Coincidences?

One thing I was kindly reminded of last night by a new friend: coincidences are not uncommon when traveling. 

As long as you're open to explore new opportunities. In my last post I stated that the adventure came to a close, and I couldn’t be any further from the truth. The adventure never ends.

Coincidences? Was it a coincidence that I had been planning to teach English in Japan, got a contract, then a friend tells me to look further into the nuclear disaster. Doubts on the severity of the radiation began to arise and I questioned whether or not I should pursue my trip to Japan.

Was it a coincidence that in the spring of 2010, while training in Capoeira, Carlos decided to join the academy for a few months (let me remind you that he's 56 years old). We hadn’t seen each other in years. Then he told me about his plans to sail to Brazil (last summer). I told him: if you were only doing this trip when I finish teacher’s college, I would join you in a heartbeat. He told me, he had waited too long, and he was going to Brazil alone.

In the spring 2011, soon after I had doubts about going to Japan, I met up with Carlos at a gathering of family friends. Was it a coincidence that he had delayed his trip one year? Last summer he got up as far as Quebec City then realized that he wasn’t prepared to go to Brazil at that time and would miss the window to travel down.

So I asked if I could join him, never having been on a sail boat in my life! He accepted. I declined my contract for Japan and we began the voyage to Halifax. I gained a lot of experience along the way. Not only in terms of sailing, but through the conversations I had with Carlos and Mario, through the people I met along the way, through the challenges and the delightful moments.

When I had made my decision to stop in Halifax and not pursue the voyage to Brazil, I had many doubts in my mind as to whether or not this was the right decision. If not Brazil, then what would I do for this year that I wanted to take off? Upon arriving in Halifax, I was kindly reminded to be patient, coincidences are endless.

Why did we even choose to come into Halifax when Chester was to be our final stop? Why did we choose to stop at a small Marina we found across from Halifax in the city of Dartmouth? To be honest, I’m not sure how these ideas crept into our minds. I feel like we’re in Inception, and someone came and planted new ideas in our minds.

Anyhow, we stopped at Alderley Marina in Dartmouth. Coincidence? It just so happened that Arcade Fire was to play a show in the stage right next door to the Marina, and we had prime spots out in the water. It just so happened that it was ‘Natal Day’…celebrating the birth of Halifax. Funny, because we were planning to sail to the city of Natal in Brazil; that was to be my final destination. Then while Arcade Fire was playing that evening, I decided to take the dinghy out to get a better view. I also felt like rowing instead of turning on the engine. And while rowing, a group of people on a sail boat asked if I wanted a drink for all my rowing efforts. I tied on to their boat and hopped on and was immediately introduced to an amazing bunch of people. (On a side note: I have only met amazing people out here on the East Coast…I think it’s simply about living close to the ocean). So in their company I listened to the show and had amazing conversations. The beautiful lights from the city of Halifax behind us, and the illuminated MacDonald bridge by our side.

One of the girls on the boat, Lavilla, told me that coincidences are not uncommon while traveling. A truth that many travelers can attest to. She told me about her stay in New Zealand and her plans to return. I had always dreamed of going to New Zealand…who knows! All I can do is to keep my soul open, patiently knowing that the universe will guide me in a new direction through a strange series of coincidences....

For those friends of mine that keep asking me why I travel so much. It’s for this. It’s for these moments, these coincidences. It’s for the random people you meet along the way. Amazing people everywhere. It’s for the adventures you have. It’s for the lessons you learn. It’s for getting lost then finding your way. It's because I am most alive while traveling and I can’t get enough of it! 

New photos added to the blog!

Check out the photos section (link is at the top of the page) to see the new albums I just added to the blog!

The adventure comes to a close

I have decided not to go on sailing to Brazil. My reasons for not wanting to continue South are varied. I had many long conversations with several people who helped guide me in my decision. To be clear, I am not making this decision because I fear that something will go wrong during the trip. If anything, this trip to Halifax has assured me that this boat (and myself) could handle the worst of storms. However, there are other factors which I hadn't previously taken into enough consideration, namely, boredom, food, weather and what I was hoping to gain out of the trip.

1)      Boredom: The stars at night are beautiful and so are the sunrises and sunsets as well as all the wildlife…but regardless you feel every hour pass by. There’s only so much reading and music listening I can do. I get antsy, I want to move! While coastal sailing is fun and a good mixture of land and sea, crossing the ocean by boat for 6 weeks would be too much for me.

2)      Food: I was getting tired of our canned food after only a week of it, partly because the swaying of the boat was also making me a bit queasy.

3)      Weather: while people back in Toronto enjoyed a heat wave, most evenings I’ve had to wear a hat and gloves. Sailing is much more enjoyable on the hot days and evenings that we got. I can’t imagine leaving in November for Brazil.

4)      What I hoped to gain: I have no idea what I really hoped to gain from this trip. I was thinking of be able to meditate, think about where I would go with my life, but alas, I have been able to do a lot of that thinking on this ride to Halifax! I think, I would think so much on trip to Brazil that I'd go mad!

Blind sailing and swimming with Jellies

Liscomb was quite the adventure. As we approached Liscomb it was midnight, pitch black due to the cloudy skies. We decided to anchor at a place called Smith Bay. Our GPS indicated a spot which was 5 metres deep in this little bay. Our guide book also suggested that this was an appropriate place to anchor.

Relying completely on the compass and the GPS I approached the tight area while Carlos kept an eye out. In some areas we had only some 100 metres to manoeuvre in with rocks on either side, wind howling and waves pushing us to and fro. I kept my focus, got us into the bay and Carlos set the anchor.

The next morning, we awoke to surrounding by small black buoys. We had unknowingly trampled through an entire fish farm on our way in. To make matters worse, our anchor was stuck, no amount of tugging was going to pull it up. It had caught on something, seemed like a cable. So, I put on my swimming shorts and a mask and got into the chilly waters in order to detach the anchor. Careful to avoid the couple of jellyfish that were watching my progress. After a few minutes, the job was done and the anchor was free.

We had to re-cross the fish farms on our way out, trying to be as careful as we could. Then made our way to Halifax.

To Canso

Our leave of Cribbon’s point came with sunshine and light winds. We made our way to the Canso Causeway. This small waterway which separates Cape Breton from the rest of Nova Scotia reminded me of the banks in the St Lawrence.

We made our way down to the lock which adjusts for the change in water level between St. George Bay and the Bay on the other side of the strait (I can’t remember the name right now). The lock had a strong current and nearly pulled out boat to metal doors at the other end. Once the doors opened, a swivel bridge turned, temporarily stopping land traffic while we passed through.

We pushed forwards arriving at the town of Canso late at night. The town was beautiful at night. Because of the many hazards to make your way to the town’s harbour, there are white, red and green lights softly flashing everywhere. We anchored under the starry sky and went to sleep.

The next morning we were greeted by three sails who stuck their heads up some 20 metres away, curious to know what we were doing there. After grabbing some supplies at Canso (thanks to Gus who let us borrow his pickup), we began our trek to Liscomb.

Staying with the Turniawans

At Cribbon’s point we were greeted by Epa (Marian’s sister) who courageously picked me and Carlos up. I say courageous, because I am sure we smelled pretty bad. She brought us up to her place, offering us a warm shower. Great gift (probably for her as much as for us)! A bed on land is also a treat! But even when I close my eyes, I feel as though I’m back on the boat and I feel like I’m swaying.

The area here is beautiful (I’ll post some pictures soon). As Carlos described, this is truly an area to own a sail boat. The vast St. George bay is splendid. Cape Breton on one side and the rest of Nova Scotia on the other.

The Turniawan’s home is full of art everywhere. There’s always something interesting to look at. Nancy (Marian’s mom) seems to always be up to interesting art projects at home and in town.

Eating fresh foods, meeting new people and having great conversations, swimming in the salt water...It’s been a nice break to stay with the family here. 

Spinning, drifting and star gazing.

Our last day at Iles de la Madeleine went well. We did some routine work in order ensure that the boat was fit to set sail again.  Once all our work was complete, we went for a walk on a close by beach (see new photos). We checked out the weather forecasts one more time (calling for North East winds), then went to sleep.

The next morning, the forecast had already changed. They were calling for Southerly winds, and a strong wind warning was in effect for the next day. Since we were going to head directly south, a southerly wind (meaning it’s coming from to South and going northbound) would mean we weren’t going to be moving anywhere fast. But the direction of the wind outside contradicted the weather forecast, so we set sail anyways.

This was a sailing day. Out on the water, the sun was shining and the wind was pulling us smoothly through the water right on course to Nova Scotia.

The winds died down by the evening, and at once the stars started coming out, our boat wasn’t being pulled by the wind anymore. There was a current in the water, slowly pulling us in the direction we wanted, however the boat was spinning. We let the current take us.

It all felt really strange. The moon was rising over the waters, a bright orange moon, it looked like it was floating on the water. I had never seen the moon like that. We drifted, looking up at the stars and glancing at the GPS from time to time to ensure that we were going in the right direction.

By morning, the lack of wind meant that we had only moved a few miles during the night, we were still just off the coast of PEI. So we started the outboard engine and motored our way to our destination, namely: Cribbon’s Point.

St.Lawrence history-click on link

http://www.vsr.cape.com/~powens/riverhistory.htm

New Video Section!

Just added a video section. Adding a 'virtual tour' of Atins. Check it out!

A day of land adventures: 40km biking, 4km walking, swimming, capoeira, hitchhiking.

Wake up and the sun is shining. It seems weather around here can vary from hour to hour, so we decide we’ll make use of the day to explore the island. Who knows when we’ll get another sunny day like this.

No car, no rentals nearby, no bikes for rent, no buses. Carlos is adamant that he’ll walk all the way to La Grave (a small quaint touristy town some 8 km away). I’m not up for walking this distance. I stand behind him with my thumb out (hitchhiking is a very common and acceptable practice on the island). Within 15 minutes, a car stops and gives us a lift to La Grave, the driver even gives us a little tour of the place. I could understand only half of what this guy was saying—the accent here is different than anything I have heard in Quebec.

After a delicious meal at Café de La Grave (recommended to us by Eve) we find a place to rent a bike and start cycling up to Cap-Aux-Meules passing a beautiful bay full of kite surfers and windsurfers. There are sand dunes and picturesque beaches. We stop at a beach, go for a swim. Other tourists think we’re crazy, but we’ve been waiting too long to bathe in the ocean water. We come out and play some Capoeira on the beach, again attracting the curiosity of tourists. People start taking out their cameras.

We continue on to Cap-Aux-Meules, grab a drink in a bar where a live band is playing old tunes. The bar is filled with seniors dancing away. Carlos may be old, but not that old, after a quick drink we get out of that place! We start cycling back to La Grave, full of headwind. It’s a tough ride back, and the mountain bikes are in bad shape, along with the riders who have been on a boat for 2 weeks. We finally arrive back at La Grave, it’s already cloudy and starting to rain.

Hitch a ride halfway to our wharf, and walk the last 4 km. Carlos refuses to hitchhike any further. Walking is one of Carlos’ favourite pastimes, so we continue forwards, getting to our boat at 11pm. Lay down and we’re out.

P.S. Today (Monday) we’re preparing the boat to head out tomorrow to Nova Scotia, a 30 hr voyage). Weather seems to be promising for Tuesday and Wednesday.