that my Uncle, David is also visiting the Island for that weekend and can actually pick me up the next morning from Victoria. Brilliant! Talk about having Karma on my side.

With a clean shower and a good nights rest I am prepared for what the following day has in store for me… Waffles with the family :)

David picks me up bright and early, and we make our way to the very isolated town of Shawnigan Lake, where Nigel, his wife and two kids live. We also get the chance to visit a friend of Steve’s (a friend of David’s) who literally built his own home, owns both a helicopter and a biplane, plus a vintage car from [insert era here]. We hear about how he crashed his helicopter and survived to tell the tale, and are given a very speedy test drive in his beaut car.

Then its off to Nigel’s house, to catch up with Gillian the wife, and the two kids, Liam and Ethan, the incredible 1 yr old who could easily pull off being several years older. That kid has amazing motor control for his age, quite easily managing any physical obstacle, including the trampoline. He was also kind enough to keep me supplied with marshmallows :)

David was also nice enough to take me to the internationally prestigious boarding school that Nigel works at. Head of the science department actually but whos gloating here? The place is ab-so-lute-ly amazing! Nearly equivalent to living at Hogwarts, but less magic, and more ducks.

Making our way back to the house, we go all out in celebrating Nigels 40th birthday (talk about good timing) with a delicious ice cream cake. The kids are certainly happy. A quick goodbye and David then rushes me to Nanaimo to catch my ferry back to mainland Vancouver. Would be nice to finally have a clean pair of clothes and to brush my teeth :)

I get back to downtown Vancouver and on my walk back to the hostel, I end up being taped as an extra on a car advert. How cool is that!! They don’t just say that Vancouver is Hollywood North for nothing you know.

Ok, back at the hostel I pack in preparation for my flight the next morning and the next leg of the saga… Kimberley. This recount however, shall have to wait till I find time while sailing on the SV Florette around the south coast of Italy :) Ok ok, I’m several months behind schedule in updating my blog, but I’m getting there!

A brief but jam packed visit to Vancouver (Part I)

From Seattle I caught a reliable greyhound bus up to Vancouver, crossing the Canadian border with my contraband homemade chocolate chip cookies from Danielle. Mmm, num num num.

I reach the outskirts of Vancouver safely, but then have to go through the process of getting local currency, and working out what form of public transport to take to get to my hostel which is on the other side of the city to the greyhound bus station. With money in my pocket I then wonder over to the main street with my massive pack on my back to try and find an appropriate bus that will take me to where I want to go. In the process of waiting for what I think is the right bus, I have several local, very tiny Asian people walk up to me and comment happily on my height, with no other pretence for conversation. It’s mighty hard to hide such a thing. Especially given how inconspicuous I was with my pack. I thought the whole thing was highly amusing.

I make it on to the bus, along with one of said height commentators, only to then be talked to incessantly about where I’m from, where I’m going, where I’ve been etc etc. In effect, broadcasting everything to every other passenger on the bus. Again, I was happy to go along for the ride, although the blush rising to my cheeks would have indicated otherwise.

I get off at what I think is the right stop, but it turns out I’m still about 10 blocks away from my hostel. Goody, I get to hike through the streets with my now 19kg pack, smaller ruck sack plus my handbag. By the time I make it, I’m pouring with sweat. Delightful isn’t it, this travel business?

I settle in, find food, go through the process of adapting to my new surrounds. The first of many such occasions of staying in a backpackers, alone, fending for myself… In hindsight, maybe I should have celebrated. Oh well.

The next day sees me on an all-day walking tour with infamous Eric (he makes an appearance in my lonely planet guide). We start by checking out the amazing statue seen below. It contains every letter of every alphabet of every language of every country to participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Very cool.


We then explore downtown Vancouver, get shown the new apartment buildings that have just popped up, plus a very plush grocery store which has anything anyone with too much money could ever want. They even have a round wheel of bread shipped over from France every morning, which only costs 100 quid. Bargain!

A ferry and bus ride later we are in North Vancouver and making our way to the base of the highest peak in the area, plus Capalino canyon. We wonder through the amazing forests surrounding the canyon, some of which have apparently appeared in the first Twilight movie.

We also explored a salmon farm where you can watch the fish in all their glory, leaping through the air to get from one artificial level in the river to the next. We traipse further through the forest, spot some bear prints in the mud, cross some amazing bridges, nibble on wild berries and explore the not so trodden path courtesy of Eric and his knowledge of the area. We then walk to Capalino Canyon suspension bridge which is the highest and longest one of its kind in the world… apparently. We marvel at the engineering, gawk at the river rushing below and all together take way too many pictures.

Eric sees us safely back to the hostel and so concludes a very interesting day out. I manage to catch up with my new bunk mate, plus one of the women from the walking tour, for dinner at a delightful little Lebanese place. The two and half hour wait for a table however, was not so pleasant, but we all stuck it out and were rewarded with some great food.

(To be continued in Part II).

Seattle

Greetings all. I hope you have all been fairing well in my absence of what is now about 4 months. I thought I would try and update you a little on what I got up to in Seattle as that was the last place I got up to in my previous entry. In visiting Seattle, I was incredibly lucky enough to stay with my cousin Matt, his wife Danielle and their four gorgeous kids. It was certainly a fun filled week, with adventures ranging from facing the unbelievable crowds at Pike's Fish Markets...



... to braving the cold weather at the beach, hunting for tiny crabs. The photo below is of Dani and the kids after our time playing in the sand and building sandcastles.



After the beach, Dani took us all to one of the most spectacular waterfalls I've ever seen. It's called Snoqualmie, and I was very glad that I had brought my new rain jacket with me that day, as I got totally soaked standing on the platform, trying to take this picture without getting my camera wet.

To cap that day off, on the drive home along one of their major freeways, all of the traffic in our direction was coming to sudden stand still. Everyone in their cars are swerving into other lanes, trying to avoid colliding, but for what reason, no one could work out. Looking only 50m in front of us, there were absolutely no other vehicles, and it was quite clear that no accident had occurred. Everyone in the right hand lanes slowly began to creep forwards again and the cars started to disperse. We edged our way forward in the left hand lanes and as we watch the minivan in front of us, all of a sudden a mother duck and her four chicks waddle across the final lane of traffic and make it to the verge and relative safety. My mind was blown. It turns out, everyone originally going 60 miles an hour, had decided to come to a screetching holt to allow a family of ducks to cross the road! Amazing!

The following day, saw Dani and I exploring the stunning reading room located at the University of Washington (after wandering for nearly half an hour through their emmense library trying to find the thing)...

Could you imagine getting the opportunity to study in such a place? How any of the students actually learn anything as opposed to just starring in awe at the architecture, is beyond me.

From there our ability to follow a road map was severely tested. It really didn't help with the fact that we didn't know the actual location of where we were going. Which was to find the Fremont Troll. The same one that makes an appearance in '10 Things I Hate About You'. After more left turns than you would have thought were physically possible, we eventually found the thing. Turns out it IS located on Troll Avenue. Who would have thought? After the obligatory photo op. of me with the troll, Dani and I headed into down town Seattle to go on the very anticipatory Underground tour.

Turns out there is a laberynth of tunnels below the streets of Seattle, dating back to the original settlement of the area. The reason for their existence... Seattle was origianlly built on a major flood plane, with the streets and buildings getting flooded twice a day, every day. Now as you can imagine, eventually, the townsfolk decided that that just would not do. Their solution, to knock the buildings down and start again, but this time, raising everything by 3 metres. This however, began with only the streets (not really sure why). Unfortunately, the business owners couldn't be bothered waiting for the council to finish constructing the new roads, so they decided to start putting up their new premesis between the streets that were now 3 metres above the ground. Shoppers would then have to climb down a ladder on one side of the street to get to those shops, then climb up another ladder to get to street level, before climbing down yet another ladder to then go into the shops on the other side of the street. Once the roads had been completed though, the council just decided to bridge over the gaps between the streets and the buildings, essentially forcing the businesses to raise their entrance ways to the 1st floor of their buildings, and leaving the ground floor as a basement level surrounded by a maze of pedestrian walk ways below ground, and hence, forming the underground network of Seattle.

Yay, we all learnt something today. Now who doesn't feel smart after trying to work that one out?

I will now take you to a most serene and pleasant local to try and help ease the mental gymnastics I just put you through in attempting to understand my above description of Underground Seattle. Cougar Mountain would be such a place. An area that has no fear of displaying its love of the colour green in all of its hues. The 6 mile hike I walked all on my lonesome (kids weren't up for it), led me to the peak of Cougar Mountain. A very anticlimactic place thanks to the lack of view and any noticable ellevation. I then wandered further down an alternate trail and came across a stunning water fall, a most brave little woodland mouse, and this picturesq bridge where I enjoyed a packed lunch of tuna and bread, otherwise known as a tuna sandwich :)

All in all, I loved Seattle (or area thereabouts). Matt and his family were absoultely wonderful, and I'll never forget the memories of sleeping in a room with 5 year old Sidney. Every morning, a wonderful wake up consisting of 20+ questions, proceeded by a day of being shadowed by said child. Sidney, your the greatest! :) And I'm so sorry that I never got say goodbye, but I'm sure if you bug your parents sufficently (and I know you have it in you), you might get to visit me one of these days :) And I'll work on speaking properly just for you (otherwise known as my accent).

A journey through time..

Come my friends and join me on a journey through time... to a place in the past when clouds scuttled the base of mountains on rainy days...

... and the world in which I lived was filled with dancing cows, guys playing air guitar and I was still recovering from climbing a mountain that left my legs feeling like jelly and hating the person who invented stairs. *insert the sound of windchimes here*

...

Ok, so my legs were in pain for five days post mountain climb but I was still stupid enough to join in an Ultimate frisbee match with some University of Utah students (aka the Utes) with my cousin Helen. Hillarity ensued as my cousin continually tackled people to the ground (its a non-contact sport) and I fell over every 15 minutes as I wasn't used to running without cleated boots on. The whole situation didn't help my sore legs issue, but did improve the grass stains on my knees. Bonus!

The week followed with movies, tie-dying, guitar hero, a tonne of good food, church, the blessing of one of the cutest babys (and quitest), a plethora of relatives to impress with my wit and double dutch skills, jet skiing, experiencing what life would be like if I was in a family with 6 kids, cheese cake, more kids and relatives to play with, more cheese cake, balloon baseball, pottery, oh, and more cake (what a birthday I had, thanks everyone for the love and tummy filling goodness of all the baked goods :)

Oh, and lets not forget the turkeys, cows, rabbits and goats of the animal farm...

(Lily and Tommy make some new friends)

From here we journey into the curious world of Twilight... otherwise known as the state of Washington and Seattle with its cloudy, rainy days and weather predictions for the possibility of 'sun peaks' as apposed to an actual day of sunshine. The place is so lush and green that more often than not you can't see more than 100m in any one direction.

It really was a world I could imagine living in, with the patter of rain to soothe the soul and the closeness of world around you. Makes you feel all warm and cosy :)

Noteworthy Events

Event Number 1:
I witnessed an avalanche at Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.

Event 2:
I became friends with a chipmunk while at 2000ft above sea level.

Event 3:
I slept through the biggest earthquake Washington DC has ever experienced! Yes, you heard right. I slept through it!!!! How crazy is that?

Thought of the day

"I was orbited by several flies today. I now have some inkling of what its like to be a proton."

Not to mention the full baffet lunch I provided to all of the mosquitoes next to Kootenay River. I'm up to 22 bites and counting.

San Diego and Salt Lake City

Keeping a blog up to date is a lot harder than I thought. Especially because I'm also keeping a personal diary, updating my facebook page, and sending a lot of personalized emails still. It gets difficult to do all of that, and not get bored with my own repetiveness. I will however, attempt to provide a brief overrun of some of the things that I have seen and done up until now.

I will return now to my days in San Diego... *insert time warp here*... I did manage to check out San Diego Zoo which entailed running from one enclosure to the next for most of the morning, and still only seeing about a third of the entire complex. This included seeing pandas, polar bears, hippos, raccoons, winter foxes, a puma, and some very cheeky gorillas. The one animal that i really wanted to see however, i couldnt find. And that would be the pengolin. The two things that i remeber the most was the hummingbird hovering above the huge silverback gorilla, and the two flights of escalators that take you up through the jungle canopy. Other than that, the zoo was very similar to others I've seen, excluding the variety of animals. I still think that the Night Safari in Singapore was far more thrilling. But seeing the hundreds of squirrels around the place made it worth it :)

San Diego also included a beach ultimate game (which i couldnt play due to my cold), and a four hour sojourne through the S.S. Midway. A naval air craft carrier. It was a mini city unto itself. There were also numerous cardboard cut outs of naval crew around the ship, which when you turned a corner in one of the passageways, proceeded to scare the crap out of you on many an occassion. *shakes fist at stupid cardboard cut out people*

My adventure now moves on to Salt Lake City where I have a wealth of family. According to some cousins though, they can only a handle a day of being my guide due to the amount of walking which is often involved in the activities I choose. (Thanks Taylor!) Some highlights include exploring Timpanogus Cave and having ranger Andy correcting Taylor about 50% of the time on his so called "knowledge"... An image of Taylor walking/climbing down the one and half hour path from the cave. Oh, and the view from the canyon :)I also loved the 7hr sailing voyage in the Great Salt Lake with 'pirates'. Lance, who was my skipper (even though I spent most of the time steering), was dressed like a pirate as the whole trip was supposed to be a historical reinactment of french (and other) sailors going to battel in the lake... or something to that effect. Then the most amazing, and exhausting was my climb up Mt Olympus, which is over 9000 ft high. It's pretty much a continual steep climb to the top which took us 4hrs, with a hand and foot scramble for the last 500m. In total it was about 10km straight up and down, with the poor thighs caning for 5 days there after. But I would strongly recommend my family to give it a go. I mean, you guys live there, how is it possible that you havent seen the top yet? I do however, think I scared off my 17yr old co-climber from ever wanting to set foot up a mountain ever again. More from the pain associated, as apposed to me being bad company.Thats it for now. Other adventures soon (eventually) to be put to print.

Sqirrels, men in black, pirates and a dancing cow.

Ok, so who knew that I would be having so much fun that I wouldn't be able to find time to update my blog? Thats just crazy! Instead, I've spent the last 2 hrs replying to emails thats i've left dorment for more than a few weeks. Now that I've got that out of the way, I am here to update on my progress so far. Two weeks have past since I left Oz and it started out fairly rocky as I caught I cold and a sore throat a few days after landing in San Diego. Thats all in the past now and it's hard to get me to sit still now, there is so much to see and do.

I'll step back a few paces though and travel back in time to when I was still in San Diego...

The time, 7am Monday morning, the place, Balboa Park. The aunt and uncle have gone off to play golf and I'm left at the gates of the San Diego Zoo which doesn't open for another 2 hrs. What do I decide to do? I start following all of the sqirrels down a very deserted path that leads me down into a small valley that is very serene but slightly creepy for its lack of human populace. I go as far as I dare and turn around to head back up the path when I notice this very suspect character walking out of the bushes, dressed all in black and showing signs that gravity wasn't his friend that early in the morning... my thoughts... "oh crap, oh crap, oh crap"...

I start walking towards him as if nothing were amiss...

Then I think better of it and walk/run up the nearest hill away from him into a kids playground and back to the safety of the zoo and the morning joggers... "fwew... *gulps for air*... that was a close one..."

ok, that was probably the lamest, scary moment ever, but I think the fact that I wasn't really awake at that time made me panic more than I needed to. It also didn't help that I had been reading my friends 'worst case scenario travel guide book' the day before. Thanks heaps for that one Jamie. I'm having nightmares about runaway camels and giant leaches!!!

I'll leave you with just one more story before I go. It goes something like this: "Hi, this is my cousin Tessa from Australia. She just spent all day sailing with pirates in the Great Salt Lake..."
(to be cont.)

I'm off to Ogden with my cousin Helen right now. My fingers are crossed that I'll spot another dancing cow today :)

The goings on of San Diego

I would just like to point out that as I write this, I am tucking into THE best and freshest homemade strawberry icecream this side of anywhere! Chuck, you are the best and I will forever call you my uncle :)

Ok, now for the rest of the update, I'm here in San Diego staying with my aunt and unlce, Carol and Chuck. The worst of the jet lag has past, after I think was only 17hrs of nearly continuous flight. Most of it is now just a blurr, though watching Carl Barons stand up comedy was a highlight.

I can now say that I've seen my first San Diego cactus (right) and my second and 103rd... they are everywhere, as well as the palm trees.

Left is picture of Carol and I on our way to the beach which hides at the bottom of massive cliffs. This was the day I teach them the fine art of frisbee throwing and they introduce me to an unexpected nude beach. What a day.

On the right is Carol and Chuck pointing out a rock that looks exactly like an unburried bear ass. And no, this wasnt part of the nude beach, that was around the corner.

Today Carol and I headed for the aquarium which is on premo realestate on a cliff above the ocean. Very spectacular. Home to a gargantuan red octopus that was terrorizing the small children by continually swimming directly at the glass of its enclosure. Much enjoyment on my part ensued.

Carol and Chuck are a laugh a minute and have

a strange fascination with a particular blimp that flies over the house about 5 times a day. This however, in no way compares to their love of golf. The image on the right highlights this fact. Yes, this is their backyard, and yes, that is a putting green. Hours of fun by friends. Hours of fun :)

And tomorrow... San Diego Zoo... and the exploration of a huge naval aviation docking ship. Sweet!

flibbity gibbit

bumble butt of a malaria med!! this holiday is costing me a fortune!

on the flip side, i managed to have coffee with the staff and residents at Surrey Rd today for a final farewell. cake was provided while i was told of James' naked escapades from earier that morning. that brings back the memories.

shortly after coffee and cake Karen proceded to crush Stephen against the table as his wheel chair had gotten in her majestys way... its good to know that nothings changed in the two months since i've been there. it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to know that good times will continue to blossom out of Surrey... no really, it made the whole experience more memorable. plus the fact that stephen blew me a kiss as i left the house. that guy is going places :)

the countdown continues

only two and a half days remain till take off...
finally setting up the blog site to support friends with stalker-esq tendencies.
hopefully the title leaves a few scratching at their heads for the meaning of its obscurity.
tanslation: tall blond solo traveller

only suffered a mild panic attack this morning. the realisation of the immensity of what it is that i am soon to be undertaking kinda hit me like a brick. saved me the trouble of trying to have breakfast this morning.

slowly checking things off my to-do-list... anyone want to buy a Heron?
still working on how to traverse the entire expanse of canada within a 3 week period.
however, i did finally manage to pick up my tickets for actually leaving the country.

future outlook for trip? cloudy with an approaching silver lining...