Surfing in Thunder Bay

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The bus out of Grandview was much fuller than the one we got on the way out there - the perils of travelling straight after Thanksgiving I guess. So Ro and I sat cramped for 5 and a half hours with our hand luggage on the floor under our feet. I’m not entirely sure why the “express” service between Grandview and Winnipeg took longer than our slow service on the way north, but I am learning not to question the Greyhound way... At least the sun was shining and we could stare out of the window at the endless prairie skies, and view Riding Mountain National Park in daylight! Still didn’t see any wildlife unfortunately.

To make our pick-up most convenient to Chris, we wanted to be let off the bus at Headingley rather than Winnipeg airport again. The driver was all for dropping us at the railroad tracks which is the normal stopping place but we were none too keen, given it was dark and we had no idea where they were in relation to the only landmark Ro knew - the Flying J truckstop. A bit of gentle persuasion and the bus driver begrudgingly agreed to drop us there instead. Which he did. Literally. He stopped at the traffic lights, got our bags out of the undercarriage, slammed the doors shut and drove off, leaving us to navigate over the scrubland between the road and the car park! A law unto themselves...

Another evening of Chris’ excellent hospitality (my first taste of perogies and some mindless TV with her and her brother) and we were off to the bus station once more, this time saying goodbye for the final time. We think 😊 Sadly a full bus again, this one driven by Chef from South Park. Our journey this time was a little longer - 10 hours through Manitoba and northern Ontario. Ro’s building me up for the long haul the other side of Thunder Bay... The scenery gradually changed from open prairies to woods, lakes and gentle hills as we headed into Ontario and I was constantly entertained by the familiar place names that had obviously been “borrowed” by the settlers who came to Canada in the last century - my favourite on this stretch was Upsala, having been there so recently!

Unfortunately, I was suffering from increasingly painful toothache throughout the day (it had come on gradually whilst at Poplar Glen - I thought it was just sensitivity to the cold, but then it got worse and more insistent), which somewhat spoiled the trip and made me rather poor company for Ro 😞

Typically, our arrival into Thunder Bay was at night and at a bus station which was on the outskirts of town. A nice man helped us to find the right bus into town and we found the bar/restaurant at which Ro had arranged the rendezvous with Brodie and Annie, our couch surfing hosts for the next 2 nights. They were supposed to be turning up around 9.30/10pm... By 10pm there was no sign of them and we were worried we’d been stood up! We passed the time playing “maybe”. Maybe, they’ve been abducted by aliens. Maybe, they’ve been run over by a bus. Maybe... Nowhere in our imagination did we come up with “maybe they’ve been to a coffee roasting workshop that went on longer than they’d thought”!!

My nervousness about couch surfing was completely unfounded. Brodie and Annie were a lovely couple, with a mad female cat named Moses (she’d been rescued emerging soaking wet and freezing from the rushes). We spent Tuesday evening gossiping and were treated to a tasty breakfast omelette in the morning before being sent off to explore the town and visit the dentist...

A note about the dentist. I’d found him through the emergency phone line, having been unable to get an appointment with Annie’s recommended man. We turned up and wandered around the dingiest 70s mall imaginable (which I swear hadn’t been cleaned since it was built) before finding his office, right next door to the Casino Training Academy... Not an auspicious start. But he seemed nice enough. Until he started talking root canals. At which point I demanded he prescribe me drugs and let me sort out any wider issues when I got home! Ironically I’ve got an appointment for a check-up the day I land back in the UK 😞 My timing sucks. The only upside was that I didn’t have to remortgage the flat to pay the man - only $22 for the X-ray plus $30 for the drugs.

Thunder Bay seems a nice enough town - a pretty park on the headland which gave us great views over the bay, then another nice park down by the waterfront (although sadly with much under construction we couldn’t walk all the way round it). But apart from that, the opportunity to buy Bits n Pieces in bulk at Safeway and a Charity Casino, not a lot going on.

Brodie and Annie did take us to the local Farmers market in the evening which was nice (and we got a really good pizza there for dinner). And then an educational trip to the Salvation Army store and Value Village... Brodie needed jeans and Ro wanted a Halloween costume for her trip to Michigan at the end of the month. Much hilarity ensued as Ro tried on a variety of costumes (crayon, knave, dragon, bumble bee...). The final choice was dull in comparison - jeans and a work shirt = cowgirl. I was disappointed.

In no time, we got to Thursday morning and time for our departure. We said farewell to Annie and the mad cat (minus ears which had got frostbitten when she was rescued, hence resembling a Mogwai more than a cat) and Brodie dropped us off at the Greyhound station again. As a first couch surfing experience, I think I got lucky 😊

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