My travelling story

Some encounters can forever change your life. This is especially true when it is your sister’s eighteenth birthday on a warm night in Montreal, the kind of night you just do not want to end because it is perfect. Ideally you are fresh off a plane from a trip to Europe and in a receptive mood. These are the perfect conditions to bump into a boy from Edmonton that will mark a crossroad in the way you travel, see life and feel about boys in general. You will look back at this moment when this boy took off his shoes to make sure you would walk with him in the city, because your own feet were too sore from dancing, as having been important without you knowing it at the time. That night when he describes where he is from you never would have thought you had sealed your faith, that you would end up not only once, but twice in Western Canada, your heart exploding every time you had to leave to come back home. The strange part will be that you’ll never actually see this boy when you are there but you’ll secretly thank him so many times for bumping into you that night, even if he never planned it. You’ll thank him because what you will see will not only blow your mind but touch you right to the soul.

The last three thousand kilometers I spent on the west coast of Canada are still very fresh in my mind. It all began in a town called Canmore in Alberta and ended up being a roadtrip to beautiful British Colombia. The morning we left, the five of us were quite hyped by the perspective of the unknown. We only barely knew where we were heading and that alone was comforting, exit the typical routine. We packed two cars which became our unsanitary homes for the next two weeks. As the miles piled onto the old Volks, the scenery flew by as well. As others will tell you it is hard to describe what you see because it all comes down to how it makes you feel.

We slept in orchards, parking lots and even in an RV lent to us by an old magician after we hit his car with our hackie on a ferry to Tofino. We surfed the Pacific Ocean, witnessed breath taking sunsets and the simple power of nature. In Tofino we froze in our tent but were always thankful for each other and the soothing sound of the ocean hitting the shore, slowly and constantly. The ocean shore, in Tofino at night, offers the possibility of meeting a lot of strange and interesting people that have no where else to sleep. Ask crazy Ron, a local man which I believe has the potential of becoming a legend. He truly is crazy, no doubt. We had also planned on seeing the rainforest, that we decided to venture to, through the log roads at night, this can be a scary experience but I would never dare not to recommend it. The forest there is quiet and wise, the tress are hundreds of years old and it is a peaceful place.

The road from BC to Canmore is an absolutely beautiful location to have your car break down and towed to the nearest village. The Volks had a hard time making it home. We were stranded in Kamloops for a few days, sleeping in a cheap pastel motel surrounded by mountains and suffocating in the heat. We spent our evenings in the parking lot, smoking too many cigarettes and analyzing life, never coming to any conclusions while our friends were on their way home.

When finally we made it to Canmore with Jhonny Cash floating in the background, I didn’t want to go back home. I finally did though after having problems with my plane ticket. The man that helped me with this problem, his name was the same as the boy from Edmonton. That made me smile. I now truly understand the meaning of home is where the heart is.

You have to be a citizen to write a comment.