Leaving Canada

Leaving Canada.

When I last blogged I was on the eve of and on the cusp of completing what I can only describe as an epic road trip across the entirety of Canada! Leaving Kamloops high in the Rockies and descending the final leg of the journey down into Vancouver I could certainly feel a sense of anticipation at reaching the objective, completing the project and having done something to feel proud of as driving across the second largest country on the planet is no mean achievement!

A full days driving through the now familiar British Columbia countryside and we arrived in Vancouver to be greeted by Bryanna Theil & Bonnie Do who had kindly offered their hospitality to us. Although only in Vancouver for 6 days it was truly an amazing time. I had tried but didn't succeed in meeting up with a friend from back home, Laura Hughes, but no joy due to me getting the wrong address or turning up late... had managed to cross the entire country without the need for a cell phone but now that I was back in civilization for all of one day I was suddenly realizing the need for one in a fast paced city! None the less I enjoyed some good nights out there with Marco, Bryanna, Bonnie and there friends, also had the pleasure of having a few pints of the black stuff with Anton McCarthy from Drogheda in the Blarney Stone and Jonny Foxes! Bryanna who had threathened to beat me at pool ended up having to leave for Winnipeg the day after we arrived - however I think she just chickened out of our pool match off!

No sooner was I in Vancouver than I had to start my planning my next move, having only a 6 month visa for Canada my time was quickly running out. Leaving Canada was not something I wanted to do at all, I had enjoyed so many good adventures there and made so many friends - none more important than the travel partner who put up with me for all of 4 months - Marco. Honestly I dont believe I can do the man justice in words alone but I can say that he was not only a true friend but an inspiration.  His zest for life and his outlook upon it is admirable and to share the adventure I did with such a guy was an honour and privilidge. I think I can best sum the guy up by explaining what he did the day I was leaving Vancouver, he got up at 5 am to bring me to the train station, we said our good byes and he he insisted he would wait to ensure I cleared immigration and got away safe..... he waited till 10am!!! 5 hours just waiting to be sure I got away... now thats a true friend in any walk of life! I secretly think he hoped I would get refused at US immigration and we could go back to continuing our Canadian adventure.... alas it was not to be but I reckon the Eddie & Marco book of travel adventures still has a few chapters to be written in it yet sometime and somewhere in the future - maybe even in New Zealand, but for now Im happy to call him a good friend and a friend for life for sure!

As the train pulled out from Vancouver station and hurtled its way towards Seattle I couldnt help but reflect and wonder about myl toughts on Canada now that I was leaving... AlCapone once joked that he "didnt even know what street Canada was on" (such was its insignificance to him) But I certainly do! Often seen by the outside world as no more than "Americas Hat" Canada's vast wilderness is joked about in guide books as beng only visited by an English lady in a hat (The Queen) and toothless iliterate fishermen! But not to me as I see Canada as probably the most free country in the world where a man still has room to breathe, to spread out, to move forward, to move out, an open country with an open frontier. Not only that but Canada has created harmony and cooperation among its ethnic groups, and it should take this experience to the world because I doubt there is such an example of harmony and cooperation among ethnic groups anywhere else on this tiny planet. Even its health care system is to be admired - even if my knowledge of it comes primarily from a Michael Moore movie! Although i guess any country whose primary health issues are hockey injuries and sinus trouble from trying pronounce complicated french vowels!!!...... can master and prefect almost any of its nations "lesser" health complaints and requirements. Canada to me was not just an epic adventure, in life I believe that we are all a by-product of our experiences and for that reason I can say that my Canadian experience was exceptional and a privilidge to endure. Weather it was the Irish like country side of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the diversity of European culture and language embraced in Qubec and New Brunswick, the beauty and history of Ontario, the vastness of the paries of Manitoba and Seskatchawn to the heights of the Rockie mountains in Alberta and British Columbia, all were enjoyed and all left a lasting impression

Whatever about its landscape the real beauty of Canada lies within its people and I was privileged to meet so many on my travels across their nation. I will be forever indebted to their welcoming smiles! From the kindness of the Theil family in Quebec, to the exentricness of "Irish Mike", the humorous anglo-french conversations with natives Alain & Robert, and the friendships created with fellow workmates and Ontario residents Brit & Lindsey..... and that was just the summer! Everywhere in Canada there were welcoming smiles and friends to be made and I have left there with friends for life and i look forward to when our paths cross again in the future...... indeed it is a credit to Canadians that despite its beauty, vastness or intrigue the humbleness of the Canadian people is epitomized in the Canadian National Anthem "O Canada" which sums up the country in just 10 simple lines!

I came to Canada as a "rat-race reject", naive to the world and adventure. I left inspired, motivated and intrigued as to what else the world can offer and I am now happily on my way to exploring it.... So Canada I thank you and just as Sir Adolphe-Basile Rothier failed to find a verb noun or adjective to adequately and justifiably name or describe his new work which would become the national anthem I too can now appreciate his difficulty for Canada is not a place that can be described it is a place that needs to be explored & experienced for ones self because then ... and only then can it be understood and appreciated....... "O Canada"... "O Canada"  indeed.......

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Canada - Oct 13th 2010

Location: kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. 
Time of Writing: 10:00 

Morning all from beautiful Kamloops BC, the high Rockies are now to my back and the Pacific ocean awaits in front of me but first i have to talk about the last few days spent in propobly the nicest place I have ever been lucky enough to witness.... Banff! 

Where do I even begin to blog about Banff...... It seems rather tragic and unfortunate that the most commonly known fact about Banff is that it is the STI capital of North America! Being a 28 year old male I'm certainly in no position to take the moral high ground here but it is sad that one of the worlds most picturesque places is associated with such a blasey attitude to sex as it is a serious injustice to the place. That said it is easy to see why high spirited young people are attracted here as there is certainly an air of appriciation in the place for all things adventureous and picturesque and a lust for adrenalin fueled sports like mountaining climbing, snow boarding, skiing, ice climbing and white water rafting! There is a joke among Canadians that the letters HBC which stand for the the "Hudson Bay Company" which "settelled" this region by building railways to aid fur trading actually stands for Here Before Christ! But not in Banff I don't think as while I am not overly relgious there was certainly something devine and "higher power" like involved in it's creation! Sourounded on all sides by 3000m peaks Banffs loacation between the Ice Park way and Bow Valley park is naturally perfect and it's beauty is matched only by the pride held by it's locals in keeping the town architecturally compliant with it's suroundings. The town is quaint with a population of only 7000 but This however swells to over 25000 in peak summer and winter seasons when the tourists flock in! Being a tourist in Banff is an absolute pleasure as no matter where you stay everthing is on your doorstep. We checked into the Samesun Backpackers hostel on Banff Ave, an excellent place that had been recommended to us by Kiwi Chris and Dutch girl Phil whom we had met Sat night in the wilderness hostel near Jasper. It wasent the cheapest hostel I had stayed in but is was certainly the best and seeing as it was Canadian Thanks Giving they were offering thanks giving dinner for $10 so I couldn't resist! 2 Germans. 3 Irish, 4 Scottish, 5 English, 6 Kiwis and 17 Austrailians sat down to Thanks Giving dinner in the hostel bar (yes bar!) at 8pm and it was one the greatest things I've experienced in Canada! It was also nice to meet a couple more Irish travelling but even that was short lived, one of the guys was from Cork and he was grand but the other guy who was from Kildare had the social skills of an amradillo and his only claim to fame was he could polish off a whole bottel of whiskey in 2 hours............. He could have done that back in Naas.... Why he had to travel half way around the world to do it is beyond me! Great to see the stereo type of us Irish being continued!!! Not! Afterwards we went to check out the town and celebrate Phils bday (the Dutch girl). Surprisingly Banff was really quite (no STIs were going to be transmitted tonight!) but never the less we had a good night in the Gate Irish Bar (yes there is an Irish bar everywhere!) and the Rose & Crown bar which had live band. Had hoped to drink in Wild Bills Bar (named after a Bill Peyto the hardiest of the Hard immigrants who settled here and used to trap wild bears and let them loose in the bar just to amuse himself while he drank a pint!) however the only thing wild about the place was the tumbleweed blowing through it.... Monday was my first oppertunity to fully experience the hiking Banff has to offer and so we went to climb Sulpher mountain just outside the town. Not a tough hike by anymeans and any feelings of having conqured anyting were surpressed when I was greated by half the population of Japan at the top who had taken the gondella (cable car). I have met so many Japaneese and Germans on my travels that I often wonder why Japan and Germany ever bothered having a war when all they had to do was wait 60 years and they would have taken over the world anyway! The top of Sulpher mountain has a fantastic observation tower and a restaurant making it the nicest top of a mountain I ever climbed to! It also has a weather station at the top which used to be climed to everyday by a local man to record the weather, aprantly the national weather office in Ottawa had sent the man a 33 year supply of recording documentaion (1 sheet per day) as a joke when he first bulit the station but not only did he eventually run out of sheets he needed a further 5 years supply! That's climbing the mountain everyday for 38 years!!! He wasent married......... aint it amazing what the lack of a woman (and an STI!!!) in Banff can acheive!!! 

Monday night was spent in the hostel as they were running a trvia night in the bar which the entire hostel was invited to participate in. It's worth nothing that the quiz was sponsered by the local sexual health center (just shows the extent of the problem!) and as such many of the question had a similar theme! Being the only person to correctly answer that Alcohol and not rohipnol is the most commonly used date rape drug might have won me free drinks for my team but it certainly didn't endear me to any of the women present!!! Ah well guess you can't win them all.... and anyway I'm happy to leave Banff with only the deases I came in with!!! ............ That's a joke by the way - Mother or anyone else who is reading this!!!

More later.....

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Canada - Oct 12th 2010

Location: Samesun Backpackers Hostel, Banff, Alberta, Canada

Time of Writing: 12:00

Firstly my apologies that it has taken me 6 days to update this! Im delighted to see that one or two of you actually read this and missed it for the last few days! Basically its been a very busy few days on the road, spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Edmonton - a place that i can only describe as a concrete Jungle! Its a very large sprawling city that lacks alot of the characture of other Canadian citys I have visited.... so why the 3 days there then?! Well Marco wanted to meet up with some friends that he came to know while traveling in Oz and so it came to be that we checked into the clean and very modern Go Backpackers hostel in downtown Edmonton for 3 nights. Tuesday night I went to have a pint in The Black Dog bar on the southern side of the city, this had been recommended to me by a friend back home who had been once or twice while visiting his sister in law who lives over here. Although only a Tuesday night the bar was busy and had a good atmosphere as did the Empress bar which is actually part owned by my friends sister in law. Wednesday i went to visit Edmontons main tourist attrcation....a mall! Granted its the worlds biggest mall but shopping aint my thing so i duly went to the cinema to kill time! Watched "The Town" which i really reccomend! The Mall was slightly interesting in that it had its own theme park, water park and full size ice rink as well as its own replecation of New Orleans Burbon st but honestly to me it was just a monstrosity of epic proportion! One thing I will say about Edmonton is that the people of the place were very friendly so much so that one even apologized for being already married when i joked with her about having to leave the country in 3 weeks or alternately find some Canadian to marry me! So my summery of Edmonton... great people but a sprawling abyss of concrete....

At last on Friday we left for the Rockies and the whole reason i came to this fine country was about to be realized.... Enterting Jasper National Park is an experience in itself as the view in all directions is a picture postcard. Our first stop was at the Minette natural hot springs just inside the park. This was certainly something id never experienced before - naturally accruing hot springs and lazy about in them for an hour was cool esp considering the air temperature was a mere 10c. Friday night was spent camping in Jasper in the Whistler camp grounds, as it was approx 2km from the town we took our bikes into the village and enjoyed a few social drinks in the Jasper Brewhouse. Saturday we left Jasper and headed south along the Ice Parkway towards Banff stopping along the way for a hike around the 5 lakes and then again at the Athabasca Glacier... a truely magnificent piece of geography at the edge of the Columbia Ice field. Sat night was spent in a wilderness hostel which is essentially a mountain hostel with solar powered communal lights but no electricity. It did however have a sauna and an accompanying mountain stream in which to cool down after a session baking in the heat!!! Certainly a different way to spend a Sat night!!!

I guess Sunday being the 10/10/10 is a poinient day and will be remembered by many but for me it will rememberd as the fisrt day i ever laid eyes on Banff! and that requires an entire blog on its own!

more to follow later...

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Canada - Oct 5th 2010

Location: Go Backpackers Hostel, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Time of Writing: 17:00

Ok so it's been 3 days since I updated this - but what a busy 3 days (and nights!) it was!!

Sasktoon was a difficult city to find backpacker accomadation in as there is no hostel in the city. Our search was not made any easier by the fact that the tourist office did not open on Saturdays! I guess tourism is only welcome Monday to Friday! After some online searching I came up the Collegedrive Inn on the southern banks of the Seskatchawan river - an excellent spot to stay in.

Accomadation sorted I went to check out Saskatoon, I don't think I've seen a cleaner city in Canada and it's lowrise buildings and very wide streets make it very western like and I half expected to see cowboys walking around and horses tied up outside saloons! Saskatoon is however a very modern city and the banks of the Seskatchawan river which flows through it's center are have some of the best walking and mountain biking trails I have seen in Canada. 

For all it's beauty the first thing I did in Saskatoon was go to the cinema! I had wanted to see the facebook film "The Social Newtwork" 

ever since I had seen the trailers for it about a month ago. Having read the book "the accendental millionaires" which the film is based upon I was very interested to see how it transfered to screen and it certainly doesn't disapoint. The facebook story is pretty well known at this stage so the film doesent deliver anything we didn't already know but the scritp is excellent! Go see it!

Sat night myself and the German went out drinking to a bar called "Buds" which I can best describe as a mondern day "Double Douce" from the film "Roadbouse"! This was a real biker rock bar with a real biker attitude ESP when you start beating them at pool! And when the shooter girl who it seems had taken a special interest in my safty suggested that I start loosing or leave then I knew it was time to find a different water hole! It's not that I am a good pool player but I did have the measure of these guys and while I really didn't want to leave at all when I was on a winning streak but loosing is not something I do deliberitly! Across the road to the "Yard" bar I went, minus the German who had long since lost interest in pool and was now off "practiceing his English" with the locals!

I decided that I needed to change activity myself so when I saw a group of people standing outside the bar smoking dressed in Santa Clause outfits I had just had to check out what tis was all about! Turns out that they had been to a "red &white" party - a dj event on the banks of the river. Now I must explain  that the only thing I am better at in this world than talking myself into "situations" is talking myself out of situations! But as the usual foot in mouth event happened yet I joined my new friends for a good hours drinking inside in the bar. One of them in particular an Aisan girl by the name of Kira took my interest up until the point she made a stab at guessing my age and suggested i must be in my mid 30s!!! Note to self - it was time to get a hair cut!!

When i finally made it back to the hotel i found myself locked out! The German hadnt arrived home yet as as he had the only key I had to wait around until someone else needed to get into the hotel. Two long freezing hours later my prayers were answered when someone did finally come and let me in!! The German was no longer top of my popularity list but he did redeem himself when he returned the next morning and announced that he made a few new friends and that they had invited us to stay with them Sun night! Any admiration of his new found friend making skills was short lived however as after packing up and leaving the hotel his hungover Crout head couldnt remember where it was he had walked from just an hour previous!!! I could only laugh at him!! but not even a McDonalds breakfast could jog his memory! He though he could remember the building but not the number so we spent a funny half an hour knocking on dorrs being greeted by and apologizing to strangers! Eventually I had to give up the search as I had a date! well a date with a hairdresser! As it was Sunday the only place i could get a haircut was in the Mall and even that needed an appointment! Jesus such hassle to get a haircut! Anyways my appointment time of 4pm came around and in I went. Its alway funny getting my haircut esp by people who haven't cut it before as I have a scar that crosses my head from ear to ear from some surgery years ago and as its not something i warn hairdressers about i always find it funny when they come across it as i can always see the "did i do that" look of panic on their faces in the mirror! 

Hair cut it was time to check back in with Marco to see how his search for elusive apartment was going! At 5pm he still hadnt found it! It didnt bother me to be honest as i had other plans to go meet two guys from back home Jonathan Lawlor & Daithi Nolan who live in Saskatoon for a few pints. Meeting the two lads was great as not only was it excellent to hear a couple of back home accents for awhile but i think there is also a bond among the Irish abroad and especially one with whom you know from back home and so Sun night was like drinking back in Gorsebridge if even for only a few hours! and that was sweet, it really made my trip to Saskatoon.

By Monday it was time to say goodbye to Saskatoon and make our way towards Edmonton. Having drove for a few hours we found a place to camp in Loydminister right on the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. The actual division line between the two is the main st that runs the length of the town and i couldn't resist the temptation to stop traffic by moonwalking across the middle of it....backwards!

Finally made it to Edmonton today and have checked into the Go Backpackers Hostel, time to go check the place out now....

On the IPod Today: Various - Everything from Neil Young to Muse

Todays Weather: Beautiful Sunshine

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Canada - Oct 2nd 2010

Location: On the Trans Canada Highway. 100kms from Saskatoon

Time of Writing: 12:00

Today's blog is a little premetiure as it's only midday but seeing as I haven't updated since Thursday it's time to do so before I forget what's been happeinig!

Spent all day Thurs in Winnipeg and having seen most of it's cultral actractions on Wed I spent Thurs checking out the more interesting "flora & fauna" of the place - namely in Shannons Irish Bar! Yep I have to admit that the never ending never changing flat landscape of the city made me home sick for hills and mountains and so I did like any Irish man would do abroad in such circumstances and sought refuge in an Irish Bar...... If even for the shortest of periods! Two nice pints were enjoyed and I even got to add to my ever extending list of Canadian people I have met who have never seen the Ocean..... Strange as it may seem but lots of Canadians have NEVER seen the ocean and it's becoming a typical question I ask of new "Canuks" that I meet. I also met two guys who were out celebrating there shared birthday and not only was it unusual for best mates to have the same birthday but also their mothers had been best friends all their lives and had given birth on the same day! Strange but true.

Camped in the Beauford National Park on Thurs night - a great camping spot - only to be overun at 8am by a group of mountain bike enthusiasts much to the delight of the German who decided to join them on their route around the park, I however wasent so enthusiastic about the idea though and that was probably due the few pints enjoyed in Shannons Bar the night before! Spent all day yesterday driving, it was an 800km drive from Winnipeg to Saskatoon, once again across the barren and flat prairie lands along the "Yellowknife" highway. The highway itself is described as Canadas "Autoban" as due to its remoteness most people dont abide by the speed limit and travel however fast (or slow!) they wish! The intention was to camp approx 200kms from Saskatoon and when we came accross a lake on the route just as it was getting dark we thought we had found an excellent camping spot - only to bog the car while trying to reach it! An hour, four wooden planks and plenty of sweet later we finally got the car unstuck! As it was now dark we didnt get much further and ended up camping close to the highway near a 24 hour service station and restaurant - An excellent choice considering how quickly the it got cold once it was dark!

Yesterday we also crossed into Saskatchewan and as they dont have daylight saving time here I am now 7 hours in time difference from Ireland. The provence of Saskatchewan is known as the "bread basket of Canada" and being here for just 5 minutes its easy to see why! Golden wheat fields now stretch for miles in all directions where Bison used to roam in the time of the Indians or "First Nations" people. Considering the landscape here is so flat and with no visible features for miles in any direction its easy to see why the First Nations people roamed - it wasent in search of or to follow the Bison as history books would suggest no no no..... i reckon it was simply because they kept getting lost as every god damn place here looks the same!!!

Have just arrived in Saskatoon, it looks like a nice place, a modern city even, have to find somewhere to stay and then Im planning to meet a Gorsebridge man and and Borris man who live here for a pint........ watch this space!

On the IPod today: Cold Play (X & Y) Bryan Adams (Anthology - well it is his country im driving across!)

Today weather: Nice and sunny.

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