Category Archives: travel

to travel is to live

22 Tuesday Nov 2011

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Though I don’t own a TV, I’m still a sucker for travel shows (Departures, anyone?). And I do have loads of fun watching The Amazing Race with my mom when I visit. This week’s ep had the contestants racing around Copenhagen. Their roadblock challenge was to brave the stage and recite a few lines from a poem by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.

To move, to breathe, to fly, to float
To gain all while you give
To roam the roads of lands remote
To travel is to live

Granted, the contestants are neither roaming nor travelling, and those lines don’t quite convey the idea of racing around the world. Rather, the quote is a poignant observation of how meaningful an experience travelling really is. Or can be, if you give yourself over to the wandering and exploring, get lost in another culture and live like a local, take the road less travelled (Robert Frost had it right), and just go with the flow and let the journey unfold as it happens. Of course, not everyone enjoys travelling off the map, but for those who are open to it, wandering without a plan can yield enriching experiences beyond your imagination. Because travelling truly has the power to transform.

no fear

18 Friday Nov 2011

Posted by in film, music, travel

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A few weeks ago, I attended an event with Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, who was showing clips from her latest film, Midnight’s Children, based on the Salman Rushdie novel. At one point during the Q&A at Innis College, she advised the theatre packed with film students that a career in film is risky and scary but the rewards are worth it. She reiterated this later on, when relaying a story about some of the obstacles she faced shooting the film in Sri Lanka rather than India, where the tale takes place. It all worked out in the end, she said, because she’d been open to opportunities and possibilities that she’d never imagined. A twig of understanding amidst my anxiety.

Not long after that, I saw French-Israeli singer Yael Naïm in concert at The Great Hall. Stressed from the job hunting (and the lack of finding), I didn’t feel up to the task of going alone, and I certainly didn’t think I’d enjoy myself with all the distractions of that day. But there’s something utterly compelling about Yael’s voice and fairy-like demeanor, and once she started singing, I felt completely calm, sitting on the floor, surrounded by a room full of hipsters doing the same, yet not feeling like I was alone. And then she introduced the song “I Try Hard,” warning that you shouldn’t live in fear and close yourself off from people and experiences because you’re scared of the unknown or what’s different. Again, it was exactly what I needed to hear.

The last thing I’d ever want to do is fall into something simply because it’s safe or I’m afraid of the alternatives. Where I’m going, I’m not sure. But I do know that I don’t want to make decisions based on fear – decisions that will hold me back just because I don’t know where I want to go. Living life to the fullest means taking risks and being open to opportunities, shaking free of fear and doubt. It’s true, I do try hard. And so should you.

goodmorning, sunshine

17 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in bike, photography, travel

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When I biked along Lake Huron this summer, I spent a few days cycling the beautiful Manitoulin Island. Stalled by a flat, I didn’t get very far into the island once I’d pedalled off the MS Chi-Cheemaun at South Baymouth (disembarking the ferry, BTW, is seriously cool – I felt like I was being shot out of a rocket). Luckily, I was able to walk my loaded bike to the nearby quaint South Bay Resort, a tent and RV campground with cabins. Many of the sites overlook the picturesque shore of South Bay, and I was fortunate to get one.

As I stare out my windows into the darkness of November, I remember the stunning sunrise I woke up to my first morning on the island. I admit, at times I got at tad lonely bike touring solo for a few weeks, but vistas like the one on Manitoulin made the solitude of the trip worthwhile. Take a peak at the gorgeousness I awoke to, before the rains that drove me back to Tobermory hit.


(Props to the campground’s staff, who helped me fix two flats in as many days.)

best purchase ever no. 1

17 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in fashion, gear, travel

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Friend and blogger Brooke Stevenson of My Bike Myself and I turned me onto merino wool last winter, when we were away on a ski weekend and all she had in her teeny day pack was a small compression sack stuffed with a handful of clothes. Merino, of course. She raved about how fast merino dries, while I was unsuccessfully trying to air-dry that day’s sweat-soaked recycled-polyester long johns and undies.

Amazed by her multifunctional, minimal weekend wardrobe, which was pressed into service during and après XC, I gave in a few months later and shelled out for two Icebreaker merino undies (a whopping $32 each, and worth every penny) and three pairs of SmartWool hiking socks ($20.50 each at MEC) for my Camino trip. The socks aren’t merino, but Brooke swears by them, so I rationalized that my feet would thank me after walking at least 20 km a day for weeks. But even with liner socks, I immediately got blisters, having erroneously bought a size up. Fortunately, in Ponferrada there’s an awesome hiking/camping gear store a mere minute from the Templar castle, and it was with relief that I eagerly stocked up on three pairs of extra-small SmartWool socks and much-needed flipflops (and promptly shipped my too-large socks and blister-irritating Keen sandals ahead to Santiago!).

And that’s when I got greedy. I scoured the shop for merino anything, settling on a SmartWool NTS Midweight Zip T in Purple Heather. Best. Purchase. Ever. At 60 euros, it was a splurge, but boy did I get my money’s worth over the next two weeks! I wore it day and night the rest of the trip, washing it only once. You’d think it might smell, but nope. You’d also think it was totally stretched out. Also no. You’d think I’d have to roll up the long sleeves and tuck the hem under, as I have to do with most tops, which are always too long for my 5’1″ frame. Gladly, no. A nice medium weight and with a half zipper and mock neck, it also kept me cool when hiking, warm when sleeping – the perfect multitasker!

So when I returned home and readied for a 10-day camping trip, I immediately ran out to buy Best Purchase Ever No. 2.

No, this isn't me, but the SmartWool model wearing my favourite travel shirt. Though it seems to fit her long limbs, the body and sleeves are actually the perfect length for a petite frame.

 

Another cool thing about merino is that it packs small and stays relatively wrinkle-free. Learn how merino helped me pack light in The Way of the Lightweight Backpacker.

for the love of life

13 Sunday Nov 2011

Posted by in inspiration, travel

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Finisterre, Spain. A moment of solitude at the end of the Camino de Santiago.

I started November with a new perspective. After being given the “restructuring” speech at work, I cleared out my desk and walked home – for three hours – breathing in the crisp, fresh air of early November, soaking in the unusually warm autumn sunshine, frolicking in the kaleidoscope of glorious carmine, rusty red and golden yellow leaves as they fluttered to the ground. Yes, frolicking. Despite being thrust into the uncertainty and panic of the suddenly unemployed, I felt a definite lightness: the world had opened up before me, and my options where limitless.

It was the same sense of calm and optimism I felt when walking the Camino in May. With every step, there came a rhythm, and with that, a sense of peace. And the ability to be present and in tune with my surroundings. Instead of feeling lost, I made every step with purpose. And I paused. After that first step in Astorga, Spain, many a time on that long walk to Santiago, I’d pause and simply thrill at where I was. Because no matter how hard it was to cross those mountains, I couldn’t deny the absolute awesomeness of being there.

To pause and just be. The Camino taught me that. And as November continues to fall upon us, I find myself back there – a little exhausted by the challenges of the days before, not knowing what lies behind the next peak or valley, but excited about the possibilities of adventure that lie ahead.

So as the pilgrims wish one another on The Way…

Buen Camino!