Pay it Forward...

so im officially in Mexico now! I arrived in the Evening on Monday at about 7pm and took a taxi to a hostel in the centre of Cancun (for 16 dollars... apparently there is a bus for like 3) the hostel cost 8 dollars a night and there were 2 German girls sharing a room with me. It was their last night, so we went out to the hostel bar for a drink, but I was exhausted from the travel and so, spent the rest of the night at the hostel. In the morning, I changed some money and started walking around the downtown area practicing my very limited spanish on people, when I met a man from Nashville Tennesee. He was about 50 years old and had just spent the night in the bus station because a taxi had just driven away with his bags. He had only a few pesos left and asked if I could lend him 8 dollars for a hostel so he wouldnt have to sleep in the bus terminal again. We started talking and he was very appreciative and said it was a very humbling experience for him. I gave him 20 dollars so he could get some food and a hostel at least before he could get to the consulate in the morning as there was no Embasy in Cancun. We went into the bus station to ask about the cost of a ticket to the embassy 4 hours away and it was only about 40 dollars, so I gave him 60. It was very nice to be able to help someone out after so many people had helped me in Australia. One time in Particular, when I had lost my debit card and had no access to a bank for a few days, I got a ride out of town with a man who gave me 50 dollars for food and a hostel and drove me right into the city. It was like he had given me 100 times that, so when I met Roy Allen smith (that was his name) I was quite happy to be able to pass that money on. He asked if he could repay me, but I said that he should keep it and maybe one day he will be able to help somebody else out in the same way. It´s amazing what such a small amount of monery can mean to somebody in a time of need.

Almost there...

I'm sitting in the Edmonton Airport waiting area counting down the minutest till I can get checked in go through security, so I thought I would take the opportunity to make a short blog post. Since the time of my last post, I hitchhiked north to Grande Prairie and spent a few days visiting my sister, brother in law, and niece, before heading back south a bit to Edmonton with a friend of my sisters for a quick visit with my Grandma and my last chance for homemade bread and cinnamon buns before I left. I had arranged to have two pairs of shoes and a sleeping bag sent to me in Sherwood Park where my Grandma lives, but due to bad timing and Murphy's law, that didn't happen and so I had no choice but to make a trip to MEC in the city on the way to the Airport. I was talking in pounds and inches and I asked if they took American money (they don't) so I'm pretty sure they thought I was American. I think my first purchase after I get passed security will have to be a massive Canadian flag patch. I'll let u know how the flight and whatnot goes in a bit, but it's nearly 4am so I should really be heading down to security soon instead of doing this.

On the road again... with George the trucker

So I'm officially on the road again! I started hitching from the pull out just past Rilkoffs around 4 on Saturday and within half an hour a mother and son from Kaslo had picked me up. They took me as far as Rock Creek and dropped me off At the bridge before the turnoff for Beaverdell. I was a little unsure about how many people would be traveling along that route but I decided to give it a try and before I could even get my thumb out, a rich 50 year old trucker named Adrian that Owned 3 ranches and several hotels, but was hauling manure for somebody else that night picked me up and drove me right to UBC where I stayed with my friend Becki for two nights. I was considering staying a third so I could sit in on one of her classes, but after checking the weather forecast, we decided my best bet was to leave today.

I started hitching this mor ing from the Same place I had started from last time, and had some amazing luck. I was barely even at the spot before an Indian man stopped and offered me a ride to Vernon. I had a good spot and Vernon was only 30 minutes down the road so I declined the ride and stuck my thumb out. The first car to pass stopped and an older looking lady offered me a another ride to Vernon. I declined again and stuck my thumb out a third time. A couple of cars passed without stopping and I was getting a little cold just standing there so I Put my sign down to put my jacket on and the second I did so, a man that looked like Arnold shwartsanager (how the hell do u spell that???) stopped and offered me ANOTHER ride to version. This time I accepted and be drove me to just before Vernon.

From there, I started hitching again and in less than 10 minutes, man going THE OTHER DIRECTION stopped. His name was George and I rode with him all the way back to Kelowna to pick up his truck and trailer. He was going through to Calgary, but I got off in Lake Louise where I am now. Along the way we talked about all kinds of things and he told me stories about how he met his wives and about the the grand adventures he's had on the road. He bought me lunch and latter, even a lottery ticket. I didn't win anything, but I kept the ticket anyways. He talked about his love for the outdoors and especially for horse back riding so I told him about the Pacific Crest Trail. he seemed really excited about it. When it was finally time for me to go, he gave me his email address and I promised to send him regular pictures of my travels. I love hitchhiking :)

another plan change...

okay, so I've changed my mind again... and I've also come to realize that if I continue to contribute to this blog as I have been (posting about what my future plans are,) that it's really pointless. I almost never actually stick to my plans, and so by the time you read something I have posted, I will have probably already changed my mind twice. I consittered just scrapping the blog, but instead I'm going to try doing things a little differently. From now on, I'm going to write mostly about the things that I have already done. I think I will like this new way of blogging a little better, and it will probably be a whole lot more interesting for all of you reading it. I guess that means I need to actually do something before I can update again. Maybe this will be the motivation I require to actually get everything done that needs to be done before I leave!!

Anybody wanna buy a portugese phrase book?

no seriously... I've changed my mind again. (but isnt that the joy of solo travel? being able to change your mind at any moment?) Due to bad timing, procrastination and a whole list of other things, It has become apparent that my chances of getting my visa in time for my departure to Brazil are slim to none, so rather than simply delay my flight until I can secure a visa, I've decided to change my destination altogether (in addition to delaying it.) I'm now flying into Bolivia on October 12th. I'm not disappointed or regretful that I wasnt organized in time, in fact, I'm excited about this change! I'm still leaving Grand Forks on October 1st as planned, but in addition to allowing me to skip over the general expensiveness of Brazil, I will also have an extra 6 days to spend with my family in Alberta before I leave Canada. Oh yes, and did I meansion that my new flight (or at least the one I plan to book!!!) stops in Miami for 24 hours? I could think of worse places to get stuck for that long (Midway anybody?) only kidding...

oh yes, and I'm not entirely sure about the proper punctuation for using parenthesis (or even how to spell "par-en-the-sis") so if my inconsistent punctuation placement makes you want to scream and throw your computer accross the room, please feel free to correct me, lol

the EXTREMELY vague plan... (so far...)

Alright, so I literally JUST booked my flight from Edmonton to Rio de Janeiro Brazil for the 6th of October. I still have tons to do before I leave (credit card, insurance, gear, Australian taxes, Canadian taxes, get Mbike "N", clean my basement, return bike, find my passport... etc) but the plan (and if you know me, you know nothing is ever set in stone) is to finish work September 30th, then have a quick brunch with my fam and friends on October 1st before saying my farewells and hitchhiking to Kelowna to spend the night with my friend Becki in her dorm at UBCO. I will then be spending the next few days hitchhiking to Grande Prairie to visit my sister, before hitching back down to Edmonton to visit more family and to finally to catch my flight to Brazil. Rio Gay Pride is on the 9th, so the plan (again... could change) is to connect with a group of couchsurfers before I leave or at the very least, book into a central hostel and meet people to go to pride with there. After Rio, my plan is to get the hell out of (extremely expensive) Brazil and head on to (much more budget friendly) Paraguay! Currently, the plan is to bus out of Rio to the nearest smaller town or village and hitchhike to Paraguay from there stopping wherever I feel like along the way. (Although... I still havent completely scoped out the hitching situation in Brazil, so I still could end up on a bus instead. I'm currently in the process of contacting a young Brazilian girl through couchsurfing that has hitchhiked in Brazil, so hopefully she will be able to give me some advice.) And yeah, thats the plan to date, but who knows, anything could happen and thats whats exciting about travelling!