The Process Begins Anew

Posted on January 7, 2012 by murray

We have just about exhausted all the tasks related to our Bhutan/India trip. We have debriefed with the idea of changes for our next trip, worked on all the photos and organized them into a couple of versions of slide shows for different audiences, we’ve put all our treasures into an album that chronicles our trip, and we have shown our slides to all those that we could convince to come to our house to watch. We still have to mount a few photos that we will keep around the house to help the trip live on, but it is  about time to start planning our next trip.

Both of us have been mulling over what we should do this year as far as travel goes. It may be that we concentrate on some much needed house renos and only do a dive trip this year. But, we could maybe go to Europe to ride or maybe we could join some friends traveling to SE Asia and dive in Sipidan or maybe we just throw caution to the wind and head to South America and visit Machu Picchu. This crazy diversity of ideas is how our minds work when we are looking for somewhere to go.

Then, the other night and we posed the question “If we had one more trip to do, where would it be?” My answer was Zanzibar, Debbie said that she would go on a safari. That pretty much decided our next destination. Africa. Things are never sealed until we have put a considerable amount of money on the line but Africa looks like it might just fit our timeline and it would knock another continent off the bucket list.

There are music festivals in Mali and Zanzibar in January and February. Both of these festivals are on our list of things to see so it might be worth our while to work our trip around these festivals. We don’t know what the weather is like at that time of the year and we don’t know what the safari possibilities are but these are things that we will research in the next while.

I was on the internet a couple of days ago and bookmarked a lot of sites that offered information on Zanzibar and The Festival in the Desert in Mali and a whole lot of sites that outlined how to choose a safari that will suit.

Yesterday we cornered one of our friends who is very well traveled and had been on a safari. We grilled her about where she went and how she traveled. She gave us some ideas and now we have a place to start our investigation. I’m sure as our research progresses we will bother her again with more specific questions.

And so it begins again, this trip will last over a year by the time it is complete and even though if you look at the dollars invested you might think that travel is expensive if you include all the time we spend dreaming and researching the cost per hour is very small.

Yahoo! Here we go again.

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Christmas Presents

Posted on January 5, 2012 by debbie

After our trips to Bonaire, India and Bhutan this year, Murray and I talked about changing and adding to some of our gear.  Lo and behold, Santa overheard us and some really cool items appeared under the tree!

MSR Travel Towel

We have been carrying one old bath towel with us on all our trips. This is a “just in case we need a towel” item. Although the towel is old and a bit threadbare, it is still bulky and weighs more than it should. We had talked about getting “travel towels” made of microfiber material.  M&G kindly purchased just the ones that we would have gotten! They are made by MSR and are a polyester/nylon microfiber blend and are very soft.  Some of the other brands we looked at were rough on the skin. We have the “Large” size which measures 16.5″ x 36″ (42 cm x 92 cm) and weighs 4 oz (115 gms).  This towel is definitely lighter and more compact than the towel we have been taking! The towel is big enough to dry a body with but it wouldn’t be big enough to lay on while on the beach. It is big enough to sit on though. It comes with a carry case too. I can see us taking these towels to destinations like India, Africa etc where towels may not be provided in hotels.

Seal Line 10L Dry Bag

When we were in Bonaire, our hats and Murray’s shirt got soaked on the dive boat and it took days for my hat to dry and come to life again. When we were in the Andaman Islands, we had to use a green garbage bag to protect our day pack from getting totally soaked on the dive boat.  Our dive master and our dive buddies from Australia both had dry bags. I thought to myself at the time that one of these would have been very handy. Luckily we received a Campers Village gift card for Christmas so we purchased a 10 litre bag (weighs 7 oz, 205 gms).  This size will fit a couple of hats, a couple of t-shirts, keys, abit of cash, a snack or two – just enough for diving. It has a handle at the bottom end.  I like the bright orange colour!

 

Sea to Summit Coolmax Adaptor Sleeping Bag Liner

On the trips to China, India and Bhutan we carried home made sleep sacks made from old sheets. They were bulky and weighed more than they should.  Every trip we have used them at least a couple of times when the bed linens were questionable. We decided that our Christmas presents to each other this year would be light weight sleep sacks. Sea to Summit makes a wide variety of sleep sacks – from silk to cotton to blends to coolmax.  We almost bought silk ones as they are very light, but we were concerned about the durability.  Our fears were confirmed when we looked at one that had been returned and put back on the shelf and the fabric along the seams was ripping. A very friendly, travelwise and helpful fellow at Campers Village convinced us that we would not go wrong with coolmax fabric. It weighs more than silk (9.5 oz compared to 6 oz) and it slightly bulkier but we thought we could live with this. They are 7 feet long ( 210 cm) x 31 inches wide (90 cm) and are tapered at the foot. They are sewn right up the side which makes climbing in and out abit cumbersome.

Sea to Summit Coolmax Adaptor Sleeping Bag Liner

Santa was very good to us this year and we will let you know how the new gear works out as we travel this year.  HO HO HO!

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Calgary – There and Back Again

Posted on December 30, 2011 by debbie

On the 26th, I hitched a ride with R&D to Calgary so I could visit my Aunt, from Victoria, and my cousin and his wife who live in Calgary. I usually do the driving when we head in that direction, but on this trip I am just a passenger able to relax and take in the view.

When we left Edmonton, it was still dark.  The neon lights were shedding their glow all around.  Brilliant colours everywhere.  The sun was coming up in the east. As it got lighter, the sky moved through various shades of orange and blue. The orange light glowed through the bare trees accenting their silhouettes. It turned into a gloriously blue sky day.

The view to the west of Hwy 2

The land is flat, prairie flat. I can see forever across the landscape. The fields are waiting for spring to grow and thrive again. The occasional cow herd can be seen, munching and chewing.  There are rows of trees planted by farmers for wind breaks on their properties. These trees stand, like sentinels, protecting the land.

Highway 2 heading south

The highway is a straight grey ribbon heading south.  I watched the compass indicator in the rear view mirror and it did not move off “S” except, maybe, a couple of times when the road made a correction.  This is the straightest road that I know of.

We made a quick pit stop in Red Deer avoiding Gasoline Alley by taking the 67 St exit.  There is a Flying J Shell gas station on 67 St and a Starbucks and a few fast food places just down the street.  Next time we have to stop in Red Deer, I am going to suggest to stop here rather that Gasoline Alley, which gets very congested.

The start of the Rocky Mountains

Back on the road and just a bit further south, the mountains appear out of the earth in the distant west. Like Murray, I am enamoured with the mountains.  My family spent many weekends in the mountains when I was young, I have still love the sight of the majestic peaks and I watch as they appear to get closer and bigger.  Once we get to Calgary, they are still a 45 minute drive away, but they look so close.

Snow drifts in the highway ditch

During the winter months in Alberta, the wind blows the snow off the fields, piles it in the highway ditches and then sculpts it. The formations, lines and shadows of these ditch sculptures are fascinating. We haven’t had much snow yet this year, so the sculptures are in their initial stages. Later in the winter, they will be incredible!

On Tuesday morning, G&M (my cousins) and I went for a walk along the Bow River Pathway.  We drove to Edworthy Park and connected to the walking/biking trail that is kept clear in the winter.  We walked toward downtown and met up with runners, walkers and a few brave cyclists. The Bow River stays open during the winter with the edges freezing over slightly.  In the summer, folks raft, canoe and kayak down the Bow on hot days.

The path travels close to the river and at times it doesn’t feel like we are in a big city.  We cannot see tall buildings or hear traffic noise.  We spotted an eagle in a tree across the river.  My cousin says that they wait for ducks to float by and will grab one for a meal. We walked for about 45 minutes out and turned around to head back.  It was a great way to stretch our legs and get some fresh air and sunshine.

Late in the afternoon I hopped on a Red Arrow bus for the trip back to Edmonton.  Red Arrow  supplies bus service to the major centers in Alberta. The buses are well kept and have leather seats, bathroom, movie, WIFI, electrical plugs, seat belts, and the price is good.  The fare for my one way trip on an express bus was $67 plus GST.

We left right on time, just as the sun was setting. I was in the neon glow again. I watched Calgary go by – old houses, small shops, large box stores and suddenly we are on the highway heading north.

As we approached Leduc, outside Edmonton I could see the “urban” glow, the reflection of street lights on the clouds and I knew I was almost home. As we drove into Edmonton, I realized that I left Edmonton in the glow of neon and am now arriving in that same glow.

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First Mountain Trip 2011

Posted on December 26, 2011 by murray

The Canadian Rocky Mountains are as impressive as any mountains I have seen. When you see them they look similar to the Alps, Pyrenees, or the Himalayas. For the most part they look like classic mountains, rocky, craggy and the highest parts are alpine, above the treeline. They are not as high as the Himalayas but are higher than the Alps and the Pyrenees. There are areas where the snow stays all year round. The Rockies are more accessible than the Himalayas but not as populated and they are way more remote than the European mountains which are even more populated than Asia’s giants.

I live relatively close, in North American terms, to the Rockies and have been visiting them since I was small. They are easily accessible and because they were a part of my upbringing I didn’t realize that they were anything special until I was in my mid twenties. Then one day I was driving across the Rockies on Highway 1  and I looked up. Ever since that day I have been enamoured by the sight of them. It’s funny how a geographical feature can call out and draw me in. I want to see what is on the other side or maybe there is a snow patch half way to the top that looks as though it would be skiable and provide me with 20 or 30 turns.

Last weekend I went to Canmore to attend a couple of courses put on by CANSI, The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructor’s. Saturday was a day on cross-country skis, skinny skis, to those that dabble in all kinds of alpine sliding. Twenty-five or so instructors got together at the Canmore Nordic Center, a 1988 Calgary Olympic legacy facility, to trade ideas on teaching and learn the newest ski techniques. It was a good session the conditions were ideal and the temperature cooperated, it hovered around zero allowing us to stand around and chaw as always happens at these ‘conventions.’ One of the facilitators lives in Canmore and has the opportunity to observe the Canadian XC Team (which does very well on the World Cup circuit) train. He has spent a lot of time analyzing the way they ski. As a result CANSI has revamped their approach to skate skiing. We all had a chance to preview and try out the modifications that have been gleened from the top athletes in the sport. The long and short of it is that I think skate skiing will be easier to learn, and therefore easier to teach. The things we tried increased how fast we moved but they also increased my heart rated very quickly and I’m guessing I will have to be able to maintain a high rate for a long time because I didn’t see any opportunity for a rest.

Sunday was the update for telemark skiing. It was a slightly smaller group that met in the parking lot of Sunshine Village for a day of resort skiing with a similar agenda of providing instructors the opportunity to tune up their teaching and skiing skills. The morning brought some badly needed fresh snow. We skied 15 cm of new snow all day as we concentrated on how to bring the CANSI telemark technique in line with the state of the art understanding of alpine skiing used by the Canadian Ski Instructor’s Alliance.

The convention was good, personally I learned quite a bit and it helped to get my mind that has been muddled by summer activities into winter mode, but one of the best parts of the course was not the content, it was the location. Just being in the mountains brings about a state of calm. Maybe it’s because when ever I’m there I am involved in one or another of my favorite activities or maybe it is just because I’m dwarfed by their stature and I get a feeling of accomplishment standing a top such a geographical giant, maybe it is just a locale away from the city, but whatever, I always come home invigorated and cannot wait until I am able to go again.

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Where to go next?

Posted on December 21, 2011 by debbie

I sat down to lunch the other day and didn’t have anything to read, so I hauled out our atlas and perused it while I ate. I was looking for and dreaming about places that might be interesting and fun.

I started in Europe.  We have been talking about doing a bike trip somewhere in Europe. The north of Spain looks interesting.  Ride from coast to coast – Barcelona to Fisterra.  Ride part of the Camino de Santiago. Visit Balboa’s museum.

Spain from "map-of-spain.co.uk"

What about Germany. Mur heard about a bike trip along the river Danube from its source (near Donaueschingen) to Budapest. The riding would be on bike paths and small roads. That sounds interesting too!

Route of the Danube River from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube_river"

We have always wanted to go to Mali, because of its music. I checked out where Timbuktu was as there is a music festival there called Festival in the Desert.  It is a January event, so it would be a 2013 trip.

Mali from "http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/africa/mali"

I also checked out the Pacific for scuba diving. There are so many islands to venture to.  We could just throw a dart at a map and go where it lands!

South Pacific from "http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia"

I will keep on dreaming and maybe we will find ourselves in a far off corner of the world in 2012.

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“All this for two days!”

Posted on December 16, 2011 by debbie

Murray was packed up and gone in about 20 minutes. He gathered up the last of his stuff and packed it into his bags.  There were a few loose items that didn’t fit – guess pillows don’t squish too well.  He is a logical and neat packer – fitting stuff nicely into his bags.

As I followed him around, he moved everything to the back door staging area. He came out of the bedroom (where we “hide” our sweets) with a few macaroons for the road. You can make them out in the picture below sitting on top of the black bag, beside the car keys.  Unfortunately, they did not make it into the vehicle!

After making more than a few trips between the house and vehicle loading stuff, and mumbling “I could move to California with all this stuff!” and “All this for two days!” he was loaded and ready to go.

Happy Skiing!

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Packing for 2 days in the mountains

Posted on December 15, 2011 by debbie

Murray started packing today for his weekend trip to the mountains. He is on a course Saturday and Sunday. He will need cross country and telemark clothing. He won’t need many street clothes as his non ski time is quite limited.  Here is what he pulled out:

Telemark Clothing (Course is held at Sunshine Village Ski Resort)

  • Alpine Style Socks – heavy and light (heavy for cold temperatures and light for warmer temperatures)
  • Long Underwear Top and Bottoms – heavy (wool) and light
  • Long Sleeved T-shirt
  • Lightweight Fuzzy
  • Alpine Style Ski Pants
  • Alpine Style Ski Jacket
  • Alpine Style Ski Gloves – heavy and light
  • Glove Liners
  • Toques – heavy and light
  • Ski Goggles
  • Diamond Stone (for edging telemark skis)
  • Telemark Skis, Boots and Poles

Cross Country Clothing (course is held at Canmore Nordic Centre)

  • x-c Socks
  • Long Underwear Bottoms – heavy (wind protection) and light (wool)
  • Long Underwear Tops – 2 wool long sleeved shirts
  • x-c Ski Pants
  • x-c Ski Jacket
  • x-c Ski Gloves – lobster claw and regular
  • x-s Ski Toques – heavy and light
  • Sunglasses
  • x-c Ski Wax Kit
  • Classical and Skate Skis, Boots and Poles

Street and Lounge Clothing

  • Lounge Pants
  • Lounge Hoodie
  • Berkenstocks
  • Socks
  • Extra T-Shirt
  • 1 pair Underwear

Miscellaneous Stuff

  • Shaving Kit
  • Book
  • Notebook Computer
  • Reading Glasses
  • Pillow
  • Granola Bars for snacks at courses
  • Case of CDs to play in vehicle
  • Snow Boots
  • Coke

All the stuff (except the skis, poles and one pair of boots) is piled in the living room and looks like this:

On Friday, Murray will pack it into his bags, doubling checking that he has everything.  He has made a list of stuff that has to be pulled out at the last minute (pills etc) and the list is sitting in the pile too. He will most likely be wearing jeans, T-shirt, winter jacket, hiking shoes, hat and gloves.

The clothing for telemark skiing is mostly the same as for alpine skiing. It is heavier and warmer as telemark is not as physically exerting as cross country. Skiers have to be dressed warmer as they ride the ski lift to get up the hill.

The clothing for classic and skate cross country skiing is lighter than telemark as it is more physical. It is a fine balance between dressing warm enough and over dressing and sweating too much.  Murray does not have a problem with over sweating and once dressed for the temperature, does just fine. Whereas I am a “heavy sweater” and have to be careful with what I wear, but more about that when I talk about what I take.

I want to mention a pair of base layer long underwear that Murray just loves.  They are made by Craft and have a wind panel on the front for protection.  (I am probably not calling them by the proper name!) He says they work really well and would never leave them at home.

Craft Long Underwear with Wind Panel

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Waiting for Snow

Posted on December 13, 2011 by debbie

Waiting for snow

Winter has arrived, but so far, it has left the snow behind.  As alpine and cross country skiers, Murray and I are waiting anxiously for the white stuff to fall.  We hear parts of the mountains have gotten snow.

When we travel to the mountains, driving my SUV, we take loads of clothing and gear.  We usually have 2 or 3 (gym bag size) bags each.  One bag has street and lounge clothes.  One bag has ski clothing and one bag has miscellaneous stuff like books, the notebook, Berkenstocks, ski wax, that kind of stuff. Along with the bags, we will have skis, boots, poles and backcountry gear.  If we plan to swim, we will have our swim stuff in separate bags too. We often take food with us, so that adds a box and sometimes a grocery bag.  All this equals a very full vehicle.

Since we know we have lots of room in my vehicle, my clothing limit is what I can stuff in the 2 bags I take. I always take multiple layers of ski clothing – for warm and cold weather. The temperature can be quite different between Edmonton and Canmore, Banff or Jasper. You don’t want to end up in the mountains with not enough layers.  When I go to the mountains for the first time this season, I will list out what I take with me. I don’t really have an official list, I just go through my exercise clothing drawers and start pulling stuff out.  Seems to work!

Murray is heading to Canmore this weekend for a teaching update course on cross country and telemark skiing. For two days he will need 3 pairs of skis, boots and poles (classic, skate and telemark). How can you travel light with 3 pairs of skis, boots and poles?

When Murray packs for the weekend, I will follow him around and write down what he packs and let you know what he takes. His “open the drawer and pull out stuff” method is the same as mine.  Seems to work for him too!

The skis are ready, scraped and tuned.  We are just waiting for snow……

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Bhutan and Andaman Islands Photos Posted!

Posted on December 10, 2011 by debbie

Our Photos of Bhutan and scuba diving in the Andaman Islands are now posted!

The photos are in separate “Photosets” and are found under the “Photos” menu item.  Click on “Bhutan 2011” or “Andaman and Nicobar Islands 2011” and then click on the first picture.  Scroll through the pics by locating and clicking  on “Next” on the right hand side of the photo near the top. There may be more than one page of photos so click on “Next Page” to view more pics.

Enjoy the photos and let us know which are your favorites!

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India Pictures

Posted on December 7, 2011 by debbie

The wait has been long, but the time has arrived! I will be posting pictures of India and Bhutan over the next few days.  The pictures of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kolkata, India (in the “Photoset” called India 2011) are now posted!

The photos will be in three separate “Photosets” and are found under the “Photos” menu item.  Click on “India 2011” , “Bhutan 2011” or “Andaman and Nicobar Islands 2011” and then click on the first picture.  Scroll through the pics by locating and clicking  on “Next” on the right hand side of the photo near the top. There may be more than one page of photos so click on “Next Page” to view more pics.

Coming soon…..Bhutan and the Andaman Islands!

Enjoy the photos and let us know which are your favorites!

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