Monday, December 13, 2010
A sleepless night in Montreal
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 ^_^
Monday, November 22, 2010
Canmore
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.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Kimberley and the Canadian Rockies
- 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 fallsSunday, November 14, 2010
Vancouver Part II
Friday, October 8, 2010
A brief but jam packed visit to Vancouver (Part I)
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).
Monday, September 27, 2010
Seattle
... 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.
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).
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
A journey through time..
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Noteworthy Events
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thought of the day
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.
Monday, July 5, 2010
San Diego and Salt Lake City
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*
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sqirrels, men in black, pirates and a dancing cow.
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 :)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The goings on of San Diego
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.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
flibbity gibbit
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 :)
Monday, May 24, 2010
the countdown continues
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...