I know some of you are wondering why I haven’t written since I arrived in Manila, and mostly the reason is that there’s not that much to write about… My life here is pretty much work and sleep, and my weekends are generally spent recovering from the week.
Not to mention that Manila is kind of a dump. There’s not much to see or do here. There are, however, more malls than you could possibly ever shop in. There are four – FOUR – within less than a ten minute walk from my hotel. That’s all people do here – they shop and they eat. I have made a bit of an effort to go out and see a bit of the city – I went on a walking tour of the old city, which was very interesting and entertaining, but also really depressing. Manila has a very sad history, and I was unaware of most of it – the oppressive Spanish colonial rule and the horrific bombing it received in WWII. Little-known fact -- Manila was the second most destroyed city in WWII after Warsaw. As a result, the city itself is not particularly scenic, and a lot of the old, charming buildings were destroyed many years ago. Manila is one of those capitals that, as a traveler, you arrive in and promptly want to leave. It’s a city of brutal traffic, massive billboards, horrid pollution, and that unsettling juxtaposition of slums and “million dollar” houses.
However, I am going to continue exploring it and see if I can discover something that redeems it…some hidden charm I haven’t found yet. But I’ll probably expend most of my planning energy (which, incidentally, is very low right now) on getting out of Manila.
And I have managed to get out of Manila a couple of times. When I was in Vancouver, I ran into an old housemate, Melissa, who told me a good friend of hers was in the Philippines on a Fullbright scholarship. So she put me in touch with Jenny and we emailed and met up in Manila a few times and a couple weekends ago, I went down to Los Banos, where she lives, a couple hours south of here. It was a great weekend – decadent really. We went for massages at the local spa, had a super yummy/spicy Korean meal, and finished off our packed day with soaking in some very aesthetically pleasing geothermal hot spring pools. We went for a hike the next day to balance out the decadence.
This most recent weekend, I met Jenny and a group of her friends and colleagues in Puerto Galera, one of the top dive spots in the Philippines, on an island two hours south of here. I took the local bus and then a ferry – had forgotten what traveling in Asia is like – I think I’ve gone soft after my years in Europe! We were on Sabang Beach, which is a little seaside village full of cafes, restaurants, hotels, and innumerable dive shops. I did three dives – two during the day and one at night. I’ve never done a night dive before, except for one time in Hawaii when we saw the manta rays, but that was basically descending and observing. This one wasn’t a great dive for me, as I couldn’t get my balance and spent most of the dive adjusting my weight belt, tank, and BCD. I kept tilting to the left, and was trying not to bump into anyone, which kind of detracted from my enjoyment of the dive… And we saw some other divers and I was nervous that I would end up following someone who wasn’t from my dive group, so I kept my eyes glued to my Divemaster’s fins, which were very scenic:) But the day dives were both great – we saw a turtle on the Sunday morning, which was a stroke of luck. It was a weekend of great diving, fun people, and yummy food.
The food options in Manila are a vast improvement over Dublin – I’ll give it that! Mostly it’s just that there’s huge variety – I can eat sushi or Indian or Korean or even Mediterranean. Every Friday night in front of our building there’s a huge street market where you can get rice and bbq and just so many yummy things. And lots of weird things too, that I’m not that interested in trying. For those Survivor watchers, you know there’s always that inevitable “eating” challenge where they have to eat local delicacies like fish brains or something along those lines…well, the Philippines is home to one such delicacy – and really it’s a mainstream food here. There are stalls in food court malls selling “balut.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(egg)
I do consider myself a relatively adventurous eater, but I’m not going to venture into this one.
I’m really enjoying my job here – finding it really engaging, interesting, and rewarding. I spend some time doing a lot of logistics management – making sure details and instructions get properly disseminated, and supervise some of the team leads. I do quite a bit of 1-1 coaching and observing, which I really enjoy – they’re always enlightening sessions, and it gives me a chance to get to know some of the staff better. It’s pretty cool to get to contribute to an operation in this kind of way, to really see a difference as a result of the work I’m doing. I do a bit of documentation work, but I quite enjoy it because the projects are either new documents or major re-writes – none of the tedious updating and maintenance that comes with full-time tech writing.
Culturally, it’s been a very interesting experience. The work culture here is totally different from any Canadian office I’ve ever worked in. The people are very generous and kind, but are also very young and generally immature. I find a lot of the office politics kind of high schoolish. However, there’s great “spirit” here, as evidenced by the totally over-the-top Christmas decorating that went on for over a week. I will take some photos, because words just aren’t enough here. It is quite refreshing to find people so – what’s the opposite of apathetic? That.
I am really looking forward to a couple of weeks at home for Christmas. I know no one will have any sympathy for me, but I’m finding the weather very hard to deal with – it’s so hot and humid and uncomfortable. Everything indoors in air-conditioned, so you can’t dress for the outside weather or you’ll freeze inside, and vice versa. And Christmas just isn’t the same without snow and winter jackets and fuzzy mittens and hot chocolate by the fire. None of which exist here. There is however, plenty of gaudy decoration!
That’s all for now…
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
A change of plans
Just thought I'd give a quick update as to my whereabouts because I know lots of people still think I'm headed to Korea to teach english for a year, but in fact something else has come up...in a good way.
I am going to Manila for six months to work as a consultant/trainer for an American company called Capital IQ. My friend Michele has worked for them for about a year now, helping manage/run/set up their office in Manila. Michele and I used to work together doing transcription work, and Capital IQ is setting up a transcription department overseas. Because I have experience and skills in this area, I'm going to assist in training the new hires there, as well as evaluate the training program that's in place, and help to improve their results.
I'm pretty psyched about the whole thing, as I'm excited about the work, which I think will be really challenging and engaging, and also about being back in that part of the world, and of course the travelling opportunities it offers:)
Will be in touch once I've arrived, am settled, and have recovered from jet lag.
Love to you all:)
I am going to Manila for six months to work as a consultant/trainer for an American company called Capital IQ. My friend Michele has worked for them for about a year now, helping manage/run/set up their office in Manila. Michele and I used to work together doing transcription work, and Capital IQ is setting up a transcription department overseas. Because I have experience and skills in this area, I'm going to assist in training the new hires there, as well as evaluate the training program that's in place, and help to improve their results.
I'm pretty psyched about the whole thing, as I'm excited about the work, which I think will be really challenging and engaging, and also about being back in that part of the world, and of course the travelling opportunities it offers:)
Will be in touch once I've arrived, am settled, and have recovered from jet lag.
Love to you all:)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Camino Journal excerpts: part 2
Hi everyone. Here is part two!
Day 18: Still in the meseta...A long 31Km of more flatness and nothingness to El Burgo Renero. As a treat, we sent our packs ahead so we'd be lighter on our feet. When we arrived, Kristina -- an American girl who has been with us for the last few days -- went through my and Robin's packs and made us get rid of extraneous items. Amazing how much lighter my pack is now! We had the "menu del dia" for dinner tonight -- "menu of the day" -- which is a cheap meal available in many bars and cafes along the trail. You get a first course of salad or pasta or soup, then a second course of meat or fish, usually with chips, and then dessert, usually yogurt or ice cream. It also includes bread and wine, all for the bargain price of anywhere between 8 and €11.
Day 19: A very short day, in comparison to the previous 5...only 20Km to Mansilla. We arrived before the albergue opened at noon. Kristina (who went to culinary school) made us grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. You can only imagine how excited I was:) We had a very relaxed afternoon eating, drinking wine, soaking our feet, and napping. Carlo and Enrico, our Swiss-Italian friends, were there as well and Carlo cooked dinner for 8 of us, including a French couple and a guy from Malta. It was a fantastic pasta feed with mucho vino and great company.
Day 20: Arrived in Leon before 11am after our earliest start yet -- 6:05am. It was dark until 7:30, when we had our coffee break. We stayed at the super-fancy hotel Parador, which is perhaps the fanciest place I've ever stayed in, but Kristina got us a screaming deal on it. Kristina is a typical overachieving New Yorker type. She worked as a trader for years, got her MBA from Cornell while she was working full time, went to culinary school, is a skeet shooter (not entirely sure what that is) in her spare time, etc... After a week of her being with us, I'm of two minds about her. On the one hand, I think she's a lot of fun, very generous, kind, and a nice person. On the other hand, I think she's one of the most self-obsessed people I've ever met. She talks about herself *constantly* and can keep up a running monologue for a good hour, with very little prompting from you, about everything from her wedding plans to her fiancee to her job in finance to her thoughts on Obama, etc. And, she has a Blackberry, which she spends most of her waking, non-walking time tap tapping away at, which drives me bonkers. If that wasn't enough, she also feels the need to repeat several details of the texts, emails, and chats she gets from home -- which, really, I could care less about. Aside asking me what I do for a living, she has not asked me a single personal question or displayed any interest in getting to know me. I am not sure I want to spend my last two weeks on the Camino with her.
Day 21: We decided to take a day off in Leon, as we have time for one, and it's nice to be in a city that has amenities when you have a spare day. Lovely day off of sleeping in, and lazing around Leon. We moved to an albergue run by nuns, and it's easily the most basic place we've ever stayed in -- not a pillow or blanket to be found. Quite a come down. Oh, and I have sore throat. Not cool.
Day 22: We walked out of Leon to San Martino, about 27Km, and most of it was the ugliest day yet on the Camino...mostly along secondary roads or paths that ran parallel to the main highway. Huge noisy trucks rumbling by, uninspiring scenery. We have a new travel companion with us today, a Danish girl named Laerke. She is as about as different from Kristina as you could get... A total free spirit, in love with the trees and the sky and the moon, compassionate, easy to be around. She also looks like she belongs in a Timotei commercial, with her river of white blonde hair. We walked together for most of the day, and it's nice to have someone to talk to again, as Robin and Kristina tend to have a slightly faster pace than me and if I don't feel like keeping up with them, I'm on my own. Which is fine, but I really like talking to Laerke. We bonded almost immediately over our respective lost parents (Laerke's dad died last year) and after an emotionally exhausting morning of talking, we arrived at a house on the edge of town where a man had left snacks and treats out for passing pilgrims. We stopped to chat with him and say thank you, and
as we were leaving, he gave me a little hug and a grandfatherly "besito," which was just so sweet. I find the Camino is full of lovely little magic moments like that, it offers up these little gifts, just when you need them most. And everyone has stories about it -- a man driving a pilgrim to the next town so she could see a doctor, a man giving us a bunch of grapes from his vineyard, and just the general good will that the locals show us as we walk through town -- lots of shouts of "hola!" and "buen camino!". I will really miss that spirit of the Camino, I think it's a very special part of the experience.
Day 23: Today was a little more of the same in terms of scenery, but improved a bit near the end. We walked into Astorga and climbed up some steps that led us right into the heart of the city centre and right into a wonderful market scene. We have been craving vegetables, as Spanish food is oddly lacking in them, so we went a bit crazy buying fruit and veggies, along with the usual cheeses and bread. Lovely little town. All four of us got foot massages from a tiny little Spanish man -- awesome.
Day 24: We arrived in Foncebadon -- about 27Km -- around 1pm today. The first 20 or so was mostly flattish, along typical fields and farms. Then the last 6 were a climb up a mountain...such a joy to be climbing again after the endless flatness. It was relatively easy, not too steep, and the views just got better as we got higher.
Day 25: Today was Laerke's 22nd birthday. We knew this because she had mentioned it approximately 437 times in the last four days. In the morning we climbed 3Km up to the top of the mountain, which is the highest point on the Camino (except for the Pyranees), and had a little breakfast picnic while we watched the sunrise. This is not out of the ordinary, by the way. We have seen the sunrise pretty much every day, as we often walk for an hour in the dark/pre-dawn light, as a way to beat the heat, the albergue rush, and also as a way to deal with the meseta. The walk was lovely -- all along the mountain ridge until we came down sharply at the end into Ponferadda. To celebrate Laerke's birthday we went out for tapas and sangria, and gave her a chocolate donut with some candles as her cake. Well, you do what you can on the Camino!
Day 26: We did 25Km to Villafranca today, but left Laerke at the 20Km mark, as she wants to go back to traveling on her own, but I'm sure we'll see her again.
Day 27: We left Kristina behind today, as she wanted to slow her pace down a bit, so it's back to me and Robin, and I must admit, it's nice just being the two of us again. We walked 30Km to O Cebreiro, most of which was rolling hills until the last two hours, which were up up up, and of course we were doing that in the height of the afternoon heat -- exhausting. But O Cebreiro is the most charming little town and has just stunning views of the green patchwork valley we climbed up most of the day. Really felt like fall today. We officially crossed over into Galicia today, a region in Spain famous for its terrible weather, but we were blessed with clear skies and sun. Robin spoke "Spanglish" most of the afternoon with a Spanish man called Ernesto, who just kept saying "it no normal!" throwing his hands out to indicate this incredible weather. Maybe if we don't talk about it, it won't change.
Day 28: We were in Triacastela before 1pm today, and after our obligatory showers and laundry, we sat out in front of the cafe drinking cupos de vino blanco for most of the afternoon, enjoying having nothing to do. Laerke turned up around 5pm, a very late arrival for most pilgrims, but I think she was waylaid by the Spaniard attached to her -- Placedo, or "Plathedo" as they say in Spain. That's basically how you have to speak Spanish here -- as if you have a lisp. Gracias is "grathiath" and cerveza is "thervetha". So there you go -- "That 70s Show" may have been playing it for laughs when Fez called it "Barthelona," but that's actually how people say it here:) I can't say it without giggling.
Day 29: Yesterday when we were decending into Triacastela, we could see a thick cloud cover over the next valley. Today, we walked into that valley and suddenly found ourselves in a different world. Everything was misty and dark and felt slightly damp, and it seemed likely a hobbit might pop out from behind the next tree. I guess this is more typical weather for Galicia, but it wasn't raining and it was really quite cool. We walked via Samos, where there is a large monastery, and then took the highway route to Sarria, as the walking path had too much up and down for our knees today... When we arrived in Sarria, the sun came out and it was a gorgeous day. The weather gods continue to smile on us:)
Day 30: The fog was so thick this morning we couldn't see to the end of the street. But we climbed for quite a while and then we were above it and the skies were clear. We walked along mountain ridges all day, along little dirt roads lined with stone fences and charming dirt paths lined with trees. So nice. Beautiful sunrise, very misty and cool. Our albergue in Portomarin, however, is not cool at all. It feels dirty, the water tastes terrible, and the kitchen has nothing in it -- not a single cup or fork. What's the point of having a kitchen if there's nothing in it, I ask you!
Day 31: Arrived in Palas Del Rei this afternoon. Quite a bit of uphill in the first half of the day, but then mostly down or flat for the second half. Had dinner with Laerke and Placedo, who have been with us since we met them in Triacastella, but they tend to walk on their own and we just hang out with them at the end of the day. Placedo is a nice guy, though he loses points for his hockey hair, and for his slightly annoying habit of bursting into song when you're in mid-sentence. I wouldn't mind this so much if he could actually sing, or if he chose to sing something other than bad 80s songs such as: "I've Got the Power" by Snap (which he actually rapped, in his heavily accented english), "Wind of Change" by the Scorpions, or -- his worst offence -- "Blame it on the Rain" by Milli Vanilli. Not kidding.
Day 32: A lovely mountain walk to Ribadiso today where we are staying at a really cool albergue...sort of like we are camping. There's a little river and several outbuildings -- laundry, showers and toilets, kitchen and dining area. We had the menu del dia for lunch and added a second bottle of wine, just because...you know...and then headed right for siesta afterward. Have been hanging out the last few days with an awesome Spanish couple, Jesus and Laura, who crack us up regularly. Jesus is about 8 feet tall and super gangly, and always calls me "cup of tea" because I have a little white tin cup attached to the outside of my pack that I use to drink tea, wine, and whatever else, and they think this is hilarious:)
Day 33: Pretty short day to Arca O Pino today, about 22Km. We didn't do much today, just visited the supermercado and had our usual lunch, checked email, and then Robin and I spent the rest of the day having a drink (or more than one) with a couple of American guys we met on the trail today. Everyone is excited about getting to Santiago tomorrow...you can just feel it. I'm excited. Mostly because I'm tired...of living out of a backpack, of wearing the same clothes every single day, of getting up before dawn, of washing my socks in the sink, etc. I think I'm feeling mildly homesick too, so Santiago is coming at the right time.
Day 34: Walking into Santiago today felt slightly surreal. In some ways, it's just another city, with industrial outlying areas, and car dealerships. But the old city is so charming and the cathedral really is stunning -- huge and imposing against the blue sky. And when we arrived there we ran into a number of people we've met along the way, so it sort of felt like a combination of graduation and reunion. We had lunch with our Swiss-Italian buddies, Carlo and Enrico, who have been a day ahead of us for about a week now, and then wandered around with Jesus and Laura and Laerke and Placedo doing various errands -- checking email, visiting the tourist office to check bus schedules to Finisterre (we're going to the beach for a couple of days), and getting our "compostela," the certificate stating that you have completed the Camino. Had mixed tapas and wine for dinner with the trio of Aussie women we met on the meseta and I was completely overwhelmed by the crowds and the noise -- it was like sensory overload after having been in such tiny, quiet towns in the middle of nowhere for the last month. I don't really think this has sunk in yet...maybe tomorrow. Right now, I'm just looking forward to the immediate rewards -- not having to get up at 6am, not having to wear my hiking shoes again if I don't want to, and not having to put my backpack on my aching shoulders for 8 hours a day anymore.
Day 35 - Post Camino: Today we went to the Pilgrim's mass at the cathedral. It being Sunday it was packed -- standing room only. They read a list of all the pilgrims who had arrived the day before -- they don't read your name, they just say so many Canadians started from St. Jean (4 of us) and so on. The service started with an elderly nun coming up to the pulpit and singing a song for the pilgrims and her voice was so sweet I promptly burst into tears and proceeded to cry through most of the service. It felt good though, very cleansing. I think I'm just exhausted on all levels, and am looking forward to going to Finisterre tomorrow to do nothing but chill out.
It's hard to believe the Camino is over. After years of dreaming about it, and months of talking about it, and days of walking it, it's now in the past. I think the biggest lesson the Camino taught me is simply to be present. When you take your first step, you can't think about getting to Santiago -- it's too far, too overwhelming. Instead you just have to think about the here and now. What do you have to do next. I am so grateful to all the pilgrims I met on the trail -- you know who you are -- and all the gifts you gave me. You all made this experience what it was for me. Especially Robin, my Camino sister, who has been with me every (painful) step of the way and has been patient, kind, compassionate, and good humoured throughout all my whinging and blisters, all the while quietly dealing with the calamaties of your own -- cold, stomach flu, and being bitten by every bug in Spain. Walking 800Km across Spain wouldn't have been half as much fun without you.
Love Tessa
ps photos will be up in a while on my Flickr site, but maybe a long while:)
Day 18: Still in the meseta...A long 31Km of more flatness and nothingness to El Burgo Renero. As a treat, we sent our packs ahead so we'd be lighter on our feet. When we arrived, Kristina -- an American girl who has been with us for the last few days -- went through my and Robin's packs and made us get rid of extraneous items. Amazing how much lighter my pack is now! We had the "menu del dia" for dinner tonight -- "menu of the day" -- which is a cheap meal available in many bars and cafes along the trail. You get a first course of salad or pasta or soup, then a second course of meat or fish, usually with chips, and then dessert, usually yogurt or ice cream. It also includes bread and wine, all for the bargain price of anywhere between 8 and €11.
Day 19: A very short day, in comparison to the previous 5...only 20Km to Mansilla. We arrived before the albergue opened at noon. Kristina (who went to culinary school) made us grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. You can only imagine how excited I was:) We had a very relaxed afternoon eating, drinking wine, soaking our feet, and napping. Carlo and Enrico, our Swiss-Italian friends, were there as well and Carlo cooked dinner for 8 of us, including a French couple and a guy from Malta. It was a fantastic pasta feed with mucho vino and great company.
Day 20: Arrived in Leon before 11am after our earliest start yet -- 6:05am. It was dark until 7:30, when we had our coffee break. We stayed at the super-fancy hotel Parador, which is perhaps the fanciest place I've ever stayed in, but Kristina got us a screaming deal on it. Kristina is a typical overachieving New Yorker type. She worked as a trader for years, got her MBA from Cornell while she was working full time, went to culinary school, is a skeet shooter (not entirely sure what that is) in her spare time, etc... After a week of her being with us, I'm of two minds about her. On the one hand, I think she's a lot of fun, very generous, kind, and a nice person. On the other hand, I think she's one of the most self-obsessed people I've ever met. She talks about herself *constantly* and can keep up a running monologue for a good hour, with very little prompting from you, about everything from her wedding plans to her fiancee to her job in finance to her thoughts on Obama, etc. And, she has a Blackberry, which she spends most of her waking, non-walking time tap tapping away at, which drives me bonkers. If that wasn't enough, she also feels the need to repeat several details of the texts, emails, and chats she gets from home -- which, really, I could care less about. Aside asking me what I do for a living, she has not asked me a single personal question or displayed any interest in getting to know me. I am not sure I want to spend my last two weeks on the Camino with her.
Day 21: We decided to take a day off in Leon, as we have time for one, and it's nice to be in a city that has amenities when you have a spare day. Lovely day off of sleeping in, and lazing around Leon. We moved to an albergue run by nuns, and it's easily the most basic place we've ever stayed in -- not a pillow or blanket to be found. Quite a come down. Oh, and I have sore throat. Not cool.
Day 22: We walked out of Leon to San Martino, about 27Km, and most of it was the ugliest day yet on the Camino...mostly along secondary roads or paths that ran parallel to the main highway. Huge noisy trucks rumbling by, uninspiring scenery. We have a new travel companion with us today, a Danish girl named Laerke. She is as about as different from Kristina as you could get... A total free spirit, in love with the trees and the sky and the moon, compassionate, easy to be around. She also looks like she belongs in a Timotei commercial, with her river of white blonde hair. We walked together for most of the day, and it's nice to have someone to talk to again, as Robin and Kristina tend to have a slightly faster pace than me and if I don't feel like keeping up with them, I'm on my own. Which is fine, but I really like talking to Laerke. We bonded almost immediately over our respective lost parents (Laerke's dad died last year) and after an emotionally exhausting morning of talking, we arrived at a house on the edge of town where a man had left snacks and treats out for passing pilgrims. We stopped to chat with him and say thank you, and
as we were leaving, he gave me a little hug and a grandfatherly "besito," which was just so sweet. I find the Camino is full of lovely little magic moments like that, it offers up these little gifts, just when you need them most. And everyone has stories about it -- a man driving a pilgrim to the next town so she could see a doctor, a man giving us a bunch of grapes from his vineyard, and just the general good will that the locals show us as we walk through town -- lots of shouts of "hola!" and "buen camino!". I will really miss that spirit of the Camino, I think it's a very special part of the experience.
Day 23: Today was a little more of the same in terms of scenery, but improved a bit near the end. We walked into Astorga and climbed up some steps that led us right into the heart of the city centre and right into a wonderful market scene. We have been craving vegetables, as Spanish food is oddly lacking in them, so we went a bit crazy buying fruit and veggies, along with the usual cheeses and bread. Lovely little town. All four of us got foot massages from a tiny little Spanish man -- awesome.
Day 24: We arrived in Foncebadon -- about 27Km -- around 1pm today. The first 20 or so was mostly flattish, along typical fields and farms. Then the last 6 were a climb up a mountain...such a joy to be climbing again after the endless flatness. It was relatively easy, not too steep, and the views just got better as we got higher.
Day 25: Today was Laerke's 22nd birthday. We knew this because she had mentioned it approximately 437 times in the last four days. In the morning we climbed 3Km up to the top of the mountain, which is the highest point on the Camino (except for the Pyranees), and had a little breakfast picnic while we watched the sunrise. This is not out of the ordinary, by the way. We have seen the sunrise pretty much every day, as we often walk for an hour in the dark/pre-dawn light, as a way to beat the heat, the albergue rush, and also as a way to deal with the meseta. The walk was lovely -- all along the mountain ridge until we came down sharply at the end into Ponferadda. To celebrate Laerke's birthday we went out for tapas and sangria, and gave her a chocolate donut with some candles as her cake. Well, you do what you can on the Camino!
Day 26: We did 25Km to Villafranca today, but left Laerke at the 20Km mark, as she wants to go back to traveling on her own, but I'm sure we'll see her again.
Day 27: We left Kristina behind today, as she wanted to slow her pace down a bit, so it's back to me and Robin, and I must admit, it's nice just being the two of us again. We walked 30Km to O Cebreiro, most of which was rolling hills until the last two hours, which were up up up, and of course we were doing that in the height of the afternoon heat -- exhausting. But O Cebreiro is the most charming little town and has just stunning views of the green patchwork valley we climbed up most of the day. Really felt like fall today. We officially crossed over into Galicia today, a region in Spain famous for its terrible weather, but we were blessed with clear skies and sun. Robin spoke "Spanglish" most of the afternoon with a Spanish man called Ernesto, who just kept saying "it no normal!" throwing his hands out to indicate this incredible weather. Maybe if we don't talk about it, it won't change.
Day 28: We were in Triacastela before 1pm today, and after our obligatory showers and laundry, we sat out in front of the cafe drinking cupos de vino blanco for most of the afternoon, enjoying having nothing to do. Laerke turned up around 5pm, a very late arrival for most pilgrims, but I think she was waylaid by the Spaniard attached to her -- Placedo, or "Plathedo" as they say in Spain. That's basically how you have to speak Spanish here -- as if you have a lisp. Gracias is "grathiath" and cerveza is "thervetha". So there you go -- "That 70s Show" may have been playing it for laughs when Fez called it "Barthelona," but that's actually how people say it here:) I can't say it without giggling.
Day 29: Yesterday when we were decending into Triacastela, we could see a thick cloud cover over the next valley. Today, we walked into that valley and suddenly found ourselves in a different world. Everything was misty and dark and felt slightly damp, and it seemed likely a hobbit might pop out from behind the next tree. I guess this is more typical weather for Galicia, but it wasn't raining and it was really quite cool. We walked via Samos, where there is a large monastery, and then took the highway route to Sarria, as the walking path had too much up and down for our knees today... When we arrived in Sarria, the sun came out and it was a gorgeous day. The weather gods continue to smile on us:)
Day 30: The fog was so thick this morning we couldn't see to the end of the street. But we climbed for quite a while and then we were above it and the skies were clear. We walked along mountain ridges all day, along little dirt roads lined with stone fences and charming dirt paths lined with trees. So nice. Beautiful sunrise, very misty and cool. Our albergue in Portomarin, however, is not cool at all. It feels dirty, the water tastes terrible, and the kitchen has nothing in it -- not a single cup or fork. What's the point of having a kitchen if there's nothing in it, I ask you!
Day 31: Arrived in Palas Del Rei this afternoon. Quite a bit of uphill in the first half of the day, but then mostly down or flat for the second half. Had dinner with Laerke and Placedo, who have been with us since we met them in Triacastella, but they tend to walk on their own and we just hang out with them at the end of the day. Placedo is a nice guy, though he loses points for his hockey hair, and for his slightly annoying habit of bursting into song when you're in mid-sentence. I wouldn't mind this so much if he could actually sing, or if he chose to sing something other than bad 80s songs such as: "I've Got the Power" by Snap (which he actually rapped, in his heavily accented english), "Wind of Change" by the Scorpions, or -- his worst offence -- "Blame it on the Rain" by Milli Vanilli. Not kidding.
Day 32: A lovely mountain walk to Ribadiso today where we are staying at a really cool albergue...sort of like we are camping. There's a little river and several outbuildings -- laundry, showers and toilets, kitchen and dining area. We had the menu del dia for lunch and added a second bottle of wine, just because...you know...and then headed right for siesta afterward. Have been hanging out the last few days with an awesome Spanish couple, Jesus and Laura, who crack us up regularly. Jesus is about 8 feet tall and super gangly, and always calls me "cup of tea" because I have a little white tin cup attached to the outside of my pack that I use to drink tea, wine, and whatever else, and they think this is hilarious:)
Day 33: Pretty short day to Arca O Pino today, about 22Km. We didn't do much today, just visited the supermercado and had our usual lunch, checked email, and then Robin and I spent the rest of the day having a drink (or more than one) with a couple of American guys we met on the trail today. Everyone is excited about getting to Santiago tomorrow...you can just feel it. I'm excited. Mostly because I'm tired...of living out of a backpack, of wearing the same clothes every single day, of getting up before dawn, of washing my socks in the sink, etc. I think I'm feeling mildly homesick too, so Santiago is coming at the right time.
Day 34: Walking into Santiago today felt slightly surreal. In some ways, it's just another city, with industrial outlying areas, and car dealerships. But the old city is so charming and the cathedral really is stunning -- huge and imposing against the blue sky. And when we arrived there we ran into a number of people we've met along the way, so it sort of felt like a combination of graduation and reunion. We had lunch with our Swiss-Italian buddies, Carlo and Enrico, who have been a day ahead of us for about a week now, and then wandered around with Jesus and Laura and Laerke and Placedo doing various errands -- checking email, visiting the tourist office to check bus schedules to Finisterre (we're going to the beach for a couple of days), and getting our "compostela," the certificate stating that you have completed the Camino. Had mixed tapas and wine for dinner with the trio of Aussie women we met on the meseta and I was completely overwhelmed by the crowds and the noise -- it was like sensory overload after having been in such tiny, quiet towns in the middle of nowhere for the last month. I don't really think this has sunk in yet...maybe tomorrow. Right now, I'm just looking forward to the immediate rewards -- not having to get up at 6am, not having to wear my hiking shoes again if I don't want to, and not having to put my backpack on my aching shoulders for 8 hours a day anymore.
Day 35 - Post Camino: Today we went to the Pilgrim's mass at the cathedral. It being Sunday it was packed -- standing room only. They read a list of all the pilgrims who had arrived the day before -- they don't read your name, they just say so many Canadians started from St. Jean (4 of us) and so on. The service started with an elderly nun coming up to the pulpit and singing a song for the pilgrims and her voice was so sweet I promptly burst into tears and proceeded to cry through most of the service. It felt good though, very cleansing. I think I'm just exhausted on all levels, and am looking forward to going to Finisterre tomorrow to do nothing but chill out.
It's hard to believe the Camino is over. After years of dreaming about it, and months of talking about it, and days of walking it, it's now in the past. I think the biggest lesson the Camino taught me is simply to be present. When you take your first step, you can't think about getting to Santiago -- it's too far, too overwhelming. Instead you just have to think about the here and now. What do you have to do next. I am so grateful to all the pilgrims I met on the trail -- you know who you are -- and all the gifts you gave me. You all made this experience what it was for me. Especially Robin, my Camino sister, who has been with me every (painful) step of the way and has been patient, kind, compassionate, and good humoured throughout all my whinging and blisters, all the while quietly dealing with the calamaties of your own -- cold, stomach flu, and being bitten by every bug in Spain. Walking 800Km across Spain wouldn't have been half as much fun without you.
Love Tessa
ps photos will be up in a while on my Flickr site, but maybe a long while:)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Camino journal excerpts
Hi everyone,
The following is a brief sort of summary of the first half of the Camino -- I've just written a few lines whenever I've had email access, which is fairly often as most places we stay have internet kiosks.
Pre-day 1: arrived in St. Jean Pied de Port in very south-western France around 5pm after a bus from Madrid to Pamplona and a taxi over the border, which we shared with a lovely older couple from Korea who, as it turned out, have golfed in Kimberley...small world. Town was lovely, and just like I would imagine a small French village to look. We got our pilgrim passports and checked into an albergue -- which are like hostels specifically for pilgrims...very cheap and very basic. Bunk beds, a small kitchen, and somewhere to do laundry by hand. That's about it.
Day 1: up very early after a bad sleep because of three snorers/loud talkers in the room. Quick breakfast of bread and tea and were on our way at 6:43am...before sunrise so was still pitch black. Tough hike with an elevation gain of 1300 metres, but so absolutely gorgeous...pastoral green hills, sheep, stunning mountain views. They say this is the single hardest day on the whole Camino, as you basically have to commit to 27Km and there are only two water stops along the way. We crossed into Spain around noon. Last 3Km was the hardest because it was steep downhill. The albergue was in an old monastery and was like a giant room filled with as many bunk beds as they could cram in...the snoring was legendary. Thank god for earplugs. Met an Irish couple and two guys from Ireland and England who we had dinner and drinks with -- awesome people and so much fun.
Day 2: much flatter terrain today, but not as interesting, did about 21 Km. Met up with the English/Irish folk for dinner and more drink. Attempted to go pub-hopping but the only other pub in town closed at 8:30. Returned to first pub and partied with some Spanish cops (who were off-duty) and closed the place down. Returned to the albergue just after midnight, which was two hours past our curfew but fortunately the place was very loosely managed and no one was there to scold us -- or to lock us out.
Day 3: A long, slow, slog of a day, for obvious reasons... Were still an hour outside of Pamplona at 2pm. Much more mellow night with the crew, sat in the main open square and nursed a single drink until curfew. Most albergues have a curfew of 10pm, and lights off is usually a half hour or an hour later. The Camino is not a party oriented holiday:) Said goodbye to the Irish/English crew. Will really miss them -- awesome, awesome people.
Day 4: finished our day in Puerta de la Raina, approx a 21Km day.
Day 5: Made it to Estella. Feet are generally in pain, very inflamed. Robin diagnosed me with needing new shoes -- my running shoes are dead. As much as I think it's crazy to get new shoes in the early days of a long distance walk, the potential breaking in pain seems worth it compared to the guaranteed pain of continuing in my current shoes. Visited the Red Cross clinic to take care of a blister and was so overwhelmed at how gentle and kind and wonderful the staff were it brought me to tears. Think am exhausted.
Day 6: Day off in Estella. Heavenly. Slept in till 8am -- a real luxury as we are usually up no later than 6 -- had a leisurely breakfast of Spanish omelette and coffee/tea. Lazed around and did nothing all day in an attempt to give our feet a break. Drank some wine. Read our books. Soaked our feet. Good day.
Day 7: Back on the trail. Another 21Km.The mountainous terrain has given way to rolling hills of wheat fields, vineyards (grapes make for good snacking!), and various other crops. Very different but so gorgeous...the kind of landscape I was imagining we'd see on the trail.
Day 8: Sent my pack ahead for a 29Km day in order to give my feet a bit more easing in time. Carried a cloth shoulder bag in which a container of yogurt broke and drenched everything, including my phone. Lost my long-sleeved shirt. Kind of a bad day.
Day 9: Very long day, feet were hurting after 31Km. Then we couldn't find the albergue...crossed the river three times before we found it. Fortunately was able to soak feet in said river, which helped. Note: you know you are Canadian when you are on a pilgrimage and you spend your spare time searching every supermercato for peanut butter, and when you find it, you carry half a kilo of it for over 100Km just so you can have peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch...
Day 10: Worst snorer EVER last night. As Bob the British guy said this morning, "I don't know how he got that wild boar to make love to him all night long." Seriously. Arrived in Santo Domingo around noon ...poshest albergue ever -- huge bathrooms, big kitchen, leather couches and a tv, cheap internet, lovely outdoor space with picnic tables, all for the price of a donation. The church here has a chicken living in it. Long story.
Day 11: My feet are wrecked. But everyone's feet are wrecked...except Robin's. Annoying. The other night I was lying on my top bunk during siesta and I could see everyone's feet...all covered in Compeed and bandages. It's amazing to me that people are really sustaining so much damage -- horrible blisters, knee injuries, tendonitis, even one woman with a blood clot in her leg -- and every morning everyone just gets up and puts their feet back in the boots that are causing all the pain and trouble, and walks another 25 - 30Km.
Day 12: Arrived in Ages this afternoon after about 27Km and relaxed in the sun with some 50cent glasses of wine. I do love Spain. We are officially one-third of the way there, since we're on a 33-ish-day schedule. We stayed in an albergue next to a church and went next door at 8:30 for the pilgrim's blessing, which was so lovely. The priest led the blessing and asked members of the audience to read passages in four different languages. Made me get all choked up.
Day 13: Made it to Burgos, which is sort of the end of the first stage of the trail. Lots of people are stopping here, or are skipping the next section of about 150Km to get to Leon and continue from there. It's neat to see the familiar faces that we've gotten to know along the way...I think of them as our Camino family...the hilarious Swiss-Italian guys who we always have a "cupo do vino blanco" with when we roll into town. The awesome Kiwi sisters who so lovingly bandaged my feet one night. The "intense Canadians" who set such a rapid pace I can only keep up with them for about half a day -- and they're retired. The trio of Aussie women whose twangy accents can carry across an entire compound. The Slovenian woman whose name is Barbie, though I can't bring myself to call her that. Alfredo the Italian pilot, who laughs every time he sees me soaking my feet. They are all such great people, and every day there are new ones to meet.
Day 14: The stretch of land between Burgos and Leon is called the meseta, and is basically an featureless, arid, dry dustbowl. This is when we stare at the ground and call on some meditative mantra to help us get through the day. "The pilgrim's treadmill" they say. And it is somewhat desolate, and depressing, but it's also starkly beautiful in its own way. Endless stretches of gold fields against pure blue skies.
Day 15: Took a day off today, to rest the feet. Stayed in a little place in the middle of nowhere called Boadillo. It was the loveliest oasis of green grass and flowers, with a tiny little pool that we all dangled our feet in...such a nice way to while away the afternoon. The guy who ran the place asked me where I was from and when I said Canada he asked me if I wanted a "double double." Turns out he lived in London, ON for a while, which explains it...so weird to hear a Tim Horton's reference in the middle of nothern Spain!
Day 16: Our albergue tonight was in a convent (many are in monasteries) and we all had our own beds -- meaning there were no bunk beds. We were all inordinately excited about this. I hope I never see another bunk bed again after this trip.
Day 17: The halfway point in our 32-day plan -- yay! We started the day out with some rain, but it was mostly a dry and sunny walk. We have three more days of this nothingness...and probably more to come!
That's all for now.
Love, me.
The following is a brief sort of summary of the first half of the Camino -- I've just written a few lines whenever I've had email access, which is fairly often as most places we stay have internet kiosks.
Pre-day 1: arrived in St. Jean Pied de Port in very south-western France around 5pm after a bus from Madrid to Pamplona and a taxi over the border, which we shared with a lovely older couple from Korea who, as it turned out, have golfed in Kimberley...small world. Town was lovely, and just like I would imagine a small French village to look. We got our pilgrim passports and checked into an albergue -- which are like hostels specifically for pilgrims...very cheap and very basic. Bunk beds, a small kitchen, and somewhere to do laundry by hand. That's about it.
Day 1: up very early after a bad sleep because of three snorers/loud talkers in the room. Quick breakfast of bread and tea and were on our way at 6:43am...before sunrise so was still pitch black. Tough hike with an elevation gain of 1300 metres, but so absolutely gorgeous...pastoral green hills, sheep, stunning mountain views. They say this is the single hardest day on the whole Camino, as you basically have to commit to 27Km and there are only two water stops along the way. We crossed into Spain around noon. Last 3Km was the hardest because it was steep downhill. The albergue was in an old monastery and was like a giant room filled with as many bunk beds as they could cram in...the snoring was legendary. Thank god for earplugs. Met an Irish couple and two guys from Ireland and England who we had dinner and drinks with -- awesome people and so much fun.
Day 2: much flatter terrain today, but not as interesting, did about 21 Km. Met up with the English/Irish folk for dinner and more drink. Attempted to go pub-hopping but the only other pub in town closed at 8:30. Returned to first pub and partied with some Spanish cops (who were off-duty) and closed the place down. Returned to the albergue just after midnight, which was two hours past our curfew but fortunately the place was very loosely managed and no one was there to scold us -- or to lock us out.
Day 3: A long, slow, slog of a day, for obvious reasons... Were still an hour outside of Pamplona at 2pm. Much more mellow night with the crew, sat in the main open square and nursed a single drink until curfew. Most albergues have a curfew of 10pm, and lights off is usually a half hour or an hour later. The Camino is not a party oriented holiday:) Said goodbye to the Irish/English crew. Will really miss them -- awesome, awesome people.
Day 4: finished our day in Puerta de la Raina, approx a 21Km day.
Day 5: Made it to Estella. Feet are generally in pain, very inflamed. Robin diagnosed me with needing new shoes -- my running shoes are dead. As much as I think it's crazy to get new shoes in the early days of a long distance walk, the potential breaking in pain seems worth it compared to the guaranteed pain of continuing in my current shoes. Visited the Red Cross clinic to take care of a blister and was so overwhelmed at how gentle and kind and wonderful the staff were it brought me to tears. Think am exhausted.
Day 6: Day off in Estella. Heavenly. Slept in till 8am -- a real luxury as we are usually up no later than 6 -- had a leisurely breakfast of Spanish omelette and coffee/tea. Lazed around and did nothing all day in an attempt to give our feet a break. Drank some wine. Read our books. Soaked our feet. Good day.
Day 7: Back on the trail. Another 21Km.The mountainous terrain has given way to rolling hills of wheat fields, vineyards (grapes make for good snacking!), and various other crops. Very different but so gorgeous...the kind of landscape I was imagining we'd see on the trail.
Day 8: Sent my pack ahead for a 29Km day in order to give my feet a bit more easing in time. Carried a cloth shoulder bag in which a container of yogurt broke and drenched everything, including my phone. Lost my long-sleeved shirt. Kind of a bad day.
Day 9: Very long day, feet were hurting after 31Km. Then we couldn't find the albergue...crossed the river three times before we found it. Fortunately was able to soak feet in said river, which helped. Note: you know you are Canadian when you are on a pilgrimage and you spend your spare time searching every supermercato for peanut butter, and when you find it, you carry half a kilo of it for over 100Km just so you can have peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch...
Day 10: Worst snorer EVER last night. As Bob the British guy said this morning, "I don't know how he got that wild boar to make love to him all night long." Seriously. Arrived in Santo Domingo around noon ...poshest albergue ever -- huge bathrooms, big kitchen, leather couches and a tv, cheap internet, lovely outdoor space with picnic tables, all for the price of a donation. The church here has a chicken living in it. Long story.
Day 11: My feet are wrecked. But everyone's feet are wrecked...except Robin's. Annoying. The other night I was lying on my top bunk during siesta and I could see everyone's feet...all covered in Compeed and bandages. It's amazing to me that people are really sustaining so much damage -- horrible blisters, knee injuries, tendonitis, even one woman with a blood clot in her leg -- and every morning everyone just gets up and puts their feet back in the boots that are causing all the pain and trouble, and walks another 25 - 30Km.
Day 12: Arrived in Ages this afternoon after about 27Km and relaxed in the sun with some 50cent glasses of wine. I do love Spain. We are officially one-third of the way there, since we're on a 33-ish-day schedule. We stayed in an albergue next to a church and went next door at 8:30 for the pilgrim's blessing, which was so lovely. The priest led the blessing and asked members of the audience to read passages in four different languages. Made me get all choked up.
Day 13: Made it to Burgos, which is sort of the end of the first stage of the trail. Lots of people are stopping here, or are skipping the next section of about 150Km to get to Leon and continue from there. It's neat to see the familiar faces that we've gotten to know along the way...I think of them as our Camino family...the hilarious Swiss-Italian guys who we always have a "cupo do vino blanco" with when we roll into town. The awesome Kiwi sisters who so lovingly bandaged my feet one night. The "intense Canadians" who set such a rapid pace I can only keep up with them for about half a day -- and they're retired. The trio of Aussie women whose twangy accents can carry across an entire compound. The Slovenian woman whose name is Barbie, though I can't bring myself to call her that. Alfredo the Italian pilot, who laughs every time he sees me soaking my feet. They are all such great people, and every day there are new ones to meet.
Day 14: The stretch of land between Burgos and Leon is called the meseta, and is basically an featureless, arid, dry dustbowl. This is when we stare at the ground and call on some meditative mantra to help us get through the day. "The pilgrim's treadmill" they say. And it is somewhat desolate, and depressing, but it's also starkly beautiful in its own way. Endless stretches of gold fields against pure blue skies.
Day 15: Took a day off today, to rest the feet. Stayed in a little place in the middle of nowhere called Boadillo. It was the loveliest oasis of green grass and flowers, with a tiny little pool that we all dangled our feet in...such a nice way to while away the afternoon. The guy who ran the place asked me where I was from and when I said Canada he asked me if I wanted a "double double." Turns out he lived in London, ON for a while, which explains it...so weird to hear a Tim Horton's reference in the middle of nothern Spain!
Day 16: Our albergue tonight was in a convent (many are in monasteries) and we all had our own beds -- meaning there were no bunk beds. We were all inordinately excited about this. I hope I never see another bunk bed again after this trip.
Day 17: The halfway point in our 32-day plan -- yay! We started the day out with some rain, but it was mostly a dry and sunny walk. We have three more days of this nothingness...and probably more to come!
That's all for now.
Love, me.
Monday, September 14, 2009
On the road again
Hola amigos y familia,
We have free internet at our hotel, so am taking advantage, as I'm not anticipating having much access in the next month or so. Thought I'd catch you all up on my last month of travel and adventure and drama...and there was a lot of all of it in August.
I spent the first 5 days of the month in Rome, which I absolutely loved. I spent every day prowling the city from early in the morning till late at night, seeing all the great sights -- the Colloseum, the Pantheon, St. Peter's square and church, the Vatican museums. It was so amazing to see these centuries old buildings and sites, to feel the weight of the city`s history. They were marathon days, but totally worth it. One of the main reasons I was interested in seeing Rome is because of the book "Eat, Pray, Love", for those of you who have read it. It was and continues to be a real inspiration for me, and walking the streets and seeing all the places Elizabeth Gilbert describes in her pursuit of pleasure (in the form of pasta and mucho gelato) was a really special experience for me.
After Rome I met Robin in Pisa, and we continued back to the farm together. A woman named Astrid, from Holland, was also joining us at the farm as a wwoofer, and meeting her was a definite highlight of my time in Tuscany. She speaks 5 languages (count 'em!) and is just a totally straightforward and relaxed person who really kind of evened out the vibe on the farm, and is just a pleasure to be around.
Another wonderful thing that happened in August was my aunt and uncle, Rita and Earl, came to Tuscany and rented a house in a little town called Monzone, which was only a 20 minute drive from the farm. I chose Tuscany as a wwoofing destination because I knew they were coming there, but I had no idea where they would be, so it was just good luck that we turned out to be so close! I spent a couple of my days off with them, and we visited a nearby town called Carrara, which is framed by a stunning backdrop of several marble quarries. We drove up and among them and had lunch at the foot of one of the snowy mountains...too cool. Other days we just spent chilling at their lovely rental house, which was situated on a river and had lots of shade for us to sit in and read and drink wine -- heavenly!
On some of our other days off, Astrid and Robin and I visited Cinque Terre (Five Villages), which is one of the most charming and scenic places I've been to in Italy. The five villages in question are strung out along the coast of the Ligurian sea, and are a literal jumble of colorful houses stacked on top of one another, tiny stone streets, and lovely little cafes overlooking the water. You can walk from the first town to the last, north to south or vice versa, in a few hours, depending on how often you stop for gelato -- it's about 12 Km. The beaches vary widely, anything from huge boulders that people dive off (the lifeguard in me cringed every time) to umbrellas you have to pay to lie under on the only real sandy beach we encountered. We did go for a quick dip at the end of the day, but we didn't pay for the umbrella privileges.
So, things at the farm took a turn for the weird in the last week we were there...it got very strange with Valeria as she became very suddenly unfriendly and grumpy and acted like we were a big nuisance for her. We asked her a couple of times if she was unhappy with us and if she wanted us to leave, but she said no. But things came to a head and there was a bit of a blow out, so we packed our things and left a couple of days early. It's a long story that I won't go into here, and anyway it's over now. The three of us have written letters of complaint to wwoof Italia and hopefully they will take action as we feel pretty strongly that no other wwoofers should go to that farm. It was unfortunate on a lot of levels, as both Astrid and Robin had never been wwoofing before and have been turned off it now. All of my experiences in Ireland were so positive it was a disappointment for me to end on such a negative note, especially because it started out in a positive way. But anyway, Robin and I stayed with Rita and Earl for a couple of days and had a wonderful time just relaxing by the river, so it was a nice contrast and a nice way to put the experience behind us.
We left Tuscany and went to Venice for a couple of nights, which was awesome. The city is so perfectly preserved...no ugly modern buildings, no fast food joints on the island, and NO CARS. What a treat. I loved the canals and the millions of bridges, the vaporettos, the gondaliers. Just so beautiful. Weird, but beautiful.
After Venice we travelled up to Trieste, which is barely in Italy as it's so close to, and is completely surrounded by, Slovenia. We stayed with my friend Jen, who I have known for as long as I can remember, as we went to kindergarten and grades 1&2 together, and lived just a few minutes away from each other in the Kimberley suburb of Meadowbrook, where we both grew up. It's so neat, I think, to keep in touch with people who you've known for such a long time, and even though Jen and I were out of touch for several years, it was very comfortable and easy to be around her and her family. Her husband's name is Josh and they are both physicists -- PhDs in physics. Can you say "scary smart people"? They have post doc positions at the university in Trieste and should be there for another year or so, perhaps more. They took us to their workplace, the "Synchroton," which was a large circular building that has electrons going around and around at some speed that allows them to measure things...I don't know, it was a bit beyond me as I barely made it through physics 11 in high school. But very cool to see.
Jen and Josh have a little boy called Tycho, who is one of the cutest kids I've ever seen -- second only to Jeremiah of course:) He reminded me a lot of my friend Kristine's little boy Cole, as they're close in age and have that coy, mischevious smile perfected. Tycho took a huge liking to me -- ironic, for obvious reasons. He often wanted to be carried by me and I felt strangely flattered that this little boy liked me so much...there's something very pure and gratifying about a toddler's affection.
We went for several walks in Trieste, which is a lovely city. It's a port town, and has wonderful walking trails that have fantastic views of the water and the coastline. Jen and Josh live in a little village that's much higher in elevation so it was blessedly cool at night! I must admit, I think I've had enough of the sun. I am ready for some cooler temperatures...however, I don't think Spain will be much cooler for a while yet.
Robin and I are in Madrid right now, and are leaving for Pamplona tomorrow. We will start the Camino on Monday, the 31st. I have booked my flight back to Dublin on October 7th, so we have to complete it in that timeframe. I'm quite excited, but am wondering how my feet will hold up:) I will be booking my flight back to Vancouver in the next couple of days, and am looking at sometime on Thanksgiving weekend...probably the Sunday. I don't know how long I'll be in Vancouver/BC/Canada for, but it will be a longer and more relaxed visit than last time!
I think that's all for now. I have no new photos as I haven't had enough internet time to sort and post any.
Adios for now!
Love Tessa
We have free internet at our hotel, so am taking advantage, as I'm not anticipating having much access in the next month or so. Thought I'd catch you all up on my last month of travel and adventure and drama...and there was a lot of all of it in August.
I spent the first 5 days of the month in Rome, which I absolutely loved. I spent every day prowling the city from early in the morning till late at night, seeing all the great sights -- the Colloseum, the Pantheon, St. Peter's square and church, the Vatican museums. It was so amazing to see these centuries old buildings and sites, to feel the weight of the city`s history. They were marathon days, but totally worth it. One of the main reasons I was interested in seeing Rome is because of the book "Eat, Pray, Love", for those of you who have read it. It was and continues to be a real inspiration for me, and walking the streets and seeing all the places Elizabeth Gilbert describes in her pursuit of pleasure (in the form of pasta and mucho gelato) was a really special experience for me.
After Rome I met Robin in Pisa, and we continued back to the farm together. A woman named Astrid, from Holland, was also joining us at the farm as a wwoofer, and meeting her was a definite highlight of my time in Tuscany. She speaks 5 languages (count 'em!) and is just a totally straightforward and relaxed person who really kind of evened out the vibe on the farm, and is just a pleasure to be around.
Another wonderful thing that happened in August was my aunt and uncle, Rita and Earl, came to Tuscany and rented a house in a little town called Monzone, which was only a 20 minute drive from the farm. I chose Tuscany as a wwoofing destination because I knew they were coming there, but I had no idea where they would be, so it was just good luck that we turned out to be so close! I spent a couple of my days off with them, and we visited a nearby town called Carrara, which is framed by a stunning backdrop of several marble quarries. We drove up and among them and had lunch at the foot of one of the snowy mountains...too cool. Other days we just spent chilling at their lovely rental house, which was situated on a river and had lots of shade for us to sit in and read and drink wine -- heavenly!
On some of our other days off, Astrid and Robin and I visited Cinque Terre (Five Villages), which is one of the most charming and scenic places I've been to in Italy. The five villages in question are strung out along the coast of the Ligurian sea, and are a literal jumble of colorful houses stacked on top of one another, tiny stone streets, and lovely little cafes overlooking the water. You can walk from the first town to the last, north to south or vice versa, in a few hours, depending on how often you stop for gelato -- it's about 12 Km. The beaches vary widely, anything from huge boulders that people dive off (the lifeguard in me cringed every time) to umbrellas you have to pay to lie under on the only real sandy beach we encountered. We did go for a quick dip at the end of the day, but we didn't pay for the umbrella privileges.
So, things at the farm took a turn for the weird in the last week we were there...it got very strange with Valeria as she became very suddenly unfriendly and grumpy and acted like we were a big nuisance for her. We asked her a couple of times if she was unhappy with us and if she wanted us to leave, but she said no. But things came to a head and there was a bit of a blow out, so we packed our things and left a couple of days early. It's a long story that I won't go into here, and anyway it's over now. The three of us have written letters of complaint to wwoof Italia and hopefully they will take action as we feel pretty strongly that no other wwoofers should go to that farm. It was unfortunate on a lot of levels, as both Astrid and Robin had never been wwoofing before and have been turned off it now. All of my experiences in Ireland were so positive it was a disappointment for me to end on such a negative note, especially because it started out in a positive way. But anyway, Robin and I stayed with Rita and Earl for a couple of days and had a wonderful time just relaxing by the river, so it was a nice contrast and a nice way to put the experience behind us.
We left Tuscany and went to Venice for a couple of nights, which was awesome. The city is so perfectly preserved...no ugly modern buildings, no fast food joints on the island, and NO CARS. What a treat. I loved the canals and the millions of bridges, the vaporettos, the gondaliers. Just so beautiful. Weird, but beautiful.
After Venice we travelled up to Trieste, which is barely in Italy as it's so close to, and is completely surrounded by, Slovenia. We stayed with my friend Jen, who I have known for as long as I can remember, as we went to kindergarten and grades 1&2 together, and lived just a few minutes away from each other in the Kimberley suburb of Meadowbrook, where we both grew up. It's so neat, I think, to keep in touch with people who you've known for such a long time, and even though Jen and I were out of touch for several years, it was very comfortable and easy to be around her and her family. Her husband's name is Josh and they are both physicists -- PhDs in physics. Can you say "scary smart people"? They have post doc positions at the university in Trieste and should be there for another year or so, perhaps more. They took us to their workplace, the "Synchroton," which was a large circular building that has electrons going around and around at some speed that allows them to measure things...I don't know, it was a bit beyond me as I barely made it through physics 11 in high school. But very cool to see.
Jen and Josh have a little boy called Tycho, who is one of the cutest kids I've ever seen -- second only to Jeremiah of course:) He reminded me a lot of my friend Kristine's little boy Cole, as they're close in age and have that coy, mischevious smile perfected. Tycho took a huge liking to me -- ironic, for obvious reasons. He often wanted to be carried by me and I felt strangely flattered that this little boy liked me so much...there's something very pure and gratifying about a toddler's affection.
We went for several walks in Trieste, which is a lovely city. It's a port town, and has wonderful walking trails that have fantastic views of the water and the coastline. Jen and Josh live in a little village that's much higher in elevation so it was blessedly cool at night! I must admit, I think I've had enough of the sun. I am ready for some cooler temperatures...however, I don't think Spain will be much cooler for a while yet.
Robin and I are in Madrid right now, and are leaving for Pamplona tomorrow. We will start the Camino on Monday, the 31st. I have booked my flight back to Dublin on October 7th, so we have to complete it in that timeframe. I'm quite excited, but am wondering how my feet will hold up:) I will be booking my flight back to Vancouver in the next couple of days, and am looking at sometime on Thanksgiving weekend...probably the Sunday. I don't know how long I'll be in Vancouver/BC/Canada for, but it will be a longer and more relaxed visit than last time!
I think that's all for now. I have no new photos as I haven't had enough internet time to sort and post any.
Adios for now!
Love Tessa
Monday, August 17, 2009
Under the Tuscan Sun
Ciao miei amici,
Writing to you from the beautiful province of Tuscany. It's one of those places that lives up to the postcard image...simply beautiful.
I spent my first week in Italy with my awesome friend Lynn. Lynn and I went to Douglas College together and were editing buddies practically from day one. Her husband is from Germany and they spend a month of every summer visiting his family, so we took advantage of the opportunity and Lynn came down to hang with me for a week before I went to the farm.
We had the BEST time, staying in Pisa at the coolest budget accommodation ever...a campground where we had a small bunglaow with an outdoor kitchen, access to a pool where we spent some lovely afternoons, and we were minutes away from a supermarket and the train station. Every night we stopped at the supermarket and assembled ingredients for dinner the most important ingredient obviously being the €1.49 bottle of wine, which was great! It's truly dangerous how cheap the wine is here. There's not much to see in Pisa, besides, obviously the leaning tower and the gorgeous piazza. We climbed to the top of the tower and it was the most bizarre sensation because when we got to the side of the tower that was leaning, it felt like we were walking on flat ground, even though we were still climbing stairs. Fabulous views.
While we were staying in Pisa we visited Lucca and Florence. In Florence we checked out the Duomo and the markets, crossed the famous Ponte Vecchio (a bridge that has small apartments built along it -- see photos, as it's hard to explain). I didn't love Florence. It felt too big and busy, and sort of felt like just another big city. We then left Pisa and stayed in Siena for a few nights, and I totally fell in love with it. Siena is one of those charming walled cities, with a jumbled maze of streets that are just fun to wander and get lost in. Around every corner there was some lovely church or cathedral. While we were in Siena we did a little tour of the surrounding countryside, saw a bit of the Chianti region, and a small town called San Gimignano (which Lynn continued to call San Chimichanga, even after we learned how to pronounce it properly:).
Part of the tour was going to winery where we got to sample several of the region's wines, which were all wonderful -- the Brunello emerged as the favourite at our table, but at €40 per bottle, we didn't pick any up! We had great table mates and with every glass of wine the noise level increased until it was approximately a dull roar and our winery host had to yell at us to shut up and listen to him describe the next wine. Our host, by the way, was the best character I've met in Italy. Really, he belongs in a movie. And our tour guide was a man from Colombia who reminded me so much of Angel from Dexter I couldn't help be surprised every time I looked at him that it wasn't actually Angel. He kept calling the fields of sunflowers "sunnyflowers" which is I think what I will call them from now on:)
After Lynn left, I headed to the farm in northern Tuscany. The farm is owned and run by a woman named Viviana and her daughter, Valeria. There are two other kids in the family, another girl, Violaine, and a boy, Verner. And yes, everyone in this family's name begins with a V...Valeria's daughter is named Vevi. Viviana's husband died suddenly of a heart attack in '03, so it's just the girls running it now. When I arrived, Valeria was on holidays so it was just me and Viviana. I found those first 10 days a bit lonely, as Viviana's english is quite limited, so I really had no one to talk to. There isn't much to do at night, as the farm is relatively isolated, so I read a lot and wrote a lot... I had a small tv in my room but all the shows are dubbed in Italian, rather than subtitled, so I was reduced to watching anything on MTV that happened to be subtitled, which essentially meant subjecting myself to the most heinous reality tv in existence (I'm sure there is something trashier than Tila Tequila's "Shot at Love" but I don't ever want to see it).
Valeria came back on the 26th and it's been great having her here. Her english is a vast improvement and she's quite close to my age so it feels more friendly with her and I'm more comfortable around her. In the afternoons, when it's too hot to go outside, we hang out in the living room and watch english language movies -- yay!
The weather has been totally perfect...hot and sunny, mostly clear blue skies almost every day. I think there has been one night of rain since I arrived. The farm is in a gorgeous location -- and the general area is scattered with those charming little red-roofed towns that are so *Italian*!
I have been enjoying the food...lovely pastas, cheeses, meats. At the farm they make their own olive oil, sausage, and cheese, so it's not too rough:) It is, at times, a little too carb-heavy for my liking, and sometimes I find myself wishing for more veggies. But next week
the tomatoes should be ready for harvest, and the zuchinnis will be ready to be picked too.
Robin arrives tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her and having her company on the farm. There's going to be another wwoofer there as well, so it's gonna be a party!
Obviously I am loving Italy. The food, the weather, the absolutely stunning scenery and charming towns. Really, what's not too love? I think the nicest thing about the weather is you can walk around at midnight in a tank top and be totally comfortable -- or even a bit too warm sometimes. I hear Vancouver is having quite the heatwave, but I also hear its rained every day in July in Dublin, so I feel for you guys, after last summer...and the one before. I'm sending you sunny thoughts...
Anyway, I should send this off now, though I'm sure I've forgotten things I had in my head that I wanted to include. I'm actually in Rome right now as I finish this up, but I'll save that for the next email. Suffice it to say, I am suitably awed by this incredible city and I have enjoyed every moment of the weekend.
Ciao,
Tessa
Photos of Tuscany are on my Flickr site:)
Writing to you from the beautiful province of Tuscany. It's one of those places that lives up to the postcard image...simply beautiful.
I spent my first week in Italy with my awesome friend Lynn. Lynn and I went to Douglas College together and were editing buddies practically from day one. Her husband is from Germany and they spend a month of every summer visiting his family, so we took advantage of the opportunity and Lynn came down to hang with me for a week before I went to the farm.
We had the BEST time, staying in Pisa at the coolest budget accommodation ever...a campground where we had a small bunglaow with an outdoor kitchen, access to a pool where we spent some lovely afternoons, and we were minutes away from a supermarket and the train station. Every night we stopped at the supermarket and assembled ingredients for dinner the most important ingredient obviously being the €1.49 bottle of wine, which was great! It's truly dangerous how cheap the wine is here. There's not much to see in Pisa, besides, obviously the leaning tower and the gorgeous piazza. We climbed to the top of the tower and it was the most bizarre sensation because when we got to the side of the tower that was leaning, it felt like we were walking on flat ground, even though we were still climbing stairs. Fabulous views.
While we were staying in Pisa we visited Lucca and Florence. In Florence we checked out the Duomo and the markets, crossed the famous Ponte Vecchio (a bridge that has small apartments built along it -- see photos, as it's hard to explain). I didn't love Florence. It felt too big and busy, and sort of felt like just another big city. We then left Pisa and stayed in Siena for a few nights, and I totally fell in love with it. Siena is one of those charming walled cities, with a jumbled maze of streets that are just fun to wander and get lost in. Around every corner there was some lovely church or cathedral. While we were in Siena we did a little tour of the surrounding countryside, saw a bit of the Chianti region, and a small town called San Gimignano (which Lynn continued to call San Chimichanga, even after we learned how to pronounce it properly:).
Part of the tour was going to winery where we got to sample several of the region's wines, which were all wonderful -- the Brunello emerged as the favourite at our table, but at €40 per bottle, we didn't pick any up! We had great table mates and with every glass of wine the noise level increased until it was approximately a dull roar and our winery host had to yell at us to shut up and listen to him describe the next wine. Our host, by the way, was the best character I've met in Italy. Really, he belongs in a movie. And our tour guide was a man from Colombia who reminded me so much of Angel from Dexter I couldn't help be surprised every time I looked at him that it wasn't actually Angel. He kept calling the fields of sunflowers "sunnyflowers" which is I think what I will call them from now on:)
After Lynn left, I headed to the farm in northern Tuscany. The farm is owned and run by a woman named Viviana and her daughter, Valeria. There are two other kids in the family, another girl, Violaine, and a boy, Verner. And yes, everyone in this family's name begins with a V...Valeria's daughter is named Vevi. Viviana's husband died suddenly of a heart attack in '03, so it's just the girls running it now. When I arrived, Valeria was on holidays so it was just me and Viviana. I found those first 10 days a bit lonely, as Viviana's english is quite limited, so I really had no one to talk to. There isn't much to do at night, as the farm is relatively isolated, so I read a lot and wrote a lot... I had a small tv in my room but all the shows are dubbed in Italian, rather than subtitled, so I was reduced to watching anything on MTV that happened to be subtitled, which essentially meant subjecting myself to the most heinous reality tv in existence (I'm sure there is something trashier than Tila Tequila's "Shot at Love" but I don't ever want to see it).
Valeria came back on the 26th and it's been great having her here. Her english is a vast improvement and she's quite close to my age so it feels more friendly with her and I'm more comfortable around her. In the afternoons, when it's too hot to go outside, we hang out in the living room and watch english language movies -- yay!
The weather has been totally perfect...hot and sunny, mostly clear blue skies almost every day. I think there has been one night of rain since I arrived. The farm is in a gorgeous location -- and the general area is scattered with those charming little red-roofed towns that are so *Italian*!
I have been enjoying the food...lovely pastas, cheeses, meats. At the farm they make their own olive oil, sausage, and cheese, so it's not too rough:) It is, at times, a little too carb-heavy for my liking, and sometimes I find myself wishing for more veggies. But next week
the tomatoes should be ready for harvest, and the zuchinnis will be ready to be picked too.
Robin arrives tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her and having her company on the farm. There's going to be another wwoofer there as well, so it's gonna be a party!
Obviously I am loving Italy. The food, the weather, the absolutely stunning scenery and charming towns. Really, what's not too love? I think the nicest thing about the weather is you can walk around at midnight in a tank top and be totally comfortable -- or even a bit too warm sometimes. I hear Vancouver is having quite the heatwave, but I also hear its rained every day in July in Dublin, so I feel for you guys, after last summer...and the one before. I'm sending you sunny thoughts...
Anyway, I should send this off now, though I'm sure I've forgotten things I had in my head that I wanted to include. I'm actually in Rome right now as I finish this up, but I'll save that for the next email. Suffice it to say, I am suitably awed by this incredible city and I have enjoyed every moment of the weekend.
Ciao,
Tessa
Photos of Tuscany are on my Flickr site:)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
the latest
Hello all,
I am trying to navigate this Italian style keyboard and there appears to be no apostrophe that I can find, so there just might be no contractions in this email! I will keep looking though...
To pick up the thread of my last email, I spent the month of June wwoofing in County Cork, the largest and most southern county in Ireland. After such a fantastic time in Donegal, I wondered how Cork was going to possibly measure up...but it did. After the energy and chaos of Green Hill Farms, I was delighted to land in the lovely, peaceful, serene home of Tim and Sandra, who have some property outside a town called Bantry, at the edge of West Cork. Their house is perhaps the coolest thing I have ever seen, designed and built by Tim, who used to do a lot of building and woodworking before becoming a beekeeper. I cannot really describe it, so have a look at the photos!
I had a lovely time at their house and their small "kitchen garden" as I have come to learn they are called. I spent lots of time weeding the potatoes and onions and carrots, while trying to avoid being stung by the bees in the neighbouring field. I was mostly successful at this, except for my last day when I was stung three times. Apparently bee venom is good for arthritis, as there is a very low incidence of arthritis in beekeepers, who get stung all the time. I also got to use a scythe for the first time and felt very Victorian -- or something -- as I was swinging it around, hacking down the offending weeds. Very empowering instrument!
Sandra is a wonderful cook, and regularly made cheese from the sheep she milked twice a day. Lunch consisted of her homemade bread, cheese, various chutneys and spreads, and some leaf from the garden. I had my afternoons off, and spent them either lying under the tree in the shade, or cycling into town to wander around, check email, or pick up a bottle of wine. There was a heatwave in Ireland the first week of June, and everyone was quite shocked by it -- sunscreen was sold out everywhere! I have quite a good tan -- I mean, tan for me, not tan for a regular person. I have lots of colour I guess, and lots of freckles.
The first weekend I was there, Robin came down with a rental car and we drove around the Beara Peninsula -- Bantry is right on the edge of it. It was a fantastic drive -- totally mind-blowing scenery. We stopped in a town called Castletownbere for a pint at MacCarthys Bar (sorry, no possessives either) because it is on the cover of a well-known travel book I read last year by a guy named Pete MacCarthy who travels around Cork stopping at every bar with his name. We met a couple of blokes there who were headed to Allihies, which is where we were staying that night, and they told us there was a trad music festival on there, which we felt was a lovely piece of dumb luck...stumbling into a festival like that! We arrived in Allihies and spent a great evening moving back and forth between the two pubs in town, listening to the music and meeting about a hundred of our new friends closest friends. Allihies is one of the most charming towns I have ever seen in Ireland, which I think says a lot. Lovely little shops and houses, painted bright colours, overlooking a lovely sandy
beach, and the typical green patchwork hills.
The following weekend I was moving to a different farm, so Robin and I went to Cork city and spent the weekend with my old flatmate Amy, who I used to live with in the house in Ballsbridge. She lost her job and relocated to Cork, where her parents live, and is working there now. Her parents were so lovely, and we felt like we were at a B&B -- her mom totally spoiled us! Amy drove us all over Cork, and we visited the villages of Kinsale and Clonakilty, and then went to Blarney castle, because, you know, you have to... I had a couple of spare days so I went down to a wildlife park called Fota Island, which was so magical, but kind of weird too. The animals were from all over the world, and I never thought I would see my first live giraffe in Ireland. Or zebra. Or kangaroo. But I loved it, and felt like a little kid, and grinned stupidly all afternoon.
My last farm in Ireland was in a community called Cool Mountain, which has a really interesting history. To sum it up quickly though, because I know I get long winded (no need to harp on it, Luke!), it is entirely settled by "blow-ins" which is a term for any non-Irish person who has settled in Ireland -- mostly English. They moved over in the 70s and have built homes and had kids, but they are very much seen as outsiders in the area. Their kids have British accents and they seem to socialize mostly with each other. Cool Mountain has a bit of a reputation for drug use and drinking, and maybe that was true at one point, but now it just seems like a gathering of people who want to live in a more green, environmental, sustainable way. Everyone has gardens, grows their own vegetables, has built their own houses. In a way it is kind of a modern-day hippie commune.
I stayed with Vicky, who has lived there for 18 years, with her two sons. She and I got along famously and had lots of great talks. She has amazing stories of her life in England, and on Cool Mountain -- she lived in a caravan for years, and only got electricity in the year 2000! She built her own house, with the help of others, but I think that is pretty impressive. I think it was really cool how different all my wwoofing experiences have been -- and they were all completely positive.
For my last weekend in Ireland, I went on a little retreat with some expat friends. Robin, Kerry (who I went to Budapest with), Amy (who I used to work with -- a different Amy than who we stayed with in Cork city), and I went to a little island off the south coast of Cork called Cape Clear. We were supposed to stay overnight there on Friday, but due to complications with the rental car and trying to navigate the one-way streets of Cork, we missed the last ferry and just went for the following day instead. But it was fabulous -- gorgeous little island with great walks and a pub where we spent the better part of the afternoon -- though we did walk to the lake and the lighthouse, so we earned those pints!! It was a great way to finish off my wwoofing adventure, and we had a fantastic time. I feel very blessed to have these great friends in my life.
So now I am in Italy. I arrived in Pisa at night, and walked directly into the square where the leaning tower is. It looked so ghostly and kind of unreal. I guess I have never thought of it as being real -- just a sort of plasticy image that we have all seen reproduced a billion times. But I have to say, it is pretty cool. There is not much to do in Pisa though, outside of this lovely square with the tower,
the cathedral, and the other monuments. I have been being mostly lazy, not running around to all the sights, as there are not that many, so have been lying on the grass in the shade with my books, journal, and yes, the odd gelato:) It is very HOT!
Anyway, I am now off to the airport to meet my friend Lynn who is arriving this afternoon -- whoo hoo! We are going to bounce around Tuscany for the next week, perhaps doing a bit of wine tasting...you never know. Then I will be off to the farm. I guess I never did find that apostrophe...next time maybe:)
Till next time,
Ciao!
I am trying to navigate this Italian style keyboard and there appears to be no apostrophe that I can find, so there just might be no contractions in this email! I will keep looking though...
To pick up the thread of my last email, I spent the month of June wwoofing in County Cork, the largest and most southern county in Ireland. After such a fantastic time in Donegal, I wondered how Cork was going to possibly measure up...but it did. After the energy and chaos of Green Hill Farms, I was delighted to land in the lovely, peaceful, serene home of Tim and Sandra, who have some property outside a town called Bantry, at the edge of West Cork. Their house is perhaps the coolest thing I have ever seen, designed and built by Tim, who used to do a lot of building and woodworking before becoming a beekeeper. I cannot really describe it, so have a look at the photos!
I had a lovely time at their house and their small "kitchen garden" as I have come to learn they are called. I spent lots of time weeding the potatoes and onions and carrots, while trying to avoid being stung by the bees in the neighbouring field. I was mostly successful at this, except for my last day when I was stung three times. Apparently bee venom is good for arthritis, as there is a very low incidence of arthritis in beekeepers, who get stung all the time. I also got to use a scythe for the first time and felt very Victorian -- or something -- as I was swinging it around, hacking down the offending weeds. Very empowering instrument!
Sandra is a wonderful cook, and regularly made cheese from the sheep she milked twice a day. Lunch consisted of her homemade bread, cheese, various chutneys and spreads, and some leaf from the garden. I had my afternoons off, and spent them either lying under the tree in the shade, or cycling into town to wander around, check email, or pick up a bottle of wine. There was a heatwave in Ireland the first week of June, and everyone was quite shocked by it -- sunscreen was sold out everywhere! I have quite a good tan -- I mean, tan for me, not tan for a regular person. I have lots of colour I guess, and lots of freckles.
The first weekend I was there, Robin came down with a rental car and we drove around the Beara Peninsula -- Bantry is right on the edge of it. It was a fantastic drive -- totally mind-blowing scenery. We stopped in a town called Castletownbere for a pint at MacCarthys Bar (sorry, no possessives either) because it is on the cover of a well-known travel book I read last year by a guy named Pete MacCarthy who travels around Cork stopping at every bar with his name. We met a couple of blokes there who were headed to Allihies, which is where we were staying that night, and they told us there was a trad music festival on there, which we felt was a lovely piece of dumb luck...stumbling into a festival like that! We arrived in Allihies and spent a great evening moving back and forth between the two pubs in town, listening to the music and meeting about a hundred of our new friends closest friends. Allihies is one of the most charming towns I have ever seen in Ireland, which I think says a lot. Lovely little shops and houses, painted bright colours, overlooking a lovely sandy
beach, and the typical green patchwork hills.
The following weekend I was moving to a different farm, so Robin and I went to Cork city and spent the weekend with my old flatmate Amy, who I used to live with in the house in Ballsbridge. She lost her job and relocated to Cork, where her parents live, and is working there now. Her parents were so lovely, and we felt like we were at a B&B -- her mom totally spoiled us! Amy drove us all over Cork, and we visited the villages of Kinsale and Clonakilty, and then went to Blarney castle, because, you know, you have to... I had a couple of spare days so I went down to a wildlife park called Fota Island, which was so magical, but kind of weird too. The animals were from all over the world, and I never thought I would see my first live giraffe in Ireland. Or zebra. Or kangaroo. But I loved it, and felt like a little kid, and grinned stupidly all afternoon.
My last farm in Ireland was in a community called Cool Mountain, which has a really interesting history. To sum it up quickly though, because I know I get long winded (no need to harp on it, Luke!), it is entirely settled by "blow-ins" which is a term for any non-Irish person who has settled in Ireland -- mostly English. They moved over in the 70s and have built homes and had kids, but they are very much seen as outsiders in the area. Their kids have British accents and they seem to socialize mostly with each other. Cool Mountain has a bit of a reputation for drug use and drinking, and maybe that was true at one point, but now it just seems like a gathering of people who want to live in a more green, environmental, sustainable way. Everyone has gardens, grows their own vegetables, has built their own houses. In a way it is kind of a modern-day hippie commune.
I stayed with Vicky, who has lived there for 18 years, with her two sons. She and I got along famously and had lots of great talks. She has amazing stories of her life in England, and on Cool Mountain -- she lived in a caravan for years, and only got electricity in the year 2000! She built her own house, with the help of others, but I think that is pretty impressive. I think it was really cool how different all my wwoofing experiences have been -- and they were all completely positive.
For my last weekend in Ireland, I went on a little retreat with some expat friends. Robin, Kerry (who I went to Budapest with), Amy (who I used to work with -- a different Amy than who we stayed with in Cork city), and I went to a little island off the south coast of Cork called Cape Clear. We were supposed to stay overnight there on Friday, but due to complications with the rental car and trying to navigate the one-way streets of Cork, we missed the last ferry and just went for the following day instead. But it was fabulous -- gorgeous little island with great walks and a pub where we spent the better part of the afternoon -- though we did walk to the lake and the lighthouse, so we earned those pints!! It was a great way to finish off my wwoofing adventure, and we had a fantastic time. I feel very blessed to have these great friends in my life.
So now I am in Italy. I arrived in Pisa at night, and walked directly into the square where the leaning tower is. It looked so ghostly and kind of unreal. I guess I have never thought of it as being real -- just a sort of plasticy image that we have all seen reproduced a billion times. But I have to say, it is pretty cool. There is not much to do in Pisa though, outside of this lovely square with the tower,
the cathedral, and the other monuments. I have been being mostly lazy, not running around to all the sights, as there are not that many, so have been lying on the grass in the shade with my books, journal, and yes, the odd gelato:) It is very HOT!
Anyway, I am now off to the airport to meet my friend Lynn who is arriving this afternoon -- whoo hoo! We are going to bounce around Tuscany for the next week, perhaps doing a bit of wine tasting...you never know. Then I will be off to the farm. I guess I never did find that apostrophe...next time maybe:)
Till next time,
Ciao!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Summer solstice
So I’m finally getting around to writing this latest update… I meant to do it when I left Donegal, but didn’t have time between moving farms, so here it is, mid-June already. Where does the time go?? I’m going to write about the farms in County Cork in my next mail, for space and symmetry’s sake:)
I had a fantastic time and experience at Green Hill Farms in Donegal, which is owned and run by John and Mary Reilly. They have two kids – Sean (17) and Shannon (12). I feel very lucky and blessed to have found the Reilly’s on their little corner of the gorgeous Inishowen Peninsula (the most northerly point of the country). They were so generous and welcoming, and included me in practically everything; I felt like I was one of the family – they squabbled and bickered and joked and were generally very much themselves around me. It’s been a very long time since I’ve lived with or been part of a family unit, and aside from a few uncomfortable dinners when things got a little tense, it was tons of fun. I stayed in a mobile home in the back of the house while I was at the farm. It was a cozy little place – very comfortable. For the second half of the month I shared it with another wwoofer, Daniel, from the states, and it was nice to have company.
I spent most of my days with John, as he kind of manages the day-to-day operations on the farm. He told me what to do and how to do it, always offering advice on how to do it in a way that would make it easier on my back, hands, whatever. I totally loved John – he’s a brilliant, natural-born teacher, and is very patient and helpful. He also has about twelve different ways of rolling his eyes, and cracked me up on a regular basis – though sometimes unintentionally. He’s one of those men who has a really gruff exterior, but underneath is really lovely, and does and says little thoughtful things all the time. I spent a lot of time in one field, preparing all the beds and planting the vegetables, and the day before I left we were up there and he said “I’m going to call this Tessa’s field, because you’ve done all the work up here.” He really gets that it’s nice to have a sense of ownership of the work you’ve done.
Mary is doing her Masters in organic farming, but she was so generous with her time, offering to drive us to Malin Head on our day off (which was her day off too), bringing us along to historical walks and visits to other farms, and she brought me with her and Shannon on a day trip to a country house estate outside Belfast. She took me down to the site where they gather the peat that they cut and dry and then collect for fuel over the winter, which was a really cool thing to see. We collected several loads and took most of it to her parent’s place, which is just over the field from Green Hill, and her dad came down later that evening and slipped me a tenner, which was just the sweetest thing.
Sean and Shannon are awesome kids, lots of fun to be around. They both seem very used to having these random strangers hanging about the house. Sean said Daniel and I were the only two wwoofers he’s ever liked, which just may be the biggest compliment I’ve ever received!
John and Mary grow organic vegetables, so I spent most of my days doing typical gardening things – preparing beds, sowing seeds, planting seedlings...whatever needed doing. It's very satisfying work, especially when you see the fruits of your labours…whether it’s watching the seeds you sowed come up as seedlings, or getting to transform a field of weeds and rocks into rows of beans and peas. Being on a vegetable farm has given me an entirely new insight into how hard my dad must have worked in his garden to produce the delicious vegetables that the rest of us just got to sit down and enjoy at the dinner table. I must thank him for that, though it’s a bit after the fact.
Sometimes the work was physically tough – mostly it just highlighted what parts of my body are weak (my back!) – but the days weren’t long. I usually came into the house around 9 for tea, then we headed out to the fields until someone called us in for tea around 11. Lunch was usually at 1, which of course included tea, and John usually wouldn’t let us work past 3. I’ve never drunk so many cups of tea in my life:)
In the evenings there always seemed to be something going on. One night I went to a silk screening workshop with Shannon; a few nights John and Mary ran courses at the farm for people wanting to learn how to start their own garden so we hung about for that; one night we cycled out to the most gorgeous beach ever, 5 Finger Strand, and then checked out the local pubs in town; one evening we broke out the Wii Fit and spent the next few hours laughing hysterically at each other’s attempts to do bizarre balancing games. Sometimes, if I was feeling lazy, I’d go lie on the trampoline and read. Occasionally Daniel and I retreated to the mobile to read or write or watch a movie, or to just have some down time. One night Sean lent us his Iron Maiden behind-the-scenes documentary, and I must say I quite enjoyed it, much to my surprise.
Daniel and I did a little day trip down to Derry, a city that sits right on the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic. It’s a walled city and was the site of a lot of strife during the times of “the troubles,” and was the town where “Bloody Sunday” happened. We referred to that day as “the day of bad luck” though, as basically nothing we tried to do worked out… Daniel wanted to get up to the Giant’s Causeway but the bus wasn’t running till the following week. We walked for a half hour to an Indian restaurant for lunch only to find it had closed 5 minutes before we got there. We got on the wrong bus on the way back home and ended up having to hitchhike back to the farm, which was fine except that it took almost an hour to get a ride and we got caught in a rain shower when we were ten minutes away from the house. So all in all, it was a bit of a washout.
While I was in Donegal, Robin’s parents were visiting – we met them on our trip to Barcelona – and they drove up the whole west coast of Ireland, all the way up to where I was, so I got to see them and was lucky enough to tag along when they went over to Northern Ireland to see the Giant’s Causeway, a geological phenomenon that formed 60 million years ago from molten lava that contracted to form these crazy hexagonal patterns (see photos, can’t really describe it). It was
something that’s been on my list since I first got here, so it was great to finally see it. Would’ve been better without the rain, but then again, this is Ireland!
In the end, I totally fell in love with Donegal, and I actually feel more connected to it than I do to Dublin... Being away from Dublin has made me realize I'm not particularly attached to it. Really the best thing about Dublin, for me, is the travel opportunities it affords. Not that it's not a cool city, but I guess I never did fall in love with it...
Being on the farm was totally inspiring. I loved the way of life and now I want my own garden…just a little patch of earth…doesn’t have to be much. And I loved being back in the country. It’s really the first time since I left Kimberley that I’ve lived in the country, and I didn’t really expect to love it so much, but I did. I loved the peace and quiet and the more natural rhythm of the days. I can actually see myself living in the country now, which is not something I ever
thought I’d say. Maybe 15 years of city living is enough?
Anyway, this has gone on long enough, so I’ll stop now. I’ve added a County Donegal set to my Flickr site and I’ve also finally put up my photos from Barcelona. I also added a set for Northern Ireland that includes a few shots of Belfast, some of Derry, a couple of Bushmills (where the whiskey is made!), and probably too many of the Giant’s Causeway.
Ciao for now,
Love me
I had a fantastic time and experience at Green Hill Farms in Donegal, which is owned and run by John and Mary Reilly. They have two kids – Sean (17) and Shannon (12). I feel very lucky and blessed to have found the Reilly’s on their little corner of the gorgeous Inishowen Peninsula (the most northerly point of the country). They were so generous and welcoming, and included me in practically everything; I felt like I was one of the family – they squabbled and bickered and joked and were generally very much themselves around me. It’s been a very long time since I’ve lived with or been part of a family unit, and aside from a few uncomfortable dinners when things got a little tense, it was tons of fun. I stayed in a mobile home in the back of the house while I was at the farm. It was a cozy little place – very comfortable. For the second half of the month I shared it with another wwoofer, Daniel, from the states, and it was nice to have company.
I spent most of my days with John, as he kind of manages the day-to-day operations on the farm. He told me what to do and how to do it, always offering advice on how to do it in a way that would make it easier on my back, hands, whatever. I totally loved John – he’s a brilliant, natural-born teacher, and is very patient and helpful. He also has about twelve different ways of rolling his eyes, and cracked me up on a regular basis – though sometimes unintentionally. He’s one of those men who has a really gruff exterior, but underneath is really lovely, and does and says little thoughtful things all the time. I spent a lot of time in one field, preparing all the beds and planting the vegetables, and the day before I left we were up there and he said “I’m going to call this Tessa’s field, because you’ve done all the work up here.” He really gets that it’s nice to have a sense of ownership of the work you’ve done.
Mary is doing her Masters in organic farming, but she was so generous with her time, offering to drive us to Malin Head on our day off (which was her day off too), bringing us along to historical walks and visits to other farms, and she brought me with her and Shannon on a day trip to a country house estate outside Belfast. She took me down to the site where they gather the peat that they cut and dry and then collect for fuel over the winter, which was a really cool thing to see. We collected several loads and took most of it to her parent’s place, which is just over the field from Green Hill, and her dad came down later that evening and slipped me a tenner, which was just the sweetest thing.
Sean and Shannon are awesome kids, lots of fun to be around. They both seem very used to having these random strangers hanging about the house. Sean said Daniel and I were the only two wwoofers he’s ever liked, which just may be the biggest compliment I’ve ever received!
John and Mary grow organic vegetables, so I spent most of my days doing typical gardening things – preparing beds, sowing seeds, planting seedlings...whatever needed doing. It's very satisfying work, especially when you see the fruits of your labours…whether it’s watching the seeds you sowed come up as seedlings, or getting to transform a field of weeds and rocks into rows of beans and peas. Being on a vegetable farm has given me an entirely new insight into how hard my dad must have worked in his garden to produce the delicious vegetables that the rest of us just got to sit down and enjoy at the dinner table. I must thank him for that, though it’s a bit after the fact.
Sometimes the work was physically tough – mostly it just highlighted what parts of my body are weak (my back!) – but the days weren’t long. I usually came into the house around 9 for tea, then we headed out to the fields until someone called us in for tea around 11. Lunch was usually at 1, which of course included tea, and John usually wouldn’t let us work past 3. I’ve never drunk so many cups of tea in my life:)
In the evenings there always seemed to be something going on. One night I went to a silk screening workshop with Shannon; a few nights John and Mary ran courses at the farm for people wanting to learn how to start their own garden so we hung about for that; one night we cycled out to the most gorgeous beach ever, 5 Finger Strand, and then checked out the local pubs in town; one evening we broke out the Wii Fit and spent the next few hours laughing hysterically at each other’s attempts to do bizarre balancing games. Sometimes, if I was feeling lazy, I’d go lie on the trampoline and read. Occasionally Daniel and I retreated to the mobile to read or write or watch a movie, or to just have some down time. One night Sean lent us his Iron Maiden behind-the-scenes documentary, and I must say I quite enjoyed it, much to my surprise.
Daniel and I did a little day trip down to Derry, a city that sits right on the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic. It’s a walled city and was the site of a lot of strife during the times of “the troubles,” and was the town where “Bloody Sunday” happened. We referred to that day as “the day of bad luck” though, as basically nothing we tried to do worked out… Daniel wanted to get up to the Giant’s Causeway but the bus wasn’t running till the following week. We walked for a half hour to an Indian restaurant for lunch only to find it had closed 5 minutes before we got there. We got on the wrong bus on the way back home and ended up having to hitchhike back to the farm, which was fine except that it took almost an hour to get a ride and we got caught in a rain shower when we were ten minutes away from the house. So all in all, it was a bit of a washout.
While I was in Donegal, Robin’s parents were visiting – we met them on our trip to Barcelona – and they drove up the whole west coast of Ireland, all the way up to where I was, so I got to see them and was lucky enough to tag along when they went over to Northern Ireland to see the Giant’s Causeway, a geological phenomenon that formed 60 million years ago from molten lava that contracted to form these crazy hexagonal patterns (see photos, can’t really describe it). It was
something that’s been on my list since I first got here, so it was great to finally see it. Would’ve been better without the rain, but then again, this is Ireland!
In the end, I totally fell in love with Donegal, and I actually feel more connected to it than I do to Dublin... Being away from Dublin has made me realize I'm not particularly attached to it. Really the best thing about Dublin, for me, is the travel opportunities it affords. Not that it's not a cool city, but I guess I never did fall in love with it...
Being on the farm was totally inspiring. I loved the way of life and now I want my own garden…just a little patch of earth…doesn’t have to be much. And I loved being back in the country. It’s really the first time since I left Kimberley that I’ve lived in the country, and I didn’t really expect to love it so much, but I did. I loved the peace and quiet and the more natural rhythm of the days. I can actually see myself living in the country now, which is not something I ever
thought I’d say. Maybe 15 years of city living is enough?
Anyway, this has gone on long enough, so I’ll stop now. I’ve added a County Donegal set to my Flickr site and I’ve also finally put up my photos from Barcelona. I also added a set for Northern Ireland that includes a few shots of Belfast, some of Derry, a couple of Bushmills (where the whiskey is made!), and probably too many of the Giant’s Causeway.
Ciao for now,
Love me
Monday, May 11, 2009
movin' on out
So, I'm not really sure where to begin here...there's so much to tell...so much news. So be warned, this is going to be a long one:)
I'm going to start with my recent weekend warrior escapades to the continent. In April, my friend Robin and I went to Belgium for the Easter long weekend -- an appropriate place to have an easter egg hunt! We stayed in Brussels, but also visited Bruges and Ghent. Robin drank lots of Belgian beer and we both had our fair share of chocolate...I was amazed to see just how many stores there are selling chocolate -- I thought it would be just one or two main brands, but it seemed every other shop window had these amazing displays of easter eggs and bunnies. We thought it only fair to sample a good portion of them:) Bruges is totally gorgeous, just like it looks in the movie, except the main square in front of the bell tower was unfortunately full with a traveling fair, complete with rides, cotton candy machines, and bright flourescent lights...was a bit incongruous with the centuries old cathedrals and churches surrounding it. The architecture of Bruges reminded me a lot of Amsterdam -- the rooftops and the canals. It was definitely the highlight of the weekend.
Robin and I also went to Barcelona for the first weekend in May. Her parents took a cruise from New York to Barcelona, so we went to meet them. I think the city may be my new favourite European capital. It has everything -- sunny beaches, fantastic architecture, crazy publin art, great food, plentiful sangria... I think sangria is my new favourite drink too! We visited a lot of the Gaudi buildings, including the park he designed, and just cruised around Las Ramblas and the old city, enjoying the sun, the markets, and the aforementioned sangria:) I don't have my pictures posted yet...as much as I loved Barcelona I found it a difficult city to capture on camera
-- the size and grandeur of the buildings are just too much. Especially some of the Gaudi stuff -- you feel like you're just getting bits and pieces of it.
So my really big news is that I was laid off from my job in April, so things are changing for me. But I have a new plan, that I'm pretty excited about.
I've known for a while now that I wanted to get out of technical writing, as it's never been a satisfying profession for me. I would like to do something more interactive to feed my extoversion, which I now accept as a prominent element of my personality:) And I'd like to do something a bit less corporate and more meaningful... Anyway, I can't work in Ireland without a visa, and given the current economy here where every second person I know is getting laid off, the chances of me getting sponsored are slim to none. And I'd have to get sponsored as a tech writer and I can't face another year of doing that work. But, I decided that I didn't want to leave Ireland right away. However, I certainly can't afford to live in Dublin if I'm not working, and I don't want to be in Dublin anyway. I like Dublin, but my favourite part about Ireland has always been the countryside and the small towns. There are a lot of places I haven't seen yet, so I decided that I'd go and do some volunteering on various farms in the country, which can be done in exchange for room and board. This is known as "wwoofing," for those of you who are familiar with that term (www.wwoof.ie). You can do this all over the world, and it's a great, cheap way to see and experience a country.
The two counties I focused on were Donegal, the most northern county, and Cork, the most southern county. I have spent a week in Donegal and am already in love with it. It's raw and wild and just endlessly gorgeous. I'm staying with a family who run a small organic vegetable farm, and they're so lovely -- very welcoming and generous and they're just a bunch of characters who make me laugh all the time. It also feels like a really authentic way to experience the country, to live with a family and meet the neighbors and do local things like go on historical walking tours, or visit farmer's markets. I'll put up some pics of the farm in a couple weeks, but the web site is here, if you want to have a look: http://greenhill.weebly.com/
I'll be in Donegal till the end of May, and then I'll spend the month of June in west Cork, on two different farms. People rave about west Cork and how beautiful it is, and I've never set foot in the county, so am also looking forward to that. I'm going to continue wwoofing through July and August, but will go to Italy to a farm in Tuscany. Suffice it to say, I'm pretty psyched about that! I'll go by myself for July, and then Robin will come for August. My aunt and uncle will be in Tuscany for August and September, and the farm is very close to where they'll be in August, so hopefully we'll be able to get some visits in!
This is the site of the farm in Italy: http://www.poderelapiana.it/en/
In September Robin and I are planning to do the Camino de Santiago trail in northern Spain. This is something I've wanted to do for ages and I always thought it would be something neat to do when I left Europe/Ireland, sort of to mark the end of my time here. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a pilgrimage trail through the Pyrenees from Pamplona to Santiago. There are a few different routes, and you can walk for a week or ten days or twenty days -- whatever you like really. The whole path is almost 800Km long, and that's what Robin and I are planning to do. So, the training starts now!
I'm going to come back to Canada after we finish the trail (likely early October), because I'll probably have no money left by then:) Though, living as a wwoofer is extremely cheap -- my only costs will be moving between farms, so I'm making it stretch a long way! I don't really want to come back to Canada (permanently) just yet though, so I'm going to stay just long enough to arrange the paperwork to go
overseas to teach english for a year or so. I've been thinking about teaching a lot, and there's a ton of work in Asia -- namely Korea and Japan -- so it seems like a good option in this economy. I can go and make some money and try out teaching, see how I like it, and continue to travel. I've already been offered a job with Berlitz, a private english language company, but I can't complete the paperwork for them until I get back to Canada, so we're trying to work out the timing. There are plenty of jobs there anyway, so I'm not worried.
Anyway, I know this is a lot to digest, as it's a lot of news, but I feel good about it all. I'm excited about being outside on farms all summer, instead of stuck inside in front of a computer being sedentary and bored. My internet access in Donegal is limited, so please be patient with me and my response time to emails!
That's all for now:)
Love me
I'm going to start with my recent weekend warrior escapades to the continent. In April, my friend Robin and I went to Belgium for the Easter long weekend -- an appropriate place to have an easter egg hunt! We stayed in Brussels, but also visited Bruges and Ghent. Robin drank lots of Belgian beer and we both had our fair share of chocolate...I was amazed to see just how many stores there are selling chocolate -- I thought it would be just one or two main brands, but it seemed every other shop window had these amazing displays of easter eggs and bunnies. We thought it only fair to sample a good portion of them:) Bruges is totally gorgeous, just like it looks in the movie, except the main square in front of the bell tower was unfortunately full with a traveling fair, complete with rides, cotton candy machines, and bright flourescent lights...was a bit incongruous with the centuries old cathedrals and churches surrounding it. The architecture of Bruges reminded me a lot of Amsterdam -- the rooftops and the canals. It was definitely the highlight of the weekend.
Robin and I also went to Barcelona for the first weekend in May. Her parents took a cruise from New York to Barcelona, so we went to meet them. I think the city may be my new favourite European capital. It has everything -- sunny beaches, fantastic architecture, crazy publin art, great food, plentiful sangria... I think sangria is my new favourite drink too! We visited a lot of the Gaudi buildings, including the park he designed, and just cruised around Las Ramblas and the old city, enjoying the sun, the markets, and the aforementioned sangria:) I don't have my pictures posted yet...as much as I loved Barcelona I found it a difficult city to capture on camera
-- the size and grandeur of the buildings are just too much. Especially some of the Gaudi stuff -- you feel like you're just getting bits and pieces of it.
So my really big news is that I was laid off from my job in April, so things are changing for me. But I have a new plan, that I'm pretty excited about.
I've known for a while now that I wanted to get out of technical writing, as it's never been a satisfying profession for me. I would like to do something more interactive to feed my extoversion, which I now accept as a prominent element of my personality:) And I'd like to do something a bit less corporate and more meaningful... Anyway, I can't work in Ireland without a visa, and given the current economy here where every second person I know is getting laid off, the chances of me getting sponsored are slim to none. And I'd have to get sponsored as a tech writer and I can't face another year of doing that work. But, I decided that I didn't want to leave Ireland right away. However, I certainly can't afford to live in Dublin if I'm not working, and I don't want to be in Dublin anyway. I like Dublin, but my favourite part about Ireland has always been the countryside and the small towns. There are a lot of places I haven't seen yet, so I decided that I'd go and do some volunteering on various farms in the country, which can be done in exchange for room and board. This is known as "wwoofing," for those of you who are familiar with that term (www.wwoof.ie). You can do this all over the world, and it's a great, cheap way to see and experience a country.
The two counties I focused on were Donegal, the most northern county, and Cork, the most southern county. I have spent a week in Donegal and am already in love with it. It's raw and wild and just endlessly gorgeous. I'm staying with a family who run a small organic vegetable farm, and they're so lovely -- very welcoming and generous and they're just a bunch of characters who make me laugh all the time. It also feels like a really authentic way to experience the country, to live with a family and meet the neighbors and do local things like go on historical walking tours, or visit farmer's markets. I'll put up some pics of the farm in a couple weeks, but the web site is here, if you want to have a look: http://greenhill.weebly.com/
I'll be in Donegal till the end of May, and then I'll spend the month of June in west Cork, on two different farms. People rave about west Cork and how beautiful it is, and I've never set foot in the county, so am also looking forward to that. I'm going to continue wwoofing through July and August, but will go to Italy to a farm in Tuscany. Suffice it to say, I'm pretty psyched about that! I'll go by myself for July, and then Robin will come for August. My aunt and uncle will be in Tuscany for August and September, and the farm is very close to where they'll be in August, so hopefully we'll be able to get some visits in!
This is the site of the farm in Italy: http://www.poderelapiana.it/en/
In September Robin and I are planning to do the Camino de Santiago trail in northern Spain. This is something I've wanted to do for ages and I always thought it would be something neat to do when I left Europe/Ireland, sort of to mark the end of my time here. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a pilgrimage trail through the Pyrenees from Pamplona to Santiago. There are a few different routes, and you can walk for a week or ten days or twenty days -- whatever you like really. The whole path is almost 800Km long, and that's what Robin and I are planning to do. So, the training starts now!
I'm going to come back to Canada after we finish the trail (likely early October), because I'll probably have no money left by then:) Though, living as a wwoofer is extremely cheap -- my only costs will be moving between farms, so I'm making it stretch a long way! I don't really want to come back to Canada (permanently) just yet though, so I'm going to stay just long enough to arrange the paperwork to go
overseas to teach english for a year or so. I've been thinking about teaching a lot, and there's a ton of work in Asia -- namely Korea and Japan -- so it seems like a good option in this economy. I can go and make some money and try out teaching, see how I like it, and continue to travel. I've already been offered a job with Berlitz, a private english language company, but I can't complete the paperwork for them until I get back to Canada, so we're trying to work out the timing. There are plenty of jobs there anyway, so I'm not worried.
Anyway, I know this is a lot to digest, as it's a lot of news, but I feel good about it all. I'm excited about being outside on farms all summer, instead of stuck inside in front of a computer being sedentary and bored. My internet access in Donegal is limited, so please be patient with me and my response time to emails!
That's all for now:)
Love me
Thursday, May 7, 2009
April 2009
Just a quick one... I was in Budapest over St. Paddy's day long weekend, and have posted the pics on my Flickr site as per usual... I tend to leave Ireland on this particular weekend, even though it's such a big event here. It's mostly just a weekend of stepped-up drinking, which doesn't appeal to me. It's always fun to take the air coach through the city centre on my way home and see all the shenanigans still happening on the streets...
Anyway, Budapest is a brilliant city -- lots to see and do, and it's just simply gorgeous. The Danube splits the city in half, creating Buda on the west, and Pest on the east. That's my big fun fact -- that Budapest is actually two different cities -- who knew?? I went with my friend Kerry and we had a blast seeing the sights, tasting the regional delicacies (wine, kolbassa, pate, pastries, and more wine), and trying all the different baths in the city. We went to three different ones -- they're sort of like a collection of pools of all different temperatures, along with steam rooms and saunas. Most of them offer massage and are really for therapeutic purposes -- they're not touristy places, except for the Gellert Baths, which are part of a big hotel, and was our least favourite of the three. The best one was almost like a palace and the open courtyard space had three huge pools for us to play in. The old Hungarian men bring their chess boards and play each other in the pools. We had a Turkish massage at one of them, which was agonizing, but felt great at the same time...as I believe a massage should! Was a great weekend.
For Easter my friend Robin and I are off to Belgium for the weekend...going to see Bruges and maybe Ghent...can't wait for those moules frites!
Love Tessa
Anyway, Budapest is a brilliant city -- lots to see and do, and it's just simply gorgeous. The Danube splits the city in half, creating Buda on the west, and Pest on the east. That's my big fun fact -- that Budapest is actually two different cities -- who knew?? I went with my friend Kerry and we had a blast seeing the sights, tasting the regional delicacies (wine, kolbassa, pate, pastries, and more wine), and trying all the different baths in the city. We went to three different ones -- they're sort of like a collection of pools of all different temperatures, along with steam rooms and saunas. Most of them offer massage and are really for therapeutic purposes -- they're not touristy places, except for the Gellert Baths, which are part of a big hotel, and was our least favourite of the three. The best one was almost like a palace and the open courtyard space had three huge pools for us to play in. The old Hungarian men bring their chess boards and play each other in the pools. We had a Turkish massage at one of them, which was agonizing, but felt great at the same time...as I believe a massage should! Was a great weekend.
For Easter my friend Robin and I are off to Belgium for the weekend...going to see Bruges and maybe Ghent...can't wait for those moules frites!
Love Tessa
February 2009
Hello all, and happy almost-spring! I know it’s still another few weeks away, but I am continually heartened by the ever-increasing daylight we’re getting here…it really helps with the whole getting-out-of-bed thing…
We’ve been lucky enough to have relatively dry, clear weather these last couple of weeks, which is always a huge treat. However, the first week of February brought below-zero temperatures and – wonder of wonders – snow. Apparently it was the first time in 15 years that it has snowed in Dublin proper…I’ve been hoping for this since I arrived, despite being laughed at numerous times for hoping for such an outlandish thing... So I was delighted when the white stuff began to fall…until it interfered with my travel plans – but more on that later.
I had a great three-week holiday over Christmas, although it was a very busy and highly scheduled time. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to see everyone, but there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Despite the weather, I was quite successful in negotiating my way around Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, and Kimberley and managed to use every form of transportation available – planes, buses, trains, ferries, etc. – with minimal delays – even my flight to Calgary was only an hour late. I think I had a little travel angel watching over me:)
Anyway, after a brief period of post-Christmas blues and hibernation, I started feeling relatively normal again.
The last weekend in January I went on a hillwalking trip to the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland. This was probably not the smartest time of year to go, but I like these weekends – they’re fun and sociable and the people are always great. It turned out to be a rather eventful weekend though, starting with a torrential downpour on the Friday night drive up north. One guy got lost and by the time he found the place we were staying, the roads were fully flooded and he had to abandon his car. The police were called to rescue him, and they ended up having to abandon *their* car. Finally he was collected by the woman who ran the hostel we were staying at…
The next morning we headed out on our walk – into the wind and lashing rain. About a half hour into the walk we had to cross a stream – not particularly wide, but wide enough that it required a running jump to cross, and it was quite deep. During the crossing of the stream, several things happened… One guy fell in as he was throwing his daypack across, and one of the women joked that the men should have to carry the women across – and then she pretended to jump on the back of the guy standing in front of her…unbeknownst to her, he had a bad knee, and crumpled like a paper bag…so that was it for him for the day – for the weekend really. She felt terrible of course, and the two of them headed back to the hostel. The rest of us soldiered on and while the rain eventually stopped, the wind never let up. I’ve never experienced wind like that – it quite literally took my breath away. It was so loud you couldn’t hear what anyone was saying unless they were standing six inches away and shouting at you, and it was so strong I couldn’t hold my camera still to take photos – so I took fewer photos than normal:)
But the Mournes are lovely – in a classically Irish way – windy, misty, foggy, with low stone walls running from one peak to another. I really enjoyed the walk, and would like to go back again – maybe in better weather though…
My friend Robin and I went to Edinburgh as a birthday treat for the first weekend in February. The aforementioned snow wreaked all sorts of havoc in the city, as Dubliners have even less of a clue as to what to do with snow than Vancouverites do:) My Thursday night flight was cancelled, so I had to go the following morning at an ungodly hour, but at least I didn’t lose too much time. Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to in Europe – it definitely lives up to the hype. We did a lot of wandering…down the Royal Mile, up to Arthur’s Seat, over the “bridges” to Princes Street. I’ve never seen so many bridges in a city that has no water…
Robin and I went on a tour of the underground vaults, which were built in the 1700s and have been used in all manner of ways since then – as storage, as meeting places for gangs and criminals, as brothels, as places of worship. The legend is that they’re haunted and there are lots of bizarre and scary stories that have come out over the years, and it was one of the spookiest places I’ve ever been so I was glad to get out at the end.
We were lucky with the weather in the sense that it was dry all weekend, but it was also absolutely freezing – I wore all the clothes I had with me practically all the time. As a result, we were forced to stop frequently into the pubs to warm ourselves up:) Some friends of Robin’s were in town that weekend as well, and we had some great meals with them, including dinner at a fantastic Indian restaurant with naans the size of flying saucers, and a big pot of steamed mussels at the Mussel Inn…yummmmm.
Anyway, that’s the latest with me. Oh! I went to a film on the weekend at the Jameson Film Festival (only in Dublin would a film festival be sponsored by a whiskey distillery:) and saw a film with Liam Neeson, and he was there afterward for the Q&A. It was pretty cool seeing him – and he is more gorgeous in person than he is on screen…
Everything else is fine…just cruising along, travel planning as per usual:) – next month – Budapest!
Love you all,
Tessa
We’ve been lucky enough to have relatively dry, clear weather these last couple of weeks, which is always a huge treat. However, the first week of February brought below-zero temperatures and – wonder of wonders – snow. Apparently it was the first time in 15 years that it has snowed in Dublin proper…I’ve been hoping for this since I arrived, despite being laughed at numerous times for hoping for such an outlandish thing... So I was delighted when the white stuff began to fall…until it interfered with my travel plans – but more on that later.
I had a great three-week holiday over Christmas, although it was a very busy and highly scheduled time. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to see everyone, but there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Despite the weather, I was quite successful in negotiating my way around Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, and Kimberley and managed to use every form of transportation available – planes, buses, trains, ferries, etc. – with minimal delays – even my flight to Calgary was only an hour late. I think I had a little travel angel watching over me:)
Anyway, after a brief period of post-Christmas blues and hibernation, I started feeling relatively normal again.
The last weekend in January I went on a hillwalking trip to the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland. This was probably not the smartest time of year to go, but I like these weekends – they’re fun and sociable and the people are always great. It turned out to be a rather eventful weekend though, starting with a torrential downpour on the Friday night drive up north. One guy got lost and by the time he found the place we were staying, the roads were fully flooded and he had to abandon his car. The police were called to rescue him, and they ended up having to abandon *their* car. Finally he was collected by the woman who ran the hostel we were staying at…
The next morning we headed out on our walk – into the wind and lashing rain. About a half hour into the walk we had to cross a stream – not particularly wide, but wide enough that it required a running jump to cross, and it was quite deep. During the crossing of the stream, several things happened… One guy fell in as he was throwing his daypack across, and one of the women joked that the men should have to carry the women across – and then she pretended to jump on the back of the guy standing in front of her…unbeknownst to her, he had a bad knee, and crumpled like a paper bag…so that was it for him for the day – for the weekend really. She felt terrible of course, and the two of them headed back to the hostel. The rest of us soldiered on and while the rain eventually stopped, the wind never let up. I’ve never experienced wind like that – it quite literally took my breath away. It was so loud you couldn’t hear what anyone was saying unless they were standing six inches away and shouting at you, and it was so strong I couldn’t hold my camera still to take photos – so I took fewer photos than normal:)
But the Mournes are lovely – in a classically Irish way – windy, misty, foggy, with low stone walls running from one peak to another. I really enjoyed the walk, and would like to go back again – maybe in better weather though…
My friend Robin and I went to Edinburgh as a birthday treat for the first weekend in February. The aforementioned snow wreaked all sorts of havoc in the city, as Dubliners have even less of a clue as to what to do with snow than Vancouverites do:) My Thursday night flight was cancelled, so I had to go the following morning at an ungodly hour, but at least I didn’t lose too much time. Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to in Europe – it definitely lives up to the hype. We did a lot of wandering…down the Royal Mile, up to Arthur’s Seat, over the “bridges” to Princes Street. I’ve never seen so many bridges in a city that has no water…
Robin and I went on a tour of the underground vaults, which were built in the 1700s and have been used in all manner of ways since then – as storage, as meeting places for gangs and criminals, as brothels, as places of worship. The legend is that they’re haunted and there are lots of bizarre and scary stories that have come out over the years, and it was one of the spookiest places I’ve ever been so I was glad to get out at the end.
We were lucky with the weather in the sense that it was dry all weekend, but it was also absolutely freezing – I wore all the clothes I had with me practically all the time. As a result, we were forced to stop frequently into the pubs to warm ourselves up:) Some friends of Robin’s were in town that weekend as well, and we had some great meals with them, including dinner at a fantastic Indian restaurant with naans the size of flying saucers, and a big pot of steamed mussels at the Mussel Inn…yummmmm.
Anyway, that’s the latest with me. Oh! I went to a film on the weekend at the Jameson Film Festival (only in Dublin would a film festival be sponsored by a whiskey distillery:) and saw a film with Liam Neeson, and he was there afterward for the Q&A. It was pretty cool seeing him – and he is more gorgeous in person than he is on screen…
Everything else is fine…just cruising along, travel planning as per usual:) – next month – Budapest!
Love you all,
Tessa
November 2008
Hey folks,
Thought I'd send an update about my latest adventures, and also to let you know about my Christmas travel plans -- six weeks -- woo hoo!!
At the end of September I took a weekend trip to Heidelberg, in Germany, to visit my friend Stefan. Stefan and I met in 2000, on a trek in northernThailand. We hit it off from day one and traveled together for another week or so after the trek. He convinced me to rent a motorbike and travel around the northern Thai border towns, which turned out to be one of the top highlights of my whole year in Asia. Anyway, it was great to see him, though a bit strange, having had pretty sporadic contact these past 8 years. But it was a wonderful weekend, with the most perfect fall weather possible. We wandered around Heidelberg, which has a gorgeous old town, climbed the hill to the castle, and looked down on the river. Such a beautifully situated city.
I spent the first couple of weeks of October going with various friends to a number of plays that were staged as part of the Dublin Theatre festival. We saw Waiting for Godot, which was the first time I'd seen it, and then another Beckett play called Happy Days. I didn't realize Beckett was so weird -- he's not really my cup of tea. We also saw The Cripple of Inishmaan, which was written by Martin McDonagh, who wrote and directed the film In Bruges. My favourite was a play called Black Watch, which was staged by the National Theatre of Scotland about the Scottish regiment called Black Watch that gets deployed into areas no one else wants to go into. Totally fascinating story, based on true events from their deployment to Iraq, and one of the most powerful plays I've ever seen. I'm really enjoying the theatre scene here in Dublin…such quality productions and acting. And lots of famous actors too! I've seen a number of the cast members from the Harry Potter films -- Dumbledore, Aunt Petunia, and Argus Filch.
In mid-October I went back to County Kerry on the west coast to visit my friend Robin, and we spent the weekend in the town of Dingle, on the Dingle Peninsula. Dingle is known for its pubs because they're built into hardware stores and bike shops. We went to one called Dick Mack's, which is an old cobbler shop, so the walls are full of shoe boxes and there are random wellies lying around. There was a trio in the front room playing some trad music -- so fun. We rented a car for the weekend and drove around the peninsula. Dingle is typically gorgeous, wild west coast. How I wish I could live there…though I'm trying to convince Robin to move to Dublin:)
At the end of October, I took a 4-day weekend and my friend Emily and I went to Lisbon. Aside from the fact that Emily and I were completely incompatible as travel partners, I had a great time. Lisbon felt very eastern European to me -- Portugal doesn't seem to have the wealth associated with a lot of western Europe. The city feels older and more run down than most of the EU capitals I've been to, but it's still very charming and has a lot of character. I didn't know how famous Lisbon was for its tiles, but many of the houses and buildings are covered in painted tiles, which adds such great flavour and colour to the various neighbourhoods. Lisbon is built on 7 hills, most of which we climbed, and I loved the cityscape views of the red roofs against the water. We had *perfect* weather -- hot, sunny, and totally clear blue skies. A real treat at this time of year…:)
The weather has really changed in Dublin, and while we've had some lovely dry, clear days, it's pretty cold and dark. I have a bit of the November blues, so I bought myself a new winter coat to cheer myself up...It has a pink scarf so I'll be visible on these long dark nights…:)
Anyway, my plans for Christmas are pretty much set. My dates are as follows:
Dec. 17 - 23 Vancouver
Dec. 23 - 26 Calgary
Dec. 26 - 29 Kimberley
Dec. 29 - Jan. 3 Vancouver/Vancouver Island
Jan. 3 - depart for Seattle/London/Dublin
If you are going to be in the Vancouver/Calgary/Kimberley area on any of those dates, please let me know so I can begin planning visits. So looking forward to seeing everyone, and having lovely long visits accompanied by good food and wine:)
Love me
Thought I'd send an update about my latest adventures, and also to let you know about my Christmas travel plans -- six weeks -- woo hoo!!
At the end of September I took a weekend trip to Heidelberg, in Germany, to visit my friend Stefan. Stefan and I met in 2000, on a trek in northernThailand. We hit it off from day one and traveled together for another week or so after the trek. He convinced me to rent a motorbike and travel around the northern Thai border towns, which turned out to be one of the top highlights of my whole year in Asia. Anyway, it was great to see him, though a bit strange, having had pretty sporadic contact these past 8 years. But it was a wonderful weekend, with the most perfect fall weather possible. We wandered around Heidelberg, which has a gorgeous old town, climbed the hill to the castle, and looked down on the river. Such a beautifully situated city.
I spent the first couple of weeks of October going with various friends to a number of plays that were staged as part of the Dublin Theatre festival. We saw Waiting for Godot, which was the first time I'd seen it, and then another Beckett play called Happy Days. I didn't realize Beckett was so weird -- he's not really my cup of tea. We also saw The Cripple of Inishmaan, which was written by Martin McDonagh, who wrote and directed the film In Bruges. My favourite was a play called Black Watch, which was staged by the National Theatre of Scotland about the Scottish regiment called Black Watch that gets deployed into areas no one else wants to go into. Totally fascinating story, based on true events from their deployment to Iraq, and one of the most powerful plays I've ever seen. I'm really enjoying the theatre scene here in Dublin…such quality productions and acting. And lots of famous actors too! I've seen a number of the cast members from the Harry Potter films -- Dumbledore, Aunt Petunia, and Argus Filch.
In mid-October I went back to County Kerry on the west coast to visit my friend Robin, and we spent the weekend in the town of Dingle, on the Dingle Peninsula. Dingle is known for its pubs because they're built into hardware stores and bike shops. We went to one called Dick Mack's, which is an old cobbler shop, so the walls are full of shoe boxes and there are random wellies lying around. There was a trio in the front room playing some trad music -- so fun. We rented a car for the weekend and drove around the peninsula. Dingle is typically gorgeous, wild west coast. How I wish I could live there…though I'm trying to convince Robin to move to Dublin:)
At the end of October, I took a 4-day weekend and my friend Emily and I went to Lisbon. Aside from the fact that Emily and I were completely incompatible as travel partners, I had a great time. Lisbon felt very eastern European to me -- Portugal doesn't seem to have the wealth associated with a lot of western Europe. The city feels older and more run down than most of the EU capitals I've been to, but it's still very charming and has a lot of character. I didn't know how famous Lisbon was for its tiles, but many of the houses and buildings are covered in painted tiles, which adds such great flavour and colour to the various neighbourhoods. Lisbon is built on 7 hills, most of which we climbed, and I loved the cityscape views of the red roofs against the water. We had *perfect* weather -- hot, sunny, and totally clear blue skies. A real treat at this time of year…:)
The weather has really changed in Dublin, and while we've had some lovely dry, clear days, it's pretty cold and dark. I have a bit of the November blues, so I bought myself a new winter coat to cheer myself up...It has a pink scarf so I'll be visible on these long dark nights…:)
Anyway, my plans for Christmas are pretty much set. My dates are as follows:
Dec. 17 - 23 Vancouver
Dec. 23 - 26 Calgary
Dec. 26 - 29 Kimberley
Dec. 29 - Jan. 3 Vancouver/Vancouver Island
Jan. 3 - depart for Seattle/London/Dublin
If you are going to be in the Vancouver/Calgary/Kimberley area on any of those dates, please let me know so I can begin planning visits. So looking forward to seeing everyone, and having lovely long visits accompanied by good food and wine:)
Love me
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