the nomadic nanny

Last Thursday my boss told me I had overstayed my visa and needed to book a ticket out ASAP. Friday afternoon I headed to the airport. After paying a fee at customs I took an hour and a half flight to Male-Maldives. I took a short shuttle boat ride to Male from the island the airport is located on.  I researched a ferry leaving that night at 10:30 to Thulusdhoo – a quiet island visited mainly by surfers because of the famous “Cokes” surf break. Unfortunately after a taxi ride to the ferry location I discovered there was no longer a dock there and definitely no boats headed out. The locals even at another ferry port were no help and were sure no boats were leaving. I walked to a café and got on their wifi. Luckily I had messaged a few people about surfing and one had just arrived back on the island and gave me a call. He made a few calls and found the only ferry leaving at 10 and directed me there. He advised sitting on the upper deck which was perfect for an hour and a half of stargazing. Upon arrival I walked the 5 minutes to Season Paradise.

The streets on the island are very quiet and you only see a handful of people around. I never saw any dogs and there are maybe 50-100 people on the island. The houses are small and the residents paint their political vote on their wall outside. Bikes are the main use of transport but most people just walk as it is such a small island. There isn’t much to do other than go on a surf trip, go snorkeling, or relax on the beach. There is a Coke factory you can tour and a few places for food. I came at the very end of the surf season so even the few stores around had been closed for the season.

I woke up early and watched the sun rise from the infinity pool on the roof. Then I went downstairs, had breakfast, and walked over to Coke’s surf break. There is a narrow makeshift bridge that connects to a small island which is where the break is. It is one of the only breaks in the Maldives you can walk to and do not need a boat to get to. The waves were decent and a few guys were out.

I headed back to the hotel and arranged a surf to Sultans. The Australian guy- Tim who had helped me out with the ferry the night before told me there was a girl (Ni) at the hotel I was staying at who arranged surf trips. Two guys from Sweden, a guy from Spain, a guy from Australia, and I piled our boards in the back of a buggy and headed to the boat. We transferred the boards to the boat and set off on a 30 minute ride to Sultans. Ni and I sat up top in a patch of shade on the ride over and we passed all the famous glass bottom huts at the various islands on our way. We arrived at the break and there were maybe 5-10 people out. The waves were pretty mellow and clean and it was a short paddle from the boat to the line up. The water was so clear you could see the coral and fish below. We surfed for 2 hours and Ni took pictures from the boat.

We headed back and had lunch at the hotel. I walked around for an hour or so and laid on the beach before heading out for a snorkel with Ni. The water was a little cloudy but there were loads of fish and the reef was right in front of the hotel.  I then walked over to a pier to watch the sunset.

I headed back inside and packed up. I had arranged for a 7pm private speed boat as the only public boat left that day at 2:30 and since I only had a day I wanted to make the most of it-even if it was way more expensive. Normally the ferry is about $3 but I ended up paying $120. Thankfully the girls at the front desk helped me out with a great discount as it is usually $250. They dropped me right off at the airport and I headed back to Sri Lanka after a full day in paradise.

Expenses:

Airport to Male & Male to Thulusdhoo Ferries – $6USD

One night at Season Paradise with breakfast included-$100USD

Surf Trip -$25USD

Surf board rental – $20USD

Snorkel rental – $5USD

Lunch at Season Paradise- $12USD

Speed Boat Transfer – $120USD

Tips:

-Have either a small amount of USD in cash for the ferry tickets or use the ATM at the airport to take out some Rufiyaa

-Do not waste any time on Male. Its a pretty chaotic island that has had some issues with heroin in the past few years. There isn’t anything too beautiful or unique about it although I wasn’t there in the daytime- it is safe but spend as much time as you can off the island. There are a few good cafes and gelato shops. If you are looking for WiFi go to Seahouse which also has a great western menu.

-Do not spend any more than $25-30 Rufiyaa on a taxi (around $2USD)

-Taxis will pile in at least 3 people before heading out but you will all pay the same price.

-Download the Maldives on maps.me before you go so you have an idea where you need to go if you cannot get to wifi.

A month or so ago I went up to Colombo with the family for a few days while our main gate was being fixed. Because I worked a few days straight I had two extra days off and decided to head up to Udawalawe National Park. (This was May 23)

I hopped on a bus around 9:15 towards Matara for 120 Rs (78 cents). I arrived in Matara at 10:40 and immediately caught a bus to Emblilpitiya and paid 120 rs again. This bus ride was about 2.5 hours long. This was a quieter road as soon as we left the coastal road and drove past banana, sugar cane, and rice fields. About an hour into the ride a guy sitting across from me asked me if I was going to Udawalawe for a safari-this wasn’t a long shot in the dark as not much else is around. I said yes and he told me he owned a truck and did tours through the park. He quoted me 3000rs for 3 hours which was a lot better than the 4,500 the place I was staying at offered. I had planned on going for a sunrise safari the next morning but Kuma informed me that the sunset safari was much better as it would be cooler so more animals would be out. The elephants also go to the watering hole in the evening so we would have a better chance of seeing them. He showed me pictures of previous safaris and I decided this would be a good idea. We hopped off the bus in Embilipitiya and I grabbed a bite to eat before we caught the next bus to Udawalawe. Kuma was super helpful with showing me which bus to take and then having the bus driver drop me off right in front of the place I stayed at. I had about an hour before Kuma was going to pick me up so I checked in. I stayed in a little cabin at a place called Kottawatta Village. It was a great outdoorsy location right by a bus stop and close to town with little huts in the jungle-bungalows with air-conditioning near a pool and a line of safari-styled tents. There were a few standard rooms by the office as well. I checked in and received a cold towel and juice before walking over a bridge to my cabin. There was a large building used for the kitchen and dining area where a few cats were roaming around. The man who checked me in pointed out a monkey and warned me they might be chatty the next morning. I relaxed a bit before being picked up by Kuma.

 

I sat up front and we drove to the park where we paid for entry. We drove a bit further before I hopped up top for a 360 view. I wasn’t prepared for how bumpy it would be and chose a chair with one armrest to help me not fall out. The road was a one lane dirt road with more ruts than level ground. First we came across three water buffalo bathing in mud.

 

One of the great things about this park is the respect they have for the animals. We were not allowed to get out of the truck, shout, or disturb the animals if they were walking on the road or crossing. We did a lot of sitting and gazing at the animals as they went about life. After the buffalo we saw a few peacocks walking across the road. They had all just shed their long tail feathers so they were not as magnificent as usual but still great to see.

We drove for a bit further before seeing a small herd of elephants – about 6 females (cows) with two babies (calves).  Kuma told me the cow will stay with the calf and other females but the males (bulls) generally stick to themselves unless it is mating season. It takes 22 months for a calf to grow in its mother before being born-makes the 9 months for humans seem like a walk in the park. We watched this herd for a while as Kuma told me all different facts and pointed out other animals around.

He also helped me learn my first two Singalese words : Stooty: thank you and Aubowan : you’re welcome. He hopped in the back and pulled out a few fresh lemons and fresh pepper from his home in Udawalawe.

A few trees were filled with monkeys near the top and toucans were flying from tree to tree along with some hawks. There are 5 different types of hawks in the park and by the time the safari was over we saw all of them. There was also a small herd of deer in the bushes we saw for a quick second before they ran away. We continued on the way to a waterhole where we saw crocodiles, land monitors, and turtles.  Around the next bend was a solo bull having a wash in the waterhole. After about 5 minutes he came out right behind the truck to give himself a dust bath.

Next we saw two cows with a pretty young calf walking with them down the road. A few minutes later we came across another herd and waited for them to cross the road.

We were in search of a leopard and found prints near a large rock – most likely a mom with two cubs according to the paw prints. We didn’t get a glimpse of them but as it is quite rare to see them I wasn’t too disappointed. It was closing in on 6pm which is when we had to be out of the park or the rangers would give Kuma a bit of a hassle. We had maybe 7 minutes to get out so Kuma put the pedal to the medal as much as he could on the bumpy roads. We joked we could just saw an elephant was blocking the road and a minute later that was the case.

We made it out just in the nick of time. In the 3 hours we were in the park we had seen only 1 other jeep one time for a minute or two. It felt like we were the only ones for miles which might have been the case. It was such a peaceful beautiful park and I highly recommend going. Most people who come to Sri Lanka go to Yala National Park on the west coast. This is a much bigger park but only a few more leopards and many many more jeeps. One of the main complaints of going to Yala is having 5 or more jeeps in pictures of elephants because there are so many people. This makes the elephants have a much less natural life and they become used to vehicles. Because I came in the off season the elephants were much more wary of vehicles as there were not too many visitors. In all we saw about 35 elephants and even Kuma kept saying it was a very successful safari.

I am more than happy with my experience in Udawalawe and so glad I was able to meet Kuma. It’s crazy to think about timing and how everything works out especially when I woke up the next morning and it was raining-most likely the safari would have been cancelled if I would have held off until the morning.  I had breakfast where I stayed and chilled in a hammock under the shelter until checkout time.

I stopped at the Elephant Orphanage before heading back. It is also a rehabilitation center and they have a little museum you can walk through to learn more about what they do. The viewing area is probably 100 meters from the elephants and there are signs all around sawing to whisper and to keep the elephants experience as natural as possible. They have as little human interaction as possible- only with a few staff members who feed, water, and treat them. There is a sign that states “Jungle is silent, you too be silent.” Over 100 baby elephants have been released back into the wild. The 45 elephant calves being cared for roam freely in the jungle and come for milk every 3 hours. The center monitors them using radio collars which confirm that 13 females are having their own babies. There is no difference between wild and rehabilitated elephants thanks to their successful program.

I cannot recommend this trip enough. I learned so much about elephants and loved every minute of the safari. If you are planning a trip come in May or June to miss the crowds. Give Kuma a ring to get a great informative safari. He was raised in Udawalawe and almost grew up in the park. He has been doing tours for over a year now and is fantastic – always finding any moving thing, pointing it out, and telling you an interesting fact about it. Here is his number: 0771693347.

After a Month in Sri Lanka, I am still loving this country it as much as when I arrived if not more. Life is different, slower, and not so superficial (I say this after I noticed the many bottles of white enhancing lotion today at the pharmacy). Tuk Tuks are the new Uber and instead of an air freshener you smell freshly caught fish as you pass by the markets. Cows and stray dogs wander aimlessly along the road, families bathe on the banks of a river, and monks head off to their morning worship.

My days are pretty relaxed here working 6 days a week 1:30-7:30 Sunday to Friday. I am working for a family with 3 boys – 16 month old twins George and Lawrence and 4 Year old Dimitri/Dima who has Downs. Their Dad Dom is from the UK while their Mom Anna is from Russia. Dom was in the Marines and has had quite the interesting life so far as the first man to kite boat across the Atlantic, earned himself an Inuit name meaning musk ox after being charged by one in the Artic during a kayaking trip, and was living in Egypt when he met Anna before moving to Turkey because of the Revolution. He owns multiple villas here that he rents out to travelers and is also an author.

The property we live at is on the beach in a small community called Gintota. We have two small grocery stores that are about the size of a gas station convenience store, a bakery, a fresh chicken shop, a spice shop, a silk store, a vegetable market, a fruit stall, and a car shop where you can reload your phone. I stay in a separate house from the main house which has another guest room, kitchen where the chef cooks, laundry room, security room, and gym. It is a great set up and I’m adjusting to the lizards that scamper away when you walk in, the leaky roof when it rains hard and gives off a sprinkler effect with the fan on, and the spotty wifi. The chef cooks lunch and dinner here for us and there are also two girls who do the cleaning and laundry. There is one main security guard who opens the gate and keeps an eye on all the cameras. There are also two men who do maintenance. There is a man who lives a couple hundred yards north who is our tuk tuk driver if we need to go anywhere. Dom also owns a Land Rover we use for school runs and day trips. There is a pool and the whole property is gated in with a massive sliding door on the road side and gates to the beach. It is a quiet area with mainly more villas around.

My first week here was very full on – learning about my duties and being a bit overwhelmed with the idea of keeping track of 3 active boys. It has all settled down now after learning all the tips and tricks. Monday to Friday if the surf is good I hop in the Land Rover for the school run and get dropped off from 8-12 at Dewatta Beach for a morning surf. My board’s nose has quite the ding from the ever reliable Air Asia flight so I have been renting a board from a surf school for about $5 for two hours. The guys are super friendly there and I’ve got to know them well after renting boards, having them fix mine, and popping a fin off one of the guy’s boards when his board collided with mine. There are usually a handful of tourists that are taking beginner lessons and a few more experienced out in the line-up. There are maybe 5 surf schools and a great café along the beach. I head back at 12 and have lunch before my day starts with the boys.

When I start we usually all hop in the pool for 30 minutes and work on some swimming skills before I take Dima up for his nap and feed the twins. Then I take the twins for a walk on the beach with their dog Buddy and have some playtime for two hours before Dima wakes up. Then its bath time dinner and I’m off. We will go into Galle about one time per week for ice cream with the boys and go to the fruit market once a week.

The parents are great and very thankful for me to be here. They have had trouble with locals before not being reliable work wise. Once they work for a couple of months and make enough money to get them by for a while they just don’t show up again. Dom is very historical and smart, used to surf, and is great with the kids. He has a good one liner here and there. We were talking about how difficult the UK was being about the twin’s passports and he was talking about the system and how ridiculous it was and he said it was like a hot lesbian – just not fair. He usually swims with the boys or takes them for a walk on the beach. Anna is quieter but just as funny. She has some Russian superstitions I have found amusing like no whistling in the house or they will lose all their money. Today I also shaved all three boy’s heads with an electric razor – first time for everything – and she saved the hair. That one was a bit strange. The twins were very good about it. Anna held them and we made quick work. Dima had to be held by the security officer and it was quite a struggle. He is a really sweet boy most of the time but can get a bit rough with the twins when he’s excited or needs to burn off some energy. Thank Buddah for the sweetest mom who gives me breaks when I get crazy eyes after running after the boys who seem to have a constant death wish, after cleaning up poo of an insomniac 4 year old who decided to smear it all over his room, or dealing with the cleaners who I have a love/hate relationship with. They can be a life saver when the boys are running crazy but when they come to say hi to the boys they cry every time the girls leave the house. They are very sweet though and have lots of laughs together.

A few days after I arrived, Anna’s mom Natalia came for a visit – first one she has had since Dima was 1. She has broken English but was very enthusiastic about everything especially the food. Fruit isn’t common in Russia so she wanted to try as much as she can and Anna always teased that if we had any leftovers she would clean them up. She asked me for a lot of translations and was just curious about life. The boys usually watch a DVD while they are eating and she would feed Dima while I fed the twins. Natalia got in the habit of repeating everything said even things like Disney DVD when it first started. This made Anna crazy which was pretty funny to see all in good fun. While she was here a man from Sri Lanka came to talk to Dom about remodeling and he mentioned to Dom that he had a handsome girl here – pretty common translation mistake here. He asked if I was married. Natalia thought he was speaking about her even though he was probably younger than Dom. She got a picture with him and was on Cloud 9. Later I hear all of this at bath time and was told I had my first marriage proposal. Anna didn’t recommend it since most guys live with their moms here as long as they are single. He was 40 something.

Sri Lanka has a few interesting differences – mainly to do with personal interactions. Everyone here calls women Madam – I think this is mainly for travelers. Whenever Anna and I take the boys into a store the locals who work there are enamored by them and come up to them, touch their heads, and try to pick them up – usually the boys aren’t having it. Parents here but winter hats on their toddlers or babies – I have seen this at least 10 times even in the 85 degree weather. For funerals everyone wears white and the casket is carried from wherever the funeral is to the cemetery. Everyone walks along the road and it’s the one time traffic slows.

Here are a couple tips for travel: bring hand sanitizer or wipes with you if you plan on buying mango or other fruit and eating it on the go – first off your hands won’t be clean and after eating a mango they are pretty sticky. Restaurants generally don’t have a restroom for you to wash your hands either. If you happen to use buses for long trips be aware you will have to pay to use the toilets in the bus area – or at least you have to in Matara. These are the floor and sprayer toilets as well – still something I have been able to avoid. Be aware of your backpack in busy places like bus or train stations when you are very close to everyone and keep valuables on the bottom of inner pockets. Wear sunglasses on tuk tuk rides as they are very windy and you are catching exhaust and dirt from cars around you. I wear a baseball cap on buses as well as they are windy with all the windows open. Buses are often not tackled by travelers but they are a great cheap and direct mode of transport and very easy to use. My first bus ride was the worst – most buses only slow by bus stops and you have to hop on and hop off very quick. This bus wasn’t a local bus so was driven by a pretty crazy driver. I swear we almost crashed 3x. The concept of personal space on the bus and on the road is as far off as the concept of driving lanes as everyone passes whenever there is a chance. Buses are king mainly due to the size but also the crazy speed they drive at. All the rest of the buses I have been on are much better. There isn’t a schedule anywhere but you can tell the conductor where you are going and they will generally help you find a connecting bus if you have to switch. Be flexible with your schedule. If hours of Sri Lankan music is not your thing, bring along some headphones for long bus rides. If you visit any gardens or anywhere near stagnant water for even 5 minutes have some bug spray. Mosquitos are terrible here and use your mosquito net if you have one at your accommodation. On average pay a tuk tuk driver 100rs/k but first let them quote you a price as it may be cheaper. Always get a set price before hopping in or they will screw you over. Use Maps.me and download the map of Sri Lanka to use maps and directions without wifi – very useful. You can also save locations and bus stands. If someone approaches you about a tuk tuk just say no thank you and keep walking. Many drivers will ask you where you are going and give you recommendations of places and keep talking for a half an hour. If you aren’t interested just keep walking. They won’t give up. Also when you are in the tuk tuk many drivers will want to stop at herbal gardens on the way or other tourist destinations – I have had guys turn off from the route and after saying no thanks 5x they get the idea and you are back on track. Be firm and stubborn. Elephant pants. They are awesome. Yes they are touristy but you can find other designs and you can usually buy a pair for 1000rs or $7USD. They are light and long so good for being modest in temples, avoiding bug bites, staying clean, and making travel easier. Shorts especially denim are not comfortable especially in the heat and humidity here and ride up when you wear a back pack. Elephant pants fold up very small and feel like you are wearing nothing. If you are white you already get plenty of attention and after being here a while it gets old.

We just had some major rain which resulted in loads of flooding and mudslides which have taken the lives of 160+ people so far with countless unaccounted for. We are okay where we are but the major river only 5 houses down has merged into the ocean and has created whirlpools and a chaotic rush of water flowing back and forth to the rest of the ocean. This is where most families bathed in the quiet lagoon. Now people are stopping on the bridge to watch the swirling waters. I just got back from a supply run with Dom to a convant in Galle. One of the sisters there contacted him saying they were headed up to help out some communities effected by the floods and were lacking basic necessities. We went to the grocery store and piled up on water, milk powder, rice, onions, toothpaste, sugar, and salt. We are supposed to get more rain this weekend but not so bad – waves will be 12ft at the local break so good news for the surf!

 

Life is good, tea is a now 3x/day religion, and I’m embracing the day to day on this beautiful island.

At 6:20 I hopped in a tuk tuk for the 10 minute ride to the Galle train station. This was probably the first time the roads were not packed with traffic of tuk tuks, dogs, buses, cows, or cars and was relatively quiet. We pulled up to the station which has two ticket booths just inside. I got in line for the first and second class tickets. A minute or so in line I felt one of the zippers on my backpack open and turned around quickly and then checked and an empty pocket on one of the sides was partially open. I heard later that day a man had his whole backpack stolen so definitely lucked out. I paid for a second class ticket – about 50 cents to take me the 40 minutes to Weligama.

I of course hopped on the train going in the wrong direction after asking 2 people who completely didn’t understand me so had to get off at the next stop. While waiting for the train I heard the song the two guys dance to on the video “How to Dance When You’re High on Life” – which is what I imagined as a Sri Lankan song from the house across the street. I hopped on the right train and sat next to an elderly man who asks me the basic questions like what my home country is, how long have I been here, and if I’m enjoying Sri Lanka. A few minutes later he leaves and another guy closer to my age sits down. He does so to the amusement of his friends and goes through the same questions as I catch his friend taking a pic of us out of the corner of my eye. 20 minutes later I get off at Weligama and catch a tuk tuk to the place I’m staying at. We Escape is called a Poshtel with a pool, AC, restaurant, and volleyball court. I paid about $15 for a night.

I had the driver wait as I checked in and then directed him to a café in Mirissa called Aloha Coffee Gallery. I had a peanut butter smoothie bowl which was awesome and then walked towards the beach.

Mirissa beaches are some of the best in Sri Lanka supposedly and were pretty nice – super clean and great little coves.

I caught a cab back to Weligama and then walked along the beach. At the start there are about 10 different surf camps and board rental spots. I rented a board from one of the guys for $1.60 for the hour. The water was so warm and the waves were decent. There were only about 20 people out and it was a really fun surf. I talked to the guys I rented the board from for a while, had some fresh lime juice, and then headed down the beach. I wanted to check out the place I was doing yoga at the next morning and bought some fresh mango on the way.

I met a girl at the shop who gave me a heads up on a cool job for a surf camp with an opening in September. I had a papaya/passionfruit juice before walking back along the beach to the surf camps.

As I was walking a fishing boat was coming in. They have motors on the back and maybe 8 men on board who when they hit sand all hop out, twist wood poles into the sides of the boat, and use them to push the boat ashore. Another surf camp worker started up a convo as I was passing and offered a chair in the shade which I took.

There was a guy sleeping in a chair who we woke up as we arrived. He is a chef from Portugal who was meeting his friend for a surf. They had just met at the train station and his friend is also a chef from Holland. We talked for a while until his friend came and they went for a surf. I caught a sunset surf – one of the best in a while except for the fact I had to use a soft top because the hard tops were all out. Not the best combo since the waves were pretty big and the board had no grip but I managed to stay on it for a few fun waves. I headed back to the poshtel to clean up before dinner and met a few girls in the dorm. One was working there for a few months so we exchanged details and talked to the other two girls a bit before meeting the two guys from the beach at a restaurant. We ordered chicken curry and rice which came out in maybe 5 different bowls of sides – a bit hot but very good and only $4. I headed back and passed out early.

I woke up just before 6 to walk to yoga. I ended up being the only one there and had a good hour sesh taught by a girl from Ireland. She was leaving soon but introduced me to her friend who worked at the store and would be there longer. I had breakfast at the café and then headed back up the beach for a quick surf. I then had a swim at the poshtel before checking out and heading back to Galle.

Unexpectedly I was given a month off at the end of August as my host family’s grandparents were flying in from England for some much needed R&R. I was given the option to either stay and continue working or fly somewhere in Australia for a month- hard decision there. I looked at hostels for a while and working for accommodation in Noosa or Agnes Water and just have a month of surfing somewhere a bit warmer. Then I received an email from my good friend Janice and her weekly update on her adventures in Australia. She had just gotten to Cairns and her brother who had road tripped with her was leaving. It was perfect timing as she  was up for some company and I was up for an adventure. With less than a week before I left, I booked a ticket and flew out on the 2nd of September. Janice met me at the airport around 5 pm and we drove to downtown Cairns and walked around the water front and checked things out. We then headed to one of the friend’s place in Cairns for the night where Janice had stayed the night before.
At 7:30 Wednesday morning September 3rd our adventure started. Our first task was crossing over the tablelands which Janice had warned me about the night before. Curvy roads up and down for an hour or so. We decided to enjoy it as we knew there would be a lot of flat open land on our trip. We headed into a small town called Yungaburra for breakfast and ate at the Whistle Cafe. We continued on and stopped at some hot springs for a few hours with 6 different pools. We tried them all other than the hottest and coldest pools. We ate lunch there: canned tuna, crackers, and carrots from the van. We soaked a bit more before showering off and heading on our way. Our next stop was Undara National Park where we enjoyed some free tea in a beautiful covered area surrounded by old train cars with tables and chairs inside. We took a quick hike out to a bluff outlook and enjoyed the view. We then headed back on our single lane cow filled road killing only one bird on the way. Our camp for the night was in the massive town of Georgetown which had a free community pool we didn’t use, a police station in a house, and a few closed gas stations. At the end of the town was a pull off with one bathroom, a shower, and covered picnic table and we had it all to ourselves. We made dinner which was a chicken and rice dish we cooked on a gas burner. Not too shabby. We chilled for a bit reading books by light of a magnetic flashlight on our overhang and went to bed.

We woke up before 7 the next morning to the sounds of construction vehicles and road trains passing us by. We headed over to the town’s pool to have a quick morning swim but on arrival found out we had to get a token before entering from the gas station. Instead of driving the two minutes I hopped the fence and let Janice in. We were the only ones there even though it opened at 6 and had a refreshing swim. 10 minutes into our swim a white truck pulled up and a man came in with a uniform on. We were preparing ourselves to be kicked out when he pulled out a container to test the water. We made small talk and then hopped in the showers. Another family came up who was traveling through and we said hi before getting gas and heading down the road. Later Janice told me the man at the counter said to her “Wait I know what you’re going to ask me- for a token for the pool.” Janice sheepishly said no she just needed to pay for gas and he said “Jumped the fence did you?”
We drove to Concury where we stopped by an information center to get a few more maps and then I took a turn at driving. I haven’t driven a manual much but we were in the middle of nowhere with straight roads and no traffic so I gave it a go- not too bad once I got up to speed and stayed that way for the next few hours. As we were coming up to Normonton there was a T in the road and we had to go left but I wasn’t close to stopping so we just looked both ways and kept on. We pulled off and got lunch at a little café, filled up with fuel, and left. Janice drove again for a while and we decided to take a dirt side road through some cattle stations that cut an hour or so off our time. Cattle were even more free roaming than usual in groups of 50 at the largest. We saw kangaroos lying in the shade of little trees and soo many cows roaming around. Only 1 of the hundreds of cows along the side of the road decided to take a jog across as we were getting close. After a bit we switched and I drove for a while. We saw a group of maybe ten cows running in the other direction on the road so we had fun beeping the horn and driving by them. Eventually we got to the town of Gregory Downs and talked to the man at a small general store who told us about a cool camping spot by the water at the other end of town. We fueled up and checked it out. It was an awesome spot! We drove in and there were campers parked along a river with trees scattered around. The water was safe to swim in and had a bit of a current so you could float along. We pulled up opposite the water and started up dinner which was a coconut curry stew with potatoes, squash, and rice. I looked after it as Janice had a quick float down the river and we then dug in. We chatted with a few of the campers about the National Park we would be going to the next day. Then we washed our dishes in the river and got ready for bed.

Monday morning we packed up- filled up our water jugs in town and headed to Adel’s Grove. This stretch of road was gravel and like a washboard. We were going slow for a while until we met a couple of trucks who were flying and seemed fine so we did too and it was much better. We saw a mother Emu run across the road and then six of her chicks followed- all about a foot tall with stripes running down their backs. We made it to Adel’s Grove which was just another guide camp with one store and information center – free tea, coffee, and Milo so no complaining on our end! Janice had service too which was crazy since it was one of the smallest “towns” yet. No such luck for me ever since Cairns -which in the end was been pretty nice! The road to Lawn Hill National Park was very corrugated again and the worst so far. We made it to the park- found a camping spot and headed to the water hole. It looked pretty nice but also seemed like the perfect habitat for crocs so we wandered a bit further. We saw a couple signs and one of the trails you could see fresh water crocs basking in the sun farther up the river. This section was closed off as there wasn’t enough water running through it but the same body of water as the main waterhole was connected to. We asked a couple who was walking by and they said yes that’s where everyone goes and they were there for an hour yesterday. We still were a bit uneasy so we talked to a ranger who was about to take a group of people on a boat tour. He said yes it was safe and yes there are crocs but not around the waterhole and they are freshwater which means they are more scared of us then anything. We went back to the stairs to the waterhole and took a bit before Janice went in for a 10 sec quick swim. She got out and I did the same after some hesitation. We made it out alive and started the hike over to the waterfalls. We hiked for about 900km and arrived at the Indarri waterfalls- it was gorgeous! Red rock, palm trees, and multiple waterfalls. We jumped in and had a couple of swims with some sun bathing and lunch breaks of tuna and crackers. We hiked to the lookout and then made our way back to camp. It was pretty hot and our side door was still not opening so we pulled out some chairs and sat in the shade. After a bit I went for a short swim and talked to an older man who was sitting on the step. He had just came from Camawheel which was where we wanted to go on off roads because it cut off over 1000ks. We heard from a lady the night before that there were tons of pot holes and river crossings….but she had never been on it. This guy said there were only a few river crossings and they weren’t bad because it was so dry- the road was a bit corrugated but not dusty. We put faith in him as he HAD just driven it.
After a while we made dinner- lentil veggie stew and cous cous. Our neighbors Chris and Colette came back as we were finishing up and Janice went to ask them for a Phillips screwdriver as our side door was out of order. We had talked to them a few times before and they were the couple to tell us it was okay to swim in the waterhole. Chris was super helpful and came over to look at it and then went to get some tools and WD-40 to help. We ended up having to take off the side paneling of the door and first unlock the back part of the door and then the front. It took a bit of time and when it was finished it had been dark for a while. He said he would look at it again in the morning and we washed up our dishes and went inside to read.

Tuesday morning started slowly and Chris came as our hot water was heating up and fixed our door. We still couldn’t open it from the outside but at least it was working again! We had pancakes for breakfast and then soaked our shirts before heading to the Upper Gorge Trail which eventually lead back to the waterfalls. We went for a swim relaxed a bit and swam right before we left. We hiked up a quick lookout on the way back to camp before making Carbonara for lunch in the shade. For the rest of the afternoon we chilled out reading books in the shade until Chris came over and said he and Colette were about to go for a swim and we should join them. We all headed over and Janice and I shared a floatie that they borrowed us. We chatted with them for a while and had some good laughs. We then headed back for a shower before making dinner- curry again. We cleaned up and read again before it was lights out.

Wednesday morning we woke up had some oatmeal and packed away everything. We said goodbye to Chris and Colette and hit the road. Another couple we had talked to was about to leave and ended up passing us a few minutes down the road. This was perfect because we soon came to our first river crossing. The man was super helpful and told us to put the van in 1st and drive at a constant speed. He had walked through it and said it would be fine so we followed and made it through. On the other side the van struggled a bit and gave off some smoke but it soon cleared and off we went. We were following the same car and saw they had stopped at the next river crossing. This one was paved with water running over it a little more than a foot deep but in the middle where the current was it was a lot deeper. The man was going first and he drove towards the side of the current and fishtailed a bit passing it but made it out. He recommended us not to go and we felt the same. We turned around and after a while met Chris and Colette. We gave them the run down said good luck and headed back towards Adel’s Grove. We fueled up in Gregory Downs and headed in some more dirt roads. I drove after a while and an hour or two later about 20 minutes after we were on the sealed road we pulled over because our back door sounded like it had popped open- it wasn’t opening or closing same as our side door again. We couldn’t do much and continued on. Five minutes later we saw tire bits flying. We pulled over and looked at the remains of our back tire. We needed to get to our spare tire under the car and had to crawl through the front to get the tools. Our bolt to release our tire was right inside our back door which we couldn’t open. One car passed us without stopping about 5 minutes after we had pulled over. A few more minutes went by before two guys- father and son pulled over. They helped us get the car jacked up and then Janice went to the back to start loosening the bolt to drop the spare. It was hotter than Hades in there and she and I switched- meanwhile we were able to open the back door and things started moving faster. The tire got on and we rigged our back door with a ratchet to keep it closed. Poor Jellybean- Janice’s nickname for the beast was falling apart. The guys told us in Mt Isla there was a tire shop so that was our next stop. We made it and were able to get the back tires replaced right away. Janice and I were both starving as it was past 4 and we hadn’t had lunch yet. We went to The Coffee Club and both ordered the bacon burgers which were soo good! After we went to Kmart and Coles to get some fresh fruit and pick up a few odds and ends. It was dark by the time we came out and we went in search of a place to park. We checked out a few parks but they looked a bit sketch so we parked in Mc Donald’s for the night. It was definitely louder than any night we had thus far and sleep didn’t come as easy. I woke up around 1:30am to hear an intoxicated man try to walk through the drive thru and attempt to order a hamburger but couldn’t quite make the word out in his state. Pink Panther all over again – “ I wooood like to buy a ahmabugah”. He walked around for a while talking nonsense and I made it back to sleep.

Thursday morning we woke up and had tea in Maccas before checking out the pool which wasn’t open until Saturday so we hit the road. We ended up driving over 10&1/2 hours and covered almost 900kms. We stopped at a small campground for $5 showers where they had two camels and a few other random animals. We saw donkeys just up the road from them as well. We ended the night just past Elliot at a rest stop with about 10 other vehicles/campers. Lentil stew was on the menu as our carrots had spoiled and our squash was about to. We ate dinner and then tried to fall asleep with all the flies on our hottest night yet. I ended up putting in earplugs as the road trains sounded like planes taking off as they passed us.

Friday morning we woke to the sunrise at 6:30 and had breakfast before hitting the road. We decided Jellybean- our van- was like an overweight person chugging along but not able to withstand the dirt roads we had taken her on. All the 4WD trucks were like young fit men and the road trains were a combo of The Rock and Bolt – lots of time on our hands.  Our first stop was Bitter Springs in Mataranka. It was a gorgeous natural hot springs and enough current to make it a lazy river. I had found a pool noodle in the bin in Gregory Town so we put it to good use. The water was so clear and turquoise at the floor of the river. We floated down a few times and had lunch before heading to the thermal pools on the other side of town.
Elsey National Park was beautiful: a narrow walkway lead through a forest of palm trees to a large thermal pool at perfect temp. This one was cemented in but still had running water through it along with rocks and natural life. On our way down we passed a lady about 50 years old who gave us a heads up that there were some hunks down there and we should pick up the pace. The “hunks” were a group of guys from London she was teasing later for not talking to us. We had a pretty good laugh. We swam for a while before having an ice cream break and heading out again. It got a bit crowded so we headed to the showers, grabbed and other ice cream, and hit the road. We made it into Kathrine and went to a park to make dinner. There were a bunch of Aboriginals hanging around and two came to talk to us as we were making dinner. After we cleaned up we headed back to town and spent the very hot night at Maccas.

Saturday morning we headed to the Katherine Gorge – Nitmiluk National Park. We booked an 11am ferry ride to the Southern Rockhole and started our hike in the heat of the day. We walked up and down rocky gorges to two lookouts and through a butterfly gorge before making it to the only swimming spot other than the pool. That hike was exhausting – it was soo hot and hardly any shade. We met a man in the butterfly gorge leaving the swimming spot and there were two guys and a girl down already- that was all we saw for the couple hours we were there. We swam for a while up the gorge and found a rock to dive off of. I later shared with Janice that it reminded me of The Shallows – a movie where a surfer gets stranded on a rock with sharks circling– only for us it was thankfully imaginary crocs. We came back and had lunch before swimming again and hiking some of the rock up the gorge. When we returned to our site two crows had went through our things and ate some of our food. We saved most of it and cleaned up before starting our hike back towards camp- catching the sunset at a lookout on the way back. We had hiked about 11.6 kms at two of the hottest parts of the day and were wrecked. We made a quick dinner, went for a swim in the pool, showered, and passed out.

Sunday morning we woke up and made pancakes for breakfast. We spent the whole morning by the pool relaxing and then headed to an Aboriginal art gallery in town. We looked at all the art and talked to the owner before heading on to check out the hot springs. These we were the least impressed by as there were signs that salties and freshies were common to the area. It seemed dirtier and the vibe was a bit off so we decided against it. We then went to Maccas and looked up jobs we could potentially pick up in Darwin. We found a couple and then drove to a rest stop for dinner. After dinner it was almost getting dark and soo warm with no breeze so we decided to go to the nearest town for showers or at least a breeze. We have been warned a lot about driving at night bc of the Roos and cows so we drove slow and were fine. We found a pull off across from a gas station and parked for the night.

Monday morning we headed to Litchfield National Park. The park is known for lots of swimming holes and waterfalls a short distance from the parking lots. We first went to Florence Falls which was beautiful! The coldest water yet and we loved it. Then we went to Bluey Rockholes and sat in different pools of water with mini waterfalls. We also checked out a pull off for Termite Mounds which are everywhere up here and are generally taller than a person. We went to Wangi Falls which was my favourite. Two waterfalls fell into a large swimming hole that had deep areas and shallow areas. We swam around a while before heading back to Bluey again. A few minutes after we arrived a van full of guys and a few girls came down who livened things up. There was a lot of jumping off rocks into the pools and we met a bunch of them – even a few from Sydney. We left at about the same time and headed to Berry Springs.
Berry Springs was natural again and was along a river. The lower pool had a powerful waterfall we enjoyed before we went to the main swimming hole. We swam for a little before noticing a swing some guys were jumping with. Janice and I each tried it before getting showers and heading to Darwin. We went to Monsoons for dinner and had pizza and a burger- so good! We camped at the park for the night.

Tuesday morning we did a few errands- tried to fix the back door which now closes all the way but we can’t open it. Then I got a trim and Janice and I picked up brunch in the mall. We headed to the waterfront to the city’s wave pool and entered for $7. We spent a few hours there before hearing a band start up in the park near us. We bought some ice cream and went to enjoy. The band was a US Naval band and they were sooo good! We listened to them until their last song and then went for a swim at the beach. We came back to the wave pool for a bit then checked out the beach once more before going off to catch the sunset. It was beautiful and we then headed to a hostel for the night. We needed laundry done and they offered it for free and AC as well. We put some loads on and then I made some soup as I had missed the free pizza night. I met a pretty unique guy as I was hearing my soup up.
He was in the kitchen cooking a steak with a massive knife. He carried it on his hip and as we ate dinner he told me some of his story. He originally is from England and was living in Surfers in Australia as a personal trainer when his niece passed away at 25 from Lukemia after fighting it for a year. He also had some nephews or cousins with Autism. He decided to walk around Australia raising money for Lukemia and Autism. He has already made it to Darwin from Surfers and plans on hugging the coast all the way around. He has a Facebook page called Hawk’s Big Walk and is planning on writing a book at the end. He carries about 10 days worth of food – tins for emergencies and kills his own food on the way- eating snake-from using his whip to behead them, Roos, and any other thing that moves except croc. If he is low on water he puts a sign on his 50 kilo pack and generally someone passing by helps him out. He started his trip 3 months without any working out to compare to someone with cancer and compared his pack to the burden of cancer patients carry.
He recently made a post saying that he had gotten lost hiking through sand dunes in the Kimberley’s (I think) and crawled 9ks until someone came upon him and helped him. His hike is on hold for the time being until his health is better. This section of his hike – the Kimberley’s – is a tough section of WA which supposedly put Bear Grylls off of hiking around Australia.
We talked for a while longer until our laundry finished and we packed up our things for our next section of our trip into Kakadu National Park. We were in a room with 4 other guys and I got the privilege of sleeping above the guy that snored so I didn’t get much sleep.

Wednesday morning we packed up and headed to meet Tim- one of the friends Janice had met earlier on her travels.  We fit everything into his 4wd and picked up some groceries before heading to Kakadu. We first stopped at the Gunlom waterhole and went for a hesitant swim as there were saltie and Freshie croc warnings all over. There was a couple sunbathing on the beach and no one was in the water so we went in a line across as Hawk from the hostel had given us some tips. He said whenever crossing a river you don’t want to be the third. The first person crossing will make them curious, the second will verify something is definitely there, and the third is a goner. We just stood for a bit and then swam to the waterfall all in a line saying “I don’t want to be the third!!”. After a good swim and having a few more people come out we hiked up to the top of the waterfall. At the top there are 3 different pools to swim in- one being the infinity pool. It was a perfect day for it- sunny with enough clouds to make some awesome reflections. We were the only ones there and explored the rocks and pools before heading back down and driving to our campsite. We set up and had dinner- Janice and I slept in the tent on top of the car and Tim in his swag. There were wild donkeys nearby we heard throughout the night and these birds who sounded like someone screaming. Then in the morning a few crows visited us- pecking at the remnants of our burned rice.

Thursday morning we had breakfast, packed up the truck, and went exploring. We checked out some more falls at the Maguk Plunge Pool and Tim climbed up the rock face to the pools above. On the way to our campsite we stopped at a billabong before checking in to the campground. We made lunch and went for a good cool swim. At 5 we headed to the Crocodile Hotel to listen to a ranger give a talk about crocs. His name was Christian and he was very interesting. We learned many of the places we have swam in had crocs- freshies but still. He told us about the biggest crocs caught – over 8 meters long and that crocs can turn off a chamber in their heart if they are hurt or exhausted and live for a long time in one place but snap out of it in a second. We learned how rangers catch a croc, how awesome a crocs memory is, and how far they can travel. After the talk we had a steak dinner and went in the pool. We then played pool with a couple of guys before the pool area closed and it was time for some sleep.

Friday morning we had breakfast and went on a ranger walk/talk also led by Christian about artifacts, the aboriginal culture, and art. It was through the Nourlangie Region. We walked up to the Gunwarddehwardde Lookout and learned that most boomerangs were not built to come back to you but made with one side shorter. They were made as a weapon and the sides super sharp to hit predators and break bones. The boomerangs commonly seen were used to scare birds into nets- keeping them low to the water and then being caught in nets. They were supposed to resemble falcons that hover and swoop down. After the walk we went back to camp for a swim and lunch before heading out to a river crossing known for having crocs (Cahills Crossing – Ubirr). We parked and saw about 5 in the water that wanted us to see them. It was raining and we crossed the river twice just for fun before heading back and having dinner. We played some Rook after and had a swim and a game of pool before bed.

Saturday we had a relaxing morning in the pool before heading back to Cahills Crossing to check out the crocs. It was now high tide and they were swarming. 3 guys in a boat were fishing with them swimming around. Probably 20 crocs were visible in the water and more below the surface. A lot of trucks were going through the river crossing and the crocs were crossing the road as well. They were catching fish and fighting a bit if one got too close. It was interesting to watch from a distance. A ranger was there as well- maybe always was at high tide. He said they had to drag about 5 cars out of the river last year- probably the worst place to slide off a river crossing- straight into the crocs. After a bit we continued on to Ubirr to check out some more Aboriginal art rock sites. There was an awesome lookout over the Nadab floodplain. We headed back to the car and started the drive back to Darwin.

Aussie Words/Sayings
Brumbies -mustangs/wild horse
Eskie-cooler
To have a dingos breakfast is to have a drink of water and a look around.
Do you know why crocs circle around you in the water? To scare the sh*t out of you so you taste better. (Two of Chris’s jokes)
Bomb- cannonball
No dramas-no worries
Birds-girls
Cruising-chilling
Devo-devastated
Tip-dump
Servo-gas station
Chook – chicken
Whinge – complain

Friday Jessa and I headed to Betelnut Café recommended by the guys from the camp for its cheesecake. We did some shopping along the way and then checked out Deus before heading home for a swim. We met a guy (Steve) hanging at the pool who was also from Sydney and talked for a while. He told us some good places to go in the area as he had been before but was leaving soon. We went to La Laguna – a really cool gypsy restaurant for dinner. There were Teepees on the beach and gypsy caravans.  I ordered a Tamarind ginger ale and Jessa and I shared a chocolate raspberry mousse cake.

We then got a taxi to Old Mans. There was live music and we got some fries to munch on and met two guys from New Zealand who lost the rest of their group and it was the one guy’s birthday. We talked to them for a while and then saw Steve- the guy who had recommended the place to us across the bar. Soon after the rest of the NZ group showed up and we talked to them and Steve and then headed home.

Saturday morning we woke up and had breakfast at The Hungry Bird close to our Air BnB and had pancakes. We then walked to the beach and rented out some beach chairs for 3 hours. We swam, tanned, and headed back. We stopped at a really good ice cream place on the way back and booked our driver to Ubud for the next day. Then we chilled at our Air BnB and had dinner at Zoe’s. From there we walked to Pretty Poison- an old school skater hangout at an empty pool. We got there at 8 so got seats close to the bowl and watched skaters for a couple of hours. I grabbed some more grilled corn for the walk home and we passed out.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at Zoe’s and our driver picked us up to go to Ubud. We went directly to The Friendly House where Matthias and George were staying. It was so good to see them again! A half an hour later Ahmed and Sev pulled up and we all headed to check out a waterfall. Telangana waterfall is pretty much a tourist trap but a quick and easy place to get refreshed when there are no nearby beaches.

We walked down and went for a swim and tried not to lose our swimsuits from the water pressure before heading to Pomegranate Cafe for lunch. We were all on scooters and Ahmed had been before and warned us the road there was very narrow- just a small walkway/alleyway which came out in the rice fields. It was alright until we met people or scooters along the way and had to squeeze past. We arrived at our lunch spot which was gorgeous in the middle of the rice fields. We were all so hungry and I ordered a lime juice and Chicken woodfired pizza- one of our best meals in Bali! We said goodbye to Sev and Ahmed and then went to see the Tegalalang rice fields.

They had just been harvested so were not as beautiful as usual. We didn’t stick around for long but stopped to do a coffee tasting before heading home. We first had a tour of the area right in the jungle and rice terraces and then was shown how the coffee was made. In Bali Luwak coffee is the most famous and expensive. It is named after an animal that eats coffee beans whole and once they show up again the beans are washed and are put through the roasting process to be used for coffee. We tried a tray of different teas and coffees made from herbs grown right in the garden. They were so good-ginger, coconut, lemon, chocolate-so many good flavors all for free. George bought a cup of the Luwak coffee which we tried and was good-but nothing special. We hopped back on the scooters and collected our things from the guy’s hostel to go check in at ours.

It took us a bit to find it but such a cute place! We all went for a swim before going to a spot the guys had went to the day before for dinner- sitting on cushions in little huts. I had Lumpia and Chicken Satay. The guys had arranged their driver from a day before to meet us there and talk about the plans for the next day so we figured that all out. By the time we got back and picked up some snacks for the hike it was 11 and we only had a few hours of sleep before waking up the next morning.

At 1:50 on Monday morning we woke up and had the guys drive us to their place to hop in the car to climb a mountain at sunrise. Around 1:30 it was pouring and they messaged us if we were even going to go because of the rain. I said yes because knowing Bali it wouldn’t be raining where we were going if it was raining where we were at the moment. As soon as they went outside it stopped. All of us thought we would be able to get a nap on the way there but the roads were so bumpy it was impossible. We went to the base of Mt Bantur and started our two hour trek up. It was a good workout and everyone had flashlights so you could see the groups of people climbing. The sky was so clear and we walked through fields of perfectly spaced vegetables before starting the climb. We had a guide who was so nice and helpful who brought us to the top. We took frequent breaks which was fine with me. We had about a 30 min wait before the sun rose and it was pretty chilly so we huddle together and the guys bought some hot tea. I had left my hoodie back at camp so our super nice guide let me use his jacket. The sunrise was soo pretty and it was an awesome experience. We walked along the ridge the other way and it seemed to take forever going down but we made it. George even had saw 3 Norwegians that we had met at the surf camp. We went to the hot springs after which was supposed to be 10000 rupiahs- about a dollar but ended up being 150000 so we skipped it and just had the driver take us home because we were so tired. We all passed out in the car on the way home- only to be woken up once because of potholes. We got back around 1030 and all went for a long nap- waking up at 6 pm. The guys came over and we went to Cintra for burgers. SO good! Then we went to CP Lounge and listened to live music and played pool before heading home – all pretty tired.

Tuesday morning Jessa and I headed over to the boys place for breakfast. Matthias was up and I woke up George- still pretty tired from the night before. Jessa needed to go to a mini mart so she went off in search of one as the boys packed up. 5 minutes later it started to downpour and she came back soaked. Luckily she got a ride on a scooter but still soaked. We went into Ubud for breakfast at a place called Watercress which was so good! I got eggs benny and a mocha followed by another snickers cheesecake. We said a sad goodbye to the boys and headed toward the monkey forrest. We got our touristy pics with the monkeys and then went to bargain at the markets. I picked up a few things for the girls and then we stopped for some gelato that was sub par. We walked a ways to a French bakery called Monsieur Spoon – SOO GOOD -and bought some chocolate croissants and a few things from the grocery store before getting scooter taxis and heading home for a quiet evening.

Wednesday morning we lazed around before packing up. I hitched a ride to pick up some more croissants for brekkie and we got a taxi to drop Jessa off at the airport and me back at camp. It was so good to be back even though the guys were gone still dirt biking. As we were eating dinner they came back and brought the party with them. All the guys had shaved the night before and had moustaches and all super proud. Gustavo and Pablo Escobar were Rene and Sev’s new names. We played some pool and ping pong and caught up before heading to bed. I was in a room above the garage with Patrick, Rene, and Ahmed and it was soo hot. There was one fan and 3 small windows and I only lasted about 30 minutes before heading to the lounge and getting a few hours of sleep.

Thursday morning I woke up at 5:15 for an early morning sesh to Kuta with the 3 bros. We had a good morning session and then had breakfast at The Beach Lounge with the guys and saw Derik. We went out for a second session and half way through Neil –Australian guy – caught a fin to his head and went with Sandy to the hospital. We came out and waited for a while and decided to get lunch since it was taking so long. Just as we were finishing up they made it back and we zombied it back to camp. Ahmed, Rene, Sev, and I cleaned up and headed back to Kuta. We shopped for t-shirts for the local guys at the camp – our 4 main surf guides- Arie, Kadek, Dickie, and Sandy and Chef. We made it back for dinner and then went to Cashew Tree after saying goodbye to Rene. I saw the New Zealand guys I had met at Old Man’s and said hi. We had a good evening minus a run in with a local who had beef with Josh- the guy who runs the surf camp. It was all straightened out in the morning.

Friday morning we headed to Dreamland for my last surf session. There was a photographer there from our camp (Paul) and I was able to buy some pics as I had caught some good waves and it was my last day. We went to Pit Stop for lunch and then went back to camp. I talked to the guys for a while and then scraped the wax off my board and packed up. We had dinner at the camp and played some pool before I headed out at 10:30. I arrived at the airport around 11 and had two hours before my flight left. Unfortunately the airport was packed and I was in the end of the line to check in my board. Then we went through another long line-everyone panicking a bit about the time and made it out on the other side with 18 minutes to spare. I picked up some water, a muffin, and sweets using up almost all of my remaining Bali money. As I got close to the gate I realized they were confiscating waters and food because Air Asia doesn’t allow outside food since they make you buy everything. I shoved my food and water to the bottom of my backpack and went on through. I sat next to a guy who wasn’t feeling good the whole flight and had a loud toddler behind me kicking my seat and who got sick towards the end of the flight-not the best. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold back in Australia but still hard to transition back.

Bali was for sure one of my favorite places ever to visit. The people, culture, climate, surf, and everyone I met made it such an awesome experience! I highly recommend going!

A few Balinese sayings we learned:

Baagoos – good

Sira Suka Kamu- I like you

Nama Kamu-What’s your name

 

 

I went to Bali!!!! I had the month of July off and was trying to figure out a road trip in Australia for the longest time before I realized all of the things I wanted to do were in Bali and it’s warmer and cheaper! I decided to book 2 weeks at a surf camp and bring my board. Then my good friend Jessa would meet me for the last week and we would see some of the island.

Me being cheap decided to pack the majority of my belongings in my surfboard bag so I could just bring my backpack-good idea until a bus and train ride later your shoulder is about to fall off plus getting through the mazes of people and on and off the train before the doors closed was a battle. Still worth it? My flight was late on taking off so we arrived in Bali shortly after 5:15. The surfboards took their time coming out so it was 5:40 before I had collected mine. I went in search of the guy picking me up who was supposed to be in the meeting line with a sign but nope! I wandered around for a bit in the maze of people looking for my name before deciding to call the camp from someone’s phone and see what was up. Luckily the guys who were pestering everyone for taxis were also quite helpful! My flight was supposed to be in at 4 and so I could understand if he had bailed after 2 hours. I got a hold of the guy at the camp and soon found the driver who didn’t even have a sign. We barely fit the board in the van and were on our way to drop another guest off at the Padang- Padang camp. It was about sunset and there was extra traffic thanks to it being a holiday. The road to the surf camp was pretty crazy- one lane gravel and lots of potholes – like most roads in Bali. We pulled up and unloaded. I was given the tour and met an Australian girl who I went to the kitchen with and had dinner- rice and stir fry. I met a bunch of the surfers and finished dinner with an ice cream. I unpacked, showered, chatted with some of the girls and headed to bed. I was staying in a dorm with 5 other people- the Australian girl Jaclyn, and 4 guys- David, Direk, a guy from Germany, and Z- a guy from Hawaii. Amazingly no one snored and everyone was asleep shortly after 10.

The surf camp is pretty remote from the hubbub of the towns nearby and so quiet. It is located near Green Bowl – a good surfing spot. There are a few pet dogs roaming around and two puppies: Bear and Freckles. There’s a pool, outdoor shower, rec room with a pool table, 3 or 4 places to lounge on beanbag chairs, hammocks, sun chairs, or couches. The kitchen area is awesome with community style tables with long benches and the food is cooked by a native Balinese man-Kadek. There’s also a masseuse who gives 60 minute massages for $10. Breakfast is free every day and dinner is provided 5x a week. There’s a menu of things to pick from for breakfast and also a lunch and drinks menu. Breakfast was great with fresh fruit yogurt and granola, a poached egg, and a banana pancake.

Shortly after breakfast I put my board together and waxed it up. We loaded the boards on two vans and headed out. It started to rain as we left and I was bummed that the first day it was already raining but by the time we got to our surf spot it had stopped. We crossed over many gravel roads with more potholes and a few feet of standing water. We arrived on a little hill overlooking the surf spot-Balangan. We unloaded the boards and headed down the muddy steps. The hill where we parked was also home to free range cows and their droppings which one of the guys stepped in. The trek down was a bit slippery thanks to the rain but we made it! We walked along a little road past 10 or so surf shacks on the beach to the last one. This would be our spot for the day. We unloaded our gear, listened to our guide for a bit and hopped in.

The water was amazing and so warm. Coral and rocks covered the ocean floor. There weren’t too many people out so I edged my way to the point and picked up a couple waves. I loved my board straight off- stable, maneuverable, and perfect for the waves. I caught 3 or 4 before there was a bit of a lull and more people had ventured out. My next wave I had to bail as there was a guy coming down the lane. I caught another and then cut off one of the surf guides -Dan. Whoops. I had one more wave before I rode in to take a break. I had about a 4 hour surf session so was in need of some food. I ordered a banana pineapple smoothie and fried noodles with chicken and an egg (Mie Goreng). So good! There was a photographer in our shack taking picks of everyone so I was able to buy a few I wanted. I was tempted to go out again but we were leaving in 30 and didn’t want to push it. We headed back or the camp and after unloading found some comfy beanbag chairs and relaxed. I went for a swim and then chilled until dinner.

At dinner I met a couple who are living in Hawaii. Ellen and Bryan were fellow Americans so we got on fast and chatted throughout dinner. It was two of the Australians last night- Jaclyn and David so we stayed up talking for a bit before they headed off. I talked to Dan and Dicky for a bit- two of the surf guides before heading to bed at 10:30-last one up. That’s one of the things I love about Bali Cliff- everyone is out early and it’s so quiet.

Saturday morning we had breakfast and headed back to Balangan for round two. We arrived at low tide and our guides didn’t want us paddling out until the water rose a little as it was so shallow and the reef was a bit sketchy. My morning session was pretty bad- not any long rides- I went closer to the point again and any wave I caught I had to duck out as someone was coming down the line. I headed to the left where it was less crowded other than the beginners except the waves weren’t breaking. I finally just gave up and paddled in since my arms were tired and I was getting a bit frustrated. A banana pineapple smoothie and chicken fried rice later I headed out again. I paddled wide around the break and sat out past the break for a while until I felt ambitious. I paddled for a few and then caught one to the beach and ended on a good note. Sadly my one wave was all it was going to be. We watched some surfers for a while and saw a beginner brake a foam board in half- still not sure how that happened. Dicky had some awesome rides and Juon the intern had the beginnings of a barrel. We packed up and headed back. As soon as we arrived I went in search of the masseuse as it was almost 4:30 and we were leaving for a bbq at the other Rapture camp in Padang. I found her right away and had a good deep tissue massage- good for the muscles but not super relaxing. Soon after we headed to the bbq where we had rice, salad, fish, chicken, bread, and ice cream at an additional cost. I met a girl from Sheboygan Wisconsin, a guy from Florida, a girl from New Zealand, and many more. I was so glad I went with Bali Cliff- so much more modern and clean. We, being the early to sleepers we are headed back at 9:30 and were in bed an hour later. Good second day!

Sunday morning we went to Thomas Beach to surf. We had a long walk down the steps going back and forth to a protected cove with small waves. We again had to wait a bit for the tide to rise and then headed out. It was just our camp out there so really nice for the waves and just hanging with everyone. The first session was alright but small. Lunch was at one of the beach warungs – otherwise known as cafes. We went back in after a bit and the second session did improve. Then came our walk back up the stairs- never ending but we made it! We went back to camp and left at 6:30 to the Padang Padang camp for wood-fired pizza. Isabel- a girl staying at our camp shared a Margherita and Hawaiian with me and it was soo good! We had a nice evening meeting new people from all over the world!

Monday morning started off good- had breakfast with the guys and lots of laughs- good group. We went to Honeymoon Beach to catch waves. We parked close to the road and walked down to the cliff. We threw our boards down and jumped in. The waves were really good- pealing off the rock with a nice left. We surfed for a while catching lots of fun waves and then headed in. There wasn’t a long paddle and I ended up catching one in but rode it a bit too long to the left. Our guides went first to see the best way and I got caught in the current taking me away from the small beach we were supposed to exit at. I tend to take one of the first waves in the set so I ended up having 3 or 4 more waves coming at me- trying to paddle out and not get smashed on the rock. The last wave brought me inches away but I was able to hop back on- paddle out- and catch the current in. Juon – one of the guides was pretty sure I was going to crash but thankfully the board and I were entact.

We headed back to Jimbaran Beach where the beginners were surfing and got lunch. We didn’t have a lot of time as we were headed to Nusa Dua for the second session and was racing against the tide. I had a BELT sandwich and fruit salad. There were two guys there from Europe – Dom and Tim who were hilarious together. We all had ordered our lunch at the same time but for some reason Dom’s took soo long! He had shrimp kebabs and rice so we were all teasing him they had to go out and catch it first since Jimbaran is a well-known fishing beach. I even was finished with my fruit salad which came as a dessert before he had his meal. Poor guy.We then drove to Nusa Dua- a gorgeous well-manicured tourist area. We hugged the right side of the beach paddling out in the channel between the cliff and a rock maybe 30 feet from it in the ocean. Shortly after we got comfortable a huge wave popped up- it was pretty choppy and waves were unpredictable – and took me and Rene for a good smashing. We then had to paddle back all the way around the rock and by the time we got back we only had time for one more wave before we had to head in as the tide was getting low and the coral getting closer than we would prefer. I just caught some whitewater and rode it all the way to the beach. Kedek- one of our guides broke off a fin on the coral but that was all for casualties. We went back to the camp, chilled by the pool and then had dinner- meeting the new arrivals. After dinner Isabel and I played pool with Ahmed and Sev and Sev and I won every game amazingly. We talked for a bit more before the boys were off to bed as their session was leaving at 5:30 the next morning and ours was at 8.

Tuesday morning was taking us to either Dreamland Beach for 2 sessions with a break or on a boat to Torra Torra to the open sea for a 3 hour session. We were all hoping for the later as it would be sweet to have a boat ride out to surf but Juon said it the swell was building and might be 8 foot. We ended up first going to Dreamland where there was a nice break but bad currents and rocks/reef.

We surfed for about 3 hours there and I caught one good wave and a handful of short rides. Paddling back in was a battle as there was a small area between the rocks and reef but the current was going out so not much of an area to work with again. Juon told me to paddle to the left and I got nowhere so our other surf guide said to the right and then I went too far and again struggled coming in. Well known for my struggles now. We had a bite to eat and then hopped in the car and headed back to Honeymoon. The guys went out to check and ended up being flat so we decided to head to Torra Torra and see what the guys driving the boats thought. It was super packed out at the break so we decided to just have an easy afternoon on the beach and get some drinks. Then we went back to the camp and all went for a swim. We had scheduled a yoga session as we didn’t have our second surf session. Tim and Dominic, Direk, Rene, and Karolina a lady from Poland all came. Our instructor was from Russia and was awesome. We had an hour and a half and it was the guys first yoga class. We were all sweating like crazy even though it was getting dark and there was a breeze. The guys didn’t realize how hard it was and were struggling a bit but we all had fun- one of the best yoga classes yet! We went for a quick swim, showered, and had dinner. Then we decided to have a pool tournament with 6 teams. Rene and I were partners and he’s probably the best guy or girl here so we won! Then we had a second tournament and Rene and I were in the finals but lost to Ahmed and another girl. Off to bed we went – by 11 as we had the early surf session the next morning- 5:30 am bright and early.

Wednesday morning we woke at 5am to rain and lightning. We didn’t think initially we would be surfing due to the lightning but we headed to Padang Padang. We arrived just before two beginner vans from the other camp arrived. The rain had stopped so we were good to go. Since there were so many people we had to surf off to the right. It was barely light out as we headed down the steps through a little cave to the beach. We paddled out as the sun was rising – so beautiful! Direk commented it wouldn’t be a bad way to go to catch a great wave at sunrise and then get hit by lightning. We had some good rides and a few party waves which were fun! I caught a bit of coral on the bottom of my foot but was able to pull it out after we went in.

We went back to camp and chilled from 10-2 around the pool. The waves weren’t great until later so we had a little break. We ended up going back to Padang Padang and I was pretty exhausted and the waves were small so I only stayed out for an hour and came in. We all had a break and I bought a delicious banana pancake. I wasn’t feeling the afternoon sesh and took a nap on the beach until the group came back in. We went back to camp, chilled by the pool and got ready to go to Bingin beach to catch the sunset and have dinner. I rode on the back of Sev’s scooter and Ahmed and Rene had the other. The rest of the people went in a van. We grabbed some fresh grilled corn on the way down to the beach and watched the sunset in front of a restaurant called Lucky Fish. Half of the people bought fish there and the rest of us went to Kelly’s for burgers and smoothies. I ended up seeing two of the girls from the camp I had met a few days before so we caught up. Then we headed back up all the stairs to Cashew Tree- a cool outside bar with live music. The first guy who sang was so good and a bunch of little kids were dancing up front. We all sat on cushions and talked and headed out shortly after the second band started as they were more hard rock. We raced back and lost at the driveway which is a steep gravel road with rocks- I was okay with it as Ahmed flew down it. We played a bit of pool before we were sent to bed before 11 thanks to our early morning sesh at Balangan.

 

Friday morning we headed for a surf at Balangan. We had a good morning session and then I rode back with the native Bali instructors. Their names are Dickie, Arie, and Sandy. Dickie was having a driving lesson with the big surf van and we went about 10 mph for 20 minutes before Sandy switched with him. We had breakfast and chilled until 10 when a few of us went out again to Jagger Beach- known for its rough currents and choppy waves. Dan and Josh- two of the guys who run the place came out with an intermediate and were riding the big waves but we hugged the channel- trying to stay out of the big sets. I caught two good waves – a really nice drop in on one that was short lived and a longer more mellow wave. On our way back in we all struggled as we were fighting the current and all were towed in eventually.

Back at camp we had lunch and made plans for the evening. We decided to go to Thomas Beach for the sunset and fish and chips recommended by Josh and to listen to some live music after. Right before we went Sev gave me a scooter lesson up the road which was pretty easy except the stopping and turning- definitely won’t be driving here myself! After we arrived at Thomas Beach we found out the music ended up not starting until 10 which was when we wanted to leave so we ruled that out after dinner. We all wanted fish and chips but they were out but somehow managed to get enough to feed us all. It was some good fish! Unfortunately the portions weren’t too big so we stopped at a good 24 hr café called Pit Stop and most of the girls and I had a chunky monkey shake. Then we scooted back to camp and raced. I was on the back of Sev’s scooter again, Rene had a scooter, and two guys from Austria each had one- Mattias and George. They didn’t know about a shortcut so we ended up winning! Then Mattias, Seth, Rene and I went for a swim and played some pool before heading to bed.

Saturday morning was supposed to be another 530am session but we awoke to lightning, thunder, and pouring rain. We were questioning it even before we went downstairs and waited around a bit before we decided to not go as we would be going to Balangan and the walk down to the beach is already usually muddy without rain. We all went back to bed for a few hours and then woke up for breakfast. One of the lounge areas without a roof had a few inches of water collected there and the surf guides who had driven to the camp early that morning were able to stay in another lounge area. We ate and debated going at 8 as it was our other option but still the same surf spot. I brought up the Hepatitis A possibility due to the runoff which pretty much convinced everyone not to go. We chilled for an hour or so before eating our second breakfast. We then went down to the pool and had a swimming competition underwater to see how far we could go. Then we played some pool and decided what we wanted to do on our day off. We ended up going to The Bukit Cafe in Padang Padang for lunch which was so good! Mattias and I took a scooter and the rest went in the car. Then we walked around and checked out some surf shops before heading to the other surf camp to swim and play more pool before the bbq. We played a tournament and then ate and met the new people in our camps. We played some more pool before heading back to our camp and passing out.

Sunday morning we awoke to more rain and decided against surfing again. The night before at the bbq we had written our names down to go and so Josh was a bit peeved understandably so as he had arranged 3 vans and 4 instructors and only 2 ended up going. We went for a swim in the morning, played pool, and caught some sun before heading to Uluwatu. Mattias and George left so it was just me, Sev, Tim, Raphie, and a new guy from Austria – Patrick. The night before at the bbq he had arrived and I was talking with Mattias and George about where he was from. We were guessing he was British or American because he looked so punk rock and it was pretty funny when we introduced ourselves and found out he was Austrian-same as George and Mattias. Patrick was super quiet and nice though-not really what we expected. We first went to the Pura Luhur Temple in Uluwatu on the cliff. It wasn’t super busy which was nice. We tied our sarongs on and walked along the pathway. It will probably be my one and only temple as there’s really nothing to do and it was so hot. We were all starving so we headed to Uluwatu for lunch and ate at a little cafe. The food wasn’t good but we had a good view of the surfers. The swell had finally hit and it was a good 8-10ft out there with some crazy currents. If you tried to paddle out and got caught in the current you would be taken all the way down to Thomas Beach and would have to walk back. After we ate we walked up a couple stairs and saw Juon and talked to him for a bit and watched the waves. Then we headed back to the camp to relax a little while before the pizza night started. I went to bed shortly after eating as I felt a sinus cold coming on and was pretty tired.

Monday morning we woke up and headed out to Jimbaran at 8 for our first session. The water wasn’t super clear and a little smelly but still we went. I caught a lot of good waves in the first session and not so many in the second. It rained a lot as we were surfing and wasn’t super warm. We went back to camp, had lunch and all took naps before dinner. Then Sev, Juon, Patrick, and I played pool before bed.

Tuesday I woke up not feeling that great so skipped the surfing for the day and relaxed until Ahmed arrived. We had lunch and waited for the guys to come back. Then we hung out for a while and went to Uluwatu again to watch the waves.

Wednesday I went surfing with the guys who decided to do guiding since we were going to Jimbaran again and it’s known by us as the push up beach because you can literally just stand and hop on your board when a wave comes. No coral, currents, or reef! We had some sweet party waves with Sev, Ahmed, and I. We went to Bukit Cafe again for lunch. We got back to camp and the Ping Pong table had arrived so we played for a while. Then we went to Single Fin for the night.

Thursday was the day I was leaving and we went to Nusa Dua to surf. The waves were pretty big so I only caught a handful. We chilled for a bit at camp before I headed to pick up Jessa. The driver I had asked to pick me up came at 4:30 which was when I wanted to be at the airport- not leaving the camp but it was alright. We headed to Canggu to our Air BnB. After we found the place and checked in we went around the corner for dinner at Zoe’s Cafe- good western food a second away. We went for a swim and called it a night.

Check out part 2!

 

Monday night we left Seattle and headed to Vancouver. We stopped at the border, declared our mace, had it destroyed, and stayed the night in Vancouver. Upon crossing the border I had a moment of panic when I realized I had no idea what anything in kilometers was to miles-our phones didn’t work so we just decided to go with traffic-except there wasn’t any since it was midnight. Luckily minutes later I realized kilometers were also on my speedometer-slight blonde moment.

Mom and I stayed in the Downtown Vancouver HI Hostel. We luckily had a private room since it was so late. The difficult part about booking online is you have no idea about the area. The street seemed fine both at night and in the morning but the front desk had bars from the countertop to the ceiling and our beds were as hard as a rock. We did get a room at the end of the hall and it was spacious but the quality wasn’t the best. I would recommend checking out one of the other locations in Vancouver.

Tuesday morning we headed to Café Medina for breakfast-known for its lavender lattes and Belgian waffles. It was delicious and an added bonus was that everyone in the place was gorgeous. Vancouver has a GOOD gene pool!

Mom and I split the Paella, I had a Lavender Latte, and we split a waffle with a berry compote, and salted caramel sauce.

We left shortly after to catch the ferry from Tsawwassen to the intended Nanaimo. We had been talking about visiting Victoria and there was a ferry leaving for Victoria only 15 minutes after the Nanaimo ferry so we decided to take it! We waited for maybe 45 minutes in the line before loading. They have a nice visitor center at this location with WiFi, Starbucks, tourist, and food shops.

Our ferry ride was beautiful! We had taken the 12:45 ride and it was sunny. We found front row seats on the top level which has a glass barrier to keep the wind out. We ventured outside once to take pictures and it was freezing!

We arrived in Victoria and were starving so we walked around and found a seafood place right on the water. Victoria is a beautiful town-almost European down some of the streets with pubs and cobblestone. We went to The Docks for dinner – a waterfront seafood restaurant. The food was delicious and we watched the sun go down as our waitress told us how our night was about to get very interesting.

Our hostel for the night was located in Tofino-a town with one road in and one road out. This was the place I was looking forward to the most on our trip. Our waitress told us from Victoria to Nanaimo we would have to drive on one of the most dangerous roads in the world. She said it was a steep road that twisted and turned up a mountain and came back down. It was already dark and we weren’t exactly pleased to hear this. Since our decision to come to Victoria instead of Nanaimo was last minute, no research was done on the roads or conditions we had to pass to get to our destination. We had a 4 hour drive in front of us and were picturing the worst. My headlight was out so I had been driving at night with my brights on so I took the lead. I was picturing these roads in National Geographic that were hairpin turns with drop-offs hundreds of feet down. We headed out with Suz in my car and mom in the other as tensions were already high and we all know how driving with our parents make us feel.

An hour and a half later we arrived in Nanaimo and were like “That was it?!” The roads were wide and double lanes. We wondered if the waitress was just trying to scare us, if she had ever driven other than on the island, and finally if we misunderstood and were NOW going to start the difficult drive to Tofino. We stopped at Tim Horton’s to refuel and headed on the last leg of our journey. This drive was gorgeous and yes more treacherous than the first with slight snowfall and lots of elevation gain and descent. Even in the darkness we could tell it was insanely beautiful-tall trees covered in snow, large lakes, and a wide open road. We arrived in Tofino shortly after 11:30pm which was when the office closed. Thankfully they were closing up and able to check us in and give us the run down. We passed out.

The next morning I came downstairs to what I imagine Alaska to be. Our hostel was right on the water-a log cabin style looking out to the water. A puddle jumper was loading up on the dock, boats were coming in and out, and tree covered mountains bordered the water. We extended our stay for another night.

We walked downtown for breakfast and ate at the Rhino Café- a cute coffee shop with great breakfast burritos, donuts, and coffee. Right next door was Pacific Surf Company which I had researched so we went in and talked to them and reserved a surfing lesson for the next day. We went down and checked out the beach and then went for a short hike in an old growth rainforest located in the Pacific Rim National Park. It was just cold enough for there to be a layer of ice/frost on the wooden walkways and we did some fancy footwork. We came back to the same beach – Cox Bay and watched the sunset. We stopped by Chocolate Tofino and picked up some chocolate surfboards before going back to the hostel to clean up.

For dinner we headed to SoBo, an incredible healthy restaurant with an amazing chef. After dinner Suz and I played some pool and met a few travelers from Ireland and Germany.

The next morning we headed back to Rhino Café  for a breakfast burrito before our surf lesson. We met our instructors in the parking lot at Cox Bay and slid on our cold and still wet – wetsuits. This was Thanksgiving morning in Canada. The water was 50* and felt like 30*. We headed out to the water after our land instruction and on came the brain freezes. Every time a set came we had to turtle roll 2 or 3 times in a row. Coldest surf ever. Our instructors were awesome and we had a photographer as well. Definitely one of the most memorable days for me!

Our hostel allowed us to come back and shower before we left. We ate our Thanksgiving meal at Tacofino Cantina – a delicious little permanent taco truck that had a continuous line the whole time we were there. Then on our way we went.

We had plenty of time to catch our ferry once we arrived in Nanaimo. Our ferry was an 8pm ride to Vancouver. We didn’t even leave the dock until past 10. One of Canada’s best and brightest tried to drive a trailer with an oversized CAT (?) which happened to get hung up on the ceiling. We had to wait for fire truck squad to come and remove the CAT, then switch ferries and finally head out. We did get free beverages complimentary of the delay. Thankfully we were just staying at a friends in Vancouver for the night and didn’t have any plans that evening.

The next morning Mom and I were off to Whistler for 2 days and the rest of the girls were heading home. We said our goodbyes and started up the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Whistler. We arrived a couple hours later and walked around a bit and ate lunch at Naked Sprout. We had a pear curry soup with rice and bananas- I highly recommend. We then met up with our driver who was taking us to the dogsledding site. We got in a van with 4 other people and drove to the dogsledding site. The majority of the business side of Blackcomb Snowmobile is located in a large yurt. We went inside and got a run down of our session, geared up, and went to meet the dogs. Because Whistler is so much warmer than Alaska, purebred Husky dogs would overheat running in such “warm” temperatures. Our dogs were a mix of greyhound, husky, and labs. Mom and I had an awesome instructor who seemed to be the most experienced. This was only their second day of the season so the dogs had lots of energy! Maybe 10 minutes into our adventure our instructor taught me how to drive and mom was able to on the way back. We stopped at an opening to let the dogs rest and allowed us to take some pictures, ask questions, and give the dogs some love. When our ride was over we gave all the dogs a treat and went inside the yurt for hot cider and homemade cookies. This was an AWESOME bucket list experience I 100% recommend!

Mom and I walked around downtown Whistler and I did a little shopping as it was Black Friday. We grabbed a bite at the famous Zog’s and had Canadian Poutine (Fries covered in gravy, cheese curds, and a sausage) and a Beaver Tail (fried dough with cinnamon and sugar). We checked in at our Hostel and crashed early. Our hostel was located in the Olympic Village and was also where some the Olympians stayed when the 2010 Olympics took place. Mom and I got a private room again and really enjoyed our stay. It was modern, clean, and quiet.

The next morning we went to Wild Wood Café across the road from our hostel and it was a great find – away from the bustle of the main village. I had a huge mocha and we shared an eggs benedict with avocado and pancakes. Mom and I went back downtown and checked out the  art and craft festival going on that day. It was in a large banquet hall and small businesses had their food, art, crafts, and clothes out for sale. We wandered around eating samples and picked up a few souvenirs. We headed to the Green Moustache for lunch and had a butternut squash soup with a fresh pressed juice. Another great place to eat! Finally we were off to our main attraction of the day – the Scandinave Spa. This is an outdoor spa mainly. The whole area restricts cell phones and talking. You first soak in the hot water or sit in a sauna, then you jump in a freezing pool for 30 seconds (we made it maybe 5), and then you relax in your robe by the fire. We went through this process twice before it was time for our Swedish Massage. Best. Massage. Ever.

The next morning Mom and I drove back to California. We had a GREAT vacation and it was SO nice to spend time with some really good friends. If you ever get a chance- GO TO TOFINO! Coolest little town ever! Spend your next Thanksgiving on adventure with some close friends. I promise it will be more memorable than the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Get out there and explore!

 

Sunday afternoon we headed to Seattle. We stayed in the Fremont district at Hotel Hotel Hostel. This was a cute modern hostel on a side street with easy parking. Close walking distance to stores,  restaurants, and a grocery store.  Our receptionist was less than congenial and the hostel was located above a pub, but luckily the noise wasn’t even noticeable.

We quickly headed to Café Turko for dinner and it was delicious!! Great authentic Mediterranean food.

 

We went to Sirena Gelato for dessert.

The next morning mom and I walked around the Guggenheim Museum and Space Needle before meeting up with the girls at The London Plane for breakfast.

 

All of their food prep was out in the open on the ground floor. We headed upstairs to watch the process. It was art – beautiful fresh and healthy food.

I ran over to Elm Coffee Roasters to get a cup before heading to Pike Place Market.

We spent quite a few hours at the market enjoying the atmosphere, fish throwing, and musicians. We did some shopping downtown before heading on our way to the land of hockey, poutine, (no) mace, and kilometers.