I’m writing this recollection of our first year on the road in hope it will prompt me to blog more often in the future, just to make it easier for you to remember how awesome I am. If you don’t need to be reminded, that’s even better. Either way, it’s kind of long so don’t feel like you have to read this.
Today it’s been a year since Mick and I hit the road. A year that has gone fast and furious and there was so much happening that it could easily fill up a few calendars. And all that happened seems like it was long time ago. Every place we visited became a separate stage- different vibe, different purpose; a different experience altogether. It feels like it hasn’t been one trip but many, one after another. And right now, all I know is what it means to be on the road; feels kind of cool, if you ask me.
We left Australia on 3 January 2009. Our first stop was Thailand. The arrival was a bit of a shocker as I had been too excited to plan anything beforehand and my strategy was based on blind faith that Mick knew what to do- he’d been there before. So we had a bit of an epic getting out of the airport with more luggage than we could carry and not enough know-how to avoid getting ripped off. But others than that, it was all good. Days in Bangkok went past on sampling its fantastic food and shopping on the markets. Then we took a train south. I liked travelling on trains in Thailand- very comfy beds and you get to see some cool countryside views. Beaches down south, Tonsai and Raily, were all about climbing and lazing around. I had a major mental struggle climbing there but luckily came around before we left and still enjoyed following Mick. Everybody who’s been to Tonsai knows that fruit shakes, bbq chicken and sticky rice with mango are the culinary highlights and living in a bamboo hut is just one of a kind experience; especially, when you also have your own hammock.
Altogether we spent in Thailand a month and even the nearly $100 fine for overstaying by 2 days didn’t spoil my good memories from there. Once more, it was good to have means in the absence of knowledge.
Second stop was Poland- only 2 weeks, but filled up tight with family and friend catch ups, which basically equals talking, drinking, eating and more drinking. It was pretty intense as there were so many people I wanted to see and so little time. I should have known better than scheduling such ridiculously short timeframe for visiting home after 3 years. A lesson learnt.
Our next stop was Canada. We arrived mid February, in the middle of moody winter which on regular basis swang its temperatures anywhere between +15 and -45 degrees of Celsius- not so good for skiing which was the main reason why we were there. We made our base at my godmother’s place on the outskirts of Calgary. The 3 months there we spent between working on the van we bought to fit it for camping (usually on weekends) and hanging out in the Bow valley, skiing in Sunshine Village, doing backcountry trips, soaking in hot tubs of Banff Centre, indoor climbing and zipping the awesome coffee in the Wild Flour cafe. Even though the backcountry conditions were kind of scary for unexperienced skiers like us, fitting the camper van in Canada turned into Mission Impossible3, and I lost a friendship, Mick and I also had a lot of fun together and it was great to get to know my godmother and her family.
But when the spring came, we were ready to hit the road- off to Alaska.
The Alaskan roadtrip lasted for 6 weeks. We spent the first week in British Columbia (BC), exploring its hot springs and beautiful landscapes and starting our bear count which by the end of the trip was somewhere in mid twenties. We got snowed in the middle of warm spring weather, our van stuck on the uphill forest road in mud and snow. Some beautiful people of BC helped us out and wouldn’t even accept any money, because this is what you do out there- you help each other. In the end, it turned into such a good experience. British Colombia is a very beautiful country.
In Prince Rupert we got on the Alaskan Ferry and our first stop was Juneau where we stayed 3 days. Their skiing resort was closed for the season but they didn’t mind people skiing there on their own. So we skinned up and from the top of their mountain we could see the ocean. It was the heaviest snow I have ever skied. Then there was this glacier we hiked to. Every so often a piece of sky-blue ice would break off and fall into the lake, so there were those blue icebergs floating all over the place. And the last day we did this hike through a beautiful spring forest along the coast full of hidden bays and pebble beaches; we started to meet those many people of Alaska who came in only for holidays and never left.
From Juneau the ferry took us over to Haynes. From there we continued our trip overland. I will remember Haynes for its magic trail to Seduction Point where we collected mussels at low tide and cooked them later in fire on the beach, we had our tent on this tiny peninsula overlooking 2 beaches in opposite directions at the same time and there was a sea otter that was checking us out from the water and the next day followed us along the trail. We met no people.
Then came Valdez where we just went for a little hike and marvelled the backcountry potential of surrounding mountains, especially the Thompson Pass. In Anchorage we just went off shopping gear, as you do when the price is right. Then it was a quickie to Homer but not much happened there as all the fun stuff was on the other side of the bay and prices to cross over by boat were a bit high, we thought.
Seward though had this really neat hike that we had to do in the middle of the night as the only time to get through the beach section was at low tide. At 4am we had to cross barefoot an ice-cold creek, along the way we saw some seals, otters and sea lions and at the sunrise we made fire on the beach and went to sleep on our thermarest mattresses. I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep before three little sparkles melted holes in my bed- enough to say that sleeping on the stones was not the same… We had lunch in an abandoned Second World War fort and when the tide was low again early in the afternoon, we made our way back to town.
And then we went to Denali National Park- a 5 day wander in the pathless backcountry among bears, mammoths, caribous, moose (which we luckily didn’t meet) and the gophers (which made us move our camp, little bastards). Against the odds we had a fantastic weather and Denali with all its 20000 feet kept us company everywhere we went.
We drove in Alaska some pretty spectacular roads and met some really nice people. It took us a week to drive back from Denali through Yucon Territory back to Alberta; it is a long way but also they have some cool cities out there (Dawson City, White Horse) and of course the hot springs, of which Liard Hotsprings was my favouriteJ
The next stage was the US climbing trip. It started on 1 July, when we headed off from Calgary, and it finished end of October in Pheonix. We climbed in Squarmish in BC, Smith Rock in Oregon, Grand Tetons and Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Boulder in Colorado, Mt Whitney, Tuolumne, Yosemite Valley and Joshua Tree in California, Red Rocks in Nevada, Moab and Indian Creek in Utah. We visited Yellowstone, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon, met up with Jen and Tash, and we climbed together for a month. A lot happened on the road. I found some beautiful places and met great people, you know, those who inspire you to live your life to the fullest. I had some highs and lows, normal everybody’s life stuff. But altogether things were simple. I like simplicity. All you had to worry about was a place to sleep, something to eat, what to climb today, when to climb it and an occasional phone call home. Our sleeping location ranged from the side of some noisy road to the top of the hill in the forest overlooking The Titons with everything in between, including Walmart parking lots, forest roads, desert and 2 weeks in the Yosemite campgrounds. As for cooking, I make mean goulash, not bad curries and stir-fries and nice fresh tomato spaghetti- cooking in just 2 pots you can’t go wrong.
Mexico was the last stage of our trip that happened during this first year on the road. Mexico is such a full-on, deep cultural experience that it takes years to fully understand it but already after these 2 months I appreciate it. Mick and I spent a week in the country with hardly any language and then took a month of Spanish in Guanajuato which made all the difference. Even though my Spanish now is really basic, I feel like I can communicate with people and express myself to some extent which is a fucking relief. In Mexico we visited Mexico City, climbed the volcano, Pico the Orizaba, spent a week on the Pacific beaches, visited some groovy ruins in Oaxaca, Teotihuacan and Palenque and cruised thru Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo- Golf of Mexico is flat as pancake and the Caribbean coast in Tulum was somewhat disappointing- resorts stretched for kilometres along the beach, crappiest road ever, lots of garbage and clouds and chilly wind so even though the water was clean and blue it didn’t tempt me to swim. But the prettiest sunrise I have ever seen and shooting tequila on the beach while talking bullshit with Mick- that was priceless. Altogether, I think I liked it there.
Now, what I liked best about Mexico was that people there when in doubt use common sense and everybody seems to take responsibility for their own actions. It gave me sense of freedom; it used to be like this in Poland, but now too often people hide behind often useless regulations. And I like how open people seem towards each other- simple and direct over vague and phoney totally works for me.
Where from here… I guess, we will slowly make our way south to Guatemala. Hopefully you will hear from me from there. Hopefully, my momentum theory will work and I will get to more regular rhythm of writing from the road. If not then talk to you again next year.
Today it’s been a year since Mick and I hit the road. A year that has gone fast and furious and there was so much happening that it could easily fill up a few calendars. And all that happened seems like it was long time ago. Every place we visited became a separate stage- different vibe, different purpose; a different experience altogether. It feels like it hasn’t been one trip but many, one after another. And right now, all I know is what it means to be on the road; feels kind of cool, if you ask me.
We left Australia on 3 January 2009. Our first stop was Thailand. The arrival was a bit of a shocker as I had been too excited to plan anything beforehand and my strategy was based on blind faith that Mick knew what to do- he’d been there before. So we had a bit of an epic getting out of the airport with more luggage than we could carry and not enough know-how to avoid getting ripped off. But others than that, it was all good. Days in Bangkok went past on sampling its fantastic food and shopping on the markets. Then we took a train south. I liked travelling on trains in Thailand- very comfy beds and you get to see some cool countryside views. Beaches down south, Tonsai and Raily, were all about climbing and lazing around. I had a major mental struggle climbing there but luckily came around before we left and still enjoyed following Mick. Everybody who’s been to Tonsai knows that fruit shakes, bbq chicken and sticky rice with mango are the culinary highlights and living in a bamboo hut is just one of a kind experience; especially, when you also have your own hammock.
Altogether we spent in Thailand a month and even the nearly $100 fine for overstaying by 2 days didn’t spoil my good memories from there. Once more, it was good to have means in the absence of knowledge.
Second stop was Poland- only 2 weeks, but filled up tight with family and friend catch ups, which basically equals talking, drinking, eating and more drinking. It was pretty intense as there were so many people I wanted to see and so little time. I should have known better than scheduling such ridiculously short timeframe for visiting home after 3 years. A lesson learnt.
Our next stop was Canada. We arrived mid February, in the middle of moody winter which on regular basis swang its temperatures anywhere between +15 and -45 degrees of Celsius- not so good for skiing which was the main reason why we were there. We made our base at my godmother’s place on the outskirts of Calgary. The 3 months there we spent between working on the van we bought to fit it for camping (usually on weekends) and hanging out in the Bow valley, skiing in Sunshine Village, doing backcountry trips, soaking in hot tubs of Banff Centre, indoor climbing and zipping the awesome coffee in the Wild Flour cafe. Even though the backcountry conditions were kind of scary for unexperienced skiers like us, fitting the camper van in Canada turned into Mission Impossible3, and I lost a friendship, Mick and I also had a lot of fun together and it was great to get to know my godmother and her family.
But when the spring came, we were ready to hit the road- off to Alaska.
The Alaskan roadtrip lasted for 6 weeks. We spent the first week in British Columbia (BC), exploring its hot springs and beautiful landscapes and starting our bear count which by the end of the trip was somewhere in mid twenties. We got snowed in the middle of warm spring weather, our van stuck on the uphill forest road in mud and snow. Some beautiful people of BC helped us out and wouldn’t even accept any money, because this is what you do out there- you help each other. In the end, it turned into such a good experience. British Colombia is a very beautiful country.
In Prince Rupert we got on the Alaskan Ferry and our first stop was Juneau where we stayed 3 days. Their skiing resort was closed for the season but they didn’t mind people skiing there on their own. So we skinned up and from the top of their mountain we could see the ocean. It was the heaviest snow I have ever skied. Then there was this glacier we hiked to. Every so often a piece of sky-blue ice would break off and fall into the lake, so there were those blue icebergs floating all over the place. And the last day we did this hike through a beautiful spring forest along the coast full of hidden bays and pebble beaches; we started to meet those many people of Alaska who came in only for holidays and never left.
From Juneau the ferry took us over to Haynes. From there we continued our trip overland. I will remember Haynes for its magic trail to Seduction Point where we collected mussels at low tide and cooked them later in fire on the beach, we had our tent on this tiny peninsula overlooking 2 beaches in opposite directions at the same time and there was a sea otter that was checking us out from the water and the next day followed us along the trail. We met no people.
Then came Valdez where we just went for a little hike and marvelled the backcountry potential of surrounding mountains, especially the Thompson Pass. In Anchorage we just went off shopping gear, as you do when the price is right. Then it was a quickie to Homer but not much happened there as all the fun stuff was on the other side of the bay and prices to cross over by boat were a bit high, we thought.
Seward though had this really neat hike that we had to do in the middle of the night as the only time to get through the beach section was at low tide. At 4am we had to cross barefoot an ice-cold creek, along the way we saw some seals, otters and sea lions and at the sunrise we made fire on the beach and went to sleep on our thermarest mattresses. I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep before three little sparkles melted holes in my bed- enough to say that sleeping on the stones was not the same… We had lunch in an abandoned Second World War fort and when the tide was low again early in the afternoon, we made our way back to town.
And then we went to Denali National Park- a 5 day wander in the pathless backcountry among bears, mammoths, caribous, moose (which we luckily didn’t meet) and the gophers (which made us move our camp, little bastards). Against the odds we had a fantastic weather and Denali with all its 20000 feet kept us company everywhere we went.
We drove in Alaska some pretty spectacular roads and met some really nice people. It took us a week to drive back from Denali through Yucon Territory back to Alberta; it is a long way but also they have some cool cities out there (Dawson City, White Horse) and of course the hot springs, of which Liard Hotsprings was my favouriteJ
The next stage was the US climbing trip. It started on 1 July, when we headed off from Calgary, and it finished end of October in Pheonix. We climbed in Squarmish in BC, Smith Rock in Oregon, Grand Tetons and Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Boulder in Colorado, Mt Whitney, Tuolumne, Yosemite Valley and Joshua Tree in California, Red Rocks in Nevada, Moab and Indian Creek in Utah. We visited Yellowstone, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon, met up with Jen and Tash, and we climbed together for a month. A lot happened on the road. I found some beautiful places and met great people, you know, those who inspire you to live your life to the fullest. I had some highs and lows, normal everybody’s life stuff. But altogether things were simple. I like simplicity. All you had to worry about was a place to sleep, something to eat, what to climb today, when to climb it and an occasional phone call home. Our sleeping location ranged from the side of some noisy road to the top of the hill in the forest overlooking The Titons with everything in between, including Walmart parking lots, forest roads, desert and 2 weeks in the Yosemite campgrounds. As for cooking, I make mean goulash, not bad curries and stir-fries and nice fresh tomato spaghetti- cooking in just 2 pots you can’t go wrong.
Mexico was the last stage of our trip that happened during this first year on the road. Mexico is such a full-on, deep cultural experience that it takes years to fully understand it but already after these 2 months I appreciate it. Mick and I spent a week in the country with hardly any language and then took a month of Spanish in Guanajuato which made all the difference. Even though my Spanish now is really basic, I feel like I can communicate with people and express myself to some extent which is a fucking relief. In Mexico we visited Mexico City, climbed the volcano, Pico the Orizaba, spent a week on the Pacific beaches, visited some groovy ruins in Oaxaca, Teotihuacan and Palenque and cruised thru Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo- Golf of Mexico is flat as pancake and the Caribbean coast in Tulum was somewhat disappointing- resorts stretched for kilometres along the beach, crappiest road ever, lots of garbage and clouds and chilly wind so even though the water was clean and blue it didn’t tempt me to swim. But the prettiest sunrise I have ever seen and shooting tequila on the beach while talking bullshit with Mick- that was priceless. Altogether, I think I liked it there.
Now, what I liked best about Mexico was that people there when in doubt use common sense and everybody seems to take responsibility for their own actions. It gave me sense of freedom; it used to be like this in Poland, but now too often people hide behind often useless regulations. And I like how open people seem towards each other- simple and direct over vague and phoney totally works for me.
Where from here… I guess, we will slowly make our way south to Guatemala. Hopefully you will hear from me from there. Hopefully, my momentum theory will work and I will get to more regular rhythm of writing from the road. If not then talk to you again next year.
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