From Canada to India

Blast from the past! After finding out about an 'Everyday India' article for the GuardianWitness I figured I'd compose a quick something and send it off. Having experienced the greatest culture shock of my life I deemed it only appropriate to share my thoughts on buses.

Waiting for a bus

Here's a link to the Guardian website, and my piece aptly titled 'Waiting for a bus'. You might have to scroll though, so to help you seek it out it was published on 23 April.

https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/533952dbe4b03f2475aef370?page=2&order=latest  

Meet Clifford

 We have befriended a stray. Who's not too dis-similar to 'Clifford the Big Red Dog' (for those of you who remember this stupidly out of date cartoon). He's big, He's red. He enjoys being taken out for trips. In return he offers us sporadic security (to the tune of alarm bells), and has taught us the ever so fun game of  'Guess how much longer till I run out of gas'. If you haven't already guessed it, Sam and I are now the proud owners of a new car. A Pontiac Montana who's petrol gauge is completely useless nonetheless. At the grand old age of 25 we are now both in the 'two car family' category. Despite the fact we're childless and somewhat nomadic individuals who are forever giving hostel addresses (as our own) to banks and insurance providers.

Clifford is more than a car. He's a home. (Although I'm not quite on the property ladder yet). In that we've removed his back seats and arranged Clifford's interior for open plan living. Let me invite you in to our bedroom, come wardrobe, come kitchen, come house!

So we hit the open road in our Chariot. The road trip has begun! First stop, Squamish. We waved off Vancouver only to be reunited twenty short minutes later. Grid layout = No roundabouts. If you're going the wrong way, you will continue to do so for some time. Road signs here are also discourteous. Directing you somewhere before abandoning you no where. But we made it onto the sea to sky highway. Arriving in Squamish, Clifford sniffed out his first campsite and we set up camp in the wilderness. Clifford didn't really understand the ambiance of the forest, with his intermittent alarm bells blazing (yes it appears we bought a Pontiac Montana with a slight default). We made a fire and cooked dinner.... well, we lit the stove and emptied some nutritious tinned delights into a frying pan that we 'borrowed' from a hostel. Trips to the toilet revealed ominous 'Bear in the Area' posters so we swiftly locked ourselves in Clifford and settled down for the night...... Awful! Absolutely freezing!! Neither Sam or I barely slept but we both spent the night silently beside each other giving the pretense that we were in fact effortlessly dreaming. Better that than succumb to the fact we were indeed awake. The sun finally arose and we sheepishly headed for Whistler. Unbeknown to us Whistler was extraordinarily close. Given that Whistler is a ski resort upon a mountain, this meant that we had in fact slept extraordinarily close to the snowy surroundings. Hence the cold night - school boy error! Warm showers awaited us.. bliss! In fact this hostel is equipped to cater for all your needs. Should you require an emergency tampon you can purchase them in the vending machine along side your chocolate bars and drinks. Optimum convenience!

Whistler is the 'Diagon Alley' of winter sports. A characterful village with every shop uniform in appearance. It's winding paths are full of people lugging ski's and snowboards dressed in colours not out of place on a highway maintenance workforce. It's winning feature is the ski lifts that collect passengers from within the village. Sweeping them off their feet from just beside the many shops and restaurants. You can literally ski then shop. Whistler seems to be all about the convenience it would seem.

The road trip continues....

We have since travelled through Lillooet, Kamloops, Chilliwack, Harrision Hot Springs, Vernon, Revelstoke and Golden. Staying in a mixture of hostels and campsites. Each town offers us something unique, with varying degrees of success. Whether it's a snow covered town with multicoloued housing reminiscent of Balamory (Vernon). Or a summery hot stay besides a lake (Harrision Hot Springs). First shot of our long awaited 'We're in a Canada and here's an unnaturally blue lake' was found in Lillooet. Unfortunately, we found ourselves without a toilet camping in Kamloops but so far every annoyance has it's redeeming feature. Having to awake early for nature wee's to avoid running into other campers ended up in a 7am trip to McDonald's. Swings and roundabouts.... Cheese and Pickle.

We're in Canada and here's an unnaturally blue lake

Honestly though, I cannot describe to you how beautiful it is to drive across Canada. It's ever changing landscape has us convinced we're travelling through countries... continents even! All within in a matter of hours. Vast frozen lakes that stretch out before us soon turn into snowy creeks. Ravines follow the motorway until we are met with luscious green pastures and rolling hills. Desolate, dry and dusty plains greet us only an hour later. Before we know it we're winding up a mountain along a sheer cliff edge. Road signs change from 'Stop' and 'No U-Turn' to 'Avalanche Area' and 'Falling Rocks'. We're back in the inescapable snow! Clifford is certainly being put to the test!


Next stop.... Banff!

Vancouver Island - The West Coast

'You could totally hitch-hike' Is what we are consistently told when we enquire how to get somewhere on the island. Much to the disapproval of Canadians, but I'm sure relief of our mothers we have yet to stand on the side of the motorway, thumbs outstretched to the passing traffic. We are however accepting lifts from strangers that we meet in hostels.


So, despite the humble town of Tofino's best efforts to keep under it's population quota by two, we have eventually managed to set foot in this BEAUTIFUL town - (it deserves every capital). Every which way you turn offers spectacular views. Mountains layered upon snow capped mountains. Tall standing fir trees encased by glistening lakes. Nearby islands that encapsulate the charm of an ancient era long gone. It's a masterpiece! Our hostel even has a sauna. We've explored forbidden beaches and unearthed Canada's FINEST ice cream - (it too deserves every capital).

Our day began bright and early. We packed our bags in silence:
Electrical equipment adorning sandwich bag poncho's (years of watching Blue Peter finally paying off) - Check!
Swimwear (didn't bring any) - never mind - Check!
Travel sickness pills (not that there's any helping me) - Check!
We set sail. No sooner had our vessel left the harbour my hair was entangled from the sea breeze racing through it and I was reaching for the sick bag - Pretty image. Why would I put myself through such torture you ask? Grey Whales - google that image, it is pretty! My queasiness was temporarily suppressed as we scanned the surface of the water, surveying the horizon. It didn't take long. First, the sound of a blow hole clearing, everyone's heads turned to catch the spurting water being flung high into the sky. Then another, and another.... all in quick succession. Mouths gaping, we watched as their grey mass broke the surface of the water, as it formed a lone island that was delicately rising. I looked around. We were accompanied by the rising sun reflecting off the waves. Mountain peaks peered over a tree covered coastline. Giant tails were the last to leave the surface before elegantly disappearing into the depths, without a trace. We were lucky enough to observe several of these majestic creatures on their migration.

As we drew closer to our destination we encountered more and more islands crammed with vegetation. So with the Jurassic Park theme tune repeating in my head we stepped onto dry land. It was a short walk through the dense forest with its canopies looming over us. I couldn't help but think we were travelling further into the pre-cretaceous period. In fact, I half expected to see a stegosaurus saunter past us, much to my disappointment, it didn't. We finally arrived where the rainforest met the ocean. I felt that like an intrepid explorer emerging from an expedition. Truth be told it was a half hour walk through the foliage, but as we stepped out into the sunshine it felt epic!

We had reached the hot springs. The waterfall cascaded down the rocks forming pools, all the while whisps of steam clung to the surface of the water. I was reminded of opening the freezer door on a hot summers day.... but this was back to front?! The steam lingered around the coastline - it looked ludicrous! So, with the numbing winter air surrounding us there was only one thing to do.... strip to our undies. We tip toed across the rocks and reached the base of the waterfall. Big toe tested the waters... Boiling. However, we soon became accustomed to the searing heat and rather enjoyed submerging ourselves in the hot water. It was mesmerising listening to the icy waves from the ocean crashing over the rocks just down from where we were sat.

Our journey back was another wildlife extravaganza with lots to see on the menu. Bald eagles flew overhead as sea otters fleetingly popped up to say hello. Curiosity sooner got the better of them and they shortly re-emerged trying to decipher our intentions. A short glance in their direction and they'd vanish, quick as a flash. Best of all we observed California and Steller seals upon a remote island. They continually scrambled over each other, I can only assume they were fighting to get the best tan. What a feast!


Fun Recipe: During our travels lunch can sometimes be problematic as we are often on the move. Tins of baked beans or tuna were a staple throughout Asia with their handy ring pulls, but with shoddy can openers in Canada I was forced to think outside the tin can. It can provide the perfect antidote to travel sickness. May contain nuts. Readers discretion advised.

Take one seeded wrap and liberally apply the peanut butter of your choosing be it smooth/crunchy with or without maple syrup. (An optional but recommended layer of strawberry jam can be applied at this stage).
Peel the banana of your desired maturity and position said banana upon wrap... roll...enjoy!

Vancouver Island - The East Coast

It's raining, It's pouring... the old man is NOT snoring! But then, why would he be? Why would anyone be? We have landed on what appears to be a very deserted Vancouver Island. Island beach paradise it is not.... Large land mass (equal to that of England) of quaint little towns it most certainly is!

Our journey to Cumberland was nothing short of traumatic. We arrived at the bus stop in ample time,with adequate bus fare. Catching a bus... how hard can it be? Very as it goes. Firstly, bus stops are hard to spot. Mere poles protruding from the ground. Canadians queue at the bus stop, how wonderfully British we thought. No,No! We quickly deducted that this was aimless queuing, regardless if their bus was next or not. For fear of joining the back of the queue and those in front not getting on... we stood our ground away from the curb, undeterred. Turns out everyone was queuing for our bus - the horse shoe bay express. Typical! In addition to our aforementioned anguish, upon reaching the bus driver we discovered...'Change only!' For the $4 fare Sam had $3.65 and I a measly $2.95. We ashamedly took our seats nonetheless. Nightmare! The ferry proved to be a better, less complex mode of transport for our comprehension. And as for the 'Island Link' bus service, it collected the grand total of four passengers before chaperoning us around the island. We got chatting to a rather enthusiastic lady named Bernadette, who advised us on countless places to visit and regaled us with tales of Black Bears and man eating Cougars. That's right, they roam free about the island here. Be safe, Be vigilant... Be Bear Aware!

Cumberland is an enchanting town that alludes the charm of an old western. With a population of under 3000 (I challenge this as we only ever saw a maximum of three people at any one time) it happily survives on one main street. Lined with one library, one post office, one bakery, one butchers, one clothes shop and....one tattoo parlour?!?

On our second day in Cumberland we arose to the sound of pitta patta.... it was raining... obviously. Thermal under layers and freshly bought (second hand) gilet making it's debut we departed on foot.... for the motorway. We'd heard a rumour that a bright yellow school bus had been spotted ferrying ski cladded, multicoloured wearing youths up the mountain... we wanted in on that! We sat on the hard shoulder with no real expectations that any such yellow vehicle would materialise, but sure enough it did. So we gallantly hopped on. Excited, surprised and somewhat confused as to how we had made it onto our desired shuttle we fell asleep to the sound of the falling rain. Only to be awoken a short while later by the glare of snow... perfectly white... perfectly untouched. We had made it to the summit of Mount Washington. We queued with the masses of snowboarders and skiiers and swanned up to the desk to eagerly ask for 'Snow Shoes'. We were met with puzzled expressions. Apparently no one ever asks for them. But, find them they did, and strap giant tennis racket like devices to our feet we did.

Walking through the the icy desert was effortless thanks to the strange contraptions strapped on our feet. We set out to explore the top of our Christmas cake. Everything that surrounded us was so beautiful, it really did look as though it had been freshly dusted with icing sugar. We found ourselves alone as we hiked through the trails and often heard thuds of snow falling from the trees under their weight. We first mistook it for something chasing us... a pack of wolves perhaps? We questioned our bear aware skills and realised that we didn't know any! We soon found an angelic spot and decided to settle down for lunch.... a tin of baked beans. Yum! We then made fresh snow angels before setting forth in the show once again. It was hard work wading through the deep snow all day, our thighs burned from the built up lactic acid, but it was worth every drop.