An excuse not to exercise

Another bear story for you!

With my new job they expect all employees to take a full one hour lunch break. Having never had to take a one hour lunch break ever in my working life, I struggle to find things to do for this significant amount of time. Having pondered this dilemma for over a month (and having realised my winter plumage appears in Spring) I have decided I shall fill it with a delightful lunchtime jog.

This was the fifth lunchtime run I ventured out on and to be perfectly honest I was thoroughly enjoying them until I decided to try a new route - note to self, never try a new route, simply do laps of old faithful ones.

While running along  my known faithful route I decided to take a trail that led off to the right, a decision I regretted within five minutes after realising the trail quickly turned into a wildlife path by the number of hooves and paw prints on it. Not a shoe print in sight.

Starting to panic and seeing shadows everywhere (it was very much like the Snow White scene where she is running through the woods. Except it wasn't dark, an there were no angry trees, no cob webs and no man threatening to cut my heart out... or at least he hasn't appeared yet) I was officially lost in the woods. The Canadian Rocky Mountain woods.

Ten minutes, which felt like 30 minutes, of frantic bush-whacking running I noticed a larger path in a direction I had no intention of going but needs must and off I go. Another five minutes of 'Pheobe' running and whooping to make sure the bears and cougars know I am coming I finally reappear at the backside of Larch Island - note the 'island' part. I somehow managed to cross a riverbed and ended up on a random little island. This island incidentally actually does have a crazy man on it that will attack you but I was fortunate enough not to be greeted by him on this occasion.


It was just along from this epic adventure that I was came across the pictures scene - hilarious. Mrs Black Bear was having a picnic in the area and I was running along paths next to her.

I will certainly be sticking to the pram-trails from now on.

The Cave and Basin

During one of their last days in Canmore we went to the Cave and Basin in Banff National Park. I should note here that the entire time they were visiting I was assuring them that bears were not an issue, ooops.

We were welcomed by a delightful ranger who advised us that there was indeed a bear in the area and we were to just be cautious. My sister without blinking just responded with 'well that's that then, back to the car!' She wishes.

Off we toddled along the decking walkway that at points was easily 12 feet above the ground, when a ranger went running past us speaking into his walkie-talkie. Watching where he went - just to the viewpoint on the walkway - and pointing out over into the fields my brother-in-law swung his backpack over his shoulders and started to run along the path to the ranger where he was shown where there was a grizzly bear laying among some trees.

For ten minutes we were happy upon the decking taking photographs of this young female grizzly who appeared to be napping. Then she got up and decided to take a like walk toward us – might I repeat at this point we were at least 12-15ft above the ground on the platform walkway so we felt safe enough. The ranger was there with us too so all was well… that was until a fisherman appeared from halfway along the walkway. Without sounds panicked I squeaked ‘ehm.. where did you come from?’ to which he squinted at me and said ‘those stairs’ pointing to a set of stairs that led right down to where the bear was heading.

The bear wouldn’t come up the stairs would she…? Of course she did.

By this point I don’t know what was more funny, my brother-in-law squealing with delight that he got to stay near the ranger and photograph the grizzly or my sister hyperventilating while explaining ‘but my son has only been eating salmon! He must smell like salmon!’ Bloomin hilarious!! Of course my sister says this cheekily but I genuinely feel she may have been slightly serious.

We are ushered up toward the Visitor Center, but not before the ranger shouts at my sister and I (and several other tourists) to stop in case the grizzly makes a direct line off the decking up towards us. Again, it was hilarious watching my sister and all the while my nephew is grinning from ear-to-ear oblivious to what is going on around him. Obviously we all survived and my brother-in-law got some amazing shots of the bear who appeared in that weeks Rocky Mountain Outlook newspaper – the poor girl was just hiding from a frisky big male.

(Unfortunately I did not get any photos of this incident but my brother-in-law did)

Entering into summer

With posts becoming few and far between you do wonder what we get up to all day.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my lovely parents came over for a week at the end of February - celebrating our 'Canniversary'. This celebration brought with it a number of enlightening moments, many of which will reveal themselves over the coming months and year.

March was a whirlwind personally as I moved to a new job. I am very fortunate to work for such a great organisation and the work they do is phenomenal - or phenomenally Canadian according to L. I work with Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative dealing with all things donation related. It is wonderful fun and I am continually learning every day about the projects that we lead or support on, from the tip of Yukon all the way down into America to Yellowstone National Park. For obvious reasons all things bear interest me the most though hearing about the destruction and damage of Dam's (Site C being the most current and horrific) on the environment is overwhelmingly sad. Yet the government see $$$$$ rather than nature. Plonkers.

April was by far my most cherished month here. The arrival of a beautiful baby boy and most beloved sister!! I haven't seen my nephew since he was three moths old and now he is a full year, they changes in him were astounding. He looks like a little man, or more specifically my dad. He is the cutest and most charming baby ever, and a super-duper flirt with the ladies! Waving and grinning
at every girl he saw! We had a wonderful time together and couldn't believe how quickly time flew by.

And here we are at the end of May. Yikes. This month we had L's mum visit us for a week and to take full advantage of the Holiday Monday we decided, at the last possible minute, that we would drive to Victoria. That is correct, a 14 hour drive EACH WAY for a 3 day break. On Friday night we strated our ambitious drive and stopped in Sicamous, then at 5am Saturday morning we continued the journey to reach Cordova Bay on Vancouver Island. It was the best decision ever as I have missed the ocean so much, I am truly a water person and lakes just do not have the same influence on me.

Sunday we explored downtown Victoria, enjoying Fisherman's Wharf and a marching band competition in front of the Legislative Building then on Monday morning 4am (after watching an amazing sunrise) we drove back to Canmore. Worth every minute.

Catching up almost to present - which would include the tale of L cutting his foot on a rock while climbing Saturday and 24 hours later being taken to hospital by moi with blood poisoning. He had to have 4 days of IV antibiotics, we are now friends with all A&E Dr's at Canmore Hospital, and now he has a further ten days of heavy duty oral antibiotics to make sue it doesn't come back.

As you can see we are keeping busy and continuing to explore Western Canada. With one more significant visitor booking to arrive in August for three weeks of climbing, hiking, kayaking and surfing who knows what stories we will come back with!

The Mobile Phone Hunt

The on-going saga of Lewis’ relationship with mobile phones has finally been put to rest… for now at least.

Long story short, he has been unable to get a phone contract due to his Social Insurance Number still not being activated. This has meant he has had to buy a pay-as-you-go phone that has since broken a pathetic 6 weeks after purchase. Virgin Mobile are refusing to do anything about it as it is more than a month since we purchased it from them which I think we can all agree is ridiculous. Why would we buy a phone for it only to work for four weeks? Answer: no-one would.

We have since decided to get a new phone for him with anyone but Virgin Mobile – plonkers that they are.

So off we trot to Calgary in search of the 41 megapixel camera phone – the Nokia Lumia 1020. If you are going to get a smart phone you might as well get the one with the best camera.

In Alberta, and I think Canada, it doesn’t matter what phone you get the tariff is the same across specific phone groups; Doro Phones ($25); Basic Phones ($55+); and Smartphones ($80+). So if you are going to get a Smartphone get the most expensive as it costs the same as the cheapest within the same category.

Two hours and a pizza later, we returned to the store to collect Lewis' beautiful bright yellow phone which had been all set up and ready for him to use. We expecting great things from you Rogers.

Jiminy Cricket

To the delight of Lewis the activity options in Canmore are endless. This is no word of an exaggeration and should you ever be bored in Canmore, well, there is no excuse really.

With seasonal hobbies to suit everyone from Nordic skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing and winter climbing to mountain biking, hiking, trail running and rock climbing to mention a mere few, your days, weeks and months are pretty jam packed with fresh air.

To this end Lewis decided to invest in a mountain bike for me, as going out whooping in the forest and trails alone is not ideal. The purchase was made on a Saturday morning and by noon I find myself in the middle of a single-track trail near the Canmore Nordic Ski Centre wondering how my body is going to take the beating.

I think it was beginners luck and going into the unknown that made it such a wonderful day. We were whizzing through the trees all the while whooping to alert any wildlife – there are three black bears and a grizzly that regularly visit the area and the thought of rolling into the back of them was not a valid alternative to using my breaks.

Bumping over tree roots, rolling along fallen trees and holding on for dear life while leaning as far back as possible when going down dusty sleep hills was only just the start of it. All the while Lewis is exclaiming “I cannot believe how good you are at this, you are doing so well!”

In actual fact what was going through my head went something like “I am going to die… TREE STUMP!… all I need now is a bear or a cougar to pounce on me and I am finished… TREE STUMP!!... why oh why are mountain bike seats harder than cement?... TREE STUMP!”

I also discovered that such thoughts mixed with serious concentration on the twists and turns of the trails reduces my vocabulary to a simple and surprising name: Jiminy Cricket.

Lewis: Look at you Watson! How are you feeling?

Me: Jiminy Cricket!

Lewis: What? What are you saying?

Me: Jiminy Cricket!

Lewis: Are you seeing crickets?! Amazing! Where?!

Me: Jiminy Cricket - Cricket!

To that end – I cannot wait to get back out and ride more trails.

From the Coast to Canmore

With a week until his job started, we decided to drive back to Victoria in a single day to tell our very nice landlord that we were very sorry but we were not going to be staying like originally thought.

Nine hours later we arrived back at our little apartment in Oak Bay, exhausted and drained from the trip. We informed our landlord of the sudden change and Lewis’ job offer and she wished us well.

The very next day, we packed up what little belongings we had accumulated in our time in Oak Bay - a green whistle kettle that Lewis will never part with and a vintage bike for me – and after a delicious dinner with our North Saanich friends we began our journey back to Canmore.

In a matter of days we had completely flipped our semi-planned life and landed feet first amongst the mountains of Canmore.  Thankfully, upon our return we loved it even more than we remembered and knew we had made the right decision.

Within a week of arriving back and staying in two rather shmeh hotels, we had found an apartment in the Three Sisters area, a lovely little area based at the base of, you guessed it, the Three Sisters! They are three prominent mountain peaks that can be seen from anywhere in Canmore.

On our first night in the unfurnished apartment we camped on yoga mats in front of the fireplace and thought it would be a novelty. That was until Lewis wouldn’t hush about his back and ‘how it was so much more uncomfortable than camping’. This admittance was worth it actually as it means I may be able to postpone camping a little while longer!

And so here we are. In a top floor, west-facing, two-bedroom apartment with an amenities building that includes an indoor and outdoor hot tub, steam room, pool tables, bar and very well equipped gym.  Find an apartment: Tick!

Sunshine for my birthday!

In human form and not the snowmen we believed we were going to become on the drive to Banff, we arrived at our hotel next to the Bow River.

Banff is amazing. We particularly love the street names and I want to buy apartments on most of them just to say we live on Wolf Street/ Bear Street/ Buffalo Street… “Oh hi, yes I live at 22 Wolverine Street”. Ehm, yes please!!

Aside from the street names, Banff is a lovely place. Very touristy but even with the hoards of tourists it doesn’t take away from the fact you are surrounded by stunning impending mountains and random fearless animals – elk and deer this time, nothing with claws.

As we were here over my birthday we decided to go skiing at Sunshine Village for three days to celebrate my 26+1 birthday. Who wants a birthday celebration that only lasts a day?

We loved Sunshine Village. As we were here toward the end of the season the slopes were unbelievably quiet and after a few runs on the ‘magic carpet’, an invention that I don’t think existed when I was learning as I remember falling off the dreaded drag lift repeatedly, Lewis was off and going down actual ski runs. Not just baby ones.

He also became fearless and decided he much preferred skiing off-piste, as when he fell he would make a massive ‘PUFF’ with the fresh powder. The skiing was great and every day we would ski down from the resort to the car park, immediately wanting to go right back up again.

Casper the friendly Cougar?

On our drive to Jasper, I think we just about tested Scooby’s abilities to the limit. The roads were horrific with potholes every few meters and then after about three hours of driving the introduction of snow was thrown into the mix.

I honestly think we lost track of time as I cannot remember how long the drive actually took us, I just remember it was looooong.

By the time we arrived in the village of Jasper it was very quiet and few people were out on the streets. However it was so quaint and peaceful with the mountains surrounding us we absolutely loved it. Lewis in particular was in awe as this was the Canada he had read about and wanted to experience. The wonderful, never-ending, gigantic mountains!

We stayed at the Pocahontas Cabins on the outskirts of Jasper National Park, which were a delightful little cluster of wooden cabins with cozy fireplaces.

The best part about staying at these cabins was the phenomenal karaoke alarm. This ‘alarm’ would go off at about 7am every morning, regardless of whether we wanted it or not, and came in the form of four young girls under the age of ten singing at the top of their lungs a collection of Miley Cyrus and Carly Rae Jepson songs. One morning they even treated us to Jon Bon Jovi – livin on a prayer. Yaowza!

Other than our delightful wake-up call quartet, we loved Jasper and spotted even more wildlife.

When driving along the main road into the village we spotted two wolves on the other side of the road. We pulled over, keeping our distance and began taking photographs, and when one looked directly at Lewis he (very calmly and in no way yelped) “That’s it, we’re off” and proceeded to accelerate away, leaving the rather large wolf wondering what had just happened.

However, the slightly more daunting feeling of “that can eat me” was yet to happen.

It was after dinner one evening we decided to go a walk up behind our cabin and see where the road would take us. It might help to explain that Lewis, in his wisdom, has signed up for a quadrathlon with his bestie and needs to run every day and thought this road would be ideal for a morning jog. Pah!!

Anyway, realizing we better head back before dusk, we proceeded to return to our cabin only after 30 minutes of walking along this road. It was here, retracing our own steps that we came across some rather large and extremely new paw prints in the snow leading across the path. I cannot describe to you the nauseous, pins-and-needles, where-is-the-bloody-big-cat-hiding feeling that encompassed my body.

Lewis on the other hand thought that this was a great photo opportunity to compare hand sizes. Suffice to say I took the photo thanks to my very persuasive other-half.

Very calmly and slowly, so as not to tempt the great cat predator into chasing us, we walked back to the chalet and locked the door and didn’t leave again until the next morning where we practically ran to the car and locked its doors behind us.

And that is the story about how I do not care to see a cougar in the flesh…. ever.

Vancouver Island

So the long silence has been for good-ish reason. It has been a whirlwind the past few months and it is hard to know where to begin. I guess where we left off?

After our delightful skiing adventure in Whistler, we jumped on a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, Vancouver Island, where we stayed with fantastic family friends in what can only be described as the most stunning coastal house I have ever seen. 

Based in North Saanich, their home’s back garden actually led out onto the ocean. It was phenomenal. In the three fabulous weeks we spent there we saw a myriad of wildlife from the comfort of the beautiful deck. There were bald eagles regularly visiting the trees a mere 50m away, sea otters flapping about the boat 20m from shore, a massive sea lion killing a mighty big fish just as close and many a seal floating past looking for its dinner.

Not only that, but on the way to a stunning hill walk we actually drove behind another bald eagle trying to lift a dead raccoon from the road and fly off. I have put the video of it below. There are just some things you never expect to see and this was certainly one of those moments.

During our second week, our wonderful hosts had arranged to visit their children in San Francisco so asked if we could please dog-sit while they were away for five days. It was a no brainer. We were delighted to look after their home and their lovable, bounding, energetic, thinks-he-is-human dog.

Everybody meet Kula.

Crazy Kula would take us on walks and show us new areas of North Saanich (whether we wanted to see them or not) and was hilarious to play with. He often came and lay down next to me while I was doing Pilates or Yoga and I think he must have thought he was pretty good at it as after a while he would push me over and roll around showing off.

During those three weeks, with a little influence from the amazing climate and a lot of great stories from our hosts, we decided that we wanted to stay in Victoria and test it out. Amazingly we found a gorgeous little lower lever apartment just minutes from Oak Bay that we could move in to immediately and that was how we came to stay in Oak Bay… for two and a half weeks.

Whistle Stop

There is certainly nothing like learning to ski in Whistler, which is exactly what Lewis ended up doing.

On Thursday morning we made our way on our first ever Greyhound bus to Whistler, due in part to the uselessness of our rental not being allowed past a specific snow line however we were thankful we did as the road was far too beautiful to have concentrated on driving.

We were dropped off in Whistler Village and were overwhelmed at how quiet it was, happy days! We picked up our skis and made our way to the massive, glaring, wafting-in-the-wind, bright blue Ski School banners.  Here we were boldly told by Dave (a Max4 instructor) that there was not a chance that we would be allowed to remain together as I knew how to stand in skis and Lewis did not.

I was swiftly taken to another group consisting of three females who all looked like startled rabbits – Lewis’ group were undoubtedly worse – where they were informed I was a European skier and that they were not to worry too much about me. Hoot! Thankfully two of them got over their fear pretty quickly as we were taken to the top of Whistler mountain – Lewis only made it half way – where we were told just to ski down so ‘Paul’ could monitor our skills. I say ‘Paul’ because for the life of me I cannot remember my instructors name… the shame.

The day was amazing, the weather was fantastic and I was taught how to carve properly – I have picked up some very bad habits apparently.

As myself and an Aussi woman skied off the mountain, we stopped at the half way point for a breather where we (I) were accosted by a very happy and bounding Lewis who was delighted with his progress that day. He skied down the baby hill with the magic carpet without falling. Success comes in a variety of forms I think we can all agree.

By the end of that first day Lewis was absolutely buzzing and prompted us to book skis and return on Friday for more ski fun, however this time it would be lesson-less… we were going solo.

Friday morning brought with it an apprehension I have rarely seen in Lewis, the fearless winter climber that he is! We made our way there via bus again, picked up our skis and got on the gondola to take us to the halfway point which is still a 30 minute journey.

It was an absolutely fabulous day, with fantastic weather and a bit of a wind that kept you nice and cool. Most amazingly Lewis skied off of Whistler Mountain into the village on his second ever day of skiing. I have never been so impressed.

Guess what his new hobby is… yipeee!!!

The Long Paddle

"We're going kayaking!"
"Oh fun! Where? When?"
"Soon, July time!"

It wasn't July. And it wasn't straight forward kayaking either, or at least what I am used to in the protective shores of Scottish Lochs.

It was a four day trip around the western Scottish isles, which for me means sea. Open, vast, unpredictable, unknown sea. A new outlook on my favourite element that usually evokes a feeling of calm. Yet put me in a kayak, add a few 8 foot waves and locate the shore more than 4km away and WHAM! The sea is a daunting place to be.

So here I am, a kilometre off the north point of Ulva, bobbing up and down between 8 foot swells, wondering what happens next. Believing in my soul that I am destined to bob the seas and oceans as there is no way I am going to reach dry land again. I fold my arms and let the waves rattle me about to spite them and show them that I am not scared. It obviously made no difference.

When we had set out Lewis had been very cautious of me and watched my every move yet somehow, when fear had gripped me and I lost the will to paddle it was at this point he believed me to be perfectly happy rather than the reality that I temporally lost all motor skills in order to paddle 180° to point me in the direction of a small cove - that seemed to be taking the brunt of these impending waves. What's more, what I had originally thought was inconvenient, the hundreds of feet of water below us with tens of feet of waves coming from a variety of angles appeared to be only 2/3 of the fun, as we were missing on the only remaining angle left, from above. The skies opened and it was an unbelievable downpour.

All this within the first 5 hours.

After sleeping in a very soggy tent, we wake the next morning to find the sun shining and the sea calm (er).

Over the next few days we kayak to the Isle of Staffa, where a few of our friends decided to paddle into a wave infested cave - Fingal's Cave. What seemed sensible to Lewis and the rest of our friends - in my opinion presently dehydrated and therefore disillusioned friends -  was to paddle backwards into the cave and ride the waves out.

Ehm.... I think not.

We also kayaked through flocks of my avian favourites - the mighty puffin - and paddled along the shores of Ulva past dozens of extremely curious seals with their adorable pups.

Of course, the trip would not be complete without a sneaky critter which came on our final night whilst camping on the shores of a stunning secluded sandy beach with seals popping up in the bay - tics. Thousands of them crawling over every garment of clothing we had foolishly laid out to dry. I got one which is amazing seeing as Lewis managed to feed a whopping 19, although I think even that was lucky as I am sure there were thousands on my rain jacket.

It was an epic trip that looking back on, I really did love and would happily do it again. As worried as I was on that first day, the rest of the trip was a breeze particularly on the last day in the middle of the ocean when the guys decided to play tug-of-war with the safety rope. Guess I had found my sea legs by that point.

So what do I think of the sea? Yep, still my calming influence.

The countdown has begun...

The countdown is most certainly on!

Four weeks today and Lewis and I are returning to the land of adventure, snow, grizzly bears and cougars! We are so excited!

We cannot help but look ahead at the prospect of all the unknown possibilities in Canada, however everything we have to do from now until then is a little bit more overwhelming.

As mentioned in our little blurb we have begun selling things. My climbing shoes, uni books, guitars, sound systems and anything else we feel may be worth a little buck or two. Turns out there isn't that much, particularly when I feel charities are so much more worthy to donate items towards.

Insurance has mind-boggled me today as we have been told we need Health Insurance for the first 3 months we are in Canada and insurance to cover any travel costs. I had a 48 hour mind-block and believed we needed to buy both Travel and Health Insurance (which was definitely not cheap)...yet  low and behold we do not. Or at least that is what I now think and I have talked myself round in circles. At this point in time it is not difficult.

World Nomads insurance seems to be the best for exactly what we want to do, and to make life easier we can add skiing on if and when we wish to adventure into the snowy wilderness!

Now, what did I do with all that packing enthusiasm I had earlier....

Great Galle

What can we say about Galle?

To get to this idyllic place, we took another bus (this one had a man with very hairy ears) and got off in the centre of New Town Galle. A hubbub of people, noise and pushing. I had a fleeting 'oh sh** a mini India' thought but it quickly vanished with the appearance of a friendly tuk-tuk driver who whisked us away behind the Fort walls.

Behind the Fort walls was like entering another city, country, even continent. Originally built by the Dutch, the Sri Lankans have kept many of their features, from the brick used for the houses to the old style buildings and small alleyways. It was delightful and very much like a little area of Amsterdam.

We had not booked anywhere as this leg of the trip was not planned and by sheer luck we found the BEST place to stay in Galle. It was a small boutique hotel with views overlooking the sea and a stunning balcony which we could sit out on. Fort de 19 was a haven.

Family run, we met the owner and his parents - I took a particular shine to his father as he was always sitting near the entrance ready to greet you upon arrival and welcomed you back after a very hard day strolling around the cobbled streets. He also called me 'laughing girl' which I adored and made me laugh more. Who says flattery gets your nowhere?!
They made us feel extremely welcome, and after the disaster of the hostel in Mirissa both Lew and I were sick, so Theekshana's (the owner) mum made us a Sri Lankan flu remedy to make us feel better, which I think actually worked.

Galle was stunning and peaceful and was the perfect end to our fleeting visit to Sri Lanka. I managed to even buy a little piece of jewellery as a souvenir... one can't go to a place with a place named 'Gem City' and not buy a gem.

Everyone we came across was extremely welcoming and kind. Even random 'accosters' I previously mentioned didn't accost, they merely wanted to know where in Sri Lanka we were travelling, where we were from and to wish us a great holiday.

Love is barely the word to describe such a vibrant, varying island. It has everything and more.

Along the coast of the big blue to see the Big Blue

From our nook in our beachy heaven, we travelled by tuk-tu

k and then meditation bus (the music resembled that of a temple and I wondered how the driver stayed awake) to Mirissa, the home of the Big Blue Whale excursions.

The hostel was an epic fail, lets just clarify that now. Epic. Fail.
Lew got a bad chest infection from the damp and I got the flu. All because it was a damp, dank, dark cave. We were fools, but who cares, as we got a hilarious story in the location.

We decided to go and see the whales with Raj and the Whales, a very environmentally sound and rational guy (he threatened people who litter with death by drowning and no-one was to ask him to get closer to the whales as 'how would you like someone creeping up on you in your home?!')

So Lew, myself and 30 other unprepared passengers pile onto this lovely little boat. It was lovely for about 20minutes until the first 'sailor' fell ill. The poor Aussi guy, who I can only hope was somewhat hungover, made his way to the back of the boat to relieve himself of his severe nausea.
This was followed by a mother on the upper deck - her baby girl was carried down by a crew member - followed by the grandmother, who was just as green.

One by one, the sea weary were picked off and Lew was one of them. Only, he can make friends while being sick, as he and a German guy decided to console each other, pat each other on the back and discuss strategic locations for their gaze to fall upon to ease their suffering. Yet, unknown to them, their pain was to continue for another four hours.

By this point the Australian was lying down, no doubt passed out from diaphragm exhaustion, only to be sharply awoken by a crew member when the lovely blue whales came into view. The Aussi was yanked by the sides of his life jacket and almost carried to the starboard deck to see the beautiful mammals gently swim through the rocky waters. This was seemingly all to much for the chap as he quickly twitched a nod and backward stumbled to the opposite deck to continue what he had been doing for the past four hours. By doing so he joined Lew and Co. for the remainder of the trip and I couldn't help feel somewhat amused at the line of men trying to look alive.

The whales were amazing, I saw them all from my safe location curled up in the back corner of the boat. Sick people do not agree with me, if I see someone being sick I tend to join in for fun.
They (the whales, not the sick men) were such glorious, graceful animals that were so much bigger than I could have imagined. I will never be so thankful to the crew member who took my camera and took a multitude of photos and videos of them, because if it were not for him I would have nothing to show for the trip. Nor would Lew.

On the way back after seeing the whales we saw hundreds of dolphins, working together with the local tuna fisherman to catch some fish, it was fantastic. It was all old line technique that meant no dolphins would be harmed.

It only took another five hours for us to feel somewhat human again and for Lew to start chatting. Apparently sea sickness also impairs his conversation skills.

Due to the epic fail of our hostel in Mirissa we decided to move on to pastures new which took us to our final destination...

Ella, oil and the little place along the road from Matara

A little tired and exhausted, we arrive in Ella after our trek up Sri Pada and a four hour train journey from Hatton, during which we stood the entire way.

The skies had opened and it was torrential rain by the time we arrived and due to the exhaustion of constant travel and the random hours our bodies were functioning, we just wanted to move on to sunnier climates. So we decided during our early-bird dinner (a whopping 5.30pm) we were going to catch another crazy bus to Matara, the home of beaches and sunshine.

Unfortunately it was just our luck that is was the biggest Poya of the season and all schools and work were on holiday which meant everyone, including the locals, were hoping to get the same bus.

By this point, unsurprisingly we just wanted to sleep and found ourselves a cheap little hostel under a restaurant where we effectively went to sleep at 7pm and woke at 7am just in time for our bus to the next location.

The bus journey was at least five hours, or there abouts. Do not let Google maps tell you otherwise. Sri Lanka takes longer to get around than one would expect.

I managed to get a seat at the back of the bus with an open window to feel the breeze on my face... It wasn't until two hours later Lew mentioned I had a black eyebrow and how odd that was, that I scraped my finger along the left of my face peeling off a layer of oil slick from my skin did I realise why I felt 'radiant'.... epic. I have never before experienced such pollution directly to my face. I guess it serves me right for trying to stay reasonably cool while travelling.

As we flew past stunning scenery and national parks we enjoyed chatting to the locals and some fellow travellers who were looking for the sun that we all had missed the previous day.

Instead of staying in Matara, we moved to a little place which is just a 200 LKR tuk-tuk ride out of town, which is a delightful, out-of-the-way nook in the coast that you can just completely chill out in.

We absolutely loved this little place, so much so I cannot remember the name of it....

Sri Pada Pilgrimage

The bus journey alone to get here was an adventure with gangster hip-hop music playing the entire way. The buses are all 'self-styled' by their owners to make them, what I can only assume, more appealing to get on. Don't get me wrong, they are amazing and so much better what you get in the UK.

We arrived in Dalhousie after being blasted by many passing fumes and realise there is very little to do other than climb a 2,500m mountain. So at 2am (yes in the morning) we set off to conquer this climb. This may be business as usual for my winter/rock exploring partner but for me it was all new territory.

With a bulky torch in hand we set off, all the while Lew is whispering "I hope we don't get mugged." Nice. Really puts my mind at ease.
Anyway, off I trot and start humming to sooth my worries and we make it to the base of the never ending stairs. If you do this climb you will know exactly what I mean.
Buddha bless the monks who actually built the stairs all the way to the top, as there is not a slope in sight. Stair Master 2000 has a competitor.

I have no idea if it was a mix between the random time of night by body was being exerted, lack of food or water, or the torch swinging with every step but my giddy-aunt did I get nauseous. Luckily for me, my partner in life is a moment-entrepreneur and decided to utilise my 'still dark moments' to do some night photography.

Two hours, two water bottles, a torch battery and many pit-stops later, we arrive at the peak of Sri Pada - the great Buddha's footprint. As it was 4am by this point there was very little to see other than a few twinkling house lights but by 5.45 the sun was starting to come up and WOW was it stunning. We got every colour of the rainbow in the sky and it only kept changing.

We were above the clouds, the sun, the forest and it was just so... simple? Is this peace?

We stayed for over two hours at the top as every minute we looked at the horizon the colours and clouds had changed and it was a new image to imprint in our memories or for the sake of good documentation our SD cards.

Gangster Lewis and myself admiring the sunrise

It was phenomenal, and what is surprising is my legs maintained their strength all the way to the bottom. Thank you Pilates.

Instead of staying in this little town for another night we got onto another hip-hop bus (there are Sri Lankan national buses and general pop too from our experience) to take us to Ella.

And that is when the rain began.

Sri Lanka - Paradise is real

What can I say, we have become pro jet-setters in the past few months!

A mere ten days after our Vancouver trip Lew and I were back on the plane - thankfully this one with much better leg room, thank you Emirates - to Colombo, Sri Lanka.


By our first accoster

Firstly, can I just say that my rucksack was smaller than Lew's. This is a phenomenal feat on my part, as I have been known in the past to over-pack. Shocking I know.

We arrived in Colombo at 8 in the morning after travelling for over 28 hours. I managed to prioritise movies over sleep on the flight and so arrived looking like a startled baby owl wondering why on earth the sun was shining and where the heat was coming from.
We were staying our first day in Mt Lavinia, about 30 minutes from the centre of Colombo and right next to the beach which worked very much in my startled-state's favour. Stumbling upon the beach to try and stay awake we were accosted by an Australian-Sri Lankan, our first of many friendly accosters, that offered to take a picture of both of us.

We then made our way - via a super train journey - to Kandy. What a stunning place filled with crazy tuk-tuk drivers and the Scared Tooth Relic. We had a delightful two days here, wandering the streets and meeting the self-named 'dream team' that had all been on our flight to Colombo from Dubai. Unfortunately our accommodation was atrocious but never dwell on the negatives huh?

After Kandy we went to Nawalapitya, the central location for growing tea. We stayed on Greenwoods tea plantation in their luxury villa and were the only ones there for several days, which I certainly will not complain about. We were pampered and well looked after by Rowan and the team, from private walking tours around the hills where we got leeches, Lewis more so than me, to taking the bosses car to visit the stunning local waterfall. The food was amazing and the smoothies were even better, the part we loved most was them telling us the watermelon wouldn't be ripe for another week. Everything was so fresh we were in heaven!

From here we moved on to Dalhousie, the base for Sri Pada and what would be an epic walk for me and an easy going morning stroll for Lew.

Our next challenge: reach the summit of Sri Pada.