Our original ambitious plan was to head down the Oregon coast to San Fran, head east into the Yosemite national park, then travel north back to Vancouver via the interior. We had planned well ahead to camp, and had purchased all the right wet weather gear. We were prepared for bad weather. Needless to say, I was so excited to go on this trip. I really wanted to be close to nature again, away from big cities, public transport, people, time. So we set off early on the Tuesday morning in the rental car. The drive down to Oregon is long [View Full Entry]

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We spent one last weekend with our mate, Thomas doing a big road trip in and around Washington. The first day was to be spent at Vantage, for some rock climbing/ hiking , and then head off to Stevens Pass for a bit of skiing the following day on the way back. Our trip to Vantage took much longer than expected. A 5 hour drive turned out to be like 7 hours, and we ended up getting to the rock early morning, just before sunrise. We set up camp next to the rock called the Feathers. It is a dry and [View Full Entry]

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With our time running out here in BC, we have been doing some extra ordinary skiing. This past Sunday we headed off to Mount Baker, in the US. An early start to the day , 6am, and we were crossing the border, getting visas before 7:30am. There were no cues, and most importantly the US immigration officers were incredibly bright and cheerful. Passing through the border town at the so called 'truck crossing' was uneventful and the drive up to the mountain long and tedious. However, the melancholic vibe soon lightened up once we got our skis on and started skiing [View Full Entry]

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These photos tell it all, really. But a few words cant hurt. We headed up to Whistler on one of their busiest days. All the indications for crowds were there - Presidents day in the US, weekend, fresh powder and sunshine - we should have known. The line up for the Blackcomb chairlift ran down into the village. Nevertheless, no matter how many hundreds, or thousands, of people were there that day, we still felt like we got a piece of untouched snow. Whistler/Blackcomb is so big, crowds dont seem to bother you when you're actually skiing. We decided to go [View Full Entry]

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A weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city was just what we needed. Bowen Island is so close to Vancouver, yet so far in terms of pace of life. Once you arrive on the island, 20 mins ferry trip from Vancouver, you are transported to another world. People, bus drivers, all greet you with smiles . Our B+B, on the north end of the island was a short bus drive away from the ferry terminal. After being dropped off by a very friendly island driver right outside the B+B, we headed towards our weekend getaway. The suite is [View Full Entry]

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Our weekends have been taken up with skiing - both Saturday and Sunday we have been going up to Cypress ( 30min drive from Van), not just to breakeven on our expensive season pass, but for fresh air, exercise and most of all fun!! Since realising that there is no future for us on snowblades, we decided to buy new skis through my work. A pro deal offered to employees enabled us to get the latest skis at a very good price. So here we are on a very clear day on Cypress, sporting our new skis - mine the Rossignol [View Full Entry]

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5 days of peace and quiet, on a farm outside of courtney was just what we needed, and felt almost sad to come back to the city of Vancouver. We skied on Mount Washington, in fresh powder one day, walked around looking for truffles in the owner's "backyard", ate beautifull food and drank good wine. Here are some photos of our christmas on Vancouver Island. [View Full Entry]

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Something that I have been dreading, has occured.. I have turned 30. Goodbye twenties, its been sweeeeeet!!. Its not something I can really say right now. I am ..thir...rrrr....ty ? The words just cant escape easily. Its like - it just cant be! Somepeople tell me their fourties were the best, but for me, so far nothing can beat the freedom of being twenty. Enough of that... What have we been up to?? The past two weekends have been great, with all this snow and rain we have still managed to do some cool things, or so. A weekend on Vancouver [View Full Entry]

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Well its been a bit of a struggle to get settled here. It seems me and Benoit need to improve our decision making skills, and learn not to rush into things. The North American life and our ignorance got the better of us in some ways. We are in a real country now with provinces and time differences. Our first experience of Vancouver, unfortunately was the horrible backpackers in West Pender street. The reason why we went there was because it was cheap, but we paid the price for being cheap skates. Bed bugs, dirty rooms, mattresses and pillows with scary [View Full Entry]

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I decided to go back home and visit all the family, it had been about 3 years since I was last there and felt like I needed to go back home before I head off on my next adventure (Canada). Always feeling a bit unsure about how it will be like going back to SA, and not too keen to leave Benoit for 3 weeks, I was a bit uneasy about traveling alone again. The flight to SA was long and painful, on a very old Lufthansa aircraft , with hardly no inflight entertainment, and very uncomfortable seats. I realized then [View Full Entry]

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