Packing Miscellanea

Posted on August 31, 2022 by debbie

Murray packed his clothes before I could take a photo or two. He has decided not to be extravagant and take extra clothes for Australia. (Although, we still have a few days before we leave so that may change.) So, we are taking an extra bag just for me! And to carry presents!

Note: I packed the extra bag today and Murray has two shirts, a pair of shorts and a pair of socks inside it. Plus, we each have a pair of sandals in the bag and are wearing light hikers on the airplane. The light hikers are for Australia and the sandals are for Indonesia. In the extra bag I have a pair of jean shorts, a pair of black pants, two T shirts, a dressy sweater and scarf, a jacket, and a medium weight Icebreaker zip up sweater. Lounging around pants and heavy socks complete my clothes. We also have a 1 litre jug of maple syrup and some baby presents in the bag. So the bag is full but not stuffed.

So far, everything I need for Indonesia fits into my dive roller bag and my knapsack. I still have to add my toiletries and liquids and the first aid kit, so we will see.

I thought I would write a few words on some miscellaneous items.

First Aid Kit – We always take some form of first aid kit. How robust it is depends on where we are going. Our Indonesian one has mostly Band-Aids, Polysporin, cold medicine, tummy upset medicine and pain relief drugs. We also carry a separate Zip Lock with certain prescriptions. This time we have Ciproflaxin for UTIs and travelers’ diarrhea and Amoxicillin for upper respiratory infections. The intent is not to use these but there is a certain amount of security knowing we have them if we need them and cannot get to a doctor.

Liquids – Even though we are checking our extra bag, we are still going to carry our toiletries and liquids in our carry on. We have small bottles to decant shampoo, liquid Tide, hair gel, moisturizer, ear care stuff etc into. I start a collection of all the liquids on the shelf in the bathroom and then I get two 1 litre Zip Lock bags and divide the contents between the two. Once we are at our final destination, these bags get resorted into our toiletry bags and the first aid kit.

Toiletry Bag – I have a great toiletry bag but it stays at home on most international trips and I use a Zip Lock. The bag is just slightly too big without the liquids in it so it is a waste of valuable space to take it. Murray has a small flexible plastic toiletry bag that he uses.

Underwear – I take 3 pairs of undies. Icebreaker very light wool ones. They are the best travel (and everyday) undies a lady can buy. They breath and are not hot. They wash up very easily and dry super fast. I rotate the 3 pairs and usually wash out a pair every night in about 2 minutes. Murray takes 2 pair and is still traveling with the old style ones. They don’t dry so quickly. mmmmmmm Maybe I will buy him a pair of men’s Icebreaker to try.

Noise Cancelling Headphones – If you have ever considered buying Noise Canceling Headphones, especially for long haul flights, DO IT! I cannot believe the difference it makes. After wearing them on a flight, I get off the flight with a clear head and hardly any ringing in my ears. Amazing!

Compression Socks – Murray started to suffer from quite swollen feet after long flights, so we invested in some compression socks. Again, a wonderful idea! I know our feet aren’t swollen after wearing them. The ones we bought are very lightweight and I found that my feet got cold wearing them, so I put a pair of socks (which I was taking anyways) over top of them once I get on the plane.

Carry On – Most airlines allow passengers to carry on a “Standard Article” and a “Personal Article”. The Standard measures 55x23x40 cm and the Personal 33x16x17 cm. Our dive carry on bags are slightly larger than the Standard size when fully packed but still fit onto any airplane from a 737 and larger. We have discovered this over the years and know if the flight is using a smaller aircraft, we will have to check the bags. The Personal item has a wide variety of interpretation as it can be a purse, briefcase, knapsack etc. (And have you seen the size of some peoples’ purses!) The instructions onboard a flight usual say to place the smaller item under the seat in front of you. On a dive trip, I carry a knapsack full of my underwater camera gear, and it is not a small bag. I figure that as long as it fits under the seat, I am good to go.

That’s all the miscellaneous thoughts for now.

Getting closer.

Posted in Australia, Indonesia, Planning and Packing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Across the Pacific

Posted on August 22, 2022 by debbie

In September, 2019, we were on the Coralia, a scuba dive liveaboard puttering around Raja Ampat, in Indonesia (check out our posts from then.) Almost as soon as we got back home, we booked ourselves on another Coralia trip for October, 2021, this time through the Banda Sea. Well, guess what happened? This trip is a COVID reschedule trip (one of many).

We are two weeks out from flying across the Pacific to land, first in Australia and then in Indonesia to hop on board the Coralia and venture through the Banda Sea. Our “packing room” looks like this……..

Just piles so far.

Our packing lists look like this…………

There is more not crossed off than crossed off.

A few weeks ago, I got antsy and started throwing dive gear and other items into our “packing room”. This trip is a two segment trip that requires slightly different clothing and gear for each segment. Australia, where we are going to visit my son and daughter-in-law (M&D), requires what I term as “city” clothes and Indonesia requires “beach and hot weather” clothes. The dive gear is obviously for Indonesia.

We are breaking the carry on only rule and taking an extra suitcase for the Australia segment. This way I can be a little extravagant and take a few more city clothes. This suitcase and contents will get left on the Gold Coast while we head to Indonesia and then get picked when we return for a few days more visiting.

Over the course of the last few dive trips, to Kona, Cuba and Bonaire, I have realized that I cannot keep my body warm under water any more with the wetsuit combination I have been using. I have subsequently purchased a new, heavier, thicker, more robust wetsuit and hooded vest. This has caused a packing dilemma as I am not sure I can pack everything I need in my usual carry on dive suitcase to take into Indonesia. What does this mean? Less clothing! Dive gear can’t be sacrificed, so it is clothing that gets left behind. I have been thinking about what to take – shorts, a skirt, a sun dress, tops – and have come up with a tentative plan.

We divide our clothes into daytime clothes and evening clothes. Daytime clothes get dirty and sweaty. Evening clothes get worn for an hour or two and taken off, so get less dirty and sweaty. For this trip, I may wear my skirt and blue shirt more in the evening, but I will have to see once we get there.

For Indonesia, so far I have:

Daytime Clothes

  • 1 pair of shorts
  • 1 skirt (can also be worn in the evening)
  • 3 tops (blue one is also for evening)
  • 1 sarong (to be worn to and from scuba diving on Lembongan)
  • 1 rash guard (also for diving)
  • sandals
  • 3 pair of undies (worn one at a time, of course!)

Evening Clothes

  • 1 dress

One thing I dislike is taking clothes to wear for one specific purpose. Clothes for the airplane rides fall into this. I get cold on super air conditioned planes so I need a certain amount of warmth. For the long haul flight to Australia, I am mostly likely wearing technical pants, Icebreaker long sleeved top, my rash guard and a lightweight down sweater. For the flight into Indonesia, I may be brave and wear shorts and all my top layers, then I am not hauling my pants around Bali and Lembongan unworn.

Airplane clothes – these plus my rash guard

I haven’t quite sorted out my Australia attire. Will let you know what I decide. Stay tuned for Murray’s clothing too.

Posted in Australia, Planning and Packing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Beavers

Posted on August 21, 2022 by murray

Traveling north of Edmonton earlier this year there were signs of the endemic giant land beaver. A species not well known but definitely one people should spend the time to find out about. It is much larger than its cousin the castor canadensis, the official emblem of Canada, the semi-aquatic rodent better known as the beaver. 

Castor Canadensis

Think of a small bear with a huge flat tail, a vestige remaining from when it too plied the inland waters. As does its small swimming relative it still cuts down trees and piles them to make a shelter, a house so to speak. These houses dot the landscape and are easily distinguishable from the highway.

Land Beaver House

This animal is not often seen as it is nocturnal similar to its cousin but the giant beaver houses are proof they are about. Last week as we came back from a kayak trip to central Alberta I noted that the giant land beaver’s habitat has extended south of Edmonton. There are houses in many of the farmer’s fields. They are slightly smaller than the ones up north but definitely indicate the presence of the land beaver. I have yet to see one of these creatures but my eyes are always peeled. Unfortunately being old we don’t travel at night often so actually sighting one will be difficult.

Land Beaver Habitat

  If you ever get a picture please send it along through our contact page. 

Posted in Western Canada | Tagged | Leave a comment

Big Knife Provincial Park

Posted on August 20, 2022 by murray

It is good to get away from the day to day routine even when you’re retired and don’t really have the pressure of a ‘job’. We thought we could sneak in a couple of days of kayaking and went camping. Searching the internet we found an interesting campground on the Battle River upstream from Big Knife Provincial Park, one of our go to spots, Ferry Point Crossing Campground. We drove by and had a look thinking Big Knife is a good fall back.

The recon proved worthwhile. The campground is simple, not much infrastructure beyond tables, fire pits and an outhouse. There is river access but it is a little sketchy. We moved on to our fall back. The decisive factor was there was no one there. Although crowded campgrounds are not much fun, but when you plan to be on the river a few hours a day it might not be wise to leave all your gear unattended. Maybe we can try there another time.

We arrived at Big Knife and had our choice of camping spots. I think I said this before but Covid camping is over. The last couple of years most of the campground would have been full even midweek. As it is we had a pleasant couple of days chilling before getting ready to prepare for our upcoming trip to Aus/Indonesia. Only noise was the jack*** with the generator he turned on at 8.30pm and ran it till 10.00pm. One wouldn’t want to run out of electricity in the wilderness would one?

On the middle day of our stay we paddled farther upstream than we have done before. We didn’t see any animals, not even a cow or two. It was a pleasant paddle none the less.

All our camping trips this year seemed to prove out that the crowds we expected, due to Covid, did not materialize. We actually booked sites online for our first two outings and when we arrived, there was tons of space and we could have saved the reservation fee and just showed up. Camping the way it used to be. (except for the generators of course) Cheers to that.

Posted in Western Canada | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Visiting and Camping and Kayaking

Posted on July 23, 2022 by murray

Friday we head to Lethbridge. M our daughter and G live there and we have not seen them for a couple of years. Debbie snuck down once but I stayed back. Lethbridge is a small city and even though it has most of the big city amenities it does not have the humanity. Saturday morning, we set off on a walk and take in a small section of the huge river valley park called Indian Battle Park, where Fort Whoop Up is located. In an hour we pass maybe 5 people. In Edmonton’s river valley on a Saturday morning we would pass 20 times that.

While walking along the river I was scouting kayaking possibilities. It looks good. I think M can expect to see us again soon and we will have kayaks on our car roof.

We really like to kayak on the Battle River. It is very slow and we can easily paddle upstream. This means we can enjoy all the benefits of river paddling, no waves, minor wind, constantly changing vista, of course the downstream advantage of river flow and we don’t have to shuttle cars as we do on most rivers. So we take an extra day on the way home and stop at Big Knife Provincial Park to spend a couple of hours on each of Sunday and Monday on the river. The campground there is quite small but again quiet and treed. There is plenty of room when we arrive on Sunday afternoon and it is not even half full by the evening. Mosquitoes seem to be in abundance this year. Again there is plenty around, mostly just annoying but don’t forget your DEET. The Oldman River Campground had gophers, Big Knife has squirrels. They are friendly, I think they are use to campers and those campers have to eat and that means bread crumbs or the occasional french fry is to be had. Their shyness disappears when food is involved. Big Knife is a really good place if you fish or river boat or if you just want to chill for a few days. It’s one of our go to camping spots.

Murray on the Battle River

From Lethbridge home we again use the back roads. Most of them we have never been on before. One that was indicated on the map, yes, a paper MAP, as gravel turned out to be paved and it was smooth sailing the entire way. There is very little traffic. I don’t think we had to pass a single vehicle and no one passed us. The scenery was terrific, rolling hills to dead flat prairie. The only thing that bothered me a bit was in some spots all you could see was canola in every direction. We had the AC on or I would have had to hold my breath for very long periods of time. Blooming canola has the strange affect on me of limiting my breathing to a minimum. But it was pretty, acres and acres of bright yellow carpet.

We will soon be off again. I hope the paddling is as good.

Posted in Western Canada | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Camping and Kayaking in Southern Alberta

Posted on July 21, 2022 by murray

We spent the last week camping in southern Alberta. This time, as most times camping, we had no access to internet. So this is a postscript to the trip.

We headed to the far south of Alberta, the destination is the Oldman River Dam. From the map the river looks paddleable and the reservoir is accessible for sure. Debbie and I don’t particularly like the main highways and often travel small less utilized highways or even backroads. Right from the start this time, we were off the main north/south route from Edmonton to Calgary, Highway 2, and joined the ‘old’ highway, number 2A, for a good portion of the way to Red Deer. It has been ages since we have used that road and it is a lot more pleasant. There is hardly any traffic and much better scenery.

Getting close to our destination we again duck off the main drag and onto a secondary highway that leads to a national monument. After Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump the road turns to gravel. At this point there is NO traffic and we are seeing things not many people bother to take in. The terrain is the start of the foothills and it is riveting. We travel along craning our necks side to side, miles and miles of prairie and ranchland. When we reach a high point we can see for miles all around. Some places there is yellow canola as far as you can see. The mountains are close and make for a spectacular backdrop. They are not as densely packed as the entries to Banff or Jasper Parks but imposing none the less.

The Cottonwood Campground is a nice spot. It’s in the valley and adjacent to river, downstream from the dam. There is a breeze but doesn’t seem to be as windy as it would be on the ranchland above. Most sites have plenty of trees for shade which is needed as it is often very hot. Being retired we camp midweek of course and there are plenty of spots to choose from. The section of the campground with electrical hook-ups is a bit more crowded. It looks to me like Covid camping is done. The last couple of years the campgrounds have been crowded but this year so far there has been room to pitch a tent without having to book ahead. It wasn’t much fun moving into a RV city when we thought we were ‘getting away’.

There are a few skitters about. They are bothersome but not overwhelming. The heat is good for keeping them at bay and when a breeze does blow through, they all hide. There are a few animals about. The occasional deer passes by, there are resident gophers (Richardson Ground Squirrels to be proper, wouldn’t want to offend them). Seems there is one for every campsite.

Birds are the animal that are in abundance. Ospreys ply the river looking for dinner, bright yellow golden finches flit around from branch to branch, lbj’s (little brown jobs) are everywhere, geese sit on the pond adjacent to the camp ground and pelicans fly over taking leave from the reservoir which is a short distance away.

Our first paddle is on the Oldman River reservoir. The scenery is a bit boring but the paddle is OK. We are in wind country so we start early and try to be off the water by noon. We plan a route but stop a bit short of our turn around, the waves on the next section had white caps and looked a bit challenging. It is quite a relaxing paddle. With the combination of the campground and the reservoir this is a place worth returning to.

Paddling day 2 we head to Beauvais Lake. It is an oasis of woodland in the middle of bald rangeland. From our first vision of the lake it looks like a excellent paddle, lots of trees, lots of reeds so probably good opportunities to observe wildlife. First bird we see is a bald eagle. There are families of geese and groups of pelicans. This lake is a great paddle. Still in the windy area but it is in a bit of a depression with plenty of tree shelter so it is reasonably calm. We’re in a provincial park and it is a bit crowded but there is plenty of elbow room. There are still a lot of empty campsites so looking like a place for a future camping trip.

Two good days of paddling and tomorrow we are off to Lethbridge and a couple of days respite from the tent in a B&B.

Posted in Western Canada | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bonaire’s Last Gem of the Day

Posted on June 1, 2022 by debbie

Dive Socks!

Years ago, while on a dive liveaboard in Australia, there was a lady diver who wore colourful socks inside her dive booties. She said that the socks helped slide both her wetsuit and booties over her feet and legs and also reduced rubbing inside the booties. I thought this was a wonderful idea as my feet were getting quite chewed up from my booties.

On our next dive trip to Bonaire, I found and purchased some dive socks and became an instant advocate of them. I convinced Murray to try them and he quickly became a convert.

I then set out to sew dive socks for all our dive buddies. The wilder the colours the better!

Posted in Bonaire | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sunday’s Gem of the Day

Posted on May 30, 2022 by debbie

Our group goes in search of a frog fish today. We have explicit directions to its hiding place and it still takes five of us 15 minutes to find him. Here he is!

Posted in Bonaire | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Saturday’s Gem of the Day

Posted on May 28, 2022 by debbie

Most of the diving off Bonaire is done on the west coast of the island where it is sheltered and calmer. Today we dove the east coast, or the wild side. We treat ourselves to a boat dive with East Coast Diving. This crew specializes in boat dives just outside Lac Bay, where the rollers are big and the surge is always a wild ride.

The main draw is turtles. Lac Bay is full of sea grass, which turtles love to eat. They eat in the bay and then move outside the bay to sleep, which is where is go to dive. Our first dive we see many many green turtles, a couple of spotted eagles rays, a few moray eels and a loggerhead turtle along with the usual fishes.

The second dive is in the White Hole where the tarpon hang out. Stingrays are also spotted and also a black seahorse. We ride the surge over a field of sea fans and then finish the dive in Turtle City catching glances of more turtles. A great couple of dives.

If you want to dive the wild side, look up this crew. They love what they do and are excellent at it. I know we will dive with them next time we are in Bonaire.

Posted in Bonaire | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Thursday’s Gem of the Day

Posted on May 26, 2022 by debbie

Murray and I like to look for small critters while underwater. Flatworms, juvenile fish and nudibranchs are some of our favourites. Today Murray found a Yellow Striped Flatworm. He’s gorgeous!

Posted in Bonaire | Tagged | Leave a comment