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An African Diary, Part 1: Camping & Canyons

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Day 1: Thursday November 19th, 2015

Well, it was a blasted long 30 hour journey with another sleepless night in another airport, but I at last have touched down in the Motherland. Africa. Windhoek, Namibia to be exact. Since I was a little girl I can recall feeling the desire to one day visit Africa. I have no idea where it started or what fuelled it, but it’s only grown stronger and stronger as I grew older and older. When I decided to travel around the world, I knew  without a doubt that I would find myself in Africa. Ten months into my journey and I am finally here. I don’t know what it is about Africa that has always called to me. But, being a desperate lover of nature, the vast expanse of her epic wilderness no doubt beckoned me more than anything.  And the unknown, the mysterious, this land so drastically different in every way from my own. I suppose I’ve always been pulled to that which I do not know, the enigmatic and exciting. To say this is a big one on my bucket list just doesn’t do it justice. It feels like a satiating of my very soul – not just food for my soul, but life for my soul. And now at last, I am finally on those strange and extraordinary soils of Africa. Continue reading →

Cappadocia

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With some flight delays and missing baggage, our little jaunt across the country wasn’t entirely smooth, but we didn’t let that dampen our moods. Our first day ended up being a freebie because no one had their bags, and thus the warmer clothing needed for our tours, so we instead got the full tour of the Michelle Dream Cave Hotel. When Butch and Brenda first came to Turkey in 2002, they had no idea they would fall in love so quickly with this incredible country and end up buying a condo and spending their winters there.  They also happened to make an amazing business contact and now life long friend, Ahmed. Before they knew it, they began making plans of purchasing land and building a cave hotel. If Cappadocia is known for anything, it’s the caves! The hillsides are peppered with caves. From hundreds to thousands of years ago, these caves were carved into the mountain sides as houses, refuges, stables and pigeon houses.  Today they are used as storage for lemons (the temperature remains the same in the caves year round even with the changing seasons), but mostly – they are turned into cave hotels. Continue reading →

A Pen-pal Reunion In Norway

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When I was 13 years old, my grade eight teacher, Mr. Taylor, stood at the front of our class, waving a white envelope in his hand and asked the class, “Who wants a penpal?” My hand shot up before he even finished that last word. I looked around wildly, to see who my competition was and to my surprise only two other students had raised their hands. I suppose many looked at it as merely another form of homework. I knew I had had my hand up first and was prepared to advise Mr. Taylor of this is he chose wrongly. “Brittany” his deep voice boomed. “You were first, it’s all yours. It’s a student from Norway!” Continue reading →

Beautiful Goodbyes

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Last week I left Yellowknife, my home for the last 22 years, to embark on the adventure of a lifetime- traveling around the world, solo. I spent my last few days in town scampering around in a hectic rush to say goodbye to my friends. For some reason, time decided to start moving in fast forward and I couldn’t slow the clock down enough to drag out my last few weeks, to see everyone I wanted to see, to hug everyone just one more time, have one more heart felt exchange, one more night of belly aching laughter. Continue reading →

Quite Simply, Thank You.

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Where does one begin? As my departure date looms a mere three days away, and I find myself embracing friends in sad goodbyes accompanied by well wishes and promises to meet up abroad, I can’t help but find myself reflecting on the kindness of the people in my life. I am completely overwhelmed with the outpouring of support lately from friends, family, acquaintances and even strangers. Nearly everyone I talk to about my upcoming journey has gone out of their way to lend a hand in some way. I am in absolute awe of the generosity, kindness and helpfulness of all of these wonderful people.  I posted the other week about the darker side of this coin- those who tell me I’m crazy, and offer no support at all, but instead tear my dreams down and shake their head at me. It’s time to turn the focus on the positive because it is far outweighing the negative. Continue reading →

The Cabin

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 Saturday August 2nd, 2014

Paradise. I’m in absolute paradise. I sit on an old sagging dock, dipping into a crystal clear fresh water lake. The only sounds around me are the steady hum of a motley crew of bugs buzzing through the bush; the occasional splash of water as a hungry loon dives deep in search of breakfast; and the soft whisper of the wind as she blows her secrets through the trees. I watch water beetles beside me as their long legs skitter through the water like oars, relishing the shade of the dock. The water gently laps against the dilapidated boards that hold me above the cool water. Continue reading →