a little bit overdue, but every bit true

Well, the time has come. Today I leave Great Britain to go back to Canada and my "real" life as we called it in Aberdeen.  It's true, my life in Canada is my "real" life, one that I cherish and enjoy immensely, but the storybook adventure that I have been on for the last 5 months has been very real to me, and I will never forget it. Orientation tells you that you will experience all kinds of things, good and bad; that you will undergo cultural adaptation, for better or for worse, that you will make great friends in less than a semester’s time. The wide-eyed and naive George that sat in orientation a year and a half ago did not realize the implications of moving to a new country. Living abroad is one of the most mind opening things I've ever done, and I think I've learned more than I ever could have in a classroom. That being said, I sure will be glad to take some real classes again.When I reflect on what this experience has taught me, and what effect it has had on my life, it kind of just funnels down to the simple idea that no matter where I am, what situation I’m in, I should be grateful. Grateful for even the littlest things, a real sized oven, which works, the way that Canadians move to the right when they walk, for your friends, for the ability to talk to your family whenever you like, for a bike which doesn't break every time you use it. In Morocco, it was like I had moved another level deeper in the Inception-like chain of gratitude. I stayed at a couchsurfer’s place in Marrakech for two days, and it opened my eyes wide to what we had to be thankful for. One room, two students, two mattresses, no furniture, a spool for a desk, and a communal kitchen with two propane burners sets the scene of student life in Marrakech. When I got back to my flat in Aberdeen, it seemed an extravagance to have what we did.I’ve learnt how to travel, learnt that friendship has no time zone, and the exponeniated growth in friendship while travelling can be pretty awesome. I’ve met some of the coolest people, saw some of the most beautiful sights, tried and tasted some wordly cuisine (mmmm goat pancreas) and experienced the most epic of days (skiing in the Sahara anyone?)I write as we drive to the airport to head back to Canada, and it’s a mixed bag of emotion, but there’s two things I know, I’m grateful for the experience I’ve had, and I’m grateful for everything and everyone I’m returning to at home.

Approximately 127 hours

So, with no hostel in sight we headed to a campground on the other side of the island. It was a bit of a slog to get there, but the reward made it all worthwhile. The campground was just up the road from a white sand beach, and surrounded by hills full of sheep, it was a pretty perfect place if you ask me.  They rented out tents and camp stoves so we were set for the night.

After being attacked by some hungry chickens, and making friends with the barn dog, we went and enjoyed the sun on the beach, checked out the town and tried to track down some info about Carly's heritage. Again, it was a beautifully sunny day and Iona was buzzing with activity. We headed back to the campground for the night, but while at the hotel we heard about "St. Columba's Tears". In a bay at the very southern end of Iona, a few miles from our campground, limestone with green streaks from pressurized plant matter washes up on the shore. Apparently, while you carry a tear, you will be protected from drowning, bonus, so I set out to find the bay. Originally I thought, ah, due south, keep the loch on the right, you'll be fine. Not so much, I got to the coast, but even after some interesting climbs from one bay to the next, I don't think I ever actually found St. Columba's bay. Luckily, and with some careful searching, I did find a few "tears" and headed back to the campsite to make some dinner.

3 hours later after the sun had set, we enjoyed some 'al dente' pasta, raw courgette and some sausages. Ah, the joys of cooking with a mediocre campstove.

Sadly, that was the last night of our trip through the islands. Carly headed back to Canada, and I up to Dunino for a relaxing visit with the family! The west coast is definitely one of the highlights of all of Scotland and I'm glad I could enjoy it and the adventures with a familiar face and a good friend.

Ah, finally done with the stories, sometimes it get's a little old typing out your trips when the memories are a little more vivid and exciting than you can describe yourself. On the way home I will hopefully put together a slideshow, so stories will be retold with vivid detail in person with the highlights in that.

As I write this blog I really should be studying for my last exam on Monday, but we are all finding it a little hard to study when summer and home are so close, and with each night it seems like someone new is leaving Aberdeen. It only makes sense to hang out continuously until we all leave, right? Yesterday we finally got to check out a distillery, and sampled a few drams with a great old tour guide. It was a beautiful day so afterwards we headed down to the riverside for dinner, I got to practice my fly fishing technique (its pretty ugly) and the day turned out great.

When I woke up today, I realized I actually needed to pack, and its hitting harder and harder that I am actually heading home so soon! It's definitely a mixed bag of emotions, even with exams I am really enjoying everything here right now, but I am anxiously awaiting my first step onto Canadian soil, and contact with old friends and my family. I am not feeling particularly inspired right now, my brain is exploding with to do list's, anticipation and memories, but there should be one more post in the works before I come home, and hopefully some picture updates to the last few.

This week, I finish exams on Monday, fly down south to visit family Tuesday, then head home Friday morning. For those of you reading in the Sault, I will be home Friday at 6, so keep your schedule open for some celebrations next weekend!!

See you soon!
George

the Caribbean, I mean, Scotland

I last left you as we had finished our day's adventure in Sligachan. The next morning we went to catch the early bus, as usual on the side of the highway, into Fort William where we would then catch a bus to Kilchoan to catch a ferry over to the Isle of Mull! Taking the bus was quite an unfortunate way to travel when you are trying to pack in as much as you can in one week, but we were happy as it was providing a good "budget" option for us both. I can tell you, exchange and travelling is not a friend to my bank account. Sadly, this bus managed to ruin all the happy feelings we had about travelling cheaply. As we jumped on and said Fort William we were told 26 quid, hold on, you mean like 2.60 right? Nope 26 pounds. Yikes. We had no choice and paid the man, but were not impressed as we made our way down to Fort William. To make it worse, when the bus driver dropped a pound we had given him below his seat, he made us pay another! Another bad bus ride for the books, will they ever stop? Probably not (until I'm back in Guelph w/ a student pass woo!). We disembarked in Fort William, and on the way out, I got that pound back. Hmph.

We had a few hours to burn in Fort William, but as usual (only on this trip), the weather was stunning! We got some food and relaxed on a green in the city center. Luckily, there was a library right next door with free internet access so I could hand in my assignment that was due that day! We jumped on our next bus and headed toward Kilchoan. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I think I am conditioned to falling asleep in moving vehicles. No matter how uncomfortable, bone jarring, hot the ride, I consistently fall asleep. This ride was not exception, but the few times I did wake up it was pretty great. This bus was literally doing everything, dropping people off at their door, the driver helping old ladies in with groceries, picking up and dropping off boxes from town to town! The driver must be well liked in this corner of Britain. After rounding some beautiful peaks, which were, as usual, covered with sheep, we arrived in Kilchoan, which I don't think is actually a town, because basically all there was to see was a ferry terminal, but a beautiful one at that! With the sun shining the sea looked tropical and we had a beautiful rocky shore to look out from and see the coast of Mull. It made me want to swim. So I did. And it was cold. Very cold.

I jumped back into some dry clothes and we hopped on another ferry headed to Tobermory! Mull was a special visit as Carly's Scottish ancestor's hailed from the Isle of Iona, on the southwest tip of Mull. Tobermory is one of the most quaint harbour towns you will ever see. Each house front is painted a different bright colour, on one end of the bay, the Tobermory distillery, which is still producing whiskey, and on the other, steep hills and an old Victorian house. Very cool town. Sadly, we got there as everything was closing, so we checked into our hostel, attempted a behind the scenes tour of the distillery of our own, and looked at store fronts. A restaurant on the end of the street was voted the "Best Seafood in Britain" or something along those lines so we checked out the menu. For a couple of broke student's it was a little out of our price range, but we wanted to try some authentic local seafood, so we shared a plate of 6 oysters, yea...count'em SIX, were extravagant. This was both our first time having oysters and I loved them! Will definitely have to indulge in more of those when I have the chance. Other than us the restaurant was pretty much filled with old wealthy couples, so we didn't hang around. To get our REAL dinner we went to the chippie at the harbour front where we got some good old fish and chips! They were also delicious, and were even more tasty when enjoyed at sunset in Tobermory.

Bright and early next morning we were off to the Isle of Iona! Another scenic bus ride, and we arrived at the ferry terminal, it was a gorgeous day, and for all I knew, we were looking at the Caribbean. The sand was white, the water turquoise blue, and not a cloud in the sky. The ferry ride was only ten minutes so in no time we were off and exploring. First stop was food, and what a stop it was! The Co-op on Iona had freshly baked goods, AND natural peanut butter. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. Good peanut butter is worth its weight in gold over here. We then set off to find the hostel on the other end of the Isle, and because you can walk across the whole thing in a day, we hoofed it. We were welcomed with some bad news...no rooms available for the night. Yeesh, no hostel, no money for hotels, and no camping equipment, we were in a bit of a pickle!

Anyways, I think that's enough for one post, dinner time! Tonight we are seeing Ainslie and Devin off, two fellow Canadians that live above me and have become close friends, so should be fun! Crazy how time flies!

Hopefully another post will be going up in the next few days, don't touch that dial!

George

mmmm sardines

Ok, a friend once told me, your blog will never last. I admit, I have slacked pretty badly since Easter Break, apologies everyone! I started writing this post when I came back but I got...distracted...by...life and stuff. I was seriously sick! Carly came! ...and I procrastinated...a lot. I'm in the mood now though, so enjoy.

- For those of you hoping for a long winded account of my Easter Break, it is not to be. 3 weeks of adventures in not so sunny Spain, tajines and the Sahara in Morocco cannot fit into one blog post. As I said before, pictures are worth 1000 words, and some good ones are to come. Particular stories will have to be told in person, I don't think a keyboard will do some of them justice.

I have come down with a fever, which is a little scary considering where I've just been, but hopefully it fades fast. In the next couple weeks, I have a lot of work to finish and then Carly is coming to visit! We are planning a trip up the West Coast which should be amazing! After that, 2 or 3 weeks and I will be home bound! Time flies, but I will be happy to see everyone and enjoy summer in the Sault!

- So, that fever turned out to be a pretty ugly sickness, apparently Campylobacter. A food borne illness I must have picked up dining on cow's pancreas, fresh dates or market fruits while in Morocco. Anyways, got some antibiotics and those cleared the nasty critters out pretty fast! Good thing, I thought I was going to fade to nothing on a diet of chicken broth and rice and I had 3 assignments to do in a couple days before Carly came to visit! I got them done, literally 10 minutes before catching the bus to leave, missed my first train to meet Carly (I honestly miss so many trains it's ridiculous) but finally got to Inverness and found Carly waiting at the train station. I actually didn't see her at first, and waved at my cousin standing behind her...awkward (sorry Carly!).

The adventures began! We headed out from the beautiful little coastal town of Ullapool, and took an extremely wavy ride to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. We had a very interesting time navigating around the island with buses running approx. every 3 hours with no real stops and no schedules posted. It led to a bit of a food debacle, but in the end we came out with a great dinner and some funny stories. We stayed in the coolest hostel, right on the ocean, with lambs and a farm and some great trails surrounding it. What a great place to start the trip. We saw some ancient standing stones, enjoyed lunch right in the middle of them (can't do THAT at Stonehenge) and continued south to the ferry port to catch a ferry to the Isle of Skye. Or so we thought. Turns out there was no ferry that night, so we caught one to Northern Uist instead! Just like that, 2 Outer Herbrides in 2 days! We stayed in another great hostel with some trails we took full advantage of in the morning before our ferry left. It even had an awesome little suspension bridge over an inlet, very cool, but a little too many dead sheep for our liking. I thought it was kind of interesting, Carly, not so much.

Oh, one little detail I may have forgot to mention. My wallet had unfortunately fallen through the seats at the ferry terminal in Harris (the southern part of Lewis), so my left back pocket was lonely. Thankfully I have spent far too much on this exchange and I had my credit card numbers memorized so was able to pay for accommodation.

Side note: canned sardines and mackarel are my new favourite travel food.

SO. We finally got a ferry over to Skye! Woohoo, we arrived ready to start our adventures. Sadly, it was Sunday, and in the Hebrides this mean NOTHING is open or running. We rolled with it, and it provided us an excellent chance to explore our own little Uig Bay. Our hostel was perched on the hillside with sheep pastures stretching back for miles and the sun setting over the sea, spectacular. That bay was explored thoroughly, and as usual, the highest points were sought, conquered and photographed. We ate lunch a mile or so up and behind our hostel overlooking the bay. It was so nice to be with an old friend enjoying such a beautiful foreign destination. Later we watched the most golden sunset I've ever seen from the hills rising up across the bay. The next day we explored northern Skye, seeing Kilt Rock and heading down to the Old Man of Stor. This took much longer than expected. A prominent theme during our trip were our attempts to hitchhike. In the end, we succeeded once, and it took us a few hours. Yea, probably wouldn't knowingly try that again, unless somewhere much more remote, but it was great and I can cross that off the to do list!  We continued south and saw Portree for about 5 minutes as we transferred buses through to the booming metropolis of Sligachan!! The Cuillin Range is one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in Scotland, which is saying something, and my guidebook said Sligachan was the best place to explore it from, so I thought why not? It was true, set right in the middle of a glen with epic peaks extending back for miles, it was a walkers paradise. A walkers paradise complete with one hotel, one campground, and luckily, one newly opened hostel! A hungry Carly was not impressed with the lack of...everything, but, we got some food (venison burgers!) and soon we were off enjoying some spectacular views, and saying, oh ya let's just go around the next bend. This led to quite the walk, and we got back definitely in need of a beverage. At the hotel we met a fellow Canadian who was travelling the world for 4 years! Impressive to say the least.

Alright, it's getting late, I just wanted to get a post up to motivate me to do some more, so here it is, I'll add pics soon (may have to do some studying, I do have exams Monday and Tuesday).

I'm loving Aberdeen at the moment, and very sad that the experience is coming to an end, but I'm already reminiscing about some pretty epic adventures that I'll never forget! 4 months is an awkward time frame, I am really settled in now, but it's time to get up and go, yet again! What a crazy, lucky life I have.

The posts will come fast and furious in the next week and a half hopefully so keep an eye out! Sorry about the delays, a man's gotta travel sometime you know! Can't be working all the time! :P

On the roaddd againnn

Tomorrow morning we are off to Spain and Morocco for 3 weeks. Bullfighting, sangria, beautiful beaches, tapas, treks through the Sahara, vibrant Moroccan culture and the Atlas mountains will be sought eagerly. Our itinerary is as follows: 25th -28th Barcelona 29th Madrid 30th Toledo 31st -1st Seville 2nd - 5th Granada 5th Tangier 6th - 8th Marrakech 9th -11th Sahara 12th Fez 13th Chefchaouen 14th Tangier 15th Faro 16th Back to Aberdeen
Until then, adios amigos!

not so unthinkable

Just kidding, thought I'd leave everyone with some suspense so you would come back.

So we headed up Arthur's seat, or so we thought. After climbing a few hills in the Cairngorms I knew how long of a trek it could be so felt the need to get this one out of the way, and followed someone up what I thought was just a more direct route up Arthur's seat. Not so much. As I crested the hill I looked up and there was Arthur's seat, but rising up about 500m down the path from us, shoot.

The girls weren't to happy, but we made it up eventually and saw some great views of Edinburgh from the top.  From there we explored the Royal Mile, had a snack in the Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series! I kept my eye open for other writers looking like they would make it big someday.

From there we checked into our hostel, went out for dinner at a place just below Edinburgh Castle, met some Australians and had quite the night experiencing Edinburgh's night life.

The next day we woke up to check out, but none of us were quite ready to start exploring. So we drank our fare share of water and had a full Scottish breakfast including black pudding! Which for those who haven't heard, is basically blood pudding, and is delicious and nutritious! After that, we walked up to Edinburgh Castle, which is perched high above most of the city on bluffs in the center of town. The entry price was 14 quid, which we decided was a little much for a morning inside a castle. Instead, we took some pictures at the gates, pretended we went in, and continued on our tour of Edinburgh! Next we headed to the National Museum. When I was younger, travelling to Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian, and London's Natural History Museum, I loved checking out the exhibits.10 years later, nothing has changed. I felt as though I could wander forever looking and learning about natural history and other interesting displays.

Eventually we were on sensory overload so we split up, the girls went to the grass market, and Tucker and I checked out Greyfriars Kirkyard, a grave yard famous for Greyfriars Bobby, a dog who continued to visit his deceased master's grave everyday for 14 years after his death. The grave's were very much different from those in St.Peter's in Salzburg, and were decorated with skulls and ominous figures rather than gold fixings.

The trip ended with some smoothies and a picnic in new town and then it was back to Aberdeen!

This weekend, it was off to London for the Head of the River Regatta. It was a bit of a last minute scramble but it worked out as the novice crew needed a sub and I could get a lift down! HoRR is very historical head race, held on the River Thames! We left at 6am Friday morning and began the long drive down to London. I woke up to some very questionable things, and it was good fun driving down with the guys from AUBC. We arrived, and I was lucky enough to be welcomed by one of the crew's family for the weekend. We discussed race plan, although not extensively, and headed for an early night.

The next morning it was off to the University of London boathouse to rig and get on the water. Rowing in Britain is a bit of a different story then in Canada. The density of clubs on the Thames is mind boggling. It seems like every second building is a boat house. We got on the water after a bit of a scramble and the race began...but only about an hour of getting up the side of the Thames with 420 other crews around, insane. I also had drunk a significant amount of water before getting onto the river and was regretting whole heartedly. Luckily someone had an empty water bottle.

We finally started the race, finished the race, rowed back upstream for what seemed like ages, and got back to Alex's to shower, watch a bit of rugby then head out with the crew for post race and St. Patrick's day celebrations.  The Thames Boat Club has a bar upstairs and I don't think I have ever seen that many rowers in one place at one time.

Sunday morning the team left and I headed to Winchester to visit Julian, Sandy and the boys.  I was happy for a little time to read on the train and finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and would definitely recommend it if you have not already read it.  The rest of the day we spent biking, having a delicious dinner as always, and watching the Three Musketeers.

On Monday, I headed to London after saying goodbye and arrived at Waterloo station on the south side of the Thames.  I didn't know quite where I was so tried to head for a tourist info building by St. Paul's Cathedral, but wasn't exactly sure of my directions on the way. Eventually I got there, planned a route to hit the highlights, and set on my way. Down the Millenium bridge I strode, with the impressive Tate Modern infront, and St. Pauls at my back. I turned down the river, past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and toward the Tower Bridge. I paused for lunch beside the city council building, taking in an impressive vista with  the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London on the opposite bank. Crossing the bridge I began to feel quite ill, as if someone had stomped on my internal organ.  It was not a pleasant feeling being ill travelling alone and having the trip back to the airport looming.

Painfully, I made my way back to the airport, found a table close to my gate and put my head down like I was back in highschool math class. Feeling a little better, I caught my plane back to Aberdeen, took a taxi home, and was welcomed with some Belgian cuisine from Quinton, for which I was extremely grateful.

Another trip done, and another one coming up, 25 days exploring Barcelona, Madrid and the Andalusia, Morocco, the Atlas mountains and the Sahara. At times all this travel feels a little overwhelming, but I know this summer I will look back on my travels fondely and have some great stories to tell for the rest of my life.

Sayonara!

George

Settling in Scotland

look, a bird, a plane, no its a NEW BLOG POST! I can only do that since it's been over 2 weeks since I've written a real one. Sorry everyone.

Now to catch up! Over the past 3 weekends, I have, hiked the Cairngorms, twice, visited Edinburgh, and actually did some homework, crazy eh.

After my Austria trip, I felt as though I needed some time to settle in. The first 3 weeks were a whirlwind, and going to Austria in the 4th didn't calm the storm. So, two weekends at home ensued, a solid bike (which is not so solid anymore due to a broken crank arm), some good training time with a lot of outings in a single, and a couple papers came of it.

One weekend, Will invited me to come hiking in the Cairngorms! I thought, oh how nice, a little stroll through the rolling hills of north eastern Scotland. Not so much. We left town by 7, and headed out to the Lin of Dee, near Braemar. From there, a 31 kilometre hike, with just over a kilometre of verticle ensued. It started beside the Dee, which flows into the North Sea in Aberdeen, and is the river I row weekly! The path followed the river, but we veered off into a heather covered valley. The forest at the bottom of the valley was amazing! Far different from anything we see in Canada, sparcely populated with very old looking trees, and small streams running into it from all directions. We wound our way up the valley, stopped for some snacks (mmm PB&J), and met some fellow hikers, with thick Scottish accents. From there, the ascent began, first we came to a bothey, a small cabin that is for general public use, and the spark for a few trip ideas in the near future. We continued up, way up, through high crags and away from the bothey.  I told myself, save the view for the top, and it will be way better. I don't know if it was better, but was it ever spectacular. We crested the top of the saddle and almost immediately infront of us was Loch Etchachan (pronounced etch-ken). It was crystal clear and was frozen perfectly flat, despite it being t shirt weather in the valley. I turned around and Scotland continued to amaze me. High hills surrounded us, with spots of snow, steep cliffs, sharp summits, and flattened plateaus. Well worth the walk. We huddled behind a rock for shelter from the wind, and ate our lunches, and continued, up, to our final destination. Or so we thought. After continuing a little too far Loch side of the next climb, we came  up and over onto a saddle coming off of Ben Macdui, the 2nd highest mountain in Scotland. Tucker and I were unaware of the navigation problems, so savoured the beautiful views from the top of steep cliffs. The Dee sparkled in the distance, having originated from a hill top Loch just the other side of a climb from us. After learning of the little mix up, we headed back aways, and then up, again, to the top of the Derry Cairngorm. We summited, stopped for a snack, and out of the blue, came the white. Snow, everywhere, a complete whiteout, making it a little hard to start the climb down. However, it settled and we continued to make our way back to the car. On the way down, there was a large patch of snow banded across the hillside. When life gives you snow, slide! Much nicer than walking. Back down Derry Cairngorm, through the valley, along the river, and by the time we were back at the car, I, and my feet, were definitely ready to be done.

The time at home continued, homework, bonfires, surf pubs, a few more random nights out, and trip planning ensued, camel trek through the Sahara anyone? Toby, another cousin, came down to visit Aberdeen, and we went out for another hike, in gale force winds, ending in a spectacular sheltered valley, with the sun shining and mountain hares bouncing out of 200 year old hill side sheep enclosures. It's amazing the diversity of landscape that surrounds Aberdeen, from sea, to rolling hills, to deep glens and steep Munroes. Amazing.

Aberdeen is great, but it was time to properly see and experience Edinburgh. Our first trip as a group for a long time, and we were all getting fiercely excited. It began with a field trip for Art History, but that came with a ride down on the bus which wasn't so bad. Kendra and I met up, bleary eyed, and headed down to catch the bus. 3 hours later, we...weren't in Edinburgh. Gah, finally the bus made it around whatever was stopping a punctual arrival, and we set off into the National Gallery of Scotland, herded by a very Harry Potteresque, "First years this way!". The building was beautiful, the art was, art, and I wasn't particularly upset when the droning stopped.

Let the adventures begin! We got out as fast as we could, and headed for Arthur's Seat! A city side hill over looking Edinburgh and the sea.  And then, the unthinkable happened.

But that, my friends, will have to wait for next time, I'm tired and have early class. Check back soon for more! I promise I won't be so slow.

"its the best of the best for me"

G

who knows the song? dont google it cheater!

seals?

This morning I went for a row on the Dee in a single, it was just a steady state but as I went up and down the river, a little black bump kept popping up of my stern. A seal wanted in on the action! I kept seeing it for a few trips up and down, what a cool experience.

who knew

The other day I was walking across town to hand in an essay at a separate campus.  The sun was shining, tunes were blaring, I was in high spirits. I paused to look out over the city, and thought, how amazing is life, that 4years ago I was in the Sault, loving the Dunn and the Eagle family, wondering where to go to school, and now I'm walking through the streets and living in Aberdeen, Scotland.  What would Turcs think, or Wilson?! Tonight we are planning our Easter break trip, Spain and Morocco!

#exchangestudentproblems

I just spent about 2 hours writing a much better post about the Austria trip! And then my internet crashed.  I don't think it's meant to be.  A picture is worth 1000 words so here's the story.

Sunrise in Salzburg

 My trip started with a tour of Munich with a couchsurfer named Baran. He knew every nook and cranny of the city, and the history and stories of so many buildings and statues.  Munich is such a beautiful place and I was so lucky to have such a great tour guide. From here the trip took quite an adventurous turn.  Jakub, a rowing friend living in Germany, and I headed down to Lech Zurs in Austria to do some skiing.  We hit the slopes with vengeance...and Jakub ended up with 2 cracked ribs, a ruptured spleen, 2 fractured vertebrae, a concussion and a broken humerus. So, I began my trek from Zurs to the Feldkirch ICU. This created a few adventures of my own, not the least of which was getting there in a pair of hotel slippers because my shoes were locked in the car.  The car, a tiny stick shift Renault, also had to be driven back to Feldkirch so Jakub could take care of it later, so I stepped up to the plate the next day. First time driving stick on my own, through the Alps w/ some heavy snow passing through...quite the drive. Luckily I had Bruce Springsteen to keep me company on the local radio station.



I returned to Rosenheim, got my stuff, and headed to Salzburg the next day.  The trip really began there.  Another couchsurfer, Michelle, texted me as I arrived in Salzburg saying there was a parade in Ebensee, a small town in the Salzkammergut.  So, I hopped on another train and headed out. Am I ever glad I did.  We experienced Fetzenmontag, rag Monday, a ridiculous parade where Austrian children came around and hit you with large wooden sticks, girls were carried off in wheelbarrows to bars and the whole town comes together for a party. After the parade we were invited to a party, but not quite the usual fare that I am involved in.  This party was in a tiny cedar boathouse, on the edge of Trawnsee, a small mountain lake, with Trawnschtein, a monster of a peak overlooking it.  There was white sausage and beer abound and with everyone still dressed in their costumes it was quite the time. We partied the night away with the Austrians and on Sunday went to another parade in Bad Aussee. On the train there and back we were serenaded by a group singing traditional Austrian festival songs, what an atmosphere. I will post this now because I feel as though an update is necessary, but I will come back and finish it later when I am not about to fall asleep....goodnight everyone!

and the winner is...

herro everyone,

so what with the lack of success of the last comment plea post, I am implementing a new system.  Best monthly comment as rated by me will get a post card from wherever I happen to be around the time of deciding. The first one will be decided in the next 2 weeks to kick things off right. Post on the epic trip to Austria to come soon. Stay tuned for driving stick shift in the Alps, the handiest pair of slippers ever, and some crazy Austrian festivals.

G

bad jokes

every night on exchange sounds like the beginning to a bad joke:

so there was 3 Germans, 2 Belgians, 2 Canadians and an Asian sitting at a table...

Nessie and Shortbreads

Hello everyone!

So, Inverness and Loch Ness. Saturday morning comes with apprehension and smiles! The bus brings heaters that seem to be powered by the heat of the sun and a driver which is apparently very short sighted.  We lurched and sweated our way to Inverness to do a little exploring before we headed to Loch Ness.  Inverness is a quite city, complete with a quaint Victorian Market, inner city river, and free shortbreads.  Wait what, free shortbreads! Not really, Tucker and I bought some beautiful Scotland prints from a tourist information store, and with our purchase came a pack of 20 shortbreads.  What do you do when you have free shortbreads and a hungry day ahead of you? Have a contest.  A remarkably uncomfortable, ridiculous contest in which no one wins, except those darn shortbreads.

We continued onto a remarkably touristy Loch Ness. The gift shop was complete with "I love haggis" shirts, fuzzy Nessie hats, and boxers with Scottish flags. We had some fun w/ the gimmicky gifts, then left for a boat tour, which started beside a giant purple recreation of a cartoon Nessie complete with floats, maybe this accounts for the myth?! The Loch and vistas from atop the boat were beautiful, but it was crowded and extremely windy.  The boat ride took us to the "remarkably unremarkable" (thanks Heather) Urquhart Castle, which we explored and headed back on the dreaded 3 hour bus ride. The trip as a whole was a bit of a disappointment as it was very scheduled and a little rushed because of the size of the group and bus ride, but lesson learned.  Planning your own trips is definitely worth it. Although it wasn't perfect, collectively we had a lot of fun, the first 10 shortbreads were delicious and if I had come back from Scotland without seeing Loch Ness I'm sure there would have been quite a few confused faces.

I have developed a bit of a cold, had some more struggles with scheduling earlier this week, and am finding it a little annoying that I haven't been able to train properly because of this cold, scheduling, trips, nutrition etc.  The past few days there has been a definite spike in, wow I really miss ---- (big bed, big fridge, big stove etc.) coming from the exchangers and I. As we all know, this is part of it. When you apply for exchange, you must go through orientation, and from what I've heard, most orientations spend some time talking about the W curve of cultural adaptation.  It's one of those things that you kind of shrug off, saying, ya I could see that happening, but who really cares. Well, past self, you care. It is very obviously apparent and it is nice to be able to know that it is common and it takes a little time for everyone.  Soon it will feel like home.

I don't think this rut will last too long though. This weekend I am heading to Munich, then down to AUSTRIA TO SKI THE ALPS OOHHHHHH MY GOODNESS...sorry this is actually a life long dream that is being lived within the week.  This cold best disappear! My friend Jakub from rowing in first year lives in Rosenheim just south of Munich, and just outside the Alps, so I will be there for the weekend, and then am thinking of going to Salzburg, and potentially getting up to Prague before I return to Munich to fly home on Wednesday. VERY EXCITING. I will also be getting my camera back when I head to Edinburgh Thursday night to fly out! So there will be a few more pictures up very soon.

Miss everyone back home more all the time! Actually, that reminds me.  If you want to send me anything, and I know you do, my address is:

George Payne

Unit 287 B

Hector Boece Court #26

Don Street

Aberdeen
AB24 1WU

Happy Valentines Day!

George

Call for help!

I am lost in the internet, trying to find the perfect balance between budget and powder.  I am in need of assistance! If anyone has tips on where to ski in the Alps, or good ideas to help me find them, please post a comment! I will be eternally grateful.

G

I found the solution, find the cheapest flight you can, book it, and go.

They're just guidelines!

I am starting feel like a real Aberdonian!

Yesterday was a sad occasion with Dave, another UoG student, having to go home, but we made the most of it with true Scottish cooking! For Dave's last dinner, we cooked our first real haggis from a local butcher (which was delicious) alongside organically grown local produce, with rice pudding for dessert.  It was superb and I think we sent Dave off in style.  A genuinely generous and thoughtful person, we were all lucky to have him here with us for the last week. Wishing you the best from da Boece, Dave!

This weekend brought the first of many adventures around Scotland.

Friday night was our first real night as a crew out in the city. I visited Will and his diving friends, then Hannes and I went downtown to meet the exchangers. We were all extremely impressed with the music being played, Kings of Leon, Barenaked Ladies, and Arcade Fire, just to name a few!

Saturday was uneventful, minus a visit to Becycle, a program where you build your own bike from run down trade ins for free with their tools! I plan to get one as soon as the new shop is up and running, it will be so much easier to get around! Although the campus and surrounding area is beautiful, the walks from Hills Head to class, the gym and the grocery store are quite a hike, and bus fares are a little ludicrous. Later, we had a group dinner, discussed plans for Sunday and got a good sleep for the trip to Dunnottar on Sunday.

Just guidelines?

Is it ever a good thing we did.  As I am still relatively new to travelling, I knew a lot of walking would be involved, but as a group we covered a lot of ground.  It was all worth it though, Dunnottar Castle is exactly as you would imagine the Scottish coast on a beautiful day. Perched on top of limestone cliffs rising out of the sea, with only a narrow valley to gain access, the smell of sea air with a hint of sheep and a brisk coastal breeze blowing, I couldn't imagine a more perfect scene. We took it all in as it is a few miles down a coastal trail from Stonehaven where the train station was.  The Guelphites hoofed it ahead of the a particularly slow moving American named Rachel (ha!) and started exploring the castle.  What a place! Even though much of the original inner fortress has been ruined, there are nooks and crannies, thief holes, a brewery, and great views abound.  There are also thick gates stopping you from getting the most scenic views from atop the ramparts, but after a bit of perusing at the top of a tower we decided, those are just guidelines!After exploring, eating lunch on the cliffs, scaring some sheep, and visiting a beautiful World War memorial, we headed back into town.  By this time, we were all tuckered (punny if your an exchanger) out, and were in need of some food and warmth.  We tried the main strip, but there was little in the way of the local seafood we sought, but, when in doubt, ask an old lady! Kendra and I asked a couple of them as they passed and they recommended the Ship's Inn, which was right on the wharf.  We all enjoyed seafood, some haggis, a lot of beets, and a place to rest our feet.  We enjoyed the food, set out for the train station, got distracted by some delicious chocolate and fudge samples at a local candy shop and eventually caught the train back to Aberdeen.

Dunnottar Castle

After a long day of walking, my feet and body moaned for a rest, but the Superbowl and rowing guys called my name as 10:30pm rolled around.  I dragged myself out the door to a friends and we enjoyed monstrous amounts of pizza and a Giants win.  By the time I got to bed it must have been around 4am. Bed had never felt so good.

Monday was spent unpacking, cooking breakfast for dinner, and a number of mishaps in the group effort of cooking the a fore mentioned dinner.  Tuesday: class, chores and haggis.

Good friends, good times.

Now that I have unpacked, the flat cleaned, groceries stocked (kind of), haggis cooked and have most things figured out, it is really starting to feel like home.  It still feels like an amazing experience, still like living in a foreign country, but things are ship shape and I am really enjoying the experience.  I have met some great people, and am looking forward to meeting a lot more.  There's been some unforgettable experiences, some good, some bad, and I welcome both kinds in the up and coming months. The phrase, the people make the place, really has a new meaning to me, and I think that anywhere can feel like home if you surround yourself with the right people, but there is no yin without the yang and the opposite is true as well.  Moral of the story, good friends mean good times. 

Ah, feels good to get back at the blogging, hope everyone has enjoyed it so far and I will hopefully add some pictures in the next little while.  Leave some comments if you please! Please?

Oh, its dark, must be 5 and time for dinner.  Goodnight from the Silver City, and good day to everyone back home!

Comments people, comments!

Good afternoon/evening to everyone back in Canada eh! Today has been quite the day, visiting Dunnottar Castle with spectacular weather has been a real treat.  I will post more later, but for now, if you like my post (or dislike it) or have suggestions, questions etc. comment and post your thoughts! It's nice to have feedback. Aye?!
Aye! Have a good superbowl night, I will be watching with some rowers at 2am!

George

Baby Seals, Mince Pies, Pheasants and Guiness

Ah, where to start. The last few days in Aberdeen have been full of some great times with great people. I said goodbye last time as I was heading out to row on the River Dee, and it sounds like a good place to start as well.

First of all, let me just tell you how nice docks are. They are so dry, so warm! They may sometimes be covered with goose poop, but they really are beautiful things. Sadly, Aberdeen University Boat Club (AUBC) lacks docks. This means wet launching boats, in north eastern Scotland, in the middle of winter. I have a much greater appreciation for the luxuries of home, and have a new found concept of rowing cold. After an extremely painful launching, we get on the water, it feels great. The shoulder is a little sore but the salty sea air and the giant seagoing ships surrounding us quickly take my mind away from anything but the rhythmic sweep of our oars. We get off, debrief and I head back to Will's for dinner and a movie.  I am a little skeptical about training full time with AUBC as most races are on weekends and I would like to be travelling on most but I think once I'm settled and know a bit of routine I will be able to make a more informed decision.  In the meantime, the gym is INCREDIBLE! A new multi million dollar sports village with 5 oly. lifting platforms, foam rollers galore, brand new ergs, and free yoga classes. I think I will like it here!

Anyways, on to the epics of yesterday! Morning was nothing out of the ordinary, except there was some sun! Kendra and I had an Art History class. Bit ridiculous isn't it, George Payne in an art history course? But that's what exchange is for! New things, and this new thing turned out to be great! We discussed Gothic cathedrals, specifically, St. Machars which I pass by every morning on the way to campus! Knowing the history and importance of things really makes you appreciate seeing it so much more. I think this class will be a definite success.  As it was a beautiful sunny day we decided to get the exchangers together to go to the beach! But only after I fixed my phone, and attended my coastal ecology class, which was quite interesting, filled with more local knowledge, and the prof and I went and got a mince pie (DELICIOUS) after class! My courses are looking great, not to mention, I have all of today off.

After a mince pie Dave, Devin, Ainslee and I met with the exchangers at the newly meaningful St. Machars cathedral, and set off to the beach. With the sun low in the sky, no clouds, and a low tide, it was quite a beautiful site.  I apologize for the lack of pictures so far! I left my camera back at St. Andrews but will get it soon and will share pictures when I can. Check out http://animus-hospes.blogspot.com/ for some pics of the beach! As we wandered down the beach, collecting sea shells, crab claws, and sea glass (note to self, sea collectibles smell bad in pockets) a couple of women approached us, in quite a fluster. They needed our help carrying an injured seal to a pick up spot for the SPCA! Obviously, we obliged, and Tucker, Dave and I carried a dog kennel with a rowdy seal in it up to the road above the beach. How often are you going to save a seal on the coast of Scotland? We all smiled at our good fortune and snapped pictures. Tucker and I headed to the wonder gym, we had a great family dinner with the Americans, planned a trip to Dunnottar Castle and Tucker and I went and had a drink with Rachel, her roommates and a load of Spaniards. We headed to the Bobbin (student pub) with a Finlandian, Hannes, had a Guiness, and called it a night after visiting the neighbours upstairs.

This morning the sun is shining, and I have no class, what will another beautiful day in Aberdeen bring? Love from Scotland to everyone back home!

a lot of #exchangestudentproblems

So, the things they tell you about adjusting are true, weird.

I arrived in Aberdeen on Friday to stay with my cousin Will in his flat and spent my first night with the family.  The next morning I walked to campus and was greeted with some spectacular buildings.  Our orientation was held in a 15th century chapel, which is right across from a brand new library which has not even had its grand opening yet. There are deer in the park between residences and campus, and a study room with taxidermied specimens and a whale skeleton. Things are looking good. In fact, things are good, alas, not perfect.

Saturday goes by without too much hassle, Dave (another Guelph student) and I go to find phones in the heart of the city. Marischal College looms in the distance. We leave with ideas of what to get tomorrow and head back for course selection.  Course selection is medieval compared to universities Canada. Everything is handwritten, we don't have online schedules, the whole thing is pretty confusing, but things work out in the end.  Of course my choices start 9am on Monday and finish at 7pm on Friday (this will change tomorrow). Now for the walk back home, where is home again? Oh ya, Rosemount, where is that again?

Ah, a bus, oh, it doesn't stop at bus stops? I'll get the next one. Ah, they don't give change, there goes 20p.  How do I get to there on here? You can't.  Of course. I take it to the closest stop, and by chance recognize a bar we had passed on the way to dinner last night. Finally, home, there's chilli cooking and ale in the fridge, what a beautiful sight it is.

Sunday! Move in day.  We figure out the phone situations (or so I think) and head back to campus to see my room and meet for a Burns' night ceilidh! I have very low expectations of my room as I had seen Dave's the day before and it is dismal, mine is not different.  Mould on the ceiling in the kitchen, 1 shower between six people and two tiny toilets! But no worry, we applied for a change of residence Monday at opening. Later on that night along with some other exchange students I joined in on the traditional Scottish dancing and some haggis and had a great time.  One plus about my room is that two great American girls live right above me so we hung out, debated the trials and tribulations of being on exchange and showed each other pictures of home.

Since Sunday, my luck has not improved one bit, but I am surprising myself at each unfortunate even, keeping a positive attitude, and knowing that it is all part of the experience.  My visa and debit decided it was time for a holiday, so I called the bank, and as I did, my phone ran out of credit, and with no visa to add credit, I was in a downward spiral of #exchangestudentproblems. I also lacked food, and without money, it can be quite hard to procure any.  Luckily, another awesome American student gave me dinner! Americans are awesome. We were also both studying science at home so decided to work on our schedules, and the result was Mon, Wed, and Fri off! I don't know how we did it. Going from taking human physiology, biochem, nutrition and english last semester I feel like I am barely even going to school but that's just another #exchangestudentbonus I guess. Yesterday evening I was able to figure out the bank situation, and today will hopefully be able to get my phone back online.  With a working visa I was able to attend the kick off to the winter rowing season for the Aberdeen Uni Boat Club! It was another night filled with Scottish dancing and great people and I'm really looking forward to getting to know the crew more! I also love Scottish dancing. I think I will write an entire post on it. It is so much better than getting uncomfortably close to a stranger in a dark bar with deafening music in your ear in Canada. Scottish parties are right up my alley.

This post is very fragmented and I find that the quality of posts has suffered in the last two updates but don't worry, once I am settled in and my life is not a whirlwind of  unlucky breaks I will sit down and right and wonderfully insightful, humorous post on life in Scotland one that is full of #exchangestudentproblems.

Time to go for a row on the river Dee! I hear there are occasionally seals at the top, we'll have to see. Also, happy birthday Kendra!

aberdeen!

in aberdeen, getting moved into res and a burns' night dinner tomorrow, a bad thing to forget at home: phone charger, a bad thing to forget in another part of the country: a camera, small things are far more stressful in new countries!

Ibble Dibble Number One

Woah. There has been a recent lack of activity on this blog, I apologize.  I have had an unexpected hiatus from the internet for the last week and a half while staying in Southern England visiting family.

Now for updates.  Before starting at Aberdeen it was decided that my Dad, sister, and I would travel to England to visit my family.  These trips to England to visit the family have become ritual so this post may not be quite as exciting as you might expect. On the 15th my Dad, sister, and I left the Sault in the late afternoon and flew to Heathrow via Toronto, arriving as the sun rose.  We rented a car (small w/ manual gearbox as is the European style) and drove south to the West Sussex county where we were staying and where most of the family lives. I won't give you a blow by blow detail of the whole trip as I did for Whistler as you will probably decide to discontinue reading this blog.  Otherwise, I will give a synopsis and description of a few very interesting things that we spent time doing and, visiting as a "young adult", that I have not noticed in past visits.

As the purpose of the visit was to see family, we spent a lot of time with various aunts and uncles and of course Grandma and Grandpa Payne, which we all quite enjoyed.  Most of the cousins in England are younger, so it was great to get to be the "old cousin" and to see how things have changed since I was here last. What with the watching of football matches, bell ringing and horse riding we had quite the time.  We made our home base at Hurston Warren which was a cottage (house) with a very interesting history between Storington and Pulborough.  Waking up to horses neighing and birds singing is quite a change from the harsh winter in Canada.

On a side note, for all those Southern Ont. haterz of "camp" and who much prefer to say, "ooo I'm going to my cottage in the Muskokas" LOOK WHO'S WRONG NOW.  The Brit's cottages are their HOUSES, therefore, unless you live at your cottage year round, it is at the end of a small one lane drive, with cars going in both directions, with no street lights to be seen, with a cup of tea in your hand, rabbits everywhere, and an old man on a horse behind you as you drive in, I do not accept cottage as the proper term.  Can't argue with history.

Anyways...

As we spent much of the time with family there wasn't a lot of time for independent travel but when we did find time we spent time running through the remarkably small laneways and roads around Hurston Warren, and once, on top of the "South Downs" which are actually beautiful rolling hills that rise up from the southern coast between the ocean and the valley of the River Itchen where we were staying. There were stunning views of the ocean and valley on either sides of the downs, with cattle and sheep grazing in sloping fields adjacent to the path.

Being in Britain, driving in Britain, made me realize that I really should be learning how to drive a manual sooner rather than later, so, off we went.  Quite back country roads are in no shortage in England, so we found one and soon thereafter there was one less quiet back country road to be found.  After realizing that driving a manual was a bit more complicated and delicate (and fun!) that I gave it credit for, I started using my head, learning how the clutch and engine and wheels worked in unison, and soon I was hill starting like a champ.  I can safely say that if given a choice, I will never drive an automatic again.

Another great British thing we have learnt is Ibble Dibble! I actually am not sure if it's actually of British origins but this game is great either way. After having some wine with dinner at our relatives' house in Winchester, we were sitting round the table and our younger started lighting the cork on fire in the candle, the next thing we knew, we were rubbing burnt cork marks on our foreheads and trying to complete tongue twisters.  The game goes like this: everyone round a table is numbered, in our case 1-6. Person number one starts, saying the rhyme "Ibble dibble number one, with zero ibble dibbles, calls ibble dibble number *, with zero ibble dibbles". An ibble dibble is a mark made on the forehead with the burnt end of a wine cork.  The cork is passed to number * and they repeat "ibble dibble number *, with zero ibble dibbles calling ibble dibble number (?) with zero ibble dibbles". Without fail, someone will screw up this rhyme, whether it be with a pause, pronunciation or number of ibble dibbles on ones forehead, and whoever does, must add another ibble dibble.  Then you must correctly name the number of ibble dibbles on your own and your successors forehead or you will have to add another! It's a fantastic game, try it!

Alas, things are not all smiles, manual gearboxes, ibble dibbles and tea in the UK as it may seem.  Reading the newspaper and hearing the local buzz from family, much of the country has fallen on hard times. The economy hasn't recovered from the recession, which, to make it worse, was much more dramatic than ours.  There is little in the way of exports to bring the United Kingdom out of the recession, and to top it off Scotland is trying to separate from the UK.  This would mean a loss of the oil revenue from rigs off the coast's of Scotland which I would imagine is a major money maker. Despite it all, British culture remains as impressive as ever.

No matter, I will soon return for a cup of tea across from the London Bridge, a chime from Big Ben, and stiff soldiers at Buckingham Palace.

Well, that was rather lovely, but it's time for bed, next, neeps and tatties in Aberdeen!

What happens in Whistler...

With our trip wrapping up with an early bus ride the next morning, an unfortunate injury, and each of us dead on our feet from skiing, it seems there is little hope of catching a night out in Whistler with my cousin. But as the night goes on, the stars align and the night begins.  We have sent our skiis to be tuned by a half million dollar piece of equipment, but must pick them up after close that night in order to get them before we leave early the next morning. Routine, no? We head down to the shop but the door is locked, uh oh.  We pound on the door until a surprised tech signs for us to go around the back.  He lets us in and shows us the intricacies of an amazing piece of equipment and we leave with skiis looking like they should be raced on a world cup circuit.
Now for the real fun, we head to the village to meet up with Graeme, are greeted with "have a good night guys" by a couple of local Aussies, and wander.  There are so many options! We decide to start with an Irish pub we had seen earlier to preview my later travels in Europe.  Listening to a local band and enjoying a pint we figure the best plan of action is to find as many desirable bars as possible and share a pitcher at each one until the night is over. As we leave a bar later at last call we search for another that suits the criteria of no Dubstep, but the search turns out longer and colder than we expect. Graeme heads to catch a bus back home to Creekside.  Kenn and I are freezing and not ready to begin the long walk home.  We find a basement bar in the corner of the village, meet some 9mm carrying, square dancing Texans and Marcos, a Brazilian from Sao Paulo.  After discussing the merits and demerits of firearms we head to get a bite of pizza with Marco, and head our seperate ways. The journey home begins. Whistler Village is divided into an Upper and Lower village by a fast flowing, shallow, frigid river. We wind our way to where I think a bridge should be, but instead end up staring into the shimmering blackness of such a river. In our state, this river is one that very obviously should be crossed rather than taking the bridge a few hundred meters downstream. Kenn heads down, I head up and we search for the driest path across. Neither of us are dry when we emerge. On the other side it is decided that the next plan of action is to find a hot tub to warm our soggy frozen toes. The Four Seasons, or is it the Intrawest, looms in the distance. We trek, chat up the receptionist in the lobby, and begin the search. We find the door after heading up instead of down, but I see we need a key, my spirit drops, I turn around to tell Kenn that we are SOL. What I see next brightens my spirits and warms my toes. Ken pokes his head back in through a ground level window and tells me to follow. I squeeze through into the spa area. WIN. We enjoy the warmth, soak our hair to see how oblivious the receptionist really is (apparently very) and head back home with high spirits and wet boxers.  The journey on the bus the next morning would have been very scenic had I not have been asleep with a pounding headache, we are delayed in Vancouver, miss our flight in Toronto and are put up in a swanky Hilton to fly home the next morning. Whistler, it's been a hoot, I vow to return. On to England Monday. Pictures to come.

Whistler Continued...

Day 4:  After staying up late the night before playing multiple rounds of Settlers of Catan with Tim and Anna, Kenn's friends from Vancouver, Kenn and I are very slow to get going. We have decided to take an easy skiing day as there is supposed to be 18cm of new snow on the slopes the next morning.  Once we do get going, the leg's are absolutely demolished, skiing is "brutaful"-- new word coined by the family to describe skiing long runs in heavy snow with sore legs.
Skiing together as a family for the afternoon we call it a day when the alpine lifts start shutting down, but not before one more memory making moment.  When skiing the Blackcomb Glacier bowl with Jen, Lee, and Kenn the day before, there is a long green circle run out at the bottom of the run, the only acceptable action in this case is to start a race to the bottom, with or without everyone's knowledge.  Playing on this theme, Jen, Kenn and I decide to do a no hold's barred race from summit to base (there is some debate on whether the finish was trail home or chalet).  No set course, no rules, first one down wins.
Blackcomb's longest run is about 11km, I would estimate my route to be at least 9km as I wound back and forth on cat tracks to prevent catastrophe. 9km in a tuck, skiing through clouds and fog with heavy tracked snow and thousands of skiiers is insanity, and therefore a lot of fun.  I pop out of a cat track onto the run which leads to the trail home and see a red jacket and black helmet, oh no, Kenn has the lead. I kick it into high gear and over take him, miss the trail home and hike to the road where we meet with Jen arriving soon after. We decide never to repeat.

Day 5: Today is THE DAY, or is it?  An apparent 18cm of snow has fallen, but as we ascend we realize the snow is heavy, wet and not as abundant as we thought. Not to worry, using Kenn's expert knowledge we find the wind loaded slopes of Blackcomb and make a great day of it. 7th Heaven is beautiful, and as I ski down looking at the abundant snow, thinking how nice it is to speed down this unmarked cache of powder, my tips catch and WHAMO I'm face down in the snow, my picture is now beside the definition of face plant on Wikipedia. We continue to ski 7th until it is tracked, and head over to Spanky's Ladder.
Spanky's Ladder (this is the exact chute we skiied! a little more gracefully than the subject of the video) is a small bootpack up the far skiiers right of Blackcomb onto some epic steep bowls leading into the glacier. It has been on the agenda since day 1 and we are all excited to ski it. Despite various danger and caution signs we continue and drop in, find some scary steep lines through a chute between large pieces of mountain, and eat lunch at the top of the run out from the glacier with some beautiful views. As we dodge danger, my mom finds her own, an ill fitting demo binding pops and she dislocates one shoulder and tears the rotator cuff in the other, bad news. We are told to keep skiing and meet at the hospital later so we head to Whistler where it is a complete whiteout.
Accepting defeat, we follow a group down, and much to our surprise, find an awesome drop with some good powder below. I drop in and watch from below as Kenn drops, gathers speed, and has a spectacular yard sale infront of a good crowd. No one is hurt, other than Wendy, and it is a hilarious way to end the day.
Wendy is in the Whistler emergency room and needs a ride, and there is no better vehicle for the job than Blance, Kenny's refurbished ambulance! We pick up the victim, some beer and head home to take of the shoulders and call it a day.

Day 6: I feel like those post is getting long, so I'll try and make this last one short. Day 6 was the most beautiful day of the trip by far. Perfectly groomed trails, extremely brisk weather, and cloudless skies made for great skiing on the groomed trails and picture taking opportunities.  The view from Proposal Point is amazing, looking over peak after peak of the Rockies, and from Whistler, a picture perfect silhoutte of Black Tusk lay against the blue skies and white peaks.  Kenny S. wasn't skiing today because of work commitments, but as it happens, a couple old friends, Graeme and Kenny N. from Sault Ste. Marie were living in Whistler. I met Graeme the first run down Whistler and we found some fun skiing and good times in the back bowls (as well as a few hang ups in the trees).  We met Kenny at Roundhouse Lodge and decided to hit up Peak to Creek, a legendary run from the peak of Whistler to the base at Whistler Creekside. BAD IDEA. After dropping out of the alpine there was more than 4km of moguls turned skating rink. I said goodbye to Graeme at the bottom where he lived, met up with the family and enjoyed one last top to bottom run together.

Woah, this post is getting long, but there is one great story left to write, I will add it in another post so people don't get frustrated reading endless ramblings of a mediocre writer, leave me some feedback in the comments! too long? ok? Let me know so I can improve! Have a good night people, George out.

Whistler, land of Aussies, powder, and alternative routes to hot tubs

My adventures begin in Whistler, British Columbia, on a family ski trip with my mom, sister, aunt and cousin.  We leave Sault Ste. Marie excited and a little bleary eyed on an early morning flight to Toronto.

After arriving in Vancouver we take a bus to the resort via the scenic Sea-to-Sky highway.  The views are spectacular starting from the Lions Gate Bridge and Georgia Straight in Vancouver up through to "The Chief" in Squamish. After we arrive it starts pouring rain, is this what the next week will bring? I begin to wonder about coastal BC weather. We hit up the village market for beer and groceries and settle in to get ready for an early start the next day.

Waking up early for first tracks we get to chairlift as a family and begin the ride up. Still unbeknownst to me, the summit is another 10 minutes on a high speed chairlift, how can that even be possible?
After arriving at the top of the Solar Express, I realize that the temperature has dropped enough to turn the pouring rain into an onslaught of powder, welcome to the mountains.

Day 1: I am still a Whistler Blackcomb newbie, but the hill is packed as it is the biggest powder day yet this season. The family get's separated and I ski as a single on Blackcomb, avoiding lift lines and meeting an awful lot of Australians (90% of the working and skiing population seemed to be either Australian or from "Onterrible"). I demo some powder skiis which are literally twice the width of my own to keep myself on top of the snow, they are great for powder, but they might as well be 2x4s if you feel like carving the corduroy. Whistler Blackcomb is giant, I'm lost.

Day 2: My cousin Kenn arrives, and the fun really begins, the visibility at the top isn't great, but we spend the day trying to find the best off-piste runs and the freshest powder available. We ski the top of Whistler all day, hitting the Whistler, Symphony and Harmony bowls. These steep beautiful runs have ample snow and are studded with dangerous cornices, avalanche debris and rocky outcrops, which makes for a very interesting ski. After skiing the bowls we head up on the Peak Express and  in the distance can see an ant like trail heading up onto an off-piste peak. Debate? Not really. We join the train and after a half hour, a few lunch wraps and a lot of sweat, we reach the Flute Bowl.  The powder from the previous two days is still relatively untouched and the views are spectacular, what a great find. We relish in the untouched powder, ski through the glades and end an epic day of skiing.

Day 3: Kenn's friends from Vancouver, siblings Lee and Jen arrive and we head up Blackcomb. We ski "heaven" for a while, and while exploring the glades find "Oops" Cliff, check out my cousin's blog for details. Day by day I realize how much skiing in the mountains is different from skiing the bumps of Ontario, the decisions you make when dropping into a bowl, or taking a difficult run through the glades can have much more serious consequences when a cornice the size of a truck breaks off and buries you, or you get stuck upside down in a tree hole unseen by passers-by. Thankfully when we find a great patch of powder in the Jersey Bowl there is enough know how in the group to recognize a dangerous cornice and avoid an accident. Lee and I vie for biggest drop in but are both disappointed with our own efforts, we promise to try to find something bigger next time, nevertheless the drop is exhilarating and the snow is fantastic.

to be continued...