My first full week as an Adult Education Instructor is finished and I am heading into my second week. What have I gotten myself into?
The week started off with a break-in at the College. Iain and I went to the school on Sunday to pick up a few things and do some work, prepping for our classes. As we walked down the hallway towards the teachers lounge we realized that the shelving unit at the far end of the hall was out of place and one of the ceiling tiles was knocked out of the roof. After doing a full walk-around of the building we decided that the would-be theives had broken in via the back door, tried to bust through the door to the teachers lounge, tried to break into Emil’s office and finally tried to gain access to the teachers lounge via the ceiling. They didn’t appear to take anything or damage anything besides doorjams and one ceiling tile which was a relief. I called the cops to let them know what had happened and spoke to an antique answering machine I could barely understand. I didn’t believe I’d see them at all, but an officer did show up Monday afternoon to see the damage.
Besides that little bit of excitement the rest of the weekend was quiet and Monday came very quickly.
Iain is teaching Geology to the Introduction to Mining students for the next month which puts me in his classroom in the mornings. I get to teach Pre-Trades English for three hours followed by 4 hours of a modified English course for the Mining students. I have so much more empathy for English teachers now . I am reviled for the subject I teach! The tragedy is, all of the students need English comprehension skills more than ANYTHING else. Iain’s students are doing very well in math, but now that they are into science their marks are dropping, not becuase they can’t do the work but because they don’t comprehend the questions they are being asked. My class struggles with basic vocabulary and have limited to no comprehension skills when reading or writing. In a lot of cases it goes far beyond the struggles of English as a second language. I believe many of the students are struggling with learning disabilities that I can’t even begin to tackle. The last part of the battle is social. If the students won’t show up, or they show up late it is very, very hard to teach them anything.
I quickly realized that the material I had photocopied for the Mining students was going to be far too difficult for them to work through, so every night during the week I was prepping new quizes and assignments for them to tackle. It is very, very easy to get frustrated and dejected here - I’m not sure how Iain kept his positive attitude while he was here alone last year. If I didn’t have him to vent to I would be looking for my ticket home...perhaps that is why I was given a one way ticket up here? Hmmmmm...
Iain’s class is almost more of a struggle for me than my own is. At this point I know the limitations of my class and can modify the material for them and keep my fingers crossed that they learn enough to understand the remainder of the course materials. However, Iain’s class is another battle all together. Most of the Pre-Trades students are young, under 25, and it is a little bit like teaching a grade 11 hockey team how to write proper sentences. If I am lucky I’ll have half the class in their seats by 9:30am and the other half will show up around 10:20am. I’ll get the guys who arrive on time started on an inclass assignment and keep my fingers crossed that everyone is in class by the time break is over so I can give my lecture to a full class rather than the two or three who show up on time.
One of Iain’s students, a smart young man who will do very well if he adjusts his attitude, decided he didn’t want to do the work I assigned him the first day so he started a staring contest with me as a method of intimidation. I found it unnerving, but also completely ridiculous so I began smiling at him. He blinked, soI laughed at him and told him he had lost which totally flustered him. As he stomped out of the classroom he told me I was cheating because I was smiling. I count it as a victory that since then he completes his work without complaint and shows up almost on time in the mornings.
By Friday both Iain and I were exhausted. We had no patience left and felt completely burnt out by the week. I almost missed the repetitive routine of Diavik. The amount of material to cover before Christmas seemed impossible. I can’t get my class to find words in a dictionary at this point - how will I get them through Safety and Mining methods? I was overjoyed at the thought of a long weekend to recuperate and get my head back into this game.
Not much was accomplished this weekend on the scholastic front. I got my marking done and reviewed some English texts I’m hoping to use in Iain’s class, but otherwise I completely avoiding thinking about anything College related. Instead I watched the grey skies tear across the tundra, I immersed myself in terrible, cliche television and browsed the internet when the connection would allow.
Iain and I are not totally allowing ourselves to become sloths. We left the hotel room at least once a day during the weekend. I purchased some beautiful red fabric for my amauti on a shopping excursion to Eskimo Point Lumber Supply. Iain and I went to the college on Sunday to set up the classrooms for First Aid and CPR which is happening this week and today I walked Iain to the airport to see him off to Rankin Inlet.
There is going to be a bit of an Instructor swapfor the next 5 days - Iain is heading to Rankin Inlet to teach math to an Oil Burner Mechanics class at the Trades Center and a Rankin Inlet instructor is coming here to teach First Aid, CPR and WHMIS to both of our classes. It is a nice treat for Iain and I, we’ll both have a little bit of free time to work on our own class prep and we’ll have a small break from our students. I will likely be called on to help the teacher here, there will be up to 20 students and a lot of them will require help to understand the finer points of First Aid and CPR. But, I won’t be the main act, instead I’ll get to watch a seasoned Adult Educator in action. Hopefully I’ll learn enough tricks in the next 5 days to keep me going for the next 2 months!
The only other item of note was Sunday night (Thanksgiving super). There are a number of construction crew members staying here at the hotel, and they are working on night shift so two ladies who are involved with the hotel offered to cook the guys a big Thanksgiving feast. They invited Iain and I but we already had an Arctic Char thawed and there wasn’t much on their menu that I could eat. About an hour before Iain and I were going to cook the fish we realized that there was no water. The tank for the entire hotel was dry. Instead of sending us water on Sunday they sent the sewage vac truck 3 times. I couldn’t help but point out to Iain that nothing goes into the sewage tank if there is NO WATER! The water tank was eventually filled, 24 hours later and only after the crew boss that is staying here flagged down the vac truck and had him radio the water truck for immediate delivery to Kivalliq Suites.
No water and a gorgeous fish feast just added to the Northern experience. It was one of the more memorable Thanksgivings I’ve had, although definitely not the most boisterous! I did miss family and friends this Thanksgiving.
So, here I am, preparing for week two at the College. I believe it will get better, if only because I now fully understand what I am getting myself into. Now that the initial shock and awe have worn off I can mentally bolster myself for the upcomming weeks. As Iain keeps reminding me, all we can do is keep trying and doing our best.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Arviat - Settled in and settled down
Greetings from the unseasonably warm and sunny Hamlet of Arviat!
I have been in town for a little under three weeks now and am beginning to get settled into the rhythm of community life. Iain and I have created a nice little nest in our snug hotel room and have enjoyed a few walks through the hamlet, orienting ourselves with landmarks and important sites (namely, the three stores in town!).
My first few weeks were spent prepping for taking over the Introduction to Mining course. Denise was teaching the first module which covered an introduction to exploration and mining and I had a great opportunity to meet my future students and observe Denise's tactics for instructing the class. I may suffer permanent brain damage from all the photocopier fumes I inhaled getting course materials ready, but the time I spent with Denise was invaluable. Having a chance to watch her instruct and interact with the class helped boost my confidence and gave me many ideas for things to do when I was on my own.
Denise jetted her way out of town last Thursday. Her last day, Wednesday, was the big FINAL EXAM for the guys. There were also a few trays of treats, some photos and some heartfelt goodbyes. The class was very sad to see her go, Denise had created an amazing repore with the guys - I won't deny I felt some trepidation when I imagined trying to fill her shoes!
Thursday morning I started everyone off with an 'Introduction to Mining through Erika's Work History'. For the first time in my life, my having moved jobs every 6 months paid off! I was able to show the guys pictures of exploration work, mine construction work and work at 2 developed mines (both underground and surface). Add to that my history working as an assistant to helicopter engineers and a heavy duty mechanics assistant and I had some serious credibility with the guys. It was a very good way to re-emphasize Denise's material, introduce myself and kill an hour of the morning. Whew...first hour was done! Only 2 1/2 months left...
The rest of the day was all about learning the student's strengths and weaknesses in class. There is a huge disparity between the students; some can read, others can write but no-one has anything near a grade 12 education. All of the students are ESL. In Arviat Inuktitut is the first language, with English a distant second. The education system in Arviat seems to be more interested in statistics (ie. graduating people from Grade 12 regardless of their abilities) than producing graduates who are ready for further education or employment. I'm not sure where the disconnect lies: is it the government, the school system, the social system, all of the above? Whatever the source of the problems, it will require a lot of effort and money to remedy. I hope that a positive impact from a booming mining industry will be an increased desire in the local people for a more effective education system. One that will allow them to pursue higher paying and more technical jobs in industry.
Friday was a short day. I am learning that my first and biggest challenge will be getting my students to class. Once I convince them they MUST show up EVERY DAY, the next challenge is getting them through the door on time. Both Denise and I emphasized repeatedly that employers do not look favorably on people who are late. Oh, and PLAYING ONLINE POKER UNTIL 3AM IS NOT A GOOD REASON FOR BEING LATE! But, once I get past the daily lectures on attendance I have to take into account other factors such as; ProD days, whether the social assistance checks are scheduled to come in, whether the cariboo herds are close to town, if there are a pod of beluga near the town, etc. On Friday there was a ProD day in all the schools in town, so most of my class had to take care of children in the afternoon. This meant it was a half day for my class; it is easier to schedule around these things than penalize the people who can't show up.
It was a great day for the guys to take advantage of an afternoon off - the sun was shining and the wind was calm. I figured it was also a great day for me to set up a field trip, so after the morning coffee break the entire class went down to the shore line to look for rocks for their geology class. We piled 10 guys and myself onto 3 quads (the class convinced me it was pure foolishness to walk when there were 3 perfectly good quads to transport us!) and zoomed off to the beach. I blissfully blanked out all of my "Safety First" training from Diavik...That section isn't taught for another 6 weeks!
It was quite amusing watching the guys 'prospecting'. I really got a good feel for their personalities...some of them wandered around aimlessly staring at the ground, some of them took their rock hammers and just beat the bejezzus out of random rocks, and some of them really got into the act of looking for something valuable; crouched down over stones, tapping away at different minerals and inspecting their finds with eagle eyes. I poked around myself and found a few nice examples of different rock types to take back to the school. After an hour I herded them all up and we headed back to the school. It was a fantastic way to ease the class and I together.
The week ended quietly for me. I spent the rest of friday prepping materials for my class and marking assignments then Iain and I went for a nice long walk around town in the evening soaking up the sunshine while we had the chance.
This weekend has been pretty mellow. The weather on Saturday was warm and bright, which was perfect as one of my students was getting married in the afternoon. Iain and I had been given an invitation to the festivities, which was very sweet of Billy, the groom. He was very excited about the big day, and the class couldn't help but tease him whenever the subject came up.
Iain and I puttered around the hotel, catching up on housework and class prep in the morning, then headed to the church in the afternoon. Unfortunately our prepping didn't include our camera's. Iain's camera had nothing but dead batteries and I couldn't turn the flash off mine for the service. So, we enjoyed the wedding but didn't take any photos.
I was pleasantly surprised by the informal air in the church. When Iain and I arrived people were still coming and going from the church, so we found a seat near the back and settled in to wait. The groom, Billy, was standing nervously at the front of the church and didn't once turn around to look at the crowd gathered behind him! Billy and the groomsmen were all very handsome in their dress shirts and pants and sealskin vests and ties. The bride wore a stunning gown I was told came from ebay and her bridesmaids were decked out in wonderful red or blue dresses. The rest of the people in the church wore day to day clothes...I saw pyjamas, exercise gear, blue-jeans, sweatpants, etc. There were more children in the church than adults and after the bride made her entrance half the attendees left to take care of children, have a smoke or to simply carry on with the rest of their day. Mothers changed diapers wherever they sat and children played tag up and down the aisle or hide and seek under chairs. It was hilarious, moving, wonderful and relaxed. The bride and groom (Crystal and Billy) looked stunned, nervous and happy throughout the event and had both their children in the wedding party. The youngest one spent half the ceremony sleeping on his grandmothers lap and the other half in his fathers lap. The entire service was in Inuktitut, but some things are universal and most of the time we knew what was being said...or at least the gist of it. We did not go to the reception after the service, instead we walked in the sunshine and worked on course materials from our hotel room.
Arviat has a few other charms for Iain and I. Across the street are a couple of wonderful puppies we have fallen in love with. For a time we were "borrowing" them whenever we needed something soft to cuddle...however the kids who owned them were getting a little upset with us, so I have given up the borrowing and hopes of adoption! The dogs' owner is a carver who has provided Iain with some beautiful sculptures...Iain should have a wonderful collection by May.
Along with carvers and puppies I have found the supplies I needed to start working on my moccassins again. There are wonderful furs here in town as well as leather sewing supplies and beading supplies. There is also a store across from the hotel that features beautiful work by local seamstresses. I am hoping to have an Amauti made for me before I leave. The Amauti is a jacket that is worn by women in Arviat, it is a local design quite unique to this region. I think the style is quite beautiful and hope to have a simple one made for myself that I can wear in the north or the south.
So, that is all for now. Hopefully I'll have more stories and adventures to regale you with next week!
Cariboo hide being dried outside hunters home
I have been in town for a little under three weeks now and am beginning to get settled into the rhythm of community life. Iain and I have created a nice little nest in our snug hotel room and have enjoyed a few walks through the hamlet, orienting ourselves with landmarks and important sites (namely, the three stores in town!).
My first few weeks were spent prepping for taking over the Introduction to Mining course. Denise was teaching the first module which covered an introduction to exploration and mining and I had a great opportunity to meet my future students and observe Denise's tactics for instructing the class. I may suffer permanent brain damage from all the photocopier fumes I inhaled getting course materials ready, but the time I spent with Denise was invaluable. Having a chance to watch her instruct and interact with the class helped boost my confidence and gave me many ideas for things to do when I was on my own.
Denise jetted her way out of town last Thursday. Her last day, Wednesday, was the big FINAL EXAM for the guys. There were also a few trays of treats, some photos and some heartfelt goodbyes. The class was very sad to see her go, Denise had created an amazing repore with the guys - I won't deny I felt some trepidation when I imagined trying to fill her shoes!
Thursday morning I started everyone off with an 'Introduction to Mining through Erika's Work History'. For the first time in my life, my having moved jobs every 6 months paid off! I was able to show the guys pictures of exploration work, mine construction work and work at 2 developed mines (both underground and surface). Add to that my history working as an assistant to helicopter engineers and a heavy duty mechanics assistant and I had some serious credibility with the guys. It was a very good way to re-emphasize Denise's material, introduce myself and kill an hour of the morning. Whew...first hour was done! Only 2 1/2 months left...
The rest of the day was all about learning the student's strengths and weaknesses in class. There is a huge disparity between the students; some can read, others can write but no-one has anything near a grade 12 education. All of the students are ESL. In Arviat Inuktitut is the first language, with English a distant second. The education system in Arviat seems to be more interested in statistics (ie. graduating people from Grade 12 regardless of their abilities) than producing graduates who are ready for further education or employment. I'm not sure where the disconnect lies: is it the government, the school system, the social system, all of the above? Whatever the source of the problems, it will require a lot of effort and money to remedy. I hope that a positive impact from a booming mining industry will be an increased desire in the local people for a more effective education system. One that will allow them to pursue higher paying and more technical jobs in industry.
Friday was a short day. I am learning that my first and biggest challenge will be getting my students to class. Once I convince them they MUST show up EVERY DAY, the next challenge is getting them through the door on time. Both Denise and I emphasized repeatedly that employers do not look favorably on people who are late. Oh, and PLAYING ONLINE POKER UNTIL 3AM IS NOT A GOOD REASON FOR BEING LATE! But, once I get past the daily lectures on attendance I have to take into account other factors such as; ProD days, whether the social assistance checks are scheduled to come in, whether the cariboo herds are close to town, if there are a pod of beluga near the town, etc. On Friday there was a ProD day in all the schools in town, so most of my class had to take care of children in the afternoon. This meant it was a half day for my class; it is easier to schedule around these things than penalize the people who can't show up.
It was a great day for the guys to take advantage of an afternoon off - the sun was shining and the wind was calm. I figured it was also a great day for me to set up a field trip, so after the morning coffee break the entire class went down to the shore line to look for rocks for their geology class. We piled 10 guys and myself onto 3 quads (the class convinced me it was pure foolishness to walk when there were 3 perfectly good quads to transport us!) and zoomed off to the beach. I blissfully blanked out all of my "Safety First" training from Diavik...That section isn't taught for another 6 weeks!
It was quite amusing watching the guys 'prospecting'. I really got a good feel for their personalities...some of them wandered around aimlessly staring at the ground, some of them took their rock hammers and just beat the bejezzus out of random rocks, and some of them really got into the act of looking for something valuable; crouched down over stones, tapping away at different minerals and inspecting their finds with eagle eyes. I poked around myself and found a few nice examples of different rock types to take back to the school. After an hour I herded them all up and we headed back to the school. It was a fantastic way to ease the class and I together.
The week ended quietly for me. I spent the rest of friday prepping materials for my class and marking assignments then Iain and I went for a nice long walk around town in the evening soaking up the sunshine while we had the chance.
This weekend has been pretty mellow. The weather on Saturday was warm and bright, which was perfect as one of my students was getting married in the afternoon. Iain and I had been given an invitation to the festivities, which was very sweet of Billy, the groom. He was very excited about the big day, and the class couldn't help but tease him whenever the subject came up.
Iain and I puttered around the hotel, catching up on housework and class prep in the morning, then headed to the church in the afternoon. Unfortunately our prepping didn't include our camera's. Iain's camera had nothing but dead batteries and I couldn't turn the flash off mine for the service. So, we enjoyed the wedding but didn't take any photos.
I was pleasantly surprised by the informal air in the church. When Iain and I arrived people were still coming and going from the church, so we found a seat near the back and settled in to wait. The groom, Billy, was standing nervously at the front of the church and didn't once turn around to look at the crowd gathered behind him! Billy and the groomsmen were all very handsome in their dress shirts and pants and sealskin vests and ties. The bride wore a stunning gown I was told came from ebay and her bridesmaids were decked out in wonderful red or blue dresses. The rest of the people in the church wore day to day clothes...I saw pyjamas, exercise gear, blue-jeans, sweatpants, etc. There were more children in the church than adults and after the bride made her entrance half the attendees left to take care of children, have a smoke or to simply carry on with the rest of their day. Mothers changed diapers wherever they sat and children played tag up and down the aisle or hide and seek under chairs. It was hilarious, moving, wonderful and relaxed. The bride and groom (Crystal and Billy) looked stunned, nervous and happy throughout the event and had both their children in the wedding party. The youngest one spent half the ceremony sleeping on his grandmothers lap and the other half in his fathers lap. The entire service was in Inuktitut, but some things are universal and most of the time we knew what was being said...or at least the gist of it. We did not go to the reception after the service, instead we walked in the sunshine and worked on course materials from our hotel room.
Arviat has a few other charms for Iain and I. Across the street are a couple of wonderful puppies we have fallen in love with. For a time we were "borrowing" them whenever we needed something soft to cuddle...however the kids who owned them were getting a little upset with us, so I have given up the borrowing and hopes of adoption! The dogs' owner is a carver who has provided Iain with some beautiful sculptures...Iain should have a wonderful collection by May.
Along with carvers and puppies I have found the supplies I needed to start working on my moccassins again. There are wonderful furs here in town as well as leather sewing supplies and beading supplies. There is also a store across from the hotel that features beautiful work by local seamstresses. I am hoping to have an Amauti made for me before I leave. The Amauti is a jacket that is worn by women in Arviat, it is a local design quite unique to this region. I think the style is quite beautiful and hope to have a simple one made for myself that I can wear in the north or the south.
So, that is all for now. Hopefully I'll have more stories and adventures to regale you with next week!
Cariboo hide being dried outside hunters home
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Hello all!
Well, I thought I'd fill you all in on my summer and now fall antics. I didn't do nearly as much relaxing as I was hoping for this summer, which is fine since I didn't really deserve it! I will say that after nearly 8 months of not working getting back onto a regular schedule was very hard, but I appreciated it.
Iain and I arrived back on the beautiful BC coast in mid-June and after a brief stay in West Vancouver with Iain's parents we headed for Mayne Island with the intention of staying there for the rest of the summer. It didn't turn out quite as expected, but when does life ever? Initially we set up my little cabin with a work station for Iain and I and set Mom and Ted's house up with wireless internet so we could all be connected to the rest of the world. Iain had another contract with the Nunavut Arctic College to create and modify course matierials for various programs, so he needed to be set up with all his research and writing tools. I was planning on helping out with small sections of the course but intended to spend most of the summer visiting family and possibly taking a course of my own.
Iain definitely worked while he was on Mayne, however it was mostly on handy-man projects around my cabin, Mom and Ted's house and Nan and Papa's place while he was there housesitting. I guess as we get older some things don't change...I remember when I was in school and there was an exam coming up my room would get very, very clean. That's the way it was for Iain and his contract! It was wonderful for me, my cabin finally has water running to it and all the doors and windows have their trim finished. The best part of it was he showed me what he was doing as we went along, so now I have a much better idea of how to put together pipe for a sink and make a proper 45 degree cut.
At the end of June I drove with Nanny and Papa to Drayton Valley to visit Dad and Elaine and Tom and Irene and the kids. I got to see Trina while I was there and had a wonderful visit with everyone. The weather was great and I enjoyed some great gluten free hot-dog roasts and a lot of catching up. I had really missed family while travelling and it was wonderful to be surrounded by it again! Iain stayed on Mayne while we were all in Drayton and had a blast farm sitting...I forsee chickens in our future, but he got fairly exasperated by the sheep and their stupidity! Everything was still running smoothly when Uncle Norm arrived on Mayne to take over so he must have done a good job. I headed back to Mayne on the 6th of July and Iain and I relocated to West Vancouver on the 12th.
While we were in New Zealand I had heard about a program offered in North Vancouver called the Compass Program which is a holistic Career Planning program. In the few days Iain and I had been in Vancouver when we first arrived home I dove into researching the program and how to get into it. As it turned out I had to jump through a few hoops and pass three interviews but I was accepted for a program start of July 19th which is why Iain and I left the cozy cabin and headed back to the big city. It worked well for Iain because there were fewer handy-man projects for him in Vancouver and a dedicated office he could work in.
Shortly after my program started Iain's brother Andrew and his family arrived from Denver for their annual visit. I have always thought of Iain's parents house in West Van as a LARGE home...however, with 6 adults a 10 year old and a two year-old it became a very small home. I enjoyed spending most of my days at class and visiting in the evenings and weekends with Andrew, Whitney and the kids.
My program was as wonderful as I had hoped for. The Compass Center accepts 16 applicants every 4 weeks to participate in it's Implicit Career Search program. The program itself was created about 10 years ago with the goal of helping people find out what type of work they will find the most satisfying and then helping them obtain work in that field. The idea being that satisfied people will work harder and stay in their job longer if they are enjoying what they do on a fundamental level. I found that it took all the hokey 'self help' b.s. and made it practical and applicable to real people. In the course of a month I made 15 amazing friends with people from all walks of life and all different backgrounds and had 4 instructors who were approachable and understandable. Best of all it was not a bunch of rainbow dyed, hemp wearing, birkenstocks and socks types. It was teachers and counsellors and engineers and business people. The cherry on top was I have a much better sense of what type of work I want to pursue in the future.
I don't think I can easily explain the course to anyone - it was a 'had to be there' experience. What it felt like was a total deconstruction of all the preconceived ideas I had about myself and how I relate to people, followed by a stronger reconstruction. I feel like my foundation has been strengthened. My ability to make decisions based on what I want and not what I think others want is stronger. Funny how I had to go to a career finding course to start sorting out my personal challenges.
Half way through the course Iain told me that I had a teaching job in Arviat in September if I wanted it. Iain has been working alongside another consultant for the past year and her business has picked up considerably this year. She had originally said she would be able to teach a full 4 month program, but had to back out at the last minute. Her and Iain suggested me as an alternate to the College and they accepted. It was an excellent opportunity for me for two reasons - first because I was going to have a job and second because teaching was one of the career areas I was supposed to be very suited for. Of course, I said yes to the job!
The rest of the summer passed quickly. My 30th birthday was quiet and wonderful. Iain took me rock climbing in Horseshoe Bay and then to a stunning restaurant (The Salmon House) where we had gourmet 5 star food overlooking all of Vancouver. I also enjoyed a birthday afternoon with Nanny J, Mom and Shelley in Tsawassen. Once the Compass program ended for me I did some visiting on Mayne (unfortunately I missed Irene and the kids while they were down), I spent an evening with Laurie, Richard and Kyle in their snazzy RV, Iain and I started planning for living in the North for a year (lots of shopping for bulk food) and I started seriously planning for my hike on the North Coast trail. I had agreed to hike the trail before Iain and I left for New Zealand. Iain wasn't going to be able to come as he had to head North earlier than me, so I was going to hit the trail with two guys from Diavik that I had worked with on the Mine Rescue Team.
I said to goodbye to Iain on August 28th and headed to Nanaimo to meet up with Kelsey and Curtis. We had a late start because Curtis didn't have a tent and we had to do some last minute shopping on our way to Port Hardy. Originally we were going to be hiking with 7 people, but over time the number dropped and the guy Curtis was sharing a tent with punked out last minute due to a lung infection (pansy!). So, we grabbed the tent, loaded our gear into the jeep and headed up island.
We arrived in Port Hardy in the brilliant afternoon sunshine, found our campsite and settled in for the night. We chose the camp because of the 'Wolf Talk' they were hosting that night - complete with a live wolf! It turns out it was a guy with a wolf-dog who likes to introduce people to the realities of owning such an animal. Tundra was a beautiful wolf-dog. She looked exactly like the wild wolves I've seen, the owner figures she's about 90% wolf. After the wolf talk we roasted steaks on sticks for dinner (very 'Lord of the Flies') and lamented the gear the guys left behind. Kelsey forgot our water filter and Curtis forgot his warm fleece jacket. I was quite smug because I didn't forget anything AND I had packed a spare water filter (thank God!). Our water taxi to the trail head left at 8am the next day so at 7:30am Curtis was spending WAY too much money on a jacket at one of the local hotels, just so he would have something warm to hike in!
Otherwise our first day was successful and relatively uneventful. The water taxi trip was beatiful - the rugged BC coastline is entrancing anywhere you go and knowing I was heading into relatively unknown territory added to the joy of the trip. We started the hike with a big climb up and spent most of the rest of the day climbing up and down gullies. Unlike Stewart Island in NZ the NCT has ropes to help with the climbs, but the roots and the mud were very much like Stewart Island. The trail is stunning; huge old growth forests, rocky coastline, sand and pebble beaches littered with driftwood and the stunted firs and cedars that stand sentry between the water and the land. I enjoyed every aching, muddy minute of the hike!
We had a few mishaps which shortened our hike considerably. We had originally planned on a 7 day hike that would take us from Shushartie Bay to the Cape Scott lighthouse and then out to the parking lot. But I lost my big toenail while collecting water in my sandals on the first night (it HURT!), I also started to get a wicked chest cold on the third day due to a wet night and day of hiking. On the night of day 3 Kelsey overheated his boots while drying them near the fire and the rubber shrank, so hiking on day 4 the sole of his boot ripped off. He tried to repair them with some glue he had in a repair kit, but they couldn't survive the mud. So, we skipped the day trip to Cape Scott and spend night number four at a pristine, white sand beach 15kms from the parking lot and finished the trail on the morning of day 5. We were proud of ourselves, 58km in 5 days! When we arrived at the parking lot we hitched a ride to Port Hardy with a lovely, older German couple who didn't mind our mud or smell!
I recuperated from the hike on Mayne and finished my preparations to head to Arviat on September 14th.
I will never tease people from Saskatchewan again for being flat-landers. Saskabush has NOTHING on the lands north of the tree line. It is FLAT here, occasionally there is an esker to create some topography but for the most part it's water, wind and shrubs that maybe reach my knee if I'm being generous. Flying up from Churchill I was amazed by the landscape below the plane. I was not prepared for the volume of water here. Flying from Edmonton to Norman Wells you see a lot of lakes and ponds, but there seems to be containment there. Here, there is simply standing water EVERYWHERE. It's like a million square kilometers of flood plains.
When I got off the plane the wind was whipping across the town straight off the Hudson's Bay and down my throat. I didn't expect the tang of salt on the wind, it was a moment of dislocation: my eyes saw the north and my nose smelled BC. I fell in love with the place with one deep breath. All I need is a few mountains for it to be perfect! Oh, and affordable produce!
Iain and I are living in Katimivik Suites, a hotel near the edge of town. Of course, everything here is near the edge of town! We are about a 3 minute walk to the Community Learning Centere which is where we are teaching. Five minutes brings us to the Northern Store or the Co-op and 6 minutes brings us to the Hudsons Bay. Denise (the woman I will be taking over from next week) and I went for a walk around town the first full day I was here and I had a chance to find a few important places - the Community Center, the Nursing Station, the Police Detachment, the barge dock and all the stores. We had a chance to see the barge being offloaded (we weren't the only looky-lous, apparently it was supposed to arrive in July so everyone was justifiably excited to see it). While walking we met numerous puppies ranging in age from 1 day old to 3 months or so...it will be very hard to resist bringing one home! I also got to see fresh muktuk (whale blubber, this particular muktuk was from a baby beluga we found out later, the skin was grey instead of white indicating a young whale), a whale skeleton and countless cariboo hides being dried around peoples homes.
There is quite a unique blend of traditional and modern here. Most people in Arviat speak Inuktitut with rudimentary english, as compared to places south and west of here where the language has almost died out. Most people still spend considerable time on the land hunting and fishing but live in wooden cabins rather than tents. There are many of the same problems here that I've seen in other communities - alcohol, drugs, physical and sexual abuse and suicides. The town goes crazy when the social assistance checks come in and we have been warned not to expect most of our students on the days following. We have already had one incident where most of our students were all standing outside and a woman walking by with her child began screaming at one student in inuktitut ending the tirade with "Rapist! Rapist!". It was shocking and something I was unprepared for, so I stood there like a manequin while Iain grabbed the student and got him inside until the woman had walked on. Apparently this is something I can expect more of.
My class is a good bunch of guys. There are some serious issues with personal hygiene in the group and they are learning at something closer to a grade 7 level than grade 12 but the ones that are sticking around are dedicated to getting work which makes them fairly dedicated students. I'm still pretty nervous about facing them all by myself but I'm looking forward to it as well.
This weekend is all about prep for Iain and I. There are still a lot of course materials I need to get together - some which are missing entirely and Iain has a few things to write and prep for both his class and mine. We took some time off this afternoon however to join a local woman and her family out at her cabin on a local lake. Linda's cabin is a beautiful, cozy place perched on the edge of an esker with a view out over the land. She invited us out for a picnic lunch and cranberry picking.
We drove out along the rocky, rutted road enjoying the ever expanding horizon. Cabins dotted the landscape in every direction we looked, some simple constructions of plywood walls and a door, others with multiple rooms and drying rack sheds. All of the cabins showed signs of love and frequent use, I would love to have a place like that to head out to.
I was dubious about the potential for cranberries out here. I had completely forgotten about picking berries on the tundra...not all cranberry bushes are bushes! When we arrived at Linda's cabin and the fire was lit Iain, Denise and I wandered down the side of the esker towards the lake and as I strolled I looked down and realized I was crushing huge numbers of berries as I walked. They were EVERYWHERE and the berries were fat and juicy. We filled 3 baggies in a half hour or so and I had to stop because my hands were numb from the howling wind. Inside, the cabin was toasty warm and there was a feast of bbq chicken, fresh bannock, steamed veggies and salad. Denise supplied the jam for the bannock and oranges for desert. It was a wonderful afternoon and I felt blessed to be invited into Linda's home, doubly so for a chance to get out onto the land and see something besides the tiny Hamlet of Arviat.
So, that brings me up to date and to tonight. I'm enjoying a plateful of Iain's wonderful Sheppherds Pie, waiting for some yummy homemade yogurt to set and looking forward to finishing sewing the thick fox-fur on my parka. So, I'm once again settling into life in the North and looking forward to what a new week will bring!
More adventures to follow.
Well, I thought I'd fill you all in on my summer and now fall antics. I didn't do nearly as much relaxing as I was hoping for this summer, which is fine since I didn't really deserve it! I will say that after nearly 8 months of not working getting back onto a regular schedule was very hard, but I appreciated it.
Iain and I arrived back on the beautiful BC coast in mid-June and after a brief stay in West Vancouver with Iain's parents we headed for Mayne Island with the intention of staying there for the rest of the summer. It didn't turn out quite as expected, but when does life ever? Initially we set up my little cabin with a work station for Iain and I and set Mom and Ted's house up with wireless internet so we could all be connected to the rest of the world. Iain had another contract with the Nunavut Arctic College to create and modify course matierials for various programs, so he needed to be set up with all his research and writing tools. I was planning on helping out with small sections of the course but intended to spend most of the summer visiting family and possibly taking a course of my own.
Iain definitely worked while he was on Mayne, however it was mostly on handy-man projects around my cabin, Mom and Ted's house and Nan and Papa's place while he was there housesitting. I guess as we get older some things don't change...I remember when I was in school and there was an exam coming up my room would get very, very clean. That's the way it was for Iain and his contract! It was wonderful for me, my cabin finally has water running to it and all the doors and windows have their trim finished. The best part of it was he showed me what he was doing as we went along, so now I have a much better idea of how to put together pipe for a sink and make a proper 45 degree cut.
At the end of June I drove with Nanny and Papa to Drayton Valley to visit Dad and Elaine and Tom and Irene and the kids. I got to see Trina while I was there and had a wonderful visit with everyone. The weather was great and I enjoyed some great gluten free hot-dog roasts and a lot of catching up. I had really missed family while travelling and it was wonderful to be surrounded by it again! Iain stayed on Mayne while we were all in Drayton and had a blast farm sitting...I forsee chickens in our future, but he got fairly exasperated by the sheep and their stupidity! Everything was still running smoothly when Uncle Norm arrived on Mayne to take over so he must have done a good job. I headed back to Mayne on the 6th of July and Iain and I relocated to West Vancouver on the 12th.
While we were in New Zealand I had heard about a program offered in North Vancouver called the Compass Program which is a holistic Career Planning program. In the few days Iain and I had been in Vancouver when we first arrived home I dove into researching the program and how to get into it. As it turned out I had to jump through a few hoops and pass three interviews but I was accepted for a program start of July 19th which is why Iain and I left the cozy cabin and headed back to the big city. It worked well for Iain because there were fewer handy-man projects for him in Vancouver and a dedicated office he could work in.
Shortly after my program started Iain's brother Andrew and his family arrived from Denver for their annual visit. I have always thought of Iain's parents house in West Van as a LARGE home...however, with 6 adults a 10 year old and a two year-old it became a very small home. I enjoyed spending most of my days at class and visiting in the evenings and weekends with Andrew, Whitney and the kids.
My program was as wonderful as I had hoped for. The Compass Center accepts 16 applicants every 4 weeks to participate in it's Implicit Career Search program. The program itself was created about 10 years ago with the goal of helping people find out what type of work they will find the most satisfying and then helping them obtain work in that field. The idea being that satisfied people will work harder and stay in their job longer if they are enjoying what they do on a fundamental level. I found that it took all the hokey 'self help' b.s. and made it practical and applicable to real people. In the course of a month I made 15 amazing friends with people from all walks of life and all different backgrounds and had 4 instructors who were approachable and understandable. Best of all it was not a bunch of rainbow dyed, hemp wearing, birkenstocks and socks types. It was teachers and counsellors and engineers and business people. The cherry on top was I have a much better sense of what type of work I want to pursue in the future.
I don't think I can easily explain the course to anyone - it was a 'had to be there' experience. What it felt like was a total deconstruction of all the preconceived ideas I had about myself and how I relate to people, followed by a stronger reconstruction. I feel like my foundation has been strengthened. My ability to make decisions based on what I want and not what I think others want is stronger. Funny how I had to go to a career finding course to start sorting out my personal challenges.
Half way through the course Iain told me that I had a teaching job in Arviat in September if I wanted it. Iain has been working alongside another consultant for the past year and her business has picked up considerably this year. She had originally said she would be able to teach a full 4 month program, but had to back out at the last minute. Her and Iain suggested me as an alternate to the College and they accepted. It was an excellent opportunity for me for two reasons - first because I was going to have a job and second because teaching was one of the career areas I was supposed to be very suited for. Of course, I said yes to the job!
The rest of the summer passed quickly. My 30th birthday was quiet and wonderful. Iain took me rock climbing in Horseshoe Bay and then to a stunning restaurant (The Salmon House) where we had gourmet 5 star food overlooking all of Vancouver. I also enjoyed a birthday afternoon with Nanny J, Mom and Shelley in Tsawassen. Once the Compass program ended for me I did some visiting on Mayne (unfortunately I missed Irene and the kids while they were down), I spent an evening with Laurie, Richard and Kyle in their snazzy RV, Iain and I started planning for living in the North for a year (lots of shopping for bulk food) and I started seriously planning for my hike on the North Coast trail. I had agreed to hike the trail before Iain and I left for New Zealand. Iain wasn't going to be able to come as he had to head North earlier than me, so I was going to hit the trail with two guys from Diavik that I had worked with on the Mine Rescue Team.
I said to goodbye to Iain on August 28th and headed to Nanaimo to meet up with Kelsey and Curtis. We had a late start because Curtis didn't have a tent and we had to do some last minute shopping on our way to Port Hardy. Originally we were going to be hiking with 7 people, but over time the number dropped and the guy Curtis was sharing a tent with punked out last minute due to a lung infection (pansy!). So, we grabbed the tent, loaded our gear into the jeep and headed up island.
We arrived in Port Hardy in the brilliant afternoon sunshine, found our campsite and settled in for the night. We chose the camp because of the 'Wolf Talk' they were hosting that night - complete with a live wolf! It turns out it was a guy with a wolf-dog who likes to introduce people to the realities of owning such an animal. Tundra was a beautiful wolf-dog. She looked exactly like the wild wolves I've seen, the owner figures she's about 90% wolf. After the wolf talk we roasted steaks on sticks for dinner (very 'Lord of the Flies') and lamented the gear the guys left behind. Kelsey forgot our water filter and Curtis forgot his warm fleece jacket. I was quite smug because I didn't forget anything AND I had packed a spare water filter (thank God!). Our water taxi to the trail head left at 8am the next day so at 7:30am Curtis was spending WAY too much money on a jacket at one of the local hotels, just so he would have something warm to hike in!
Otherwise our first day was successful and relatively uneventful. The water taxi trip was beatiful - the rugged BC coastline is entrancing anywhere you go and knowing I was heading into relatively unknown territory added to the joy of the trip. We started the hike with a big climb up and spent most of the rest of the day climbing up and down gullies. Unlike Stewart Island in NZ the NCT has ropes to help with the climbs, but the roots and the mud were very much like Stewart Island. The trail is stunning; huge old growth forests, rocky coastline, sand and pebble beaches littered with driftwood and the stunted firs and cedars that stand sentry between the water and the land. I enjoyed every aching, muddy minute of the hike!
We had a few mishaps which shortened our hike considerably. We had originally planned on a 7 day hike that would take us from Shushartie Bay to the Cape Scott lighthouse and then out to the parking lot. But I lost my big toenail while collecting water in my sandals on the first night (it HURT!), I also started to get a wicked chest cold on the third day due to a wet night and day of hiking. On the night of day 3 Kelsey overheated his boots while drying them near the fire and the rubber shrank, so hiking on day 4 the sole of his boot ripped off. He tried to repair them with some glue he had in a repair kit, but they couldn't survive the mud. So, we skipped the day trip to Cape Scott and spend night number four at a pristine, white sand beach 15kms from the parking lot and finished the trail on the morning of day 5. We were proud of ourselves, 58km in 5 days! When we arrived at the parking lot we hitched a ride to Port Hardy with a lovely, older German couple who didn't mind our mud or smell!
I recuperated from the hike on Mayne and finished my preparations to head to Arviat on September 14th.
I will never tease people from Saskatchewan again for being flat-landers. Saskabush has NOTHING on the lands north of the tree line. It is FLAT here, occasionally there is an esker to create some topography but for the most part it's water, wind and shrubs that maybe reach my knee if I'm being generous. Flying up from Churchill I was amazed by the landscape below the plane. I was not prepared for the volume of water here. Flying from Edmonton to Norman Wells you see a lot of lakes and ponds, but there seems to be containment there. Here, there is simply standing water EVERYWHERE. It's like a million square kilometers of flood plains.
When I got off the plane the wind was whipping across the town straight off the Hudson's Bay and down my throat. I didn't expect the tang of salt on the wind, it was a moment of dislocation: my eyes saw the north and my nose smelled BC. I fell in love with the place with one deep breath. All I need is a few mountains for it to be perfect! Oh, and affordable produce!
Iain and I are living in Katimivik Suites, a hotel near the edge of town. Of course, everything here is near the edge of town! We are about a 3 minute walk to the Community Learning Centere which is where we are teaching. Five minutes brings us to the Northern Store or the Co-op and 6 minutes brings us to the Hudsons Bay. Denise (the woman I will be taking over from next week) and I went for a walk around town the first full day I was here and I had a chance to find a few important places - the Community Center, the Nursing Station, the Police Detachment, the barge dock and all the stores. We had a chance to see the barge being offloaded (we weren't the only looky-lous, apparently it was supposed to arrive in July so everyone was justifiably excited to see it). While walking we met numerous puppies ranging in age from 1 day old to 3 months or so...it will be very hard to resist bringing one home! I also got to see fresh muktuk (whale blubber, this particular muktuk was from a baby beluga we found out later, the skin was grey instead of white indicating a young whale), a whale skeleton and countless cariboo hides being dried around peoples homes.
There is quite a unique blend of traditional and modern here. Most people in Arviat speak Inuktitut with rudimentary english, as compared to places south and west of here where the language has almost died out. Most people still spend considerable time on the land hunting and fishing but live in wooden cabins rather than tents. There are many of the same problems here that I've seen in other communities - alcohol, drugs, physical and sexual abuse and suicides. The town goes crazy when the social assistance checks come in and we have been warned not to expect most of our students on the days following. We have already had one incident where most of our students were all standing outside and a woman walking by with her child began screaming at one student in inuktitut ending the tirade with "Rapist! Rapist!". It was shocking and something I was unprepared for, so I stood there like a manequin while Iain grabbed the student and got him inside until the woman had walked on. Apparently this is something I can expect more of.
My class is a good bunch of guys. There are some serious issues with personal hygiene in the group and they are learning at something closer to a grade 7 level than grade 12 but the ones that are sticking around are dedicated to getting work which makes them fairly dedicated students. I'm still pretty nervous about facing them all by myself but I'm looking forward to it as well.
This weekend is all about prep for Iain and I. There are still a lot of course materials I need to get together - some which are missing entirely and Iain has a few things to write and prep for both his class and mine. We took some time off this afternoon however to join a local woman and her family out at her cabin on a local lake. Linda's cabin is a beautiful, cozy place perched on the edge of an esker with a view out over the land. She invited us out for a picnic lunch and cranberry picking.
We drove out along the rocky, rutted road enjoying the ever expanding horizon. Cabins dotted the landscape in every direction we looked, some simple constructions of plywood walls and a door, others with multiple rooms and drying rack sheds. All of the cabins showed signs of love and frequent use, I would love to have a place like that to head out to.
I was dubious about the potential for cranberries out here. I had completely forgotten about picking berries on the tundra...not all cranberry bushes are bushes! When we arrived at Linda's cabin and the fire was lit Iain, Denise and I wandered down the side of the esker towards the lake and as I strolled I looked down and realized I was crushing huge numbers of berries as I walked. They were EVERYWHERE and the berries were fat and juicy. We filled 3 baggies in a half hour or so and I had to stop because my hands were numb from the howling wind. Inside, the cabin was toasty warm and there was a feast of bbq chicken, fresh bannock, steamed veggies and salad. Denise supplied the jam for the bannock and oranges for desert. It was a wonderful afternoon and I felt blessed to be invited into Linda's home, doubly so for a chance to get out onto the land and see something besides the tiny Hamlet of Arviat.
So, that brings me up to date and to tonight. I'm enjoying a plateful of Iain's wonderful Sheppherds Pie, waiting for some yummy homemade yogurt to set and looking forward to finishing sewing the thick fox-fur on my parka. So, I'm once again settling into life in the North and looking forward to what a new week will bring!
More adventures to follow.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Atsumi Healing Retreat
On day 10 we transferred from Karon beach to the Atsumi Healing Retreat. I had chosen the upscale rooms for us so Iain would have a nice place to work while I was doing my cleansing program. I was also looking forward to the coolness of air conditioning while I was suffering the effects of starvation.
The room was nice and airy with lots of space and decent television. We were walking distance from a 7-11 for Iain to pick up 'safe' food while he recovered from the intestinal bug and there was a pool outside for us when the weather got too hot for anything else.
Atsumi is located in the Rawaii region about 10 minutes from Nai Harn beach. It is a quiet area, quite pretty and without the rampant commercialism that prevails in the other coastal areas of Phuket. The Atsumi folks had left me a salad in the refrigerator and I savored every bite the evening before my fast was to begin! Then Iain and I went out exploring before crashing for the night.
My first morning started at 7am. I staggered around the room then headed over to the main resort center for our morning activity - hill walking. Every morning and evening Atsumi organized activities for it's guests. Attendance was voluntary but encouraged. Some things, like the hill climb, were meant to get you active and out of the cleansing depression that many people slip into. Other activities were for information, like how to properly break your fast or the lecture on why fasting is beneficial. I participated most mornings but most days I was feeling too ill or tired in the afternoon to enjoy the activities.
The first day started really well. The hill climb was easy, we walked up the gentle slope to the lookout point over Nai Harn beach. The view was wonderful, the air was cool that early in the morning and I had a chance to meet some of my fellow fasters who were all very interesting people. After our morning activity we had the morning meeting where each person was given their daily schedule and we asked our questions for the day. Then the newbies were given their orientations...this is where we learned how to do a proper colonic (or colema). I won't give any details on the colonics, only that it was a humbling experience, in no way scary or painful.
Aside from our twice daily colonics we had four lots of herbs and nutritional supplements to take daily as well as four psyllium and bentonite clay 'shakes'. We were told to drink as much water as we could, and we could drink the water from two coconuts daily. The most difficult part for me was the daily liver cleanse drink. It was a mix of lime juice, crushed garlic and olive oil and although it tasted good (like Cesar salad dressing) it was awful to be burping up raw garlic for hours and hours with nothing going into the system to cut the taste. In the evening we had our only 'real' food, a small thermos of vegetable broth sans vegetables. It felt like a substantial meal with so little going into the system and I was lucky to enjoy the taste. Aside from the food aspect of fasting we also enjoyed a daily massage (a choice of thai, full body oil, foot, neck and shoulders or thaiatsu) and daily herbal saunas with ginger lemon tea. As long as you could relax and ignore your stomach, it was a wonderfully relaxing regimen!
I got violently sick the first night. The lingering garlic in my stomach and an attempt at belly dancing did me in. I was fully demoralized when I staggered back to the room at 7:30pm. I was ready to stuff my face and give up on the ridiculous fasting idea I had decided to pursue. Iain was my life-line that night. No matter how silly he thought some of the Atsumi program was he stood behind my choice to be there, 100%. He gave me the shoulder I needed that night and kept me motivated to stick with the program regardless of the awful garlic stench I was emitting!
The second day was the hardest physically of the 7 days I spent fasting. I felt nauseous all day and was sick again that night although not as badly as the previous night. However, once my initial wave of self doubt passed that first night, things never looked as bad, even though I felt worse. Happily by day three I was beginning to feel the first inklings of the euphoria people can experience while fasting. It is a feeling of power and lightness that comes with cleaning your system out and exerting your willpower successfully. By day 7 I was heartily sick of psyillium fiber but I felt like I could have easily finished a 14 day program.
Once again, while I was improving Iain was getting sick. He had been healthy for two days but after a trip to one of the night markets in Phuket Town he was attacked by the same type of intestinal bug that had bothered him previously. This time we took a trip into a recommended medical clinic just outside Phuket Town rather than rely on the travel medical kit we had brought from New Zealand. We saw the doctor who prescribed antibiotics and sent Iain in for some lab work. He reassured us that it was unlikely it was dangerous but to be extra careful with water and ice for the rest of our trip.
So, our seven days at Atsumi were as exciting for Iain as our first ten had been. I felt terrible that he wasn't getting to experience the joys of Thailand - no diving, no motor scooter rides, no sightseeing or island hopping. I was accomplishing something I had been looking forward to for months but I couldn't help him other than to offer support while he was suffering.
At the end of my fast he was finally starting to perk up but we decided not to island hop for our last three days and to instead spend the time in a hotel in Nai Harn beach. At the very least he would get to see a beautiful stretch of sand and water. So on June 9th we moved from our quiet haven to the All Seasons resort on Nai Harn beach. It proved to be a nice location with taxi's nearby, no hawkers and beautiful sunsets to enjoy.
On our first day at the All Seasons we had to run into Phuket Town for a second round of lab work and our final visit to Iain's doctor. While there we had our cab driver take us on a side trip up to the Big Buddha. The Buddha has been a work in progress for at least 3 years, it stands 43 meters tall and is over 20 meters wide at the base. It is a reinforced concrete structure covered in white marble tiles. As a fundraiser, the monks responsible for the temple have been selling tiles to devotees and tourists alike, once you pay the 300baht you sign the tile with your name and a message and it will be added to the lotus flower that the Buddha sits on. The main Buddha figure has been completed and only the base needs finishing now. It was a phenomenal sight to see - it is visible from anywhere on the southern half of the island and up close it appears to extend up towards the sun for miles. The detail work on the face and hands is phenomenal, it is a true labour of love for the Thai people.
Our second day in Nai Harn we went on a last minute souvenir buying spree in Karon and Kata beaches. We had finally acclimatized and enjoyed the walk from one town into the next. We bought items only when the sales people weren't pushy and searched out unique items we hadn't seen or been able to find before. It was a nice day and a quiet night.
Our third and last day in Nai Harn we went on a snorkeling trip to Raya Island. We had booked it at our hotel and were looking forward to a small tour group with a couple of different snorkeling options. It wasn't the diving Iain had hoped for, but it was very enjoyable none the less.
We left early in the morning and headed to Chalong Bay to hop on the speed boat that would take us to the island. There were only 7 of us on the trip and we made good time across the 1 meter swell to the island. We stopped in an empty cove near a big resort for the first snorkel. There were plenty of fish of many different varieties. There were also a lot of huge, scary jellyfish in the water. Iain and I made a circuit around the bay searching out different types of fish but I was disturbed by the lack of coral and bleaching and dying off of the coral that was there.
The second bay we stopped at was much the same as the first. There were huge schools of fish, from tiny flashing fingerling's to the bizarrely shaped needle fish. Once again there was very little coral and a lot of jellyfish, only this time there were smaller jellyfish and we were getting stung. I only lasted about 20 minutes in the water before I had to go back to the boat.
The troupe of us were then taken to the dock where we were offloaded to go have lunch in a tiny beach side restaurant. We staggered drunkenly down the floating dock that was the main access to the island during the off season. This time of year the powdery, white sand beach where the resorts and restaurant were located wa getting slammed by huge rolling waves. We made it off the dock and into the back of a glorified hay wagon attached to an ancient chugging tractor for the 10 minute trip across the island. We made our way slowly down sandy paths that wove through the coconut plantation and encroaching jungle. Little fires smoldered all around us where fallen coconuts and palm boughs were being burned by the locals.
The gateway to the beach was through a new resort development. The buildings likely replaced thatch huts that were torn down during the tsunami or in the wave of developments that happened when land was cheap following the disaster. Whatever the reason, the developments were huge but tasteful and there were still some of the original Thai gems clinging to the rocks on either side of the bay. We headed for one such restaurant and clambered over 'rustic' salvaged driftwood walkways into the much patched, character rich restaurant we were to enjoy lunch in.
The waves crashed onto the rocks and foamed up under the floorboards, to one side of the sprawling building was an enormous, live, sea eagle and to the other was a slightly smaller sea hawk. The two birds were big attractions during peak season, and they were very tolerant of the 7 of us snapping photos and oohing and ahhing over them. There were also four gorgeous little kittens playing just a short distance from our lunch table and a 1.5m monitor lizard made an appearance half way through the thai feast we were served for lunch. We chatted and ate leisurely, used the freshwater shower at the restaurant, photographed every furred, feathered or four-footed creature we saw and then climbed the staircase behind the restaurant to check out the view of the bay. It was the first time we had enjoyed a truly tropical view. The water was turquoise with clean, white foamy crests where the waves crashed into the shore. The beach looked like a strip of icing sugar and the jungle erupted from above the rocks on either side of the bay, dripping it's brilliant green foliage towards the sea. It was a perfect place to while away the hours body surfing and soaking up the tropical sunshine.
We were taken back to our boat in the late afternoon and enjoyed the 30 minute race across the water back to Phuket. We were delivered to our hotel before sunset and enjoyed a quiet walk around the area before heading in for dinner, then packing and an early sleep.
We were ready to go at 7am when the taxi came to deliver us to the airport. I have always loved Thailand and it was just as hard to say goodbye to Phuket this time as it has been in the past. We were leaving with funny stories, good memories, and the knowledge that we would soon be heading home to Canada.
The room was nice and airy with lots of space and decent television. We were walking distance from a 7-11 for Iain to pick up 'safe' food while he recovered from the intestinal bug and there was a pool outside for us when the weather got too hot for anything else.
Atsumi is located in the Rawaii region about 10 minutes from Nai Harn beach. It is a quiet area, quite pretty and without the rampant commercialism that prevails in the other coastal areas of Phuket. The Atsumi folks had left me a salad in the refrigerator and I savored every bite the evening before my fast was to begin! Then Iain and I went out exploring before crashing for the night.
My first morning started at 7am. I staggered around the room then headed over to the main resort center for our morning activity - hill walking. Every morning and evening Atsumi organized activities for it's guests. Attendance was voluntary but encouraged. Some things, like the hill climb, were meant to get you active and out of the cleansing depression that many people slip into. Other activities were for information, like how to properly break your fast or the lecture on why fasting is beneficial. I participated most mornings but most days I was feeling too ill or tired in the afternoon to enjoy the activities.
The first day started really well. The hill climb was easy, we walked up the gentle slope to the lookout point over Nai Harn beach. The view was wonderful, the air was cool that early in the morning and I had a chance to meet some of my fellow fasters who were all very interesting people. After our morning activity we had the morning meeting where each person was given their daily schedule and we asked our questions for the day. Then the newbies were given their orientations...this is where we learned how to do a proper colonic (or colema). I won't give any details on the colonics, only that it was a humbling experience, in no way scary or painful.
Aside from our twice daily colonics we had four lots of herbs and nutritional supplements to take daily as well as four psyllium and bentonite clay 'shakes'. We were told to drink as much water as we could, and we could drink the water from two coconuts daily. The most difficult part for me was the daily liver cleanse drink. It was a mix of lime juice, crushed garlic and olive oil and although it tasted good (like Cesar salad dressing) it was awful to be burping up raw garlic for hours and hours with nothing going into the system to cut the taste. In the evening we had our only 'real' food, a small thermos of vegetable broth sans vegetables. It felt like a substantial meal with so little going into the system and I was lucky to enjoy the taste. Aside from the food aspect of fasting we also enjoyed a daily massage (a choice of thai, full body oil, foot, neck and shoulders or thaiatsu) and daily herbal saunas with ginger lemon tea. As long as you could relax and ignore your stomach, it was a wonderfully relaxing regimen!
I got violently sick the first night. The lingering garlic in my stomach and an attempt at belly dancing did me in. I was fully demoralized when I staggered back to the room at 7:30pm. I was ready to stuff my face and give up on the ridiculous fasting idea I had decided to pursue. Iain was my life-line that night. No matter how silly he thought some of the Atsumi program was he stood behind my choice to be there, 100%. He gave me the shoulder I needed that night and kept me motivated to stick with the program regardless of the awful garlic stench I was emitting!
The second day was the hardest physically of the 7 days I spent fasting. I felt nauseous all day and was sick again that night although not as badly as the previous night. However, once my initial wave of self doubt passed that first night, things never looked as bad, even though I felt worse. Happily by day three I was beginning to feel the first inklings of the euphoria people can experience while fasting. It is a feeling of power and lightness that comes with cleaning your system out and exerting your willpower successfully. By day 7 I was heartily sick of psyillium fiber but I felt like I could have easily finished a 14 day program.
Once again, while I was improving Iain was getting sick. He had been healthy for two days but after a trip to one of the night markets in Phuket Town he was attacked by the same type of intestinal bug that had bothered him previously. This time we took a trip into a recommended medical clinic just outside Phuket Town rather than rely on the travel medical kit we had brought from New Zealand. We saw the doctor who prescribed antibiotics and sent Iain in for some lab work. He reassured us that it was unlikely it was dangerous but to be extra careful with water and ice for the rest of our trip.
So, our seven days at Atsumi were as exciting for Iain as our first ten had been. I felt terrible that he wasn't getting to experience the joys of Thailand - no diving, no motor scooter rides, no sightseeing or island hopping. I was accomplishing something I had been looking forward to for months but I couldn't help him other than to offer support while he was suffering.
At the end of my fast he was finally starting to perk up but we decided not to island hop for our last three days and to instead spend the time in a hotel in Nai Harn beach. At the very least he would get to see a beautiful stretch of sand and water. So on June 9th we moved from our quiet haven to the All Seasons resort on Nai Harn beach. It proved to be a nice location with taxi's nearby, no hawkers and beautiful sunsets to enjoy.
On our first day at the All Seasons we had to run into Phuket Town for a second round of lab work and our final visit to Iain's doctor. While there we had our cab driver take us on a side trip up to the Big Buddha. The Buddha has been a work in progress for at least 3 years, it stands 43 meters tall and is over 20 meters wide at the base. It is a reinforced concrete structure covered in white marble tiles. As a fundraiser, the monks responsible for the temple have been selling tiles to devotees and tourists alike, once you pay the 300baht you sign the tile with your name and a message and it will be added to the lotus flower that the Buddha sits on. The main Buddha figure has been completed and only the base needs finishing now. It was a phenomenal sight to see - it is visible from anywhere on the southern half of the island and up close it appears to extend up towards the sun for miles. The detail work on the face and hands is phenomenal, it is a true labour of love for the Thai people.
Our second day in Nai Harn we went on a last minute souvenir buying spree in Karon and Kata beaches. We had finally acclimatized and enjoyed the walk from one town into the next. We bought items only when the sales people weren't pushy and searched out unique items we hadn't seen or been able to find before. It was a nice day and a quiet night.
Our third and last day in Nai Harn we went on a snorkeling trip to Raya Island. We had booked it at our hotel and were looking forward to a small tour group with a couple of different snorkeling options. It wasn't the diving Iain had hoped for, but it was very enjoyable none the less.
We left early in the morning and headed to Chalong Bay to hop on the speed boat that would take us to the island. There were only 7 of us on the trip and we made good time across the 1 meter swell to the island. We stopped in an empty cove near a big resort for the first snorkel. There were plenty of fish of many different varieties. There were also a lot of huge, scary jellyfish in the water. Iain and I made a circuit around the bay searching out different types of fish but I was disturbed by the lack of coral and bleaching and dying off of the coral that was there.
The second bay we stopped at was much the same as the first. There were huge schools of fish, from tiny flashing fingerling's to the bizarrely shaped needle fish. Once again there was very little coral and a lot of jellyfish, only this time there were smaller jellyfish and we were getting stung. I only lasted about 20 minutes in the water before I had to go back to the boat.
The troupe of us were then taken to the dock where we were offloaded to go have lunch in a tiny beach side restaurant. We staggered drunkenly down the floating dock that was the main access to the island during the off season. This time of year the powdery, white sand beach where the resorts and restaurant were located wa getting slammed by huge rolling waves. We made it off the dock and into the back of a glorified hay wagon attached to an ancient chugging tractor for the 10 minute trip across the island. We made our way slowly down sandy paths that wove through the coconut plantation and encroaching jungle. Little fires smoldered all around us where fallen coconuts and palm boughs were being burned by the locals.
The gateway to the beach was through a new resort development. The buildings likely replaced thatch huts that were torn down during the tsunami or in the wave of developments that happened when land was cheap following the disaster. Whatever the reason, the developments were huge but tasteful and there were still some of the original Thai gems clinging to the rocks on either side of the bay. We headed for one such restaurant and clambered over 'rustic' salvaged driftwood walkways into the much patched, character rich restaurant we were to enjoy lunch in.
The waves crashed onto the rocks and foamed up under the floorboards, to one side of the sprawling building was an enormous, live, sea eagle and to the other was a slightly smaller sea hawk. The two birds were big attractions during peak season, and they were very tolerant of the 7 of us snapping photos and oohing and ahhing over them. There were also four gorgeous little kittens playing just a short distance from our lunch table and a 1.5m monitor lizard made an appearance half way through the thai feast we were served for lunch. We chatted and ate leisurely, used the freshwater shower at the restaurant, photographed every furred, feathered or four-footed creature we saw and then climbed the staircase behind the restaurant to check out the view of the bay. It was the first time we had enjoyed a truly tropical view. The water was turquoise with clean, white foamy crests where the waves crashed into the shore. The beach looked like a strip of icing sugar and the jungle erupted from above the rocks on either side of the bay, dripping it's brilliant green foliage towards the sea. It was a perfect place to while away the hours body surfing and soaking up the tropical sunshine.
We were taken back to our boat in the late afternoon and enjoyed the 30 minute race across the water back to Phuket. We were delivered to our hotel before sunset and enjoyed a quiet walk around the area before heading in for dinner, then packing and an early sleep.
We were ready to go at 7am when the taxi came to deliver us to the airport. I have always loved Thailand and it was just as hard to say goodbye to Phuket this time as it has been in the past. We were leaving with funny stories, good memories, and the knowledge that we would soon be heading home to Canada.
Thailand - It's all about guts...
We left Auckland in our delightfully plush business class seats and enjoyed a comfortable 6 hour flight to Perth. The most interesting part of our flight was coming in to land in Perth. We descended over the huge expanse of western brush land and what I first thought was water reflecting the sunset was in fact huge swaths of controlled bush fires. I have never seen so many back-burns before; it was very reminiscent of flying into the Northwest Territories in the summer.
We spent an uneventful evening in Perth and were up before dawn to catch our flight to Phuket. Thai Airways is a decent airline, but no matter how good the service is in economy it cannot compare to business class. Poor Iain was squashed into the tiny seat, his knees almost at his chest. At least the food and entertainment systems were enjoyable!
We arrived in Thailand on a sunny afternoon and cleared customs with no problems or delays. I had arranged for a hotel and taxi pick-up in the hopes of avoiding the chaos that usually reigns at Thai airports. We exited the air conditioned building warding off the hawkers promising us the cheapest taxi's and best hotels and felt the humidity and heat envelop us like a heavy blanket. I staggered up and down the concourse, dripping with sweat after 30 seconds of exposure and finally spotted our driver. He had a limp piece of paper with my name on it held protectively against his flamingo pink shirt. Once we had confirmed each others identity with many gestures and eyebrow waggling I went to grab Iain and the luggage and the driver wadded into the crush of vehicles to get our taxi. We gratefully poured ourselves into the air conditioned cab and sat back for the hour long trip to Karon Beach.
Iain had never been to Thailand and I enjoyed telling him little bits about my previous visits and things we could expect over the next 3 weeks. We were full of plans and ideas of things to do once we had acclimatized.
We wound up at a little guest house in the town of Karon Beach. The guesthouse was associated with a larger resort along the water front but was considerably cheaper with all the same amenities. We had planned on spending 3 days at the guesthouse then moving on to a different beach however we ended up staying in Karon for the full 10 days.
The first 2 days we hung around the hotel room, venturing out to explore the immediate vicinity but never lasting more than 2 hours in the heat and humidity. Iain was unimpressed with the Thai bar girls who kept trying to catch his eye when my back was turned but I found them amusing. I was dismayed by the forceful Indian hawkers in the market stalls and tailor shops, they were much pushier than the Thai sellers I remembered from 2 years previous. It was eye opening for both Iain and I.
On day three we were contacted by a marketing group who told us we had won a free trip to Phi Phi Island! The catch? We had to attend a 90 minute presentation in Patong. The presentation was going to be all about the Absolute Hotel group and their products. Iain knew immediately it was a scam (I'm a little slower to pick up on these things) but a free trip is a free trip and it would give us the excuse to see Patong without having to pay for a taxi to get there. So we booked our 'presentation' for two days later.
On the appointed morning we were picked up by a bubbly woman in an air conditioned cab. Our details were recorded by a Thai woman in the lobby of a beautiful beachfront hotel and we were treated to a buffet breakfast. We were met by our 'host' and our tour began. They ended up taking 4 hours of our day, although the host knew from the moment he met us we were a lost cause. We were shown three hotels, one in the heart of Patong that would have done the Vegas strip justice. The second hotel was near Kamala on a private beach surrounded by jungle and beautiful blue water. The third hotel was the flagship hotel we had started at which was mid range with nicely refurbished rooms and the noble history of having survived the Tsunami. They ended the tour by showing us all the places around the world we could be staying for as little as $149/week! They even have an easy online reservation system. But after 4 hours they didn't even bother to tell us the 'joining fee'. They knew we were only there for the free trip and we knew they were a pyramid scheme based in Thailand because it was cheap to operate and the government didn't ask too many questions.
We booked our free trip for the following morning and left the hotel with the goal of checking out Patong. We had barely gone one block before we were accosted by a middle age British woman pushing scratch cards to win a free trip. When we looked at them it was for the Absolute Hotel group, the woman was quite insistent on us taking one of the cards until we told her we had just come from there. Two blocks after that we had the same encounter except this time it was British man who was totally belligerent. It was very disturbing. We only lasted a half hour in Patong before we got fed up with the bars, the prostitutes and the intrusive hawkers. We headed back to the relative quiet of Karon and a cold pitcher of coconut margarita's.
The next morning we got up early to go to Phi Phi island for the day. We were taken to Rassada Harbour where we caught the giant Phi Phi Cruiser ferry that toured us around Phi Phi Island and transferred us to the snorkeling tour boat. We enjoyed an hour of snorkeling in the harbour where the fish were okay but the coral was the highlight. We saw parrot fish, angel fish, tons of black sea urchins and big lipped clams and the highlight, a family of clown fish living in their anemone home. We were then taken to the beach where we were fed a buffet lunch in the main hotel and afterwards enjoyed 2 hours of free time which we spent shopping. Iain is an excellent barterer! He really enjoyed all the little shops and markets we encountered all over Phuket and Phi Phi.
We sat and dozed in the salty breeze on the ferry deck on the way home. The trip had been worth the four hours we spent in Patong. We arrived back in Karon before sunset and wandered to the waterfront for dinner in a lovely little cafe just off the beach.
The next day was the start of our health troubles. First I came down with a 24 hour bug that made every joint in my body hurt. I was terrified I'd picked up Dengue Fever but the pain improved the next day and by the second night I was feeling almost human again. Iain went the opposite direction, while I was improving he was getting sicker. He didn't start to recover until the day before we moved to Atsumi Healing Retreat where I had planned a 7 day cleanse.
So our three days in Karon became 10 days and our planned adventures were put off until we were both feeling healthy again. It wasn't what we had hoped for when we envisioned a tropical holiday, but neither of us seemed to have anything worse than mild travellers bugs. I considered us lucky.
We spent an uneventful evening in Perth and were up before dawn to catch our flight to Phuket. Thai Airways is a decent airline, but no matter how good the service is in economy it cannot compare to business class. Poor Iain was squashed into the tiny seat, his knees almost at his chest. At least the food and entertainment systems were enjoyable!
We arrived in Thailand on a sunny afternoon and cleared customs with no problems or delays. I had arranged for a hotel and taxi pick-up in the hopes of avoiding the chaos that usually reigns at Thai airports. We exited the air conditioned building warding off the hawkers promising us the cheapest taxi's and best hotels and felt the humidity and heat envelop us like a heavy blanket. I staggered up and down the concourse, dripping with sweat after 30 seconds of exposure and finally spotted our driver. He had a limp piece of paper with my name on it held protectively against his flamingo pink shirt. Once we had confirmed each others identity with many gestures and eyebrow waggling I went to grab Iain and the luggage and the driver wadded into the crush of vehicles to get our taxi. We gratefully poured ourselves into the air conditioned cab and sat back for the hour long trip to Karon Beach.
Iain had never been to Thailand and I enjoyed telling him little bits about my previous visits and things we could expect over the next 3 weeks. We were full of plans and ideas of things to do once we had acclimatized.
We wound up at a little guest house in the town of Karon Beach. The guesthouse was associated with a larger resort along the water front but was considerably cheaper with all the same amenities. We had planned on spending 3 days at the guesthouse then moving on to a different beach however we ended up staying in Karon for the full 10 days.
The first 2 days we hung around the hotel room, venturing out to explore the immediate vicinity but never lasting more than 2 hours in the heat and humidity. Iain was unimpressed with the Thai bar girls who kept trying to catch his eye when my back was turned but I found them amusing. I was dismayed by the forceful Indian hawkers in the market stalls and tailor shops, they were much pushier than the Thai sellers I remembered from 2 years previous. It was eye opening for both Iain and I.
On day three we were contacted by a marketing group who told us we had won a free trip to Phi Phi Island! The catch? We had to attend a 90 minute presentation in Patong. The presentation was going to be all about the Absolute Hotel group and their products. Iain knew immediately it was a scam (I'm a little slower to pick up on these things) but a free trip is a free trip and it would give us the excuse to see Patong without having to pay for a taxi to get there. So we booked our 'presentation' for two days later.
On the appointed morning we were picked up by a bubbly woman in an air conditioned cab. Our details were recorded by a Thai woman in the lobby of a beautiful beachfront hotel and we were treated to a buffet breakfast. We were met by our 'host' and our tour began. They ended up taking 4 hours of our day, although the host knew from the moment he met us we were a lost cause. We were shown three hotels, one in the heart of Patong that would have done the Vegas strip justice. The second hotel was near Kamala on a private beach surrounded by jungle and beautiful blue water. The third hotel was the flagship hotel we had started at which was mid range with nicely refurbished rooms and the noble history of having survived the Tsunami. They ended the tour by showing us all the places around the world we could be staying for as little as $149/week! They even have an easy online reservation system. But after 4 hours they didn't even bother to tell us the 'joining fee'. They knew we were only there for the free trip and we knew they were a pyramid scheme based in Thailand because it was cheap to operate and the government didn't ask too many questions.
We booked our free trip for the following morning and left the hotel with the goal of checking out Patong. We had barely gone one block before we were accosted by a middle age British woman pushing scratch cards to win a free trip. When we looked at them it was for the Absolute Hotel group, the woman was quite insistent on us taking one of the cards until we told her we had just come from there. Two blocks after that we had the same encounter except this time it was British man who was totally belligerent. It was very disturbing. We only lasted a half hour in Patong before we got fed up with the bars, the prostitutes and the intrusive hawkers. We headed back to the relative quiet of Karon and a cold pitcher of coconut margarita's.
The next morning we got up early to go to Phi Phi island for the day. We were taken to Rassada Harbour where we caught the giant Phi Phi Cruiser ferry that toured us around Phi Phi Island and transferred us to the snorkeling tour boat. We enjoyed an hour of snorkeling in the harbour where the fish were okay but the coral was the highlight. We saw parrot fish, angel fish, tons of black sea urchins and big lipped clams and the highlight, a family of clown fish living in their anemone home. We were then taken to the beach where we were fed a buffet lunch in the main hotel and afterwards enjoyed 2 hours of free time which we spent shopping. Iain is an excellent barterer! He really enjoyed all the little shops and markets we encountered all over Phuket and Phi Phi.
We sat and dozed in the salty breeze on the ferry deck on the way home. The trip had been worth the four hours we spent in Patong. We arrived back in Karon before sunset and wandered to the waterfront for dinner in a lovely little cafe just off the beach.
The next day was the start of our health troubles. First I came down with a 24 hour bug that made every joint in my body hurt. I was terrified I'd picked up Dengue Fever but the pain improved the next day and by the second night I was feeling almost human again. Iain went the opposite direction, while I was improving he was getting sicker. He didn't start to recover until the day before we moved to Atsumi Healing Retreat where I had planned a 7 day cleanse.
So our three days in Karon became 10 days and our planned adventures were put off until we were both feeling healthy again. It wasn't what we had hoped for when we envisioned a tropical holiday, but neither of us seemed to have anything worse than mild travellers bugs. I considered us lucky.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
And then there was Auckland…
With Erika’s beautifully well written journal entries I cannot aspire to match them either in style of prose or with subject matter with the city as our surroundings. We arrived in Auckland on May 6th and it did not match up to any other part of our New Zealand travels.
Our main goal in Auckland was to sell the Green Machine, and despite the blog that is named after it, our home for the last 3.5 months proved to be very difficult to sell. We listed it in two different car markets and various web sites but to no avail. The best offer was about $650 from a dealer.
We though of some other more creative options for the vehicle:
Option1 - driving 90 mile beach, as it has lots of soft sand and is not recommended for 2 wheel drive vehicles it would likely be lost to the Ocean as the tides rose… We negated this option due to the possible environmental damage although I believe that if we drained all the fluids from the Van first this would reduce environmental concerns and make us much more likely to achieve our goal of not making the distance of the drive.
Option 2 – Trading the Van for a Pizza, beer, and gluten free burger. This was a valid option and I am sure that I could find a taker in one of the cheaper hostels however it lead Erika to the idea of trading the vehicle for a good story (see option 3).
Option 3 – Trading the van for a stuffed and mounted fierce snarling hedgehog. This option is contingent on finding someone with a hedgehog of the above description or someone with a hedge hog who knew a taxidermist and was not attached emotionally to that hedgehog.
Option4 – Throw the keys at a pedestrian and run for the airport
Given the strangeness of all the above options should give you a bit of insight into our Auckland experience. We sat in the backpackers’ car lot with a lot of other sellers and very few buyers and went stir crazy.
Auckland allowed us to finalise the details of some of the rest of our trip however. We have booked tickets to a quiet part of Thailand far away from the political unrest and will be returning to Vancouver on June 14. Our adventures will be cut a month and a half short due to some of my commitments to a contract back in the ``real world``. I hope we have a relaxing time in Thailand as we will need it after impersonating used car sales persons in Auckland.
In the end we found a nice Scottish/Irish couple we thought were worthy of our beautiful van, but unfortunately when they did the mechanical check we all found that the Van was not quite worthy of them. It required $900 in repairs. I liked the couple and decided that it would be better to give it to them than a dealer and let the green machine have a new lease on life. In the end the price agreed was $400. Considering I originally paid $1000 almost 2 year previously for it I was not overly concerned.
We were quite glad to be unencumbered and free to leave New Zealand which we did in style with our executive class tickets to Perth, Australia and then next day to the beautiful heat of Thailand.
Our main goal in Auckland was to sell the Green Machine, and despite the blog that is named after it, our home for the last 3.5 months proved to be very difficult to sell. We listed it in two different car markets and various web sites but to no avail. The best offer was about $650 from a dealer.
We though of some other more creative options for the vehicle:
Option1 - driving 90 mile beach, as it has lots of soft sand and is not recommended for 2 wheel drive vehicles it would likely be lost to the Ocean as the tides rose… We negated this option due to the possible environmental damage although I believe that if we drained all the fluids from the Van first this would reduce environmental concerns and make us much more likely to achieve our goal of not making the distance of the drive.
Option 2 – Trading the Van for a Pizza, beer, and gluten free burger. This was a valid option and I am sure that I could find a taker in one of the cheaper hostels however it lead Erika to the idea of trading the vehicle for a good story (see option 3).
Option 3 – Trading the van for a stuffed and mounted fierce snarling hedgehog. This option is contingent on finding someone with a hedgehog of the above description or someone with a hedge hog who knew a taxidermist and was not attached emotionally to that hedgehog.
Option4 – Throw the keys at a pedestrian and run for the airport
Given the strangeness of all the above options should give you a bit of insight into our Auckland experience. We sat in the backpackers’ car lot with a lot of other sellers and very few buyers and went stir crazy.
Auckland allowed us to finalise the details of some of the rest of our trip however. We have booked tickets to a quiet part of Thailand far away from the political unrest and will be returning to Vancouver on June 14. Our adventures will be cut a month and a half short due to some of my commitments to a contract back in the ``real world``. I hope we have a relaxing time in Thailand as we will need it after impersonating used car sales persons in Auckland.
In the end we found a nice Scottish/Irish couple we thought were worthy of our beautiful van, but unfortunately when they did the mechanical check we all found that the Van was not quite worthy of them. It required $900 in repairs. I liked the couple and decided that it would be better to give it to them than a dealer and let the green machine have a new lease on life. In the end the price agreed was $400. Considering I originally paid $1000 almost 2 year previously for it I was not overly concerned.
We were quite glad to be unencumbered and free to leave New Zealand which we did in style with our executive class tickets to Perth, Australia and then next day to the beautiful heat of Thailand.
Cape Reinga - Last days in paradise
At the end of our two weeks in Ahipara we took a two day road trip up to Cape Reinga the northernmost tip of the North Island. We left Ahipara with the surf just starting to come up much to Iain's chagrin, but glad to be exploring after two weeks of inactivity.
There are two routes up the tip of the North Island; you can travel Highway 1 (the Far North Road) or you drive up 90 Mile beach. There are warnings posted in map books, on sign posts and in various towns not to attempt the beach in a rental vehicle or a vehicle without 4 wheel drive. I managed to convince Iain that we should leave that adventure for another day and a fiercer version of our little green van. So we travelled up to the Cape on the highway, finally seeing up close what we had only seen in the hazy distance for so long.
The land is predominantly sand dunes up both coastlines. I do not understand how so much plant life can thrive on what is no more than sand for soil, but it did. Water was scarce in the region and it got scarcer the further north we went. By the time we reached the Cape it was officially a desert.
The cape itself is beautiful. There is an old lighthouse perched out at the end of the world where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific ocean slam together like two massive titans. The water north of the lighthouse is a boiling mass of white foam and standing waves that hurl themselves meters into the air with total fury and raw power. Everything in the area is stunted and warped by the wind and exhibits a will to survive that surpasses belief. The coastline is rocky and jagged to one side with small sheltered inlets and stretches of golden sand dunes to the other side.
We stood admiring the view and the primal forces at work until the wind drove us back to our vehicle. I was glad I had seen the Cape on a clear and sunny day, I could only imagine the fury of the ocean during storm season.
After the Cape we headed to a DOC campsite a few kilometers back down the road. The site was gorgeous, it was nestled at the base of a low hill next to a lazy river that meandered through horse pasture to the ocean. We were close enough to hear the waves pounding on the beach but far enough away to be sheltered from the worst of the wind by the waves. The camp ground was lush and green with new facilities and lots of space. We walked to the beach and poked along the shore, shell hunting in the rocks and finding all sorts of treasures. We even stumbled upon a dead puffer fish, which seemed to be out of its element.
The following day we took a brief side trip to the giant sand dunes where people could rent body boards and surf down the sides of the colossal dunes. Iain and I wandered around looking at the bedding in the exposed sandstones and pondering the age of the clam shells that were being exposed by erosion. We voted against sand surfing and ran down the sides the of the dunes instead, jumped back in our chariot and headed south.
We made a second adventurous detour to check out the halfway point of 90 Mile beach. It was supposedly a surf spot, although only the best surfers could handle the incredible wave action that was happening at the beach. To get to the beach we drove through forestry trails for half an hour, over gut wrenching washboard and through a maze of side roads and confusing signs. We finally found the right road and picked our way to the beach. Right at that point on the beach there was a tiny island that was accessible at low tide across the stretch of sand. The waves broke around it and tore at the rocks with enormous swells and foaming crests like teeth. There was a colony of oyster catchers sitting quite calmly on the top of the little chunk of rock and millions of shells to poke through on the beach side of the island. The only other sign of people was a 4x4 jeep that came up the beach at us while we were exploring the island. We met up with them when we went back to the van and they told Iain that the trip up 90 Mile beach was hair-raising even in their solid vehicle.
We left 90 mile and went to the other coast for our second night. We spent the night at the Rarawa DOC site and found a beach of pristine powdered sugar sand littered with hundreds of awesome shells. We spent the evening beachcombing until sunset drove us back to our campsite for food. We made sure to make one more pass along the beach in the morning before we left the campground.
Finally it was time to head back to Ahipara for our last night in the Northlands before heading to Auckland. We spent our last night at Hugh's place and he gave us the keys to his apartment in Auckland. We would be spending just shy of 3 weeks in the city to sell the van and catch up on computer work. It was a sad day when we left Ahipara because we knew our adventures were coming to an end, but it had been a wonderful trip and we had enjoyed it all so far.
There are two routes up the tip of the North Island; you can travel Highway 1 (the Far North Road) or you drive up 90 Mile beach. There are warnings posted in map books, on sign posts and in various towns not to attempt the beach in a rental vehicle or a vehicle without 4 wheel drive. I managed to convince Iain that we should leave that adventure for another day and a fiercer version of our little green van. So we travelled up to the Cape on the highway, finally seeing up close what we had only seen in the hazy distance for so long.
The land is predominantly sand dunes up both coastlines. I do not understand how so much plant life can thrive on what is no more than sand for soil, but it did. Water was scarce in the region and it got scarcer the further north we went. By the time we reached the Cape it was officially a desert.
The cape itself is beautiful. There is an old lighthouse perched out at the end of the world where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific ocean slam together like two massive titans. The water north of the lighthouse is a boiling mass of white foam and standing waves that hurl themselves meters into the air with total fury and raw power. Everything in the area is stunted and warped by the wind and exhibits a will to survive that surpasses belief. The coastline is rocky and jagged to one side with small sheltered inlets and stretches of golden sand dunes to the other side.
We stood admiring the view and the primal forces at work until the wind drove us back to our vehicle. I was glad I had seen the Cape on a clear and sunny day, I could only imagine the fury of the ocean during storm season.
After the Cape we headed to a DOC campsite a few kilometers back down the road. The site was gorgeous, it was nestled at the base of a low hill next to a lazy river that meandered through horse pasture to the ocean. We were close enough to hear the waves pounding on the beach but far enough away to be sheltered from the worst of the wind by the waves. The camp ground was lush and green with new facilities and lots of space. We walked to the beach and poked along the shore, shell hunting in the rocks and finding all sorts of treasures. We even stumbled upon a dead puffer fish, which seemed to be out of its element.
The following day we took a brief side trip to the giant sand dunes where people could rent body boards and surf down the sides of the colossal dunes. Iain and I wandered around looking at the bedding in the exposed sandstones and pondering the age of the clam shells that were being exposed by erosion. We voted against sand surfing and ran down the sides the of the dunes instead, jumped back in our chariot and headed south.
We made a second adventurous detour to check out the halfway point of 90 Mile beach. It was supposedly a surf spot, although only the best surfers could handle the incredible wave action that was happening at the beach. To get to the beach we drove through forestry trails for half an hour, over gut wrenching washboard and through a maze of side roads and confusing signs. We finally found the right road and picked our way to the beach. Right at that point on the beach there was a tiny island that was accessible at low tide across the stretch of sand. The waves broke around it and tore at the rocks with enormous swells and foaming crests like teeth. There was a colony of oyster catchers sitting quite calmly on the top of the little chunk of rock and millions of shells to poke through on the beach side of the island. The only other sign of people was a 4x4 jeep that came up the beach at us while we were exploring the island. We met up with them when we went back to the van and they told Iain that the trip up 90 Mile beach was hair-raising even in their solid vehicle.
We left 90 mile and went to the other coast for our second night. We spent the night at the Rarawa DOC site and found a beach of pristine powdered sugar sand littered with hundreds of awesome shells. We spent the evening beachcombing until sunset drove us back to our campsite for food. We made sure to make one more pass along the beach in the morning before we left the campground.
Finally it was time to head back to Ahipara for our last night in the Northlands before heading to Auckland. We spent our last night at Hugh's place and he gave us the keys to his apartment in Auckland. We would be spending just shy of 3 weeks in the city to sell the van and catch up on computer work. It was a sad day when we left Ahipara because we knew our adventures were coming to an end, but it had been a wonderful trip and we had enjoyed it all so far.
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