So 2014 is approaching and I'm sure we all have our lists of resolutions at the ready to kick in after our hungover New Years day. One of my passions for those who may not have caught on by now is traveling. Adventures and backpacking to me are like a drug; I need an even better one every year to give me that high I so often seek. For the last five years I've been traveling all over the place, from the busy streets of Chicago to the ever changing roads in Western Europe, and have enjoyed every second of it.
The funny thing is that every year I pick a random place(s) to go to and just do it, no questions asked. I set aside the money that I hope will cover my trip and I just head out by whatever means I have at my disposal. Budgeting for trips in my case is a double edged sword; not only do I need to save for what will become my annual caper, but also for my "oh shit" moments which tend to happen without fail. As long as I can cover my trip, that extra backup stash is usually paid for over the following months after arriving back; covering my travels AND what seems to be my odd luck at getting caught in some really unusual spots is just too much to plan for. The question isn't if something odd will happen, but how much it will cost me. My clumsiness or "traveler's luck" will never deter me from my annual getaway!
If I've learned one thing from my journeys is that having atleast one goal always helps. My last trip to St. John's Newfoundland saw the accomplishment of one of my goals: to be at the furthest eastern point of the whole American continent. I still had fun and soaked it all in, but I went with a very basic objective. With that in mind, the thought came to me: why don't I make a bucket list of places I want to travel to?
So here I am, the new year approaching in a matter of hours and I'm already planning my '14 trip... actually my next 52 trips. I've decided that one thing I want to do this upcoming year is to write about one place or region I want to visit every week in hopes of making my "Backpacking Bucket List" BBL for short ;-) The one requirement that these upcoming destinations will need, is for me to have a week at the least, to visit them; I don't think anything can be seen or experienced in less than a week, unless you're a robot or some super human who needs no sleep.
So starting Friday the 10th of the new 2014, I'll begin my wish list of locations with the hope that it will inspire others to join in on the world of adventure; if anyone else has any ideas or locations as well, I hope that you'll leave me a comment or suggestion to make it on the bucket list.
Happy 2014 to everyone and much love to you all!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
And I Will Walk 5,000 Miles - Finale
Well after the turkey day festivities and a few more pounds gained, I can finally finish my story.
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So where was I... Ah yes! It was a dark and... Ok scratch that, let's just start with this... I looked into the rear view mirror as St. John's slowly disappeared behind me. I opened my sunroof, blared some music and sped off into the horizon. Two hours had flown by in a flash and I stumbled across a sunset I couldn't miss out on. Off this gravel filled inclined exit I sped, somewhere between St. Johns and nowhere. I pulled onto this road to snap a great picture, when SCREEEEEEECCCCHHHH, BOOM!!! Trying to dodge a dog, I braked and swerved right into a four foot ditch. The situation didn't sink in until my engine cut off and I got out of my bruised automobile. I took one look and panicked!!! Out in the middle of nowhere, on a street with about seven houses, here I was on the verge of tears. I'm not one to cry, but so many thoughts went through my head. Would my car make it home? Hell, would it even crank? How was I going to get my car out of this ditch? So I did whatever any person on their last few frazzled nerves would do... I ran to every house to get help.
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After knocking on about four houses, one man was able to call the police, while another family invited me in for coffee. I was truly amazed at how relaxed everyone was; apparently they have all experienced the wrath of ditches and have walked out seasoned veterans. The police soon after show up, and after seeing that there was no foul play on my part, THEN calls in the tow truck. Once the car gets pulled out, another neighbor arrives and has the car towed to his garage; I was lucky enough to find out that a mechanic lives on this isolated road. A long story short, my car was soon there after bandaged up, headlights taped in place and my bumper promoted to copilot and ready for the road.
This whole situation taught me something: the never ending kindness of strangers. No one had to help me. No family had to invite me into their home for coffee. No tow truck driver had to tow my car out of a ditch for free. No mechanic had to help me patch up my car and use his phone to call my insurance. The amount of kindness that was shown to me made me feel so odd; all I had in return to give anyone were my hugs, sincerest gratitude and whatever coins I had in my pocket. All that was said to me was, "Welcome to Newfoundland." Welcome to Newfoundland indeed.
I got back on the road but after that incident I took it a little slower, making sure that my one companion was still working well. I quickly came to realize that I had to avoid night driving because the headlights were pointed downward and I didn't know how she would handle the sheer force of the wind. I ended up staying the night in a motel near Gros Morne National Park. The next morning after I woke up and grabbed my gear did the true impact of my car hit me. There she was, mud and dirt covered, the license plate caked under so many layers of dry earth, with her bumper still stowed in my passenger seat. I felt horrible looking at her, but I gave her a gentle pat on the hood, some words of reassurance and we were off to Gros Morne. At this point between desolation and home, my car was my only friend.
Gros Morne is a national park in Newfoundland that is a MUST see. It is by far absolutely gorgeous, with mountains and coastline as far as the eye can see. It was a shame I could only stay there for half a day; this park needs atleast three days to see it in its entirety. At one point I hiked to the base of Gros Mountain, but had to turn back because of the fog and time; I wanted to leave with sunlight on my side and boy was I glad I did. The mountains were so majestic in the background and the land so peaceful, but unfortunately the setting sun was my cue to get going to Port Aux Basques.
As I headed to the port I was listening to one of the few intermittent radio stations talking about a storm and winds as fast as 90mph. I thought I could beat it all and make it to the port on time. The ferry was set to leave at 11:45p; I arrived at 6:45p. By the time I had made it to the dock, the fog and rain were so strong that I could barely see ten feet in front of my car. Until I saw the port lights, I had spent the previous few hours keeping my anxiety under control. I already struggle with driving on roads with no visible side terrain, but now I was driving on a road with less than ten feet of visual distance in front of me and I was slowly losing my marbles. Thankfully I made it to the port, but the ferry captain kept us docked over night due to the storm. Tuesday at noon we set sail back to the mainland; the ferry was being rocked back and forth like a
toy boat by the intimidating
power of Mother Nature, while most of us got sea sick. I've never been one to get sick at sea, but this trip did it for me. I knew that once we hit the mainland, it was downhill from there.
BAM! Went the ferry gate bridge exit, and I drove off to my next focal point: US customs. I must say customs agents tend to eye road tripping travelers with caution. Of course, me showing up 1:30am at the US border in a car that looks like it had survived a war zone and myself deaf from the elevation change, I'm sure didn't bode well with the agents either. "Um yes officer. Please ignore my shit kicker of a car and all its various pieces in my seat along with my castaway looks. I swear I'm not a drug smuggler." Needless to say, after surviving the gauntlet of questions and subtle accusations that I was a drug dealer, I sat by and watched my car get manhandled yet again, on a quest to find some kind of narcotic. Apparently, one can't be bearded and long haired without raising the ire of authorities. Well after that most intriguing of moments and with my sanity barely intact, I sped back into my homeland and continued my journey onward.
After a week of being home, my mind is still raising. I learned many things on my short journey that I would like to share with you.
1) Driving almost four days straight alone takes a huge toll on a person. If you're not ready for it, don't do it. I usually travel alone due to my unconventional ways of adventuring through life, but in this case, it would've served me better to have gone with someone. Even though some folks may find it hard to believe, traveling on the open road for prolonged periods of time can really impact the human body. No regrets here though. And watch out for dogs!
2) Repeat after me: UnderSTAND. Got it? Ok now repeat after me once more: NewfoundLAND. This was the first lesson I learned from the natives; it was sort of a running joke with many I crossed. Most people knew I was a tourist just from the way I pronounced the province. Avoid being designated an out-lander right away by pronouncing the name correctly. It'll help keep your incognito tourist guise intact for perhaps an extra split second.
3) Free your mind. Something that blew me away was the simplicity in which most people live in this town. It's not about your bank account, how loud your stereo is, your clothing or even how much self importance you give yourself. Most folks I came to know have been very simple people, from the natives of St. John's to the lovely people who helped me with my car. Materialism doesn't seem to rank high on their list of priorities. Perhaps that will change in time, which I hope it doesn't; maybe this city will maintain its integrity and communal values and just continue to thrive. We as Americans can learn so much from Newfoundlanders.
4) Leave the rose colored glasses at home. I know that when we all travel we love to see the best and brightest of wherever we go, and that no wrong can be had in this new environment; that is probably not the best way of going about it. Even St. John's has its problems: number one being drugs and somewhere along there the horrible roads situation. But you know what? Everywhere will have issues and imperfections. yet this town has so many great things built into its core. THAT'S what makes it great! It's not about the money or appearance that is the ultimate decider in personal self worth, but the spirit of the person and the community as a whole, not the individual.
Do you know that you have a greater chance of being struck by a moose on the road than being shot? A moose!!!! When was the last time any of us woke up in our respective cities in the US and NOT hear about some kind of shooting? Hell, we can't even have Black Friday (for those who are brave enough to go through that) without some kind of violence! And for what? The mighty dollar?!? Have we become that materialistic of a society that we stab people over $50 tablets or taze each other for towels? Just some food for thought.
5) Absorb it all. Be like a little kid and absorb everything you can like a sponge. You don't like the cuisine? Fine, don't like it, but try it out. You want to hike some mountaintops? Do it! No matter whether you like something or not, just experience it. There's nothing worse in life than to not have tried something when you had the chance. The world is your oyster on your voyages; treat it like so, and immerse yourself in it. You won't regret it and will h
ave stories to tell for years to come.
6) Take your experience and apply it to your living situation. No matter what you do in life, your financial standing or whatever, I'm convinced that if a voyage has truly impacted you, it'll feed into your spirit. Perhaps you come back home and realize that there are changes you need to make. Maybe you don't need that huge flat screen after all to be happy. Perhaps you'll start conserving energy, make your own garden or even start your own compost bucket. Whatever thoughts go through your head, it's all a part of growing. Whether you make any changes to your life or not, you gave yourself the opportunity to see something different, and whether you like it or not, because of that experience something in you inevitably will change.
Ever since I've been back, I've felt that my spirit for adventure and life has grown stronger and hungrier. Yet I too find myself in a situation that I'm sure many others can relate to: the house, dog and job. Questions have been swirling through my head since my arrival back in Atlanta. A lot of "what if's" and "what abouts", but in the end, I know it's for the better.
7) Finally... remember that it's all an adventure. Life in itself is an adventure, and so are our travels. Not only do they come with laughter and smiles, but also with tears, anger and frustration. Adventures reveal a lot about ourselves, and sometimes they push us to limits that we've never wanted to be pushed to. I've done a lot of backpacking and have gone to many a city and hostels, but never once did I ever feel so alone and anxious at times as I did on the nearly deserted roads of northeastern Canada.
Again, it's part of the whole package. I survived my trip, my car was a bit bruised and as a consequence so is my wallet...
But all I can do is smile and be happy that I was fortunate enough to take this adventure, meet the people that blessed me with their spirit and be able to share the story of my journey in hopes that it can impact the life of another as it did mine.
Signing off,
A Simple Wanderer
.JPG)
So where was I... Ah yes! It was a dark and... Ok scratch that, let's just start with this... I looked into the rear view mirror as St. John's slowly disappeared behind me. I opened my sunroof, blared some music and sped off into the horizon. Two hours had flown by in a flash and I stumbled across a sunset I couldn't miss out on. Off this gravel filled inclined exit I sped, somewhere between St. Johns and nowhere. I pulled onto this road to snap a great picture, when SCREEEEEEECCCCHHHH, BOOM!!! Trying to dodge a dog, I braked and swerved right into a four foot ditch. The situation didn't sink in until my engine cut off and I got out of my bruised automobile. I took one look and panicked!!! Out in the middle of nowhere, on a street with about seven houses, here I was on the verge of tears. I'm not one to cry, but so many thoughts went through my head. Would my car make it home? Hell, would it even crank? How was I going to get my car out of this ditch? So I did whatever any person on their last few frazzled nerves would do... I ran to every house to get help.
.JPG)
After knocking on about four houses, one man was able to call the police, while another family invited me in for coffee. I was truly amazed at how relaxed everyone was; apparently they have all experienced the wrath of ditches and have walked out seasoned veterans. The police soon after show up, and after seeing that there was no foul play on my part, THEN calls in the tow truck. Once the car gets pulled out, another neighbor arrives and has the car towed to his garage; I was lucky enough to find out that a mechanic lives on this isolated road. A long story short, my car was soon there after bandaged up, headlights taped in place and my bumper promoted to copilot and ready for the road.
This whole situation taught me something: the never ending kindness of strangers. No one had to help me. No family had to invite me into their home for coffee. No tow truck driver had to tow my car out of a ditch for free. No mechanic had to help me patch up my car and use his phone to call my insurance. The amount of kindness that was shown to me made me feel so odd; all I had in return to give anyone were my hugs, sincerest gratitude and whatever coins I had in my pocket. All that was said to me was, "Welcome to Newfoundland." Welcome to Newfoundland indeed.
I got back on the road but after that incident I took it a little slower, making sure that my one companion was still working well. I quickly came to realize that I had to avoid night driving because the headlights were pointed downward and I didn't know how she would handle the sheer force of the wind. I ended up staying the night in a motel near Gros Morne National Park. The next morning after I woke up and grabbed my gear did the true impact of my car hit me. There she was, mud and dirt covered, the license plate caked under so many layers of dry earth, with her bumper still stowed in my passenger seat. I felt horrible looking at her, but I gave her a gentle pat on the hood, some words of reassurance and we were off to Gros Morne. At this point between desolation and home, my car was my only friend.
Gros Morne is a national park in Newfoundland that is a MUST see. It is by far absolutely gorgeous, with mountains and coastline as far as the eye can see. It was a shame I could only stay there for half a day; this park needs atleast three days to see it in its entirety. At one point I hiked to the base of Gros Mountain, but had to turn back because of the fog and time; I wanted to leave with sunlight on my side and boy was I glad I did. The mountains were so majestic in the background and the land so peaceful, but unfortunately the setting sun was my cue to get going to Port Aux Basques.As I headed to the port I was listening to one of the few intermittent radio stations talking about a storm and winds as fast as 90mph. I thought I could beat it all and make it to the port on time. The ferry was set to leave at 11:45p; I arrived at 6:45p. By the time I had made it to the dock, the fog and rain were so strong that I could barely see ten feet in front of my car. Until I saw the port lights, I had spent the previous few hours keeping my anxiety under control. I already struggle with driving on roads with no visible side terrain, but now I was driving on a road with less than ten feet of visual distance in front of me and I was slowly losing my marbles. Thankfully I made it to the port, but the ferry captain kept us docked over night due to the storm. Tuesday at noon we set sail back to the mainland; the ferry was being rocked back and forth like a
toy boat by the intimidating
power of Mother Nature, while most of us got sea sick. I've never been one to get sick at sea, but this trip did it for me. I knew that once we hit the mainland, it was downhill from there.
BAM! Went the ferry gate bridge exit, and I drove off to my next focal point: US customs. I must say customs agents tend to eye road tripping travelers with caution. Of course, me showing up 1:30am at the US border in a car that looks like it had survived a war zone and myself deaf from the elevation change, I'm sure didn't bode well with the agents either. "Um yes officer. Please ignore my shit kicker of a car and all its various pieces in my seat along with my castaway looks. I swear I'm not a drug smuggler." Needless to say, after surviving the gauntlet of questions and subtle accusations that I was a drug dealer, I sat by and watched my car get manhandled yet again, on a quest to find some kind of narcotic. Apparently, one can't be bearded and long haired without raising the ire of authorities. Well after that most intriguing of moments and with my sanity barely intact, I sped back into my homeland and continued my journey onward.After a week of being home, my mind is still raising. I learned many things on my short journey that I would like to share with you.
1) Driving almost four days straight alone takes a huge toll on a person. If you're not ready for it, don't do it. I usually travel alone due to my unconventional ways of adventuring through life, but in this case, it would've served me better to have gone with someone. Even though some folks may find it hard to believe, traveling on the open road for prolonged periods of time can really impact the human body. No regrets here though. And watch out for dogs!
2) Repeat after me: UnderSTAND. Got it? Ok now repeat after me once more: NewfoundLAND. This was the first lesson I learned from the natives; it was sort of a running joke with many I crossed. Most people knew I was a tourist just from the way I pronounced the province. Avoid being designated an out-lander right away by pronouncing the name correctly. It'll help keep your incognito tourist guise intact for perhaps an extra split second.
4) Leave the rose colored glasses at home. I know that when we all travel we love to see the best and brightest of wherever we go, and that no wrong can be had in this new environment; that is probably not the best way of going about it. Even St. John's has its problems: number one being drugs and somewhere along there the horrible roads situation. But you know what? Everywhere will have issues and imperfections. yet this town has so many great things built into its core. THAT'S what makes it great! It's not about the money or appearance that is the ultimate decider in personal self worth, but the spirit of the person and the community as a whole, not the individual.
Do you know that you have a greater chance of being struck by a moose on the road than being shot? A moose!!!! When was the last time any of us woke up in our respective cities in the US and NOT hear about some kind of shooting? Hell, we can't even have Black Friday (for those who are brave enough to go through that) without some kind of violence! And for what? The mighty dollar?!? Have we become that materialistic of a society that we stab people over $50 tablets or taze each other for towels? Just some food for thought.
5) Absorb it all. Be like a little kid and absorb everything you can like a sponge. You don't like the cuisine? Fine, don't like it, but try it out. You want to hike some mountaintops? Do it! No matter whether you like something or not, just experience it. There's nothing worse in life than to not have tried something when you had the chance. The world is your oyster on your voyages; treat it like so, and immerse yourself in it. You won't regret it and will have stories to tell for years to come.
6) Take your experience and apply it to your living situation. No matter what you do in life, your financial standing or whatever, I'm convinced that if a voyage has truly impacted you, it'll feed into your spirit. Perhaps you come back home and realize that there are changes you need to make. Maybe you don't need that huge flat screen after all to be happy. Perhaps you'll start conserving energy, make your own garden or even start your own compost bucket. Whatever thoughts go through your head, it's all a part of growing. Whether you make any changes to your life or not, you gave yourself the opportunity to see something different, and whether you like it or not, because of that experience something in you inevitably will change.
Ever since I've been back, I've felt that my spirit for adventure and life has grown stronger and hungrier. Yet I too find myself in a situation that I'm sure many others can relate to: the house, dog and job. Questions have been swirling through my head since my arrival back in Atlanta. A lot of "what if's" and "what abouts", but in the end, I know it's for the better.
7) Finally... remember that it's all an adventure. Life in itself is an adventure, and so are our travels. Not only do they come with laughter and smiles, but also with tears, anger and frustration. Adventures reveal a lot about ourselves, and sometimes they push us to limits that we've never wanted to be pushed to. I've done a lot of backpacking and have gone to many a city and hostels, but never once did I ever feel so alone and anxious at times as I did on the nearly deserted roads of northeastern Canada.
Again, it's part of the whole package. I survived my trip, my car was a bit bruised and as a consequence so is my wallet...
But all I can do is smile and be happy that I was fortunate enough to take this adventure, meet the people that blessed me with their spirit and be able to share the story of my journey in hopes that it can impact the life of another as it did mine.
Signing off,
A Simple Wanderer
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