Christmas Time in Guatemala

Well it's back to school for me today, and the weekend was a lot of fun. On Saturday I was getting some stuff ready for the party Christmas Eve. There was a group of former and current students at the school that had the run of the house they were staying at for a couple weeks. The family had gone to the USA for a couple weeks and they were allowed to have partys. We all brought something to bring to the party, although my contribution was kind of lame, just a cake bought at the bakery. There was turkey, vegetables, squash, salads, cheese and tomatoes, desserts, mashed potatoes, etc. Basically everything you could ever want. There were twelve of us, so it actually felt like Christmas. One of the girls even brought the paper hats! Later on we had a gift exchange of silly gifts. Two of the gifts were firecrackers and fireworks which were a lot of fun later on. At about 10 we tried some of the pyrotechics on the roof balcony. It first started with a few pretty flaming things, but soon progressed into sending bottle rockets at the neighbouring house. It took a while to figure out how to aim those things but we eventually got it figured out. The other people were more than happy to fire back their stash of ammunition back at us, but with seemingly more powerful versions and with more accuracy. It is quite a tradition in Guatemala to light firecrackers and fireworks all year long, but especially for Christmas and New Year's. At the end of the fireworks war, our side was losing and out of ammunition so we had to retreat inside, however not without casualties. Emily ended up with a hole in her shirt from one of the bottle rockets. I must say though, it was a blast!!

Later on in the evening just before midnight we came back outside to watch one of the most incredible spectacles I have ever seen. For 30 minutes there were countless fireworks and firecrackers going off all over the place. By the end it was so smoky it wasn't possible to see the other side of the city. They were being lit from every street throughout the city. Most of them were individually pretty common fireworks, but the sheer amount was amazing.

On Christmas Day I went with Harold, Martha, and Katherine from the school to a town called Totonicapan. There was supposed to be a big parade or something. We caught a cab from Xela directly there so we wouldn't miss anything. We got there pretty fast as the cab driver was passing everyone he could. At least this cab driver didn't try to demand more money when we arrived, so I don't have to hate all cabbies in Gautemala now. There were people all over the place, most of them dressed in their best clothing for Christmas. We watched a bunch of mascots dancing in a square. We saw Sponge Bob Squarepants, Wonderwoman, Superman, etc. so I guess it wasn't exactly a very traditional event unless we missed something. (Which we probably did because we had to find some food for lunch, and by time we ate, the party was all over.) We looked around the street markets for a while and eventually decided to go back to Xela. I jumped on the bus first and while I was boarding it started pulling away without the others. He did stop though and let the rest onboard fortunately! Only about 10 minutes down the road however; the bus was stopped and two policeman got on the bus to say everyone had to get off the bus. At first I understood that they wanted some money for themselves, but eventually we determined that the bus driver was drunk so he wasn't allowed to keep driving. We got off and got most of our money back and had to walk about 1 km to the next main intersection where we caught another bus. The next bus driver was okay apparently and we arrived without incident although the ride was extremely bumpy. Good thing we had seats! In town we had to get yet another bus (microbus) to get back to the central square. Back safe and sound, and even though we didn't see much it was an interesting adventure and actually kind of fun.

Today back at classes we were supposed to have a lecture on human rights in Guatemala, but the lecturer didn't show up, so instead one of the teacher's gave us a tour of the municipal cemetary. It was a huge place and were many interesting historical facts to learn about it.

There are some photos here taken by Martha. She has much better pictures than me, so if you want you can try to find me in some of them.
Martha's Photos

Feliz Navidad

The school still has lots of students even though it is almost Christmas. There are even more fire crackers going off than usual, even at the school. It is the tradition here. Christmas Eve is the big thing here as opposed to the day after. The prime time is around midnight. Tomorrow some of the students are having a party with everyone bringing a dish to eat, and there will also be a silly gift exchange. The family I'm staying with won't be around so it won't be too exciting staying around there. At the end of last week and yesterday we had a graduation party for the students that were finishing. We all had to form groups and make a dish for the lunch. Last weeks theme was pasta, this week was salads. We also had a gift exchange between students and teachers. Last week I went to a natural sauna nearby in a place called Zunil. Actually the steam was natural, but the room was just a normal sauna room. It was probably the hottest sauna I've ever been in. I only needed a few minutes in there to be well cooked. A lot more humid than the steam room at the Cranbrook Rec Plex!! Today I participated with some of the other students in painting the outside of a daycare. Last time it was the inside.

Hope everyone is well and happy at Christmas!
Adios! Matthew

Diablos

Hola!
Almost another week has gone by again. I've had almost two weeks of spanish instruction so far and I'm just now at the point where I can carry on a simple conversation with the family I'm staying with. It is a small but important reward because sometimes I feel like I'm not making much progress and it can be frustrating. But as my spanish teacher says {poco a poco}.

On Monday we had a fun excursion to a town called San Cristobal about half an hour away. We could tell it would be a good trip because some of the other spanish teachers were coming along, not just students. Normally only one of the teachers has to accompany the students for the week's activities.

The festival is to celebrate the Virgin of Guadelupe (Mexico). There is a procession through the streets towards the church. They carry a statue of the Virgin Mary on a platform. Following them are a band, some distinguished looking gentlemen dressed in nice clothes, and some people dressed up in scarecrow costumes, aliens (I don't know why) and there were some 'victims' of Hurricane Stan which is still fresh in people's minds.

The main attraction of the parade was the painted devils (diablos) who were painted head to toe in black, silver, or red paint. They would pass by screaming and growling at everyone. later on, they would rub off some their paint on some of the spectators. They would seek out the gringos first, but especially would go after the gringas, as they were all men. By the end of it they were chasing kids and our group through the streets. They got all of us in the end though, but it was the most fun time had so far. I will try to put up some pictures later. The diablos didn't bother with most of the people, but I guess we were fare game because we came prepared with old clothing. Most of the people watching seemed really delighted to see the gringos walking along all covered in paint. They had huge smiles on their faces, so it was really a happy time for all.

Volcano

The Christmas party was pretty fun last night. There were about 50 kids and their parents and the school put on quite a show for them. There were 3 skits, most of them were very well done. I had a small part in one of them. At the end after then dinner all the kids got three wrapped presents each. The gifts were paid for by their godparents in Germany. Those kids were so small and cute.

After the party some of the students and teachers went to a bar across the street. It was a bit nuts but it didn't stop us all from getting up at 5:45 this morning to go on our volcano hike. I didn't feel too great this morning but I survived! We had to get a ride in the back of a pickup truck for about 20 minutes to get to the trail. It took almost 2 hours to get to the viewpoint for the volcano, we had to backtrack at one point. There was much evidence of Hurricane Stan on the trail. There were huge gullies in the trail, but it was still passable. The trail was a bit hard because I'm still not used to the elevation. When we got to the viewpoint the volcano was just erupting, and we waited a while for the next one. We got tired of waiting so we left, but just after we left the viewpoint there was a huge eruption. We only saw the cloud of ash overhead. (it was pretty far away). Still it was pretty neat. On the way back to town I got my first ride in a chicken bus. It the normal bus in Gautemala, an old school bus. We had to stand in the back, and my head kept bumping the ceiling. It was only 20 minutes though. Tomorrow will be a day of rest.
Hasta la vista!

Una Semana

At the end of one week at Spanish school here in Xela I can say that my spanish has imporved a lot, not enough to write this blog in Spanish however. My teacher is patient and we can now actaully have conversations. The mornings are a bit cold, but with all my clothes on, it is okay. Only one day this week was it cold all day. Today it is quite warm now that it is the afternoon.

When school ends at 1pm, we go to our houses for lunch and then in the afternoon there is a different activity every day. So far there was a lecture on agriculture in Guatemala, a salsa dance class, and on Wednesday we helped paint the inside of a daycare centre. Yesterday we went for a walk up the mountain and the view was great. The city is at 2500m above sea level, so it was pretty high on the walk yesterday. Today there is a Christmas party for some kids that are sponsored by the language school. There will be food and some plays for the kids. In one of the plays, I got roped into playing the part of the ignorant tourist who offends the locals. It should be interesting. Tomorrow we´re going on a trip to see one of the nearby volcanoes. It leaves early in the morning so we can´t party too much tonight.

It is pretty tiring here so far. It is probably a combination of five hours a day of spanish, the different food, and the altitude. The other students are a lot of fun. There are people here from Canada, USA, Holland, Wales, Switzerland, and England. One of the students staying in the same house as me has decided to leave Xela for Honduras. She found it too cold here, and she didn´t feel comfortable with the family. We get fed three times a day, and the food is fine and filling, but it is mostly quiet at the table since I don´t know enough spanish yet.
Have a great weekend everyone!

Back To School I Go

Hola
Yesterday I decided to sign up for a spanish school here in Xela. This is the end of day two and my head is ready to explode. It is kind of like an all inclusive vacation except there isn't unlimited alcohol. Actually it's nothing like a typical tropical vacation except it includes room, board, classes, and activities. I have 5 hours of classes in the morning. Each student has his own teacher so you can learn a lot in one day. I'm staying with a local family and I get my own room and three meals a day. It is pretty typical Guatemalan food, although more food than the average Guatemalan would get to eat. There are two other students staying at the same house, and the woman and her brother don't speak English.
more later.....

Guatemala

Hola!!!
I've made it to Guatemala at last. Right now I'm in the small city called Quetzaltenago or as it is usually known Xela (shayla). It's been about 48 hours since I left but it seems like longer already.

The flight to Mexico City was okay not too busy, watched a movie, had some mediocre food. It was a bit late arriving in Mexico City but I wasn't worried about my connecting flight. I was told to walk to gate 19 when I got to Mexico, so I did but when I got there they told me to go back to the same gate I just came from. It turns out I got back on the same plane. I'm thinking they told me to go for a walk for my own good, get a bit of exercise. The next leg of the trip was completely full but not as long. The airport was pretty quiet when the plane arrived and customs was no problem, but after watching the bags being unloaded it turned out mine was nowhere to be found. Mexicana had misplaced not only my bag but about 25 other peoples bags on the flight. Not sure how they managed to do that, but it took a while to get that sorted out before I could catch my ride to the hotel. Fortunately the driver waited for me.

The woman at the hotel was very kind and helpful. I would recommend Dos Lunas to anyone arriving on a flight into Guatemala City. She tracked my bag down the next day and I got it, but it forced me to stay another day there.

This morning I caught the bus to Xela and there was a bunch of other people on the bus that were from the same hotel. It took about 4 hours and only stopped a few times to pick people up and drop others off. Nobody ever had to stand so that was good. The road was very winding and there were a lot of hills to contend with. When I got to Xela I shared a taxi with another guy on the bus and that turned out to be a unpleasant experience. The taxi driver quoted us 25Q each but he didn't know where he was going and kept asking people on the street for directions. When he dropped the other guy off he suddenly wanted more money, so I decided to walk from there. The taxi driver still wanted money from me, but the other guy who spoke good Spanish was able to negotiate something... He and a friend of his walked with me to my hotel and it was fine after that. Xela seems like a nice place. The central park has just re-opened and there were quite a few people hanging out there. It seems pretty peaceful.

So after all that I'm ready for some food and a drink and then I can relax for a bit. Tomorrow I'll try to find a Spanish school.

Guatemala Bound

Well it has started snowing here in Vancouver so I think it's time to go south! I've got my ticket for Guatemala City and I leave this Friday for three months. My return flight will be out of San Jose Costa Rica but I should have plenty of time to see a few things in between. I have made an extensive, detailed travel itinerary which you can peruse here. My first stop will be the highlands area northwest of the capital city and there I will attempt to learn Spanish. If I can I will try to update this blog regularly.
Adios!

Epilogue

Well I suppose I should wrap this cross Canada trip up with one more entry. It's been almost a week since I got back but I haven't felt motivated to put an entry into this blog til now. Checking my little log book that I kept I found I have spent 101 days traveling across all ten provinces and I covered a distance of 21330 kilometres. This is enough to travel half way around the world (measured at the equator)! Canada is definately a big place, especially when you are driving across it by yourself, and it seemed bigger when I was coming back. This was probably because I was ready to go home, so I didn't linger too long or do too much sightseeing so it made for a few really long days.

People have asked me what was my favourite part of the country and I would have to say Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland. That would be for the people I met, the culture, music and the scenery.

The Drive West

I've just been informed that there are actually some people who read this blog, and they were wondering why it isn't up to date. So here is an update of what's been happening. It took about five days to get from Ottawa to Edmonton with all kinds of weather along the way. There were some very long days of driving along the way and Canada has definately seemed bigger on the way back. I had a brush with a guardrail, but no catastrophes so far and no big animals on the roads. I spent two days in Edmonton and then stopped in Drumheller at the Royal Tyrell Museum on the way to Cranbrook. There was some snow in the Crowsnest Pass so I think it's good that I'm coming back home now. It has been great to catch up on old friends in Cranbrook over the past few days. I've been organizing pictures on flickr the last few days so there's a few new ones, but not from the first half of the trip. That will have to wait til I get back to Coquitlam.

More Photos

I put some more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewbuchanan/
Enjoy looking at them. I'm in Ottawa now and will continue west tomorrow.
Matthew

Homeward Bound

I haven´t had access to my blog in about ten days or so and a lot has happened. My five days in St. John´s were a lot of fun. There were a lot of interesting people coming and going at the hostel. It only had about 10 beds so there was a better chance of getting to know people. Got screeched in at this place called Christian`s which was apparently the place to go. The man who performed the ceremony was wearing his oilskins and a sou´wester hat in true fisherman´s style and was barely intelligible when he spoke fast. We had to sing some Newfoundland songs, recite a phrase, eat a piece of mystery meat, kiss a frozen cod and down the screech. It was a pretty fun event. The funniest part was watching three Italians try to say their lines. On George street where the bars are, the street itself is pretty small but there is nothing else on the street except for bars. It was kind of quiet except during the weekends. Another fun place was O´Reilly´s where there were a couple good bands playing Irish and Newfoundland music.

My car insurance papers arrived on time so decided to head across Newfoundland. On my last morning in the hostel, Bill who worked there, cooked up a breakfast of toutons and beans. He was really friendly and clearly enjoyed meeting all the travellers coming and going.

On my way across Newfoundland I camped the next two nights but it was getting very cold in the mornings so that´s probably the last I´ll be camping. Most of the places worth seeing are along the coast so you have to go off the Trans-Canada onto the side roads. Place names are pretty offbeat sounding like Heart´s Delight, Heart´s Content, Come by Chance, Dildo, and so on. Most places along the coast are quite scenic such as Bonavista, Trinity, Twillingate, and Rocky Harbour. The hostel owner in St John´s recommended staying with a woman near Twillingate on New World Island. It felt like staying at a relatives home. The first thing she did was sit down and have a cup of tea with me. She doesn´t get a lot of people staying with her as she is 15 minutes away from the main tourist town, but just does it to meet people and a bit of extra money. There wasn´t much to do in Twillingate as the tourist season was pretty much over and most things were closed, but I did have a really warm windy day for a really long bike ride. Tried to go kayaking but they said it was too windy.

My last major stop was at Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of the island. It has some of the most spectacular scenery I´ve seen in Eastern Canada and is renowned for it´s geological formations. I managed to see Western Brook Pond, the Tablelands, and around Bonne Bay. The weather was beginning to get nasty and it was here I decided that my trip was over and I should head back home. It´s been quite a trip!

I took the overnight ferry from Port Aux Basques and went through 4 provinces in 24 hours. Right now I´m at my aunt´s house in Quebec City. I will leave for Ottawa on Tuesday stay there 2 nights or so and then head for Edmonton. Will probably be there a week from now and then go through Calgary and be in Cranbrook by the 21st of Oct. Should be back in Coquitlam in two weeks.

St John's

More photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewbuchanan/



Made it to Newfoundland!
Fifteen hours is a long time on a ferry. Left Sydney when it was still dark and arrived in Argentia after dark. There wasn't much to do on the ferry but eat, look at the waves, and watch some lame movies. The two women from England that were kayaking at North River were on the ferry and it turns out we were planning to stay at the same hostel. It was about an hour and a half drive to the hostel, and they were there just before me. Yesterday I kept running into them around town, and at Signal Hill. Today they were at Cape Spear. I swear they're stalking me! :)

Today at Cape Spear I did what every good geographer would do and had my picture taken at the most easterly point in North America at Cape Spear. Now I can turn around and head back home, unless I decide to swim to Ireland. Actually I'm closer to Europe right now than to Vancouver. That's my geography lesson for you today. It turns out there was a 24 year old man from Conneticut that was washed away on the rocks a couple days ago. They still haven't found his body. The rescue crews were still there today so it was a bit somber. It seemed weird to be taking pictures and doing the whole tourist thing.

Tonight I am going to try some Newfoundland specialties (smoked caplin and cod's cheeks) and I still have to get screeched in as an honourary Newfoundlander. Probably be here for the week as I'm waiting for my car insurance papers to arrive.

Cape Breton Island

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I've just been having a great time on Cape Breton Island. It is still warm and the weather is still decent but it's pretty crappy out there today. Fall is supposed to hit pretty quickly. I think I have some pretty good photos for the last week or so, and I'll try to post them when I can. I've been fortunate enough to get to know some of the locals around these parts and have been showed a pretty good time in Inverness and also North River / Baddeck. Been to another ceilidh in Mabou. It was a place called the Red Shoe and saw some of the Rankin sisters step dancing. It was a lot of fun, the music was great and the people were really friendly. I drove the Cabot Trail a few days ago and it was a gorgeous area with plenty of dramatic vistas. On the extreme north end of the island I camped at a stunning campground called Meat Cove. My tent was perched on the end of a 50m cliff, saw a gorgeous harvest moon, and woke up early enough to watch the sun come up. Another day I took a long bike ride in the middle of the National Park and it was pretty gnarly. There wasn't anyone around so it was fortunate that I had no problems. Yesterday I booked a kakak tour for the day. It was pretty windy when I got there in the morning and it looked pretty iffy. We went out anyways. There was just the guide and two women from England. Going out was easy but coming back we were battling huge waves in 30 knots of wind with gusts of about 50. Kayak got turned around a few times so it was a bit of a challange, but well worth it.

All in all a great time in this cool place. Everyone should come check out Cape Breton Island sometime if they have the chance. The plan next is to catch the last ferry to Newfoundland on Monday. (taking the long way to Argentia). I'll have to come back on the shorter ferry from the western side of the island, but then won't have to double back.

Halifax

I'm at an Internet cafe in Halifax this morning trying to put my photos on a CD so I can take more. It has been a bit hard so far to put my pictures up on line, but I have a few on flickr that you can look at.

Halifax is a very cool place. I spent most of yesterday along the central waterfront of the Halifax harbour exploring the Maritime Museum and some of the ships docked there. The Bluenose was in port but I wasn't able to board because of a special charter. I'll try again today.

The hostel I'm staying in is pretty cool in a great part of town. Tonight they're organizing a pub crawl.... yeeeah
:)

Nova Scotia

My first few days in Nova Scotia have been really nice. Other than the rain storm at the camp ground at West Point in PEI it has been ideal travel weather. Took the ferry back to the mainland in Nova Scotia then went through Pictou, Truro, and along the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy. Stayed at Grand Pre and Kejimkujik National Park. Headed to Halifax tonight.

PEI Photos

Some pictures of PEI are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewbuchanan/

Had a nice day yesterday exploring the beach, went on a 40km bike ride and stopped for a seafood lunch at small place called Brackley Beach. The woman at the tourist office was very helpful, she even offered to drive me to a bank machine and she recommended a good place for lunch. Later in the evening I went to a concert (called a ceilidh) that was very good. Fiddle and guitar music with great singing. Also saw a couple foxes on the side of the road.
Today I'm off to the west side of the island with a stop to visit Cavendish (the home of Anne of Green Gables)
Matthew

Prince Edward Island

It is lovely in the little island province today. I thought I better check to see what has happened to Alex and Alison but it looks like I missed them at the campground by one day. Perhaps they are still on the island, but it's not that small! :) Staying at the National Park campground right by the ocean and everyone is quite friendly. Today I will check out the beach and do some riding. I'll stay at this campground again tonight and probably head to a different part of the island before going to Nova Scotia.

Moncton

Went through Fundy National Park and Saint John yesterday. Here in Moncton they are cleaning up from the Rolling Stones concert and fortunately I missed all of the crowds. Got my tires rotated and fixed the problems with the power steering. Moncton looks pretty nice, in the downtown area at least, but I think I'll head to PEI after lunch.

Maritimes

Got to New Brunswick today. I'm taking a quick look at Fredericton this afternoon and then I'll spend the night in Saint John. The weather is very nice right now so I should get back outside.

Probably head to PEI by Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Montreal Part 2

Back in Montreal for a brief visit. I have met up with Marty who is back from India now and he is doing well. It was nice to see him again and see if the rest of his familiy was just like him. He invited me to his sister Amy's wedding party which was a lot of fun. It was last night at Marty's parents house. There were lots of people to meet and the food was the bomb (as Marty would say). He'll be back in Cranbrook within a week.

Saturday morning I will resume my eastward trajectory and try to reach somewhere in western New Brunswick. Then I'll try to bump into Alex and family in PEI in a few days.

Tadoussac

Judging by the weather, it looks like the summer of Matt is coming to an end. But the fall season is still to come, so I´m not coming home just yet. The deluge from the remnants of Hurricance Katrina arrived in the little village of Tadoussac last night at 6:30pm. I had just arrived back at the hostel from exploring the town when the downpour started. It lasted pretty much 24 hours with few breaks. Fortunately I resisted the idea of camping last night in favour of a solid roof over my head. Tadoussac is a small village at the mouth of the Saguenay fjord where it enters the St Laurence River. The combination of fresh and salt water creates a ideal environment for attracting small marine animals and therefore larger animals, then whales, and therefore tourists chasing them in boats. I never got to see any whales but I did spot a seal from the ferry. This morning I had arranged for an afternoon of kayaking but the weather had other plans. They were predicting a gale and the driving rain in combination with fog would have made seeing anything unlikely. Nevertheless the town had a few other things worth seeing including the scenic harbour and fjord, glacial sand dunes, the oldest wooden chapel in North America and an interesting museum on the fur trade complete with all the the different kinds of animal pelts that were once so sought after.

The drive up from Quebec City took a few hours and was very beautiful, and the weather was stunning as well. Stopped at some nice towns along the way. On the way back today, it was pouring continuously so it was completely different. I missed hearing the news today so I didn´t get a chance to fill up on gas when it was at the low price of 109.5 and so tomorrow I´ll have to pay at least 134.9 unless it´s gone up again. Maybe I´ll have to park the car and ride to Newfoundland from here! :)

Well it´s off to Montreal Thursday then should be in New Brunswick on Saturday night or Sunday. Thanks for everyone who sent emails in the last day or so, will have to respond to you later.

Montmorency Falls

Finally another picture!

What´s Up

Here is what I´ve been up to the past few days. On my first day I went with my aunt to the old city of Quebec. We walked through the Plains of Abraham, the Governer`s Promenade, Dufferin Terrace, Chateau Frontenac and through the old city. The weather was perfect for the past few days, not too hot or cold. The next day I went for a long bike ride from the suburb of Sillery along the river front pathway to the other end of the city. The Montmorency Falls were at the other end of my bike ride and I stopped there for lunch. The bike pathways were in excellent shape and were very popular that day. I may do some more bike riding again before I leave. Later on my uncle took me to meet his son whom I had never met. He lives on the south shore of the St Laurence with a great view of the Chaudiere River. Today was a spent on a trip north of the city to Jacques Cartier park which was very scenic and a nice spot to stay cool on a hot day. Tonight I seem to be developing a cold so will try to take it easy for a bit.

Québec

It was a bit of an adjustment for me to get used to being by myself again after Steve left. Luckily there were a few interesting people to talk to in the hostel. I was taking things a bit more easy for a few days without trying to see as much as possible in one day. Since it was so close, I went down a few blocks from the hostel to the waterfront of the old port. It was a busy Sunday and there were a lot of people moving about. I found a nice spot and read my book for a few hours. I planned to give my feet a rest that day but still ended up walking quite a long distance in the elusive hunt of an Irish pub allegedly near Stanley and Ste Catherine that Marty mentioned was worth checking out. Must have been somewhere else...... The next day my big accomplishment was to find the famous Schwart`s deli for a smoked meat sandwich­. Mmmmmmm. The first time I walked by the place there was a huge line-up and I thought I wouldn`t bother, but then I walked back half an hour later and there was room for me. Also checked out McGill University and saw the Movie Wedding Crashers which was good for quite a few laughs.

Today I left Montreal for Quebec City. I took the scenic highway 138 along the north shore of the St Laurence from Trois Rivieres to Quebec City. Soon after I arrived at my aunt`s house we went to visit my uncle Caps aunt Brigitte. Apparently, although I don`t remember this, I was there when I was 3 years old and emptied an entire bottle of shampoo all over their bathroom. Sorry about that! :) I finally after all of these years met my cousin Aude and she was kind enough to speak to me in English. We had a wonderful evening and I will see them again before I leave la Belle Province.
A bientot!
Matthew

Bonjour

It has been a whirlwind trip with Steve for the past week. We packed a lot in during that time and I think I need to relax tomorrow and recharge. The drive to Montreal took the most of Wednesday but we arrived in Montreal just in time for rush hour! :) We did not have to drive all over the place looking for a place to stay when we arrived here because the tourist centre at the border was able to find and reserve us a room. It made our life a lot easier and we stayed in a nice place very central just north of Vieux Montreal. I am now staying at a hostel very close by to that hotel. It has been a while since I last stayed in a hostel so it is bringing back memories of Europe. I just hope my car is safe where I left it. Some of the highlights of Montreal so far have been the live comedy show at the Comedy Nest. It is in the old Montreal Forum and we had front row seats to a really great show. Fortunately we were not bugged by the comedians although they had a golden opportunity. The same cannot be said for the poor girl sitting next to us. The comedian was making fun of her for being too slow getting the jokes. We also saw the old port area, the McCord Museum, Mont Royal and did a lot of walking. Steve will appreciate the fact that I did not drag him to the Canadian Railway Museum on the south shore as I spent most of the afternoon there.
Well I must sign off, my 20 minutes are up.
Matthew

The Falls

It's been nice to have Steve here with me the last few days. We had a couple nice days in Toronto seeing the Hockey Hall of Fame, Royal ONtario Museum, the Waterfront, Cabbagetown and more. Then we went on the short drive to Niagara Falls. The falls are pretty impressive, but the town itself is a bit of a tourist trap.

This computer is a bit slow, so more later.

Ottawa Kingston Photos

From the top
Downtown Kingston
Soldier Competition at Fort Henry
Fort Henry looking towards Kingston
Mackenzie King Estate in Gatineau Park

Toronto

Museum of Civilization

Here's what I've been up to the past few days. On Monday and Tuesday I was at my aunt and uncle's place north of Ottawa on the Gatineau River. Went for a long bike ride pretty much all afternoon and almost melted it was so hot. Rode by Meech Lake, Old Chelsea and the Mackenzie King Estate. It was a bit too hot for my liking and I should have brought along my swimsuit. I must say if you ever go to Ottawa and only have time for one museum, it should be the Museum of Civilization. You could easily spend two days looking around in there. I probably didn't see a quarter of it but the Canada Hall was really good. There was also a temporary exhibit on Pompeii that was pretty interesting. Well Ottawa was a fun place for a week and a half and it was great to see all of my relatives, but I had to move on.

It was only a couple hours to Kingston and I toured the restored fort near the downtown called Fort Henry. It was built to protect Canada from American invasion in the 1800's, but it was fortunately never needed in battle. What is neat about it is that all of the staff are wearing period costumes and they put on a demonstration/contest at three in the afternoon. Some of the soldiers compete to see which team can fire off their cannon the quickest but they have to go through an elaborate ritual first. What is most impressive about the whole ordeal is that they were wearing dark woolen clothing and it was over 30 degrees out and humid. One of the guys was taken inside because he must have been suffering from heat stroke. In the evening I went to visit my cousin Steve and his wife who made me a great meal. Steve is definitely a master with the BBQ.

I've arrived in Toronto now and I'm staying at my cousin Vanessa's place for a couple days until Steve comes out from Vancouver.
Cheers, Matthew

Cooled Down

It is cooled down a bit in Ottawa the last 2 days making the heat more bearable. As well the humidity has gone down a bit. In the last few days I've seen a couple more museums; Science and Technology and I took a quick look at the Currency Museum which is in the Bank of Canada. The only major one left on my list is the Museum of Civilization. Last evening was perfect for a dip in the Gatineau River and a lovely BBQ at the Marshall house near Wakefield Quebec. There's always a lively discussion when you visit the Marshall family :) Yesterday I was able to take a few new pictures now that I have made a CD backup of my photos.

My Route

Here is a list of places and I've been so far and a tentative list of places I'm going to visit. The links are maps showing the routes I've taken. They will take you to Google Maps.

July 18th
Day 1 Coquitlam to Parson
Day 2 Parson to Calgary
Day 3 Calgary to Regina
Day 7 Regina to Dauphin and Dauphin to Riding Mtn
Day 8 Riding Mtn to Winnipeg
Day 9 Winnipeg to Thunder Bay
Day 10 Thunder Bay to Sault Ste Marie
Day 11 Sault Ste Marie to Sudbury
Day 12 Sudbury to North Bay
Day 13 North Bay to Temiscaming to Ottawa
Aug 10th Ottawa to Kingston
Aug 11th Kingston to Toronto
Aug 14-16 Toronto
Aug 16 Niagara Falls
Aug 17-22 Montreal
Aug 23-29 Quebec City
Aug 30-31 Quebec surroundings, maybe Saguenay, Tadousac
Sep 1-3 Montreal for Marty´s sister´s wedding party
Sep 3-5 New Brunswick
Sep 6 -9 PEI
Sep 10-25 Nova Scotia
Sep 26-Oct 7??? Newfoundland

More Ottawa

I've finally got some pictures to show you. They are from the first two and a half weeks from Kamloops to Ottawa. Unfortunately they don't have captions right now.

It has been a hot few days in Ottawa but I've been keeping busy. I went for a long bike ride on Tuesday and visited the aviation museum in the afternoon then rode over to my cousin Alex's house in the west part of Ottawa. We had a nice indian dinner with Fiona, Greg and Madeleine. Yesterday checked out the National Gallery with my uncle. I liked the permanent Canadian collection the best. There was large amount of Group of Seven paintings and many others that I recognized. Last night I played soccer with Alex and a large group of his friends. It was very hot, but at least we didn't have to warm up. :)

Pictures!

Nation's Capital

There is a new feature in my blog. Where is Matt? Click to the right to see where I am today on a map. I will try to keep it updated regularly. Also for those who are technically inclined you can subscribe to my blog as a RSS feed using something like My Yahoo using this address: http://matthewbuchanan.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Last night I went with my aunt and uncle to their cottage in Quebec on the Picanoc River. Apparently Pierre Trudeau liked to canoe down that river. I did a bit of canoeing and also floated/swam down the river and it was very refreshing way to cool off.

Tonight I saw a play in an Ottawa park put on by a Company of Fools. They did a rendition of Taming of the Shrew that was very good. Four actors did all the parts.

Ottawa

I'm now in Ottawa staying at my uncle's place. I'll probably be here for a week and will visit relatives, see museums, and take a break from driving for a while. Today I'm going over into Quebec and will stay overnight at the cottage. I'm fortunate to be here after the heat wave has passed. :)

Sudbury and North Bay

I'm getting caught up on some previous stops now that I have found a good computer. It was a short drive from the Soo to Sudbury but since it was raining and dark I didn't go camping like I had planned. In the morning I went to the underground mine tour called Dynamic Earth which is where the giant nickel is located. The underground tour was a bit underwhelming. We only went down 70 feet, not 2000 or more like the real mines, and there wasn't that much to see down there. In the afternoon I explored Sudbury by bike.

In the evening I headed to North Bay and stayed at the Gaiser's house. I had a nice visit with Marg, Gerry, Tim, Natalie, Alyssa and Carson. Had a great tour of Trout lake with Mr Gaiser in his speedboat. The next day we caught a bit of the Heritage Festival.

On the way to Ottawa I took a detour to Temiscaming the headquarters of Tembec Industries for nostalgia's sake. Since it was a Saturday there was nobody around, but it looked like a nice little town. Stopped in Dottori Park and took a few pictures before heading on towards Ottawa.

Sault Ste. Marie

I'm escaping from a crazy rain and lightning storm in this Internet cafe. Just a few minutes ago I was inside a mall when I noticed it was pouring really hard outside. I remarked to a woman passing by, "I'm not going out there!" and just a few moments later there was a huge bang. It was a lightning strike that must have hit somewhere very close in the parking lot. I'm glad I wasn't out there.

Before it started pouring, I had a nice day wandering around in the town and along the locks of the St Mary's river which link Lake Huron and Superior. The American town of Sault Ste. Marie is just across the river, but I don't think I'll bother with the hassle of a border crossing. There was also an old stone house here that I visited. It was home to a North West company official and was built in 1814. Quite cool.

It took 2 days to get here from Winnipeg, and along the way I saw many interesting sights, although a lot of the highway was pretty boring. From the Terry Fox memorial just east of Thunder Bay to Sault Ste Marie I gave a ride to a hitchhiker from Saskatchewan. He was headed out to Nova Scotia. The first couple hours were interesting as we chatted about stuff, but then he was pretty quiet. If I pick someone again, I won't give them such a long ride, unless they are more interesting. :)

Will probably head east towards Sudbury this evening, and then either to North Bay or Ottawa. I'm looking forward to seeing my pictures on a computer screen as I've already filled up my 2 large memory cards.

Friendly Manitoba

Yesterday morning I left the Mitchell's place (after a lovely strawberry pancake breakfast). I headed east through Yorkton, Roblin, and Dauphin towards Riding Mtn National Park. My first night camping went fine and the mosquitoes weren't too bad. Riding Mtn was a nice place for biking. I'm now at the Forks in Winnipeg so I'll sign off now as I'm getting kicked off this computer. I'll try to post some pictures soon.
Matt

The rivers were still pretty high when I was there, the pathways along the river were under water still, but apparently the levels are coming down. Spent a few hours in the Forks area, and then wandered around the Exchange District and saw that the Fringe Festival was happening. Picked a play called 'The Jewish Princess Diaries' which was a one-woman comedy show and it was pretty funny. Before leaving Winnipeg I visited the legislature and Wildwood Park neighbourhood where my parents got married. It was a beautiful place.

A Taste of Regina

I'm in the fair city of Regina right now. It has been a pleasant few days so far. My friend Kelsey has shown me around the city and surroundings. We went to the Taste of Regina food festival, a trip to Regina Beach to go kayaking and a picnic in the park. The biking trails around the city are really extensive and the weather is fine.
On the way to Regina I stopped quickly in Medicine Hat and saw the world's largest teepee. It was pretty exciting! I hope I can see a lot more "World's Largest ______" along the way, but that's all I've seen so far. The tunnels of Moose Jaw were a very interesting tour in that nice little Prairie city. Supposedly the tunnels were built for smuggling booze during the prohibition as well as hiding chinese workers. The tour I went on was about the early chinese settlers that built the railways and had to work in appalling conditions for low pay in laundrys and such. Well worth it to stop if you have the time.
Thanks Kelsey for clearing up your work schedule for me and showing me around Regina for 3 days. I will wear my Rider t-shirt with Pride. :)

Finally on my way Day 1 & 2

Well I'm finally on the road after 3 weeks relaxing and getting ready in Coquitlam. Even though I can already tell I've forgotten a few things things are going fine. My trip started at 9:30am in Coquitlam and my first main stop was in Kamloops just after 1pm. It was great to see Jen again and we had a nice lunch at Fogg and Sudds and caught up on the latest news. My next stop was close to Parson which is just south of Golden BC. The drive was a bit longer than I expected, and aside for some strange weather and a few crazy drivers it was okay. The first day was a lot of driving, but I won't usually follow that pace. I arrived at Lil and B.'s beautiful place overlooking the Columbia Trench just in time for dinner. Lucy drove up from Cranbrook to meet me. What a lovely spot to end my first day! :)

Day 2 started out at the Kicking Horse Mountain ski hill in Golden. Lucy came with me to look at the grizzly bear sanctuary. They have a 3 1/2 year old orphaned grizzly bear that lives in a 23 acre enclosure on the side of the ski hill. Boo the bear was kind enough to be close to the fence and posed for a few pictures before disappearing into the trees for a nap. Thanks for the expert interpretive tour by Jubilee. Lunch (for us, not the bear) was at the Eagle's Eye restaurant at the summit. Apparently the highest restaurant in Canada. There was a great 360 view of the Purcell and Rocky Mountains, the town of Golden and the Columbia Valley. I then said farewell to Lucy and proceeded east to Calgary. There I stayed with my cousin Paul and his wife Noelia. Emmanuel has grown a lot since last time.
That's all for now, I'm getting tired.

My Going-Away Party in Cranbrook

A good time was had by all at Finnegan's Wake Pub in Cranbrook on June 23rd. Thanks for the wonderful sweater, card, and framed photo. Best wishes to everyone at Tembec in the East Kootenays. So long Cranbrook.

Lucy and Matt

Cheers!

Lil, Greg, Matt

Hope the arm heals Dave

Tjitske and Bruce

What a great evening for a few laughs

Thanks for the socks Lil!

Doran and Matt

Terry, Matt, and Don

Bruce and Lorraine

Thank you for coming to my going away party. I will miss you.

Inaugural Entry

Welcome to my inaugural posting of my new blog. Unfortunately my first choice was taken (mattropolis) so I chose my own name. While I would have preferred having my own page, so that I could learn more html and css, having this blog will make it easier to edit, add photos etc while I'm on the road. Today I should be organizing my garage sale will happen Saturday the 16th. I'm hopefully my signs didn't dissolve in the rain last night! Only 3 more days til I leave for across Canada.