Jowe the Naive & Free Loaders & Jowe bein' Bitchy

I've been tagged in the hostel by Nir as "naive". Can't blame him.

There are a few things that can piss me off. Abusing kindness and Lying.

Yes Lying.

In the past few days I've met a few weirdos too. But hey weirdos are okay.
But people who maliciously lie and abuse people's kindness?? Man, I hate them.

As a traveller and a backpacker I understand the need to be "on a budget". And I don't mind sharing my food most especially when I'm cooking. I like sharing. Friend or stranger alike.

BUT, if you encounter a freeloader who is a total stranger and abuses your kindness...that's a different case.

So i've encountered this. and it pissed me off. He's been asking food from different people in the hostel, even trying to borrow money and worse is....He's been lying to everyone he's been talking to.
And after me sharing my food with him, the last straw was when he outright asked me to cook him dinner.

Explain! I'm over and done with  people like that. WHY DO THEY EXIST?
Worse this afternoon was he lied. straight up to my face. And he had the nerve to ask me why I was being mean to him. Startin' yesterday I've been really bitchy to him. I don't like people who lie.

no more nice Jowe. no more naive Jowe.

COME ON People! BRING IT ON!

WWOOFing @ Bill's Guest House

I arrived in Winnipeg earlier than scheduled. It was still freezing and the breeze was way more than just a chilly breeze.

So this was my first run with WWOOFing.

As per wikipedia: "Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF, pron.: /ˈwʊf/), or Willing Workers on Organic Farms, is a loose network of national organisations that facilitate placement of volunteers on organic farms"

However, this has extended to volunteering in hostels, bed & breakfasts, etc. All assistance are in exchange for accommodation, food, experience, learning and a chance to explore the place and the surroundings.

The first time I encountered this was when I moved to New Zealand. Since then, I've always wondered how it felt and what kind of experience it would be.
 
So before I started this trip, I decided to contact some places. Bill's Guest house was one of those. So I'll be here for 2 weeks, afterwhich I'll be wwoofing with an organic farm and helping out with the a Manitoba Eartship Program.

helping Ricky out on the roof
putting up a new flag of Canada


Bill owns the hostel and Nir, from Israel arrived last April and has been helping out. We've been doing shifts, changing sheets, washing sheets, cleaning the place and organizing stuff.
Check out Bill's Site http://backpackerswinnipeg.com/
It is also worth mentioning that he published a book about a spy in World War II, who was born in Winnipeg.

I've met so many people in the past few days, those just passing through, and those who are in Manitoba to learn about the soil or the bats or even the birds.

It's been fun so far. and also interesting. but those stories are for the next entry :)

HI Jasper

This is my way of thanking Hostel International Jasper. Why you may ask?

When I got to Edmonton, I received an email from Undine that I left my Canon charger at HI Jasper. Arrgghh! of all!! Not knowing what to do with it, she decided to leave it with the staff.

I rang and I got to speak with Nicco. The Assistant Manager of the hostel, originally from Quebec.
I explained I needed the charge to arrive in Edmonton before Thursday, as I was leaving for Winnipeg at midnight. It was a Sunday when I talked to him.They said they'd send it over to HI Edmonton.

Wednesday morning I received news from HI Edmonton that the package arrived. Woot woot! :)

Jean picked it up for me from the HI (Thanks Jean) and I rang Nicco saying thank you and asking how I could settle the bill for postage.

He said "Just write some good reviews". I smiled, even though he didn't see me.
I said, "Well, if one day I come back to Jasper, i'll make sure i'll pay the fee." :)

But for now, I'm paying it forward by writing this blurb for HI Jasper and the crew. :)

Job Well done guys. and I loved my stay with you! One day, i'll be back! :)

Fun times with the Perez Family in Edmonton

I believe it's been 6 years since I've seen Jean known to be Jaypee in Edmonton. We've met each other in highschool, they were called the COPPS and I was part of the girls group called CROOKS. The boys classrooms were separate from the girls back then in UST Pay High. We then became classmates in College, taking up B.S. in Electronics & Communications Engineering.  Jean was one of the techy ones and my sister still remembered him as my friend who put up his own BBS (Bulletin Board System). That was back in the days when the world wide web wasn't part of the Tech world yet. When modems were the only viable solution to have a peer-to-peer connection and 486 computers seemed to be faster than the speed of light. Jean moved to Edmonton when we  reached third year college.

Camilla then was collected by the cab and went straight ahead to the Greyhound Station. She had a 9:30 bus ride to Jasper. I guess she wasn't comfortable sitting in the hostel alone so decided to leave earlier. I hugged her goodbye and wished her well. I said who knows I might be back in Jasper one day. I'll see how I go.

Jean pulled over along 81 avenue. In the backseat was their 7-year old daughter Carmina who he just collected from school. He drove through the highway and explained a few things about Edmonton to me. He's been working at the airport which was 35 kilometers away from their house. He explained about the  dust on the road which would later on be cleaned up in preparation for Spring/Summer season.

We arrived at their place and was greeted by their cute dog Peanut. His eyes and eyeb
rows were soooo cute. We got along pretty well :) Their house was very homey and welcoming. He explained to me their daily routine, Marge dropping off Carmina and him picking her up from his parents place after work. He also showed the projects his done on the house. Impressively high-tech :)

Margie arrived a little bit after 6:30. It was my first time to meet her in person. I did remember  seeing a photo of them before and also Jean updating me years ago when they met each other :) It was great to finally meet her in person.

They decided to go for pizza dinner that night coz the lasagna was taking too long to cook.  Apparently that was one of their tambayans and obviously the crew knew them already. It was really cute because the lady even sat beside Carmina and asked how she was. The pizza was yummy and I loved the one with the corriander leaves. It was my first time to try pizza with that herb. And it was my favourite. :) 

When we got home we hang out in the lounge and I told them about my adventures on the road. Margie and I later on got into checking out Cuba package deals. Nyahahahaha. She showed me photos of their past holidays there. The call of beach, sand and the sea was so strong. And when I saw the prices as compared to just a flight to Newfoundland, man. I was like Caramba!!! Oh yeah!!! They also showed me the photos when they had a vacation back home and had a reunion with the  COPPS and their wives and kids. :)

The following day I woke up at 8:30. Peanut was scratching on the door. I eventually started walking to the direction  of the well known West Edmonton Mall which was once the largest mall in the world. It took me 45 minutes from the house, it was relaxed walk for me as I crossed the bridge over the highway. Ever since I started this journey, I always felt like walking. For me that was the best way to explore a place.



I found the mall and got in through entrance 55. Oh yes, it was massive alright. In the middle was a pirate ship floating on green clear water. On the side was a stage for  2 and 4 pm sea lion shows. I sat for a while and munched on my granola bar and took some photos. It was a Tuesday morning so it was quiet and not much people. I could say I had the mall to myself. It was a weird feeling after so many weeks of exploration, walks and hikes, small town grocery shops, there I was in the middle of a massive mall structure.

I was on a mission though, a few things I had to buy. I passed by a Rogers shop and had my plan to change to something more practical and economical. I then passed by a few shops with cheap shirts to buy. Got me a few in preparation for the work I'll be doing in the hostels. Then found Chapters bookstore to get Carmina some birthday presents as she was turning 8 years old the following day. My last stop was at the grocery T&T Supermarket. That was where I stayed for a while. OOH LALA, I got on a high. Hahaha. Man, I missed supermarkets like that, more of asian stuff and a little bit of cheap turo turo food. Yum!

I went around and bought some food I wanted to cook for dinner. I told Jean I wanted to prepare them some of my recipes. From there I found my way to the bus stop. Good thing I didn't get lost. Hehehe

I was supposed to prepare Pineapple Chicken, but couldn't find the pineapple in the fridge. So decided to tweak my chicken recipe then. :) Then I marinated my own recipe of the Salmon. :)  I couldn't find where the rice was so had to wait for Jean. Decided to cook the left over rice in the fridge, and flavoured it as fried rice.

Tryin' my cookin'

Jean and Carmina arrived around 6 and Marge later after 6:30. I had the table prepared already and had them seated. I know the feeling of after a long day at work, it would be a nice feeling to have dinner prepared. :) I'm glad they liked my cooking. Marge really liked the chicken. :) and I was happy they were fine with the corriander in the recipe. :) Jean finished the Salmon. Then Marge preppped up the Dingis dessert which was waffles with icing powder and fruits on top. YUM!!!! I felt like I could eat heaps of it.

After that Marge had Carmina practice her piano and then we sat at the lounge and chose the movie "The Big Miracle", which was about the whales in Barrow Point, Alaska. I looked at Marge and said, yup it's a sign hehe. We laughed :) The movie was based on a true story.. After watching it, my desire to go back to Alaska got stronger. Haha. Maybe after Cuba?



Carmina was up and was waiting for the clock to strike 12. Jean set the movie to a pause and Marge loaded a video singing Happy Birthday. Hehehe. At that moment I felt like  I had a family in Edmonton. It was lovely watching this family of three and how they all stayed up to greet princess happy birthday. We took a few photos of course with Peanut, we can't miss that! :) Before going to sleep I decided to give Carmina her gift. I wasn't sure if she read the book I chose of Erin Hunters so I had the lady in the bookstore provide gift vouchers so she can exchange it if she read it already. Along with it was a bookmark with a letter C and her first book of Rin Tin Tin adventure. I was glad she liked it.

I slept at 4:30 am, first browsing for jobs again and checking out flights and working an itinerary. I dozed off when I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

The following day was my rest day. I slept in till 10 am and started repacking my stuff. Also decided to start sawing the patches on my backpack and scribbling the names on my Luna guitar.

greeting Carmina happy birthday
right after midnight

By 12-ish Margie arrived and knocked at my door. She was with a good friend of their Bles. We went out for lunch and headed out to the Pinoy Grill restaurant. I was soooo watery mouthed when I saw the crispy pata. YUMMY!!!!! We ate and ate and ate. Plus, I couldn't stop laughing coz Bles was such a wacky person and all of her side comments were so funny. It was breath of fresh air to be laughing like that. She was really fun to talk to .

We dropped her off at her place and Marge and I headed to Carmina's school to pick her up. She explained to me that she would usually go there half an hour earlier or else parking would be busy. While waiting we got to chat about a few stuff and I told her about some of my history back in NZ :).

We celebrated Carmina's Birthday with the grandparents and close friends of the family. It was such a cute and intimate gathering of both family, friends, kids and dogs. Yes, dogs hehehe. There were also the centre of attention. Bles of course drove us mad with her jokes and side comments. and I played a few tunes before I had to pack up and get ready for the bus ride to winnipeg.

The whole family and even peanut came along to the greyhound bus station to see me off and bid me goodbye. They surprised me with a bag full of food and drinks to take with me on the trip. I was deeply touched!

I hugged each one goodbye, waved as the car passed by and went in to get ready for the next journey.

To the Perez family, I will forever be grateful. :)

Explorin' Edmonton, The Festival City

 The terrain changed on the way from Jasper to Edmonton. It became drier and flat. I didn't really know what to expect. Definitely I didn't expect it to snow again.

 
5 hours later, I was in Edmonton.

Greyhound station there didn't have any town maps. I didn't know my bearing so just hailed a cab to the hostel. Good thing I did coz apparently the hostel was south of the N.Saskatchewan River. With the weight I was carrying, walking it would have killed my shoulders.

The snow was melting on the streets of Edmonton. A few potholes were evidence of winters roughness. The HI was located at 81 avenue, parallel to the known Whyte 82nd Avenue where shops, cafes and pubs were located.

 Edmonton is known to be the gateway to Northern Canada and is the Northern most city in Canada too. It is also a major centre for oil and gas industry which explained it's earlier title of "oil capital of canada" in the 1940's. Majority of the people I met in the hostel were working on contracts with oil rigs like the camps in Fort McMurray. The girl I met was working there as a cook. She described it as remote, cold and nothing to do in the camps. Also, it's a kind of work where you'd be lucky if you get to stay in a camp with good people. It got me intrigued. But she was looking for another job. The pay is good she says. I was thinking more of the experience. But not sure if it's a market I can penetrate.

Edmonton is also nicknamed the Festival City because of its year round festivals. It houses the once biggest mall in the world known as West Edmonton Mall. It is also has Canada's largest living history museum - Fort Edmonton Park

I quickly went out and looked for late lunch. I decided to pass by the grocery store and pharmacy as well. It was windy outside, and I found it colder even than Jasper. I sent Jean a message that I arrived there earlier than I initially planned.

Another 2 girls arrived in the room, both from Australia. I forgot their names, too tired to get absorbed at that point. I felt like I had to recharge coz I was so tired from the bus ride and waking up too early. Anyway, they've been staying in a van and driving around the Rockies. They felt eeky and stinky so they decided to stay in the hostel for a night and have a hot shower. It was really funny because  they said they had pizza the other night with the hope it would trigger the bears fancy in the national park. Silly girls. Well, lucky them bears were not interested :D They were asking me what my plans were for the night, I said I wasn't in the mood to go out. I just wanted to chillax on my bed.

Later that night Camilla arrived. It was her first time to travel outside of South Africa. I was dozing off by 8 pm.

Out and About in Edmonton

I woke up the following day to blue skies. But of course, I wasn't getting fooled by that anymore. I knew it was chilly outside.

The 2 girls from Aus were up and got showered again. Had to maximize time with the hot showers I suppose. Camilla was up and the girl who worked at the oil rig didn't come home last night. None of my business I know haha.

I went down to the laundry and washed my clothes which I didn't bother cleaning from Jasper. I left it running and rushed to cook breakfast. I was trying to fit in everything and aim to be at the Assumption Catholic Church for Sunday mass.

Muttart Conservatory

I was late for mass grrrr. The church wasn't filled up. I quietly sneaked in the back pew. There were a few Filipino families I can identify. I made my 3 wishes, as Mom said if it's your first time to visit a church.

From there I walked all the way to the Muttart Conservatory. That was one of the activities I had in mind when I researched about Edmonton. It's a cool horticulture museum, 4 pyramids stood still a few areas still surrounded with snow. I stopped for a few photos oppts coz it had a good view from there with the skyline of Edmonton in the background.

There were 4 sections. Temperate, Tropical, Arid and their Feature pyramid had the yellow flowers for Cancer awareness. It was amazing to see and even feel the actual temperature for the said climate. What made it more interesting was how they've designed the areas to give it the same feel.

It was my first time to see the Corpse Flower, said to be the largest flower in the world, and only to be found on the lands of Indonesia. Nobody can ever tell when it would bloom. But for sure, the smell would stink. Ironically, it bloomed later that day if I recall right. And will only last for 2-4 days.

From there I walked around the River Valley and the parks around. Evidence of winter still remained, with melting snow and brown grass. Sheets of ice flowed on the North Saskatchewan River and Canadian Geese lazed around allowing the current to take them wherever before they take flight again. river valley constitutes the longest stretch of connected urban parkland in North America, and Edmonton has the highest amount of parkland per capita of any Canadian city; the river valley is 22 times larger than New York City's Central Park.

I crossed the bridge. A few afternoon joggers were havin' their exercise regime, some just walked around on a bluey Sunday arvo. I walked up a bit and found the Chinese garden which I knew for a fact would be really pretty when in full bloom. I took a few photos and imagined the dark brown trees blossoming along that alley where the lamp posts kept them company. I have a thing for lamp posts by the way.

I continued on up the stairs. My knees were a little bit tired already but I still went up. I found The Convention Centre and Canada Place, where all of the certain government agencies/orgs can be found.

Looking on the map, I found the Citadel Theatre and found it so cool that it was designed with glass all around. You can see right through it and well of course they can what's happening outside. I could identify a design where it looked like alleys inside because of well potted plants. I didn't go up anymore coz I found myself gazing at another structure. The Art Gallery. It was pretty amazing in the middle of downtown to see that building. For certain Edmonton has a lot of interesting building structures and I noticed that they seemed to like the Pyramid design. Coz there was another one of that in front of the Art Gallery and even the West Edmonton Mall had it too.

I lingered around and found myself at the square. I saw tents perched up so decided to check it out. I remembered it was a Sunday, so there must be some happening around. There were  a few barricaded sections, and in one of them were 4-5 guys dressed as vikings, having a duel. It was so cool!!! Apparently they were having the Knights of the Square event, and the people who were dressed up in the tents were all actors/actresses from the Theatre. Some I later on learned were volunteers.

Kights in the Square

A few steps away were 2 big chessboards where 2 different groups played. I stopped for a while and took some photos. It actually reminded me of Sydney :)

I decided to walk on and look for the Legislature Building. I walked all the way there just to find they were having maintenance works on the dome. I wanted to take some photos but I said to myself I won't be able to really give it justice if I were to take out the dome from the picture. So I just checked out the perimeter and headed back to the hostel. It was a fair bit of a walk I'd say and I found my ear getting numb when I crossed the bridge again. It was around 5 pm when I got to the hostel. I was famished coz I only had a granola bar for lunch and after all of that walking I needed something more energizing than that.

Camilla was in the bedroom when I arrived. I quickly went down to the kitchen and started to cook lunch/dinner whatever. I decided to keep quiet and just eavesdrop on a conversation. Paul was working as a surveyor in the oil rig and he was chatting with an Asian guy. I focused more on my cooking, tryin to figure out how to cook to the packet of rice.

Paul and I ended up chatting while eating dinner. He's been around a lot of countries already and is very healthy and fit with his cycling. Fleeting as it may seem, we really had a deep conversation about Canadian culture, about Sudan, travel, the youth, weed… but the most important thing I got out of the conversation was about "time".

The following day I accompanied Camilla to get her Social Security number at Canada Place and explained to her the bus system in Edmonton. She explained that back in South Africa, they never used public transportation, so this was all new to her.

After all of the errands, we went back to the hostel and snoozed on the couch in the common room. I was so tired and drowsy with the antihistamine I took that morning.

O'Byrnes Open Mic

Robb

I decided to check out the Sunday night open mic along Whyte Avenue. Camilla decided to come along for 1 drink. Good thing the pub was just close by.

I learned that Camilla got accepted for a job in Jasper, in one of the lodges there. It would be a year, which was good I said, coz she's have enough time to save up but also see  the change of seasons. I showed her a few photos of Jasper and told her she'll love it there. She showed me later that night a few photos of her family and friends back in Johannesburg. Apparently she didn't like beer, but decided to have one that night. She did like Stella though. :)

The guy Robb was the open mic organizer for the night. He wore a cap and had bright blue eyes. Seemed to be going to the gym a lot because of his physique. I played 3 songs after him. The next guy played the guitar and 3 instrumental pieces on the banjo. Then followed by another guy who had a full table of his mates because one was celebrating his birthday. I actually liked the lyrics of his songs, upbeat and had happy verses to it. About love found and what the Universe had in store.

That was also one of the things Camilla and I talked about. She had a tattoo on her nape that said "If it's meant to be, it will be". Yes. So true. So true. But I guess in life sometimes there's this acceptance stage that people need to go through just to realize if there's something out of our control, then that's when we let the Universe work its magic and take us to the path where we should really be, or even direct us to the person who we should be. I'm letting things be.

We slept like babies when we got back to the hostel.

Leaving Jasper

I decided to take the 6:30 a.m. bus from Jasper to Edmonton on a Saturday. Initially, the plan was to catch the greyhound bus from Banff to Edmonton. But after checking out the distances and practicality, it was more practical to catch it from Jasper.

Undine and Maeve were deep in sleep when I woke up. I prepped up at 4:30 and was thinking of having breakfast after carrying my stuff to the lounge. I tried to be as quiet as a mouse not to wake the people up in the dorm.

The day before I recall leaving my bag of cheap bagels in the fridge, but when I checked it, zilch. Most probably someone owned it. Haha. Can't blame them. Bagels are Y-U-M. :)

I lingered for a while before I called a cab. The lady driver was on graveyard shift, not that chatty, chewing gum and only answered "Yeap" to my questions. Yeah, driving on that shift wouldn't be a fun thing to do I'd say. But it was warm inside the van, so all good.

I got to the bus stop, the same bus stop where Cam and Josh dropped me off 5 days earlier. It was a funny feeling. Déjà vu. The train station wasn't open so I was outside in the cold, jogging in place just to warm up. The town of Jasper was quiet, dark, peaceful. The Rockies around stood still as layers of clouds creepily covered sections of it. I was there 1 hour earlier.

For a while there, I reminisced the past week, the adventures, the people, the encounters and the experiences. I didn't really want to leave Jasper. The town grew on me and I was that close to applying for a job. But because of my commitments in Winnipeg, I told myself I should fulfill that first before I make a decision what the next destination is.

By 6:25 am a greyhound bus stopped and I was glad it was on time. I waited outside as the driver unloaded the mail parcels just to be told that it wasn't the bus to Edmonton. Toink.

2 blokes got off the bus, stinking with booze, collected their bags and had a smoke. They've been working in Toronto for the past 6 months on a working holiday visa.

All 3 of us walked back to the shed coz it started to shower. The smaller guy was Malcolm and the taller one was Gary. Both from Ireland. Man, I really like that accent. :)

Malcolm apparently has a band back home but have been writing his own songs, more ballady and Ryan Adams style. We talked a bit about the Toronto music scene as well as the places I should avoid at night or even stay. He asked about Vancouver and also Jasper. So I gave them some tips. They were just there for a night in Jasper.

After a while Gary and I crossed the street trying to follow the smell of food. That was when I was told my bus was delayed. Okay, so there goes the typical Greyhound.

Gary was on the other side of the road when I saw a herd of Elks grazing in front of the Information Centre. I stopped to take some photos. When they suddenly decided to cross the main street. I hailed the 4-wheel van approaching since the first Elk was hidden from view. I watched them cross gracefully.

At that point I thought they were going to stop in front of the chains at the carpark, but they decided to go on. The First Elk smelled the chain, looked beyond it and then jumped. Voila, the discovery. Thus, the rest followed. It was such a cute and funny scene to watch at 7 am in the morning. Gary ran along and was taking a video.

The herd slowly to cross the train tracks….and when I say slowly, oh yeah, it was as if they were contemplating on it. BUT then I saw the Canada Rail starting up and moving through the tracks, so I decided to jump over the chain and try to shoo them away. Well I guess the Elks figured it out when the train started honking.

What was the funniest sight though was then the train stopped in the middle of the tracks and the elks thought, "Why not check out the spaces where we can fit and cross to the other side". OH yes they did that indeed. The 3 of us were laughing and Malcolm was capturing the whole thing in video. :)

During my last few minutes in Jasper, I was still amazed…….. I said goodbye to the guys and boarded the bus..not wanting to leave.

Fallin' In Love with Jasper

Yeah, the moment the greyhound lady told me I missed the bus for Edmonton, I felt lost. So I lingered around the train station and sulked for a while, wallowed in my emotions and tried to rationalize my thinking. Good thing the station only had me and 3 more people in it that morning. I took a deep breath and decided.

This was a sign that I should still stay in Jasper. Okay Fine. Signs, Reasons….i Thought..Whatever.

I called a cab and asked to be dropped off at the Hostel in the Maligne Canyon. The cab drivers name was Brandon, a very cheerful guy from Toronto who's been lovin' Jasper and been playing in a local band too. His weakness? Ice Cream! :) woot! My happy food!

We got there just to be greeted by an eerie silence and wind blowing through the empty cavities of the cabins. He decided to take me instead to HI Jasper-Tramway. I didn't know what to expect of the place.

I found Donny at front desk, and told him I paid back in the HI wilderness hostel for 2 more nights (till Thursday), so he said that was fine and would just ring the guy there. I checked in around 10 am.

I got bed 12, and it was 1 big female dorm room for everybody. I met Mercedes (Merc), a geologist originally from Winnipeg but was looking for a job anywhere in the B.C. area. Talking to her was a breathe of fresh air and she sort of put me back into perspective about a lot of things. And she also told me there are sometimes Seasons for a reason….or maybe the reason could be forever. There was a certain maturity to her and how she perceived things. She also told me that if I'm traveling a lot, I should learn not to be attached to a place. But yeah, easier said than done.

I slept the whole afternoon as I felt I had to recharge before I walk anywhere. Donny said there were sightings of grizzlies already around the area...but I was just too tired. I dozed off after lunch.

At 5 pm I woke up and because the day was really pretty, Merc suggested I walk up the tramway. The gondola itself was closed for the season, but anyone can explore the tramway itself except the inside of the building. I went up there, a 15 minute walk and checked out the view. Convinced it was going to be a beautiful sunset, I went back to the hostel and got my camera . I stayed for a while and enjoyed the view until 8:30. When I got back to the hostel, Merc was a little bit worried, thinking I was taking too long.

That night 2 girls from Germany arrived, Maike and Theresa along with their friend Dan. They've been traveling around and also Maike  worked up at the skifields. We exchanged some interesting stories and perspective about Canadian culture.

Exploring Jasper

Merc was heading off to Banff and offered me a ride to town. She knew I was going out to walk some trails. Blanche, a girl from France, also joined us.

I had quick short breakfast in town before I studied the trail map. I thought of checking the Old Fort point trail so headed that way. From far away I saw Blanche looking lost. At first I thought she was looking for the toilet (which I just passed by), but then she explained to me she couldn't find the start of her trail. She was looking for trail 7 and 4a, which was around Lake Beauvert. We decided to discover it together.

The trail was a little bit icy i.e. slippery walks . I was a little bit scared for Blanche coz she had a slip the day before.  The walk itself followed the Athabascan River. With the blue skies above, it was perfect for photography of reflections and contrasts. We eventually reached track 4a and found ourselves in the premises of Jasper Lodge. It had a beautiful view of Lake Beauvert where the early migrants of the Canadian Geese flocked around. I chose a spot and took some photos too. When we got to the front of the lodge, we found Maike, Theresa and Dan sun bathing. We stopped for a while and had a chat with them and from there decided to walk back to the start of the trail.

Blanche and I chose to go back to trail 7 and the others went back to the carpark. On the way , we stopped for lunch and sat beside the Athabascan River. As we found ourselves to the bridge, I noticed a staircase going up a boulder beside the bridge itself. We realized that was trail 1. So we decided to go up and check it out. Up , up and away we got until we saw horned sheeps. The male sheeps look at us and we got scared so decided to retrack our steps. But then a couple, by the name of Oscar and Lily were also going up. Oscar was so used to them that we just followed him until we got close enough to take photos. We then decided to get to the top of the track where we had 360degree view of the town of Jasper amidst the amazing wilderness of this bountiful National Park.

To end the day of walking, Blanche and I decided to go a coffee shop coz she was craving for something sweet. I decided to just have a small bowl of soup.

It was her last night at the hostel. I cooked dinner and shared my meal with her. We exchanged details and I told her I'd let her know if I ever get to France.

We also met Undine from Germany. She just arrived that day and had bad food poisoning. It was good she felt well after a long day's rest.

Out and About in Jasper

I woke up and had breakfast. I was thinking of having a rest day but then decided to tag along with Maike and the group as they checked out the Five Lakes. It was a little bit cloudy that day, but the walk was enough to keep us warm. The walk was a little bit challenging with the slippery track at a certain incline. Part of the Five Lakes were still frozen, but there were still good photo stops. We came across a portion of the walk where we saw 2 skulls and signs of a battle (for lunch/dinner). We took photos while Theresa (Taz) walked away from the scene. Around the walk were a few Prairie dogs and I found a quiet deer hiding beside the trees watching us as we walked pass by. The guys stopped to take photos of a few butterflies too.

When on the road they had me listen to a few songs from Germany and explained to me the lyrics. Of course we also had Ben Howard tunes in the background :)

We then moved on to the Pyramid Lake. Instead of walking the whole trail, we parked at the bridge and cross to Pyramid Island. It was so pretty. At the end of island was a lovely vantage point facing Pyramid Mountain. The sun was shining on it that afternoon and Mother nature designed it with a fallen tree that provided us a good photo shoot scene of us sitting there and lazing under the sun. We took a few wacky photos too :)

We had lunch in town  and I told them to check out trail 1, with the hope the horned sheeps would be there. We were huffing and puffing when we got up there. But I'm sure it was all worth it for them. On my return there, I still loved the views. I truly loved Jasper and its ruggedness :)

That night I cooked some veggies and shared it with the girls. It was another great day in  Jasper.

Last day in Jasper

The girls and Dan dropped me off in town. I had to do a few more errands and send the postcard before I left. I met a couple who owned the shop. They had a few problems with the xerox machine so I stayed for a while. Unfortunately, they didn't know the password to their config file. I had to go.

As I got back to the hostel, Amman was there. He was feeling a little bit bored and down, anxious to start his job soon. I shared my ice cream and donuts with him, that made him happy so far. HE said that was the highlight of his day. I say he knows what to say :D

I decided to go out coz it was warm enough for me. I took out Luna and started playing some tunes and writing a new one too with the title Livin' the Moment.

Beth, one of the HI crew had a fleeting chat with me and told me so many things that had me thinking about my music. It's funny how people actually leave a mark in your memory, and maybe at some point in this journey I'll work on that suggestion.

That night, I shared 1 bottle of beer with Maeve and had a chat with Undine as well. We talked about working in the farm, about the different cultures we've encountered, what we thought about the craziness of some teenagers and so many other stuff. 

Patches and Marks

Short blurb on this. I know I've been tryin' to keep up with my stories on the road. So I've still got a backlog on the Moose travel (Route: Vancouver > Kelowna > Banff > Jasper) and my days in Edmonton.

I'll do that most probably on the bus tomorrow morning. It's a long 20-hours bum burnin' trip on the bus from Edmonton to Winnipeg. I might drink antihistamine so I can sleep! haha!

Anyway, I finally sawed the patches on my backpack :) woot. So I changed my tradition, and decided to saw patches instead of collecting magnets. Besides, that would save me the weight. So yeah, here's how my Terra 60L looks like now :) (exception to the dirt). And I've finally scribbled the names of the people who played my Luna guitar, musos I've shared the road with As well as the places I've played in :)

Moose Road Trip

From Seattle, I took the Quick Shuttle back to Vancouver and booked a Moose Coho route, i.e. Vancouver > Kelowna > Banff > Jasper > Banff. I stayed overnight at the SameSun Backpackers along Granville since it was just next door to the office and was more convenient coz it was the pickup point as well.

A few weeks earlier I was trying to work out the best way possible in terms of convenience and practicality to get to Banff. And based on blogs and research, the only other way if you're backpacking is taking the Moose bus which was designed to be a hop on/hop off tour. It was my best option to explore the Rockies instead of hiring a car.

Cameron (Nickname Cam) was our guide for the whole trip and Kristy was the Trainee guide. I learned that majority of the people on the bus had the route going back to Vancouver. Anyway, I decided to let the office know that I wanted to stay 4 days Banff and 4 days in Jasper. (which later on I had changed again).

I was the last one on the bus and decided to take the first row beside Rebecca (Nickname Becky).

Our first stop was at the Bridal Veil Falls. It was a quick 10/15-min walk up and I started to walk further up closer to the falls to practice some photography shots. Something I really like doing when I see waterfalls. A few more went up and Becky also found her way too.

When we got back down Cam had us form a circle and initiated introductions. So it was more of Name, where from and Guilty pleasure.

The Gang

Cam was local and graduated as a Marine Biologist. Later on I was impressed when I learned he's been to the Philippines as a volunteer up in the Babuyan Islands. He had a cheerful personality and for some reason looked familiar. I just couldn't place where I've seen him before. Maybe one day I will. I really liked the way he handled the group and so many other things in the next 4 days I was with them. The mix of being responsible but also funny and bubbly was great to have.

Kristy was local too and from the outskirts of Vancouver. It was her first day as a trainee guide in her dream job. I learned she's done volunteering as a guide in Nicaragua a few years ago. Later on she talked about her fondness with wrestling and some crazy activities.

Becky  was from England,  just graduated from Uni with a degree on Psychology and exploring  Canada for 6 weeks. It was her first time to travel by herself and was a little bit nervy about it. For the next few days we were seatmates on the bus and got to talk about a lot of things and even shared some stories and perspectives on certain topics. She got used to me eventually pointing out so many photo oppts along the way. We actually laughed about it.

Chowe was from China and was in Canada working in the Finance field. Before his journey back home, he decided to take this trip and explore the Rockies. I can't really say if he was shy, but I found it so easy to get along with him. I ended up sometimes teasing him which he didn't take offense on.

Floor was from the Netherlands and was noticeable in the group because of her height. She looked so familiar to me but I was trying to think where I've seen her before. I do remember asking her if she's been to New Zealand, but she said no. After 3 days I recalled seeing her on the Pioneer Underground Tour in Seattle. And how did I remember it?   it was the shoes that reminded me hahaha. We were laughing after I told her.

Trudi was from Australia and have been traveling around as well. At first I thought she was a quiet one but found it hilarious talking to her but moreso dancing :). From my seat, I would usually hear her and Floor giggling. I do recall her mentioning about a job down in Texas. She had a knack for the accent "Yes Ma'am". And so then on I would usually tease her about it.

Josh & Jade were a lovely young couple  from North England. Jade had a sweet and lovely personality. Josh was always all smiles and had a very bubbly personality. Later on I got to have time to chat with them when we were having drinks in Banff. Apparently it was their first time to try hostelling/backpacking and I was glad they were liking the experience. We had a lot of chat about music as I learned Josh was also a singer/songwriter. We made a pinky swear  that we'd perform our songs once we got to Jasper. His materials were awesome, catchy and would definitely make it big.

Martijn was also from Netherlands and traveling around Canada. He was planning to stay in Banff and look for a job. He said he does a lot of crazy stuff, which seemed fitting for his personality. But despite that façade he was good and looked after people. I learned later on when we were walking the trail in the Columbia Icefields that he was gymnast before. He did explain too that he was a very hyper person, which was indeed true. He also played the guitar.

Carina, Sabrina & Franze were the 3 girls from Switzerland. Carina was like the Mom. It was so cute watching them giggle and speaking their language. Sabrina and Franze arrived later than Carina, and this was their trip together.

Hayley was from Wellington, New Zealand and was working in Canada. As she was finishing her Canada chapter, she decided to see the Rockies first before heading back home. Her and me were the oldest in the group hehe. She had her hair dyed too and was trying to stop smoking  she said. She had a big personality and cool sense of humor too.

Cath & Chloe were also from Australia and was headed to Banff for their job at the Same Sun Backpackers. They were the crazy bunch :)

Kelowna

Our first overnight stop was at Kelowna, northeast of Vancouver.  Excerpt from Wiki "Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from an Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear". Kelowna ranks as the 22nd largest metropolitan area in Canada.

As part of the listed activity, we went on a boat and also had 2 groups go out for jetboatting. Good thing it wasn't that cold. After that, We checked in at the SameSun Backpackers. I shared a room with Chowe, Carina, Sabrina, Franze and Martijn. We settled in and Martijn borrowed the guitar, and we both started jammin' and singing. The others were resting and some were smoking downstairs beside the table tennis table.

While waiting for dinner to be served, Kristy and I played pool, 8-ball. She had good long shot strokes, solid arm move. But when I won, I don't think she was impressed. She did warn me though at first that she was really good at it.

Later that night the group went out to have some drinks. Trudi, Floor and I danced some moves on the floor when the music started playing. Note, that was after a drink or two. It was fun and it kept me awake. Earlier, Trudi was teasing me coz my eyes were drooping already haha. Chowe joined Trudi and me later on, which was great! Had to teach a few steps. We left the pub around 10:30ish and guy by then name of Kyle starting busking outside. I stayed for a while and listened to his songs and had a quick chat before I headed back by myself to the hostel. I too k a different route as I wanted to see the other part of town.

Enroute Banff National Park

The following day we were bound for the well known and highly acclaimed Banff National Park. It was a long day on the bus but the views were stunning in each turn we passed by.

Last Spike

We had 2 major stop points that day. One of the highlights was the Emerald Lake. We stopped there for a while and took some photos. I explored further up the hill until I reached the lodges and took a few more photos. We also stopped by the Last Spike and Cam explained the history of the rail tracks and how east was trying meet with west during the design and build phase.

We dropped off Cath and Chloe at the SameSun backpackers and headed to HI Banff which was on top of the hill. I was assigned to a different room, where I didn't know anyone. But it was okay as I eventually got to be acquainted with the couple from Montreal and a dude (who spoke to me in my language) from Ontario.

There was pub crawl that night but nobody in the group was keen. So we decided to have a drink at the pub downstairs. A few played pool and I had time to chat with Jade and Josh. I learned that Josh has been playing in a duo back in England and was also writing some songs.

Enroute Jasper National Park

I changed my mind and decided to head on to Jasper with the group instead of staying for 4 days in Banff. Good thing Cam was okay with that. It was a little bit snowing when we checked out of the hostel. That day was amazing because of the walks, stops and explorations we did.

Our first stop for the day was to visit Lake Louise. I guess the photos on the postcards looked so different since the time we visited the place, the glaring white snow greeted us instead of the colorful lake. That gave us a good reason to come back sometime in the future and capture its beauty when the summer season melts all the snow.

We explored the chateau and then decided to take a walk around the lake. I had time to chat with Martijn and that's when I learned about his plans to look for a job in Banff. After more than half an hour of walking we decided to head back coz we had limited time there.

We then went through the Icelands Parkway, big Daddy , Waterfowl Lakes and so many more…. The views were amazing… and all I could do was sigh. Cam explained the glaciers and pointed out a few along the way. He also explained the corrosion that occurred in one of the mountains where the colors were so much different from the others we've seen earlier.

We stopped for lunch at a picnic stop, where we had to walk down a trail and get to a bridge. It was so beautiful with the rocks and how it was formed from centuries of melting snow and flowing water. I quickly found the way to the rocks and started to explore further. I just wanted to stop, sit, stare and inhale  its grandeur. I took out my beef jerky and loaded up. Before leaving the place, I replenished my water bottle from the stream. As Cam said, it was safe, clean and more pure than bottled water. :) oh yes it was! YUM! :)

One of my favorite was the Columbian Icefields and how enormous the glacier was. Martijn and I decided to quickly start the walk, through the snow and the rocks hoping to each the base at some point. But I guess we didn't have enough time to complete the walk and were summoned to go back to the bus.

We reached Jasper National Park mid afternoon and went directly to town to do our shopping, explore a bit and do groceries. The group contributed $5 each and would be cooking for the night at the wilderness hostel. Everyone decided it would be vegetarian pasta with salad and also  mushrooms. Yum.

By 6 pm, we arrived at the HI Wilderness Hostel - Athabasca Falls. I believe it was 30 km away from town, surrounded by the forest and running water was non-existent and drop-toilets were the way to go for release :D. All of the dorms and communal area were made out of logs, which added to the wilderness feel of it. When we arrived there was a group of guys there and a girl from Germany, whose birthday they were celebrating.

Floor, Cam, Martijn and  I started cooking for the night which I found really fun. Felt like we were a family. We occupied the stove on the far left corner and the rest of the gang waited with hungry eyes.. Waiting for us to finish the task at hand.

After washing dishes, we communed in the sofa area near the fireplace and the jam session begun. I shared a few of my tunes and Josh, as promised, played his songs. I really liked his voice and how much body it can have once he gets into his tune. His materials were the type that would sell as the rhythm were really catchy and had a hook. Plus, the themes of his songs were all life inspiring. I really liked the words as they were intricately chosen. The jam session continue on with Martijn  and then Cam sang a few tunes too, his voice reminded me a little bit of Jason Mraz.

Eventually we were invited by the other guys to join them in the campfire, where the rest of the evening was spent. I lingered for a while and decided to call it an early night for me. had a group hug with Jade,Josh,Floor and Becky and then headed  back to the quarters. Before having a shut eye, I decided to ring friends back in NZ. I decided to move on to Edmonton the following day instead of staying (which later on got changed again).

Farewells

Cam woke me up quarter to 8 am and asked if I was still planning to get on the bus to town. I said yes. So I quickly packed up my stuff, said goodbye to those who were awake early and hopped on the bus. Josh was also up early and in the bus.

The guys dropped me off at the bus station. I hugged them goodbye and waited for the bus terminal to open. (I don't like saying goodbyes at all)

The Moose trip with the group was a fantastic one. Knowing each and everyone was amazing. As always its the journey and the people you meet that makes it worthwhile. :)

Photo by Cam Hookey

Out and About in Seattle

I had a list even way back when I was planning to pass by Seattle. Majority of these were Museums. But of course with 1 exception that wasn't initially planned...the Underground Tours. That's when I met Hannah in room 208 of the Tortoise. Originally from Australia, she's been traveling around and will be watching the Coachella with a friend of hers. Eventually will go on a 2 month trip in South America. We decided to go together to the Underground Tours and then to the EMP Museum on the Monday.

Pioneer Underground Tours

 It is known to be the "Bill Speidel's Underground Tour", a local citizen, Bill Speidel thought of leveraging on the ruins of the old Seattle and offer tours around. This eventually has been part of the must sees in Seattle.

The old Seattle was made of wood and in 1889 the said Great Seattle Fire happened, burning the town. The council then had to make a strategic decision to rebuild the city. That's when they decided to put up the new city between 12 to 30 feet above the old city.

For more information, visit Bill's site http://www.undergroundtour.com/

Museum of Flight

Located a little bit further away from the main city is the MOF (Museum of Flight). I took a bus from Pike St. & 3rd avenue and got to have a chat with a fellow Filipino. He was driving the bus halfway and was so nice to allow me on the bus for a free ride :)

I arrived at MOF and got blown away with all of the displays and the magnitude of the museum. Not only was it covering the history of aviation, but also Boeing had it's own section, then a section of war planes, bush flying history and also a separate building for NASA and space items.

 They also had a big parking lot at the back where a real Concorde was open for viewing , the first few Boeing's and also a few more planes which were now apparently decommissioned but worth taking note of with respect to aviation.

I had a chat with a few gentlemen who lingered around ready to answer anyone's questions. Apparently they were war veterans and volunteering to talk to people. Awesome stuff. And they also explained to me the concept of landing with skis in Alaska :) woot!

I went home smiling and so high with everything I saw and read. It was amazing!!!! A MUST SEE!

On thursday nights, they offer free entrance to everyone. BUT, please take heed, I'd recommend going to this museum first thing in the morning. Coz I felt like I can stay a whole day just reading and getting mesmerized by the interesting facts. :)

For more information check out http://www.museumofflight.org/

Future of Flight, Boeing Factory

 This was something that was on my MUST list to see in Seattle. Not only is Seattle known for the music scene and history, but also, it's the base for the Boeing Factory. Also known as Future of Flight, this is known to be the largest building by volume.

We had to ride a bus and be transported to the different buildings so we can view the phases of building a jet plane. So the way they named jet planes are on the 7 digit. Thus the 737, 747, 777 and so on and so forth.
Unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed which was understandable. There was a small display in the information centre, but other than that, everything was learned and viewed on the tour.

For more information visit http://www.futureofflight.org/

After  all of the tours in these museums, it had me thinkin' if I wanted to go back to flight training. At least I already had 15 hours of flight and had the foundation of flight.. But yeah that's something I'd need to really contemplate on most especially money is a big factor for such endeavor.

EMP Museum 

This was one of the highlights of my visit in Seattle. OH yeah!! Of course, anyone who knows me, anything to do with Music makes me high. :) woot woot!

After the underground tours, we walked several blocks and found our way to the EMP Museum. This stands for Experience Music Project. It is important to note though that this museum is not just about music. It also covers exhibits about Science Fiction and the likes.

In the month of April of 2013, they covered the history of Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana. 2 sections were for Jimi and another section was dedicated for Nirvana and the pop culture that started in Seattle and in the surrounding areas. Seattle actually has a big big music scene and even when you read its history, so many well known and successful musicians emerged from this scene.

Another section was dedicated for the history of Guitars, and also displaying the variety of designs through the early ages of Yamaha, Gibson and Martin. I could take photos so many times just to cover each explanation of statocasters, bass guitars, etc. it was AWESOME.

One of the areas that blew my mind was the SOUNDLAB where different booths had a musical instrument available for playing. There was even a place where you can stay to jam as if you're in a band. It was so much fun. Hannah and I had fun and stayed for a while there. :)