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Posts from Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Posts from Base Camp

Walking through history on the K&P Trail (and another “Big Reveal”)

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

The K&P Trail follows the railbed of the old Kingston & Pembroke Railway.  Informally known as the “Kick & Push” Railway, this rail route from Kingston to Renfrew (it never reached Pembroke) played an important role in opening up the hinterland north of Kingston in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  It then declined until the tracks were removed in the 1980s, with passenger service ending some time before that.

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Part of a bridge (from 1927) on the K&P Trail, just north of Kingston

Extensive local efforts have now resulted in the redevelopment of parts of the railbed for recreational purposes: walking and biking in the warmer months, skiing and snowmobiling in the winter months.  While I never had the chance to ride the actual railway, I have always been interested in this relic from a bygone age.  One reason is that we often rented a cottage on Eagle Lake in the 1970s and the drive to the cottage closely mirrored the K&P route.  However, I’m generally intrigued by small local railways:  I’ve always enjoyed riding the tiny but still-in-service rail line from Spiez to Zweisimmen in the valley of my Swiss ancestors.

View from the K&P Trail
View from the K&P Trail

With the K&P Trail now open for walking from Kingston to just north of Verona, it is possible to get a feel for what riding the actual K&P might have been like.  My wife and I are gradually walking the line:  we have already walked from Kingston to Hartington (and back).  It can get a little warm during the summer months but it’s much more enjoyable now that the weather has cooled off a little bit.  As a bonus, the trail is never very challenging because railway lines were built as level as possible.

A rare lengthy incline on the K&P Trail
A rare lengthy incline on the K&P Trail

For our most recent hike on the K&P Trail, we revisited a (relatively) steeper section just north of the urban portion of Kingston.   All of the photos in today’s post are from the portion just east of the intersection of Bur Brook Road and Cordukes Road.

When we start walking north from Hartington to Verona, we will see the transition from a primarily farming environment to the rocks and lakes of the Canadian Shield.  It must have been extraordinarily difficult to build the railway through the rocky sections using the technology of the 1800s; in fact, many workers died in the process.

View of a nearby farm from the K&P Trail
View of a nearby farm from the K&P Trail

Once we’ve finished the K&P Trail, we will probably try to see some of the Cataraqui Trail too.  It also follows a former rail line:  it is currently developed for walking between Strathcona (near Napanee) and Smiths Falls.  Because most of the Cataraqui Trail is relatively far from our home in Kingston, we might travel it by bike or (in winter) on cross-country skis.

Another view from the K&P Trail
Another view from the K&P Trail

And the “Big Reveal”?  Although I wrote this blog entry in Kingston, I will probably have already arrived in Costa Rica (via Panama) by the time you read this.  Upon arrival in San Jose, I will be joining a group tour focusing on the natural highlights of Costa Rica.  As always with group tours, it is unclear whether I will have the opportunity to blog in “real time”.  If I don’t have that opportunity, I will definitely report on the Costa Rican adventure once I’m back in Canada!

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Choosing Hotels and B&Bs

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I’m sitting in my living room, listening to one of my recent vinyl acquisitions,  After staying in so many different hotels and B&Bs this year, I am definitely appreciating the comforts of home more.  However, I have learned quite a bit along the way about European accommodation; today’s post gathers a little bit of that acquired knowledge.

When travelling alone, I generally prefer B&Bs to hotels.  There is more of a personal touch in a B&B and that can be helpful when you don’t know anybody…especially if the local language is an unfamiliar one.  Most B&B owners will speak at least one other major European language in addition to their own.  Hostels are another good option when travelling solo, although one needs to do a bit more research on these.  Some hostels heavily favour a partying demographic, while others are much more inclusive.

Beach restaurant on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)
Beach restaurant on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

Often, however, it is necessary to stay in a hotel when travelling alone.  One of the fun things about solo European travel is the occasional great hotel deal you can find.  While North American hotels charge a solo traveller almost as much as two people sharing a room, a number of European hotels charge solo travellers little more than one-half the two person rate.  Some business-oriented hotels drop their rates even more on weekends.  Admittedly, the rooms can be on the small side and the bed is generally only a single bed, but otherwise you get all of the amenities of the hotel…including breakfast!  As a result, my bargain single room at the 4-star Hotel City Central in Vienna came with a huge and luxurious all-you can-eat buffet breakfast (including some very posh warm food) that I could only begin to sample.  It was a perfect way to begin a very long day of travel back to Kingston.

The village of Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)
The village of Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

As the year progresses, I am paying a lot more attention to formerly inconsequential details when choosing a place to stay.  I am always trying to stay within my budget, of course, and I do check to see if a place has attracted a lot of bad reviews.  However, there are some things that warrant an extra Euro or two.   Here are the three main things I’ve been looking for:

1.  Reliable WiFi.  The blog obviously requires it, but for me it is even more important to stay in touch with my wife when I am on the road.  Skype (or FaceTime, in our case) is a godsend for solo travel.

A quiet moment at low tide on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)
A quiet moment at low tide on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

2.  Easily accessible from major rail stations.  Taxis are a budget killer and hauling luggage gets very old towards the end of a trip.  Local public transit can also play tricks on you when you’ve just arrived in a new city.  If the train station isn’t right downtown, I’d rather stay near the station…commuting downtown is a lot easier without the backpack.

3.  Early check-in, especially on the day of arrival overseas.  Most flights from North America to Europe arrive between 5:00 and 8:00 a.m. local time.  I generally don’t get enough sleep on overnight flights and the last thing I want to do upon arrival is to carry my luggage around for 8-10 hours until it is time to check in.  Most places will at least let you drop off your luggage if you arrive early…but that is only a partial solution to the exhaustion I usually feel by late morning on the day of arrival.

Damp Dutch dogs drinking by the desolate dunes (Schiermonnikoog, Friesland, the Netherlands)
Damp Dutch dogs drinking by the desolate dunes (Schiermonnikoog, Friesland, the Netherlands)

All of today’s photos are from the Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog.  Stay tuned – on Saturday I will be arriving in a brand new country that has very little in common with the Netherlands!

Posts from Base Camp

Entering the Home Stretch!

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I’m back in Kingston for a few weeks and it seems like a good time to reflect a little bit on this year’s itinerary.

I’ve visited a total of 18 countries so far this year, even though I resolved at the beginning of the year that I wouldn’t be engaging in “checklist” tourism.  The number of countries visited is, I think, an unavoidable consequence of catching up on my overflowing European bucket list.  While I had not intended to visit so often, I have already been to Europe five times since the beginning of March!

Hiking trail to Germany (near Vianden, Luxembourg)
Hiking trail to Germany (near Vianden, Luxembourg)

Looking back at some of my early posts, I see that I spent some time discussing Saskatchewan.  It remains the only province/territory in Canada that I have never visited.  However, I also vowed that any trip to Saskatchewan this year would need to have an “independent’ justification…and not be a destination simply because I hadn’t been there yet.  Time is running out for a visit but it is still a possibility that cannot be completely dismissed.

The Hotel Victor Hugo (my hotel in Vianden, Luxembourg)
The Hotel Victor Hugo (my hotel in Vianden, Luxembourg)

Other than a quick trip next week to one of my favourite Canadian cities, however, there are currently only two more trips in the works.    In the second week of October, thanks to my very positive experience in Peru, I will be joining another group tour.  I’m not going to give many clues about this one, other than to say that it involves a country I’ve never visited before and it is *not* a European trip.  I don’t anticipate saying much more about this trip until approximately October 11, when I quickly post on Facebook that I have arrived in that country’s capital city!

Evening on the Grote Markt (Delft. the Netherlands)
Evening on the Grote Markt (Delft. the Netherlands)

My final planned trip of the year will be in late November.  While I’m undertaking it on my own, it will have some parallels with my recent hockey tour because there will be a strong “experiential” element to it.  I don’t think the itinerary will surprise anybody who knows me well; perhaps the biggest surprise will be that I haven’t been on such a trip before!

The historic heart of The Hague, the Netherlands
The historic heart of The Hague, the Netherlands

There is at least one destination on my initial plan that I definitely won’t be visiting this year.  I had intended to visit Ukraine but it has remained unstable throughout the year and unfortunately I don’t think it would be prudent to push ahead with a visit there.

Downtown Maassluis (the Netherlands)
Downtown Maassluis, the Netherlands

The Ukraine situation wasn’t the only one to affect my planning.  Earlier this year, I had also been concerned about the situation in Bosnia & Herzegovina.  Not because of the events of the 1990s, but because of a series of anti-corruption demonstrations that seemed to be getting a little out of control and were threatening to turn into something quite violent.  I had bought my ticket prior to the demonstrations so I did a lot of research before departure in order to satisfy myself that there was no heightened risk to me as a tourist.  From understanding the history of a country to being aware of current safety threats, it takes a lot of reading to be an informed and effective traveler!

Today’s blog photos are all from the first half of my August trip.  Stay tuned for an account of my upcoming Canadian city escape!

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Perceptions of Canada

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

On most of my trips to Europe, I try to disappear into the crowd and am probably not easily identifiable as coming from Canada (or perhaps anywhere in particular).  Generally, the only people who know I’m Canadian are hotel proprietors…for whom Canadians are not too much of a novelty.  As a result, I don’t hear too much about Canada from the perspective of Europeans outside the tourist industry.

My hockey tour of Eastern Europe* was different.  Not only was I travelling with a lot of other Canadians, we were unequivocally members of “Team Canada” and made no attempt to hide it.  The fact that we were Canadian hockey players was, in fact, a big part of this tour.

Looking intense against our very strong Czech opponents in Prague
Looking intense against our very strong Czech opponents in Prague

As Canadians, we tend to fret about our performance at international hockey events.  We greatly enjoyed our Olympic successes at both Vancouver and Sochi but have also had a number of recent disappointments.  If this tour was any indication, however, other hockey nations still have an immense amount of respect for Canadian hockey.  Some of them found it hard to believe that not all Canadian hockey players were world-class!  As I mentioned in my “Hockey Night in Budapest” post, the minor hockey program in Budapest was even named after Canada and had a maple leaf logo. The local kids watching our game gave us high-fives as we left the ice.

On the shore of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary
On the shore of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary

While the hockey perceptions were not completely unexpected, the non-hockey perceptions of Canada came as more of a surprise.  After all, these countries were on the other side of the Cold War (at the political leadership level, at least).

We constantly heard positive references to our country from the people we met.  But there were also reminders that this part of the world has had a long-standing respect for Canada.  In the otherwise miserable environment of Auschwitz, we learned that the concentration camp area used to sort the belongings of prisoners had been named “Canada”.  This was because Canada was seen, even then, as a land of wealth and prosperity.

View of the Buda Castle (Budapest, Hungary)
View of the Buda Castle (Budapest, Hungary)

At the Wawel castle in Krakow, we saw a commemorative plaque with respect to the castle treasures.  The plaque acknowledged Canada’s storage of the treasures during the Second World War:  this saved them from being looted by the Nazis during the occupation.  The plaque also acknowledged that Canada returned the treasures to the castle too!

Many people originally from this part of Europe escaped oppressive totalitarian regimes for a new life in Canada.  These ranged from the famous (the hockey-playing Stastny brothers, for example) to the not-so-famous…but Canada’s acceptance of them has never been forgotten by the immigrants or their family members who stayed behind.

Off the tourist trail in Budapest, Hungary
Off the tourist trail in Budapest, Hungary

This ties in with one of the most obvious benefits of travel:  no matter how wonderful your trip is, you also appreciate what a good life you have back home.  Of course, there are aspects of life in Canada that can be frustrating at times and there are certainly things we could learn from other countries.  On the balance, however, Canada is a pretty good place to call home…and the rest of the world recognizes it too.

At the top of the Buda Castle complex (Budapest, Hungary)
At the top of the Buda Castle complex (Budapest, Hungary)

*-I learned on this trip that Czechs, Slovaks, Poles and Hungarians often think of themselves as Central Europeans rather than Eastern Europeans.

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You can take the boy out of Holland, but…

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

…you can’t take Holland out of the boy.  It’s a cliché that could apply to any place, but I found it to be true over the past couple of weeks.

I’ve had a pretty good success rate with my travel year so far.  I’ve enjoyed practically every place I’ve visited and the inevitable setbacks (cancelled flight to Memphis, missing baggage in Paris, etc.) have been overcome without too much difficulty.  However, I think the just-completed trip to the Netherlands will become one of those “legacy” trips that enjoys a special place in my heart.

Getting caught by the waves at the same beach where my father played as a child ('s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands)
Getting caught by the waves at the same beach where my father played as a child (‘s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands)

We saw some very interesting things on this trip, but I think the best part was reconnecting with my Dutch relatives.  Without exception, my cousins were all thrilled to see us and it made everything more vivid and meaningful.  It was cool to see my family name on a church from the early 1600s, but even cooler to be shown it by a cousin who still attends that very church.  It was great to see a professional soccer game in Holland, but even greater to be taken there (and to an exciting pre-game meal!) by a cousin who belongs to the home team’s fan club.  And it was wonderful to see the very distinct northern extremities of the Netherlands, but even more wonderful to be shown around  by a cousin who lives there and could explain the places that are connected to my family.

Keystone rplaced by (and naming) my ancestor Isaac van der Hout (Maassluis, the Netherlands)
Keystone placed by (and naming) my ancestor Isaack Adriaensz van der Hout (born in 1580) – at the “Grote Kerk” in Maassluis, the Netherlands

All of which is a long way of saying that great travel experiences are not just about the places you visit…but about the people who are there.  I’ve had similar experiences with my Swiss relatives (eating at a mountain restaurant whose owner/chef was my mother’s cousin, and skiing with my uncle in my “ancestral valley” in the Berner Oberland, to name just two) and the memories last much longer than places you’ve passed through without any real personal connection.

Synchronicity! Klein Zwitserland ("little Switzerland") at the dunes on Schiermonnikoog, the Netherlands
Synchronicity! Klein Zwitserland (“little Switzerland”) at the dunes on Schiermonnikoog, the Netherlands

What does this mean for future travel?   It may not affect the remainder of this year’s journey, but it will certainly have a future impact.  As I told each of my Dutch cousins, it won’t be another 23 years before I visit again.

The backstreets of Amsterdam
The not-so-busy back streets of Amsterdam

And now, as promised, here is some information about my next trip.  While I have only just returned to Canada, I will be flying out again on September 4 on a very special journey.  I have been trying to have more time at home between trips but I could not control the timing of this one.   As time is of the essence, I’m going to give all of the clues at once:

1.  The theme is sports…and as a participant, not as an observer.

2.  The sports element is not just incidental; I will be participating in this sport virtually every day that I am away.

3.  I will be visiting a total of 4 countries (2 of which I have never visited before), with an airport stopover in a relatively familiar 5th country.

4.  Notwithstanding the location of this trip, it will have a very Canadian flavour.

5.  Perhaps because of clue no. 4, the “hosts” may be thrilled if some days are unsuccessful.

More deer in Haren, the Netherlands
More deer in Haren, the Netherlands

My itinerary on this special trip will be very busy, so I’m not sure if I will be able to blog in “real time”.  I’ll be back for 4 weeks afterwards, though, so the back-up plan is to get the posts up then.  At a minimum, I hope to get some status updates up on Facebook.  I’m sure it’s going to be great!

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Everybody wants to see more food!

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I’m now back in Kingston after a very enjoyable trip to France, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands. I still intend to do a wrap-up post but first I am going to take the populist approach and write about food. I didn’t include too many food pictures in my day-to-day posts, as I realized fairly early on that I would have enough for a post devoted solely to food. I’ve noticed that food also tends to draw the most blog comments and personal e-mails.

Sometimes food can be a tasty history lesson.  Two examples on this trip were Tibetan food in Luxembourg and Indonesian food in the Netherlands. Tibet is not currently an independent nation. However, the idea of Tibet as an entity has been kept alive in several ways. Many Tibetans have fled home to establish new lives elsewhere and a significant number have established restaurants specializing in Tibetan cuisine. My wife and I have eaten Tibetan food in Montreal, Toronto and Northampton (Massachusetts), among other places.

Bhutanese cheese soup and Tibetan butter-and-salt yak tea (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg)
Bhutanese cheese soup and Tibetan yak-butter-and-salt tea (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg)

So, even if you couldn’t place Tibet on a map, you may still be familiar with the Dalai Lama…or Momo dumplings!  I really enjoyed my Tibetan meal in Luxembourg City and I’m glad that I can now also share a photo of my Bhutanese cheese soup.  Bhutan is an independent country but it is very small and I do not think that there is a very large Bhutanese expatriate community.  Bhutan occasionally makes the news because its leaders have taken a rather unique approach to tourism and economic development: the number of visitors is very strictly limited…and the nation has determined that “Gross National Happiness” is more important that “Gross National Product” (hence the restrictions on the number of tourists).

Rijsttafel at De Lachende Javaan (Haarlem, the Netherlands)
Rijsttafel at De Lachende Javaan (Haarlem, the Netherlands)

I have fond memories of eating Indonesian food as a child during my family’s visits to the Netherlands.  It was so colourful and tasty; virtually every town had at least one place where you could get Indonesian food. I didn’t really understand all of the nuances at the time, but the main reason for this proliferation of Indonesian restaurants was that Indonesia was once part of the Dutch colonial empire.  In some ways, the Dutch adoption of Indonesian cuisine mirrors Britain’s adoption of (East) Indian cuisine.  Much as I associate Indonesian food with the Netherlands, I also associate Indian cuisine with Britain.

The Man-Wah restaurant in 's-Gravenzande, the Netherlands. I remember eating Indonesian food here as a child.
The Man-Wah restaurant in ‘s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands. I remember eating Indonesian food here as a child.

There are quirks, however.  I’m not sure exactly why, but most restaurants serving Indonesian food are also described as being “Chinese”.  The food served doesn’t really match up with this Canadian’s perception of Chinese food, but the naming convention remains in place.

Even though I could happily eat Indonesian food several times a week, it doesn’t seem to be that trendy in the Netherlands these days.  Like many other people, the Dutch have taken a liking to showarma, doners and kebabs…foods that became commonplace in western Europe partly because of the economic migration of guest workers in the late 20th century.  The fresh flavours of Thai food are also very popular with the Dutch (see photo at the top of this post – which is from a “Chinese” restaurant in Zuidlaren).  But what struck me most was the proliferation of Spanish restaurants (generally focusing on tapas) and Argentinean steakhouses.

Dimly-lit North African food in Groningen, the Netherlands
Dimly-lit North African food in Groningen, the Netherlands

The Netherlands has had a new king since 2013.  His wife is Argentinean and she is quite popular with the Dutch.  Indeed, most of my relatives believe she is the reason  that tapas bars and steakhouses can now be found in any decent-sized Dutch town.   Her popularity may not last forever but, in the meantime, eating tapas or Argentinean steak seems to be almost a patriotic act in the Netherlands.

And what of “traditional” Dutch food?  I regularly ate krokets (croquettes) as a snack, loaded up on various types of excellent Dutch cheese on sandwiches, and ate hagelslag (“hail”, a type of chocolate sprinkle) whenever possible for breakfast.  Only in the Netherlands can adults enjoy this food without guilt. It’s great to start your day with some buttered (as an adhesive layer) bread and a thick coating of dark chocolate hagelslag.

Next time on the blog – a Dutch recap and my next destination!

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The Next Big Trip

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

So far, I have been having fun on this blog by withholding the identity of my next destination until I have actually arrived there.  As this next trip is quite different from the others, I’m going to do (most of) “the big reveal” now, although I am not leaving for a few days.

While I visited my next destination 5 times in the first 23 years of my life, I haven’t been there in the subsequent 23 years.  During that time, my travel focus was primarily on “new” destinations and on alpine skiing.  As a result, I have been somewhat out of touch with a very important part of my heritage for a long time.

March 17, 2014 (Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy) - It was an incredble 16'C on the slopes
March 17, 2014 (Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy) – It was an incredble 16’C on the slopes…and absolutely no lift lines!

A lot has happened in the past 23 years.  My memories of childhood trips to my father’s homeland remain vivid…but I really want to share those memories with my wife and reconnect with the country that has given me, among many other things, my surname and some emotional World Cup soccer tournaments.   And so, in a few days, we will be embarking on a long-overdue trip to the Netherlands.

Large rock on the piste in Cortina d'Ampezo, Italy (March 2014) - the orange sign in front is about 4 feet high.
Large rock on the piste in Cortina d’Ampezo, Italy (March 2014) – the orange sign in front is about 4 feet high.

My wife visited the Netherlands on a high school trip many years ago but she is also looking forward to finally seeing some of “my” places that she has only heard about for the past 15 years.  While we will be visiting some of my childhood haunts, we also look forward to discovering new parts of the Netherlands together during our two weeks there.  It’s important to connect with the past, but it is also important for us to make new Dutch memories of our own.  Accordingly, for the first time, I will be visiting the northern provinces of the Netherlands and also seeing more of the Amsterdam area than just Schiphol Airport.

No zoom lens - this bird flew right up to me at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, U.S.A. (March 2014)
No zoom lens – this bird flew right up to me at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, U.S.A. (March 2014)

Even though the Netherlands will constitute the bulk of our trip, there is still an element of mystery:  I’m leaving Canada five days early to briefly visit a couple of other countries before meeting my wife in Amsterdam.  Once again, these are countries I have visited in the past but I’ll be visiting specific places in those countries for the very first time.  Through a lot of experimentation with airline websites, I was able to find an interesting 3-stage itinerary that was considerably cheaper than simply flying between Toronto and Amsterdam.

One of the hardier creatures at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, U.S.A. (March 2014)
One of the hardier creatures at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, U.S.A. (March 2014)

This sort of thing has happened before.  I call them “mistake fares” because they don’t make any logical sense…and they tend to disappear once people start taking advantage of them.  When you find such a mistake fare for travel, especially during the higher-priced summer months, you go for it.  I didn’t really know at the time of booking what exactly I would be visiting during those extra five days, but I had a lot of fun figuring out an interesting itinerary between August 7 in “City A” and August 12 in “City B”.

Heavy Snows in Cortina d"Ampezzo, Italy (March 18, 2014)
Heavy snows in Cortina d”Ampezzo, Italy (March 18, 2014)

The mysterious City A, City B and various points in between will be revealed in the next few posts.  And even if you have been to the Netherlands before, I’m sure that you’ll find some interesting twists in this very personal trip!  In the meantime, this post contains some new photos from my March 2014 trips to Chicago, U.S.A. and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

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Local trip to Glenora and Odessa

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I’ve been home from Peru for a couple of weeks now.  Last week, my wife and I decided to take advantage of some great weather to go on a local road trip.

The ultimate goal was to end up in Belleville so that I could spend the remainder of a gift certificate.  However, we thought it would be a great day to enjoy the shores of Lake Ontario, so we took the very long route:  driving to Adolphustown, taking the Glenora Ferry to Prince Edward County, and then finally heading to Belleville via Picton.

Glenora Ferry
Glenora Ferry

Perhaps my perspective has changed after all of the travelling I’ve done this year, but it took hardly any time at all to arrive at the dock for the Glenora Ferry.  Best of all, there was very little craziness on the scenic lakefront highway.  In fact, it felt like we were back in the 1970s, when I used to go apple-picking around here with my family.  Driving in Ontario really does seem to be more sedate than just about anywhere else in the world.

Upon arrival in Glenora, we went to visit The Inn at Lake on the Mountain.  One of my long-time soccer teammates runs the restaurant here, so it was fun to catch up on things with him and to enjoy a nice al fresco lunch.  The lake itself is one of those eternal mysteries:  it’s not really clear how the water gets to the lake, but it is definitely there on the top of the “mountain”.  There is also a great view over the ferry route from the mountain.

Enjoying an outdoor lunch - The Inn at Lake on the Mountain
Enjoying an outdoor lunch – The Inn at Lake on the Mountain

From Glenora, it is only a few kilometres to Picton.  Picton has only a few thousand residents but it still is the largest town in Prince Edward County.  Like most of “The County” (everybody knows what county you are talking about), it has transformed from a largely rural/agricultural centre to a more tourist-oriented place.  There are new wineries everywhere and it seems to be attracting a lot of Torontonians.   However, its roots have not been forgotten:  it is easy to find plenty of remnants from before the tourist boom.

I last visited Belleville in April and, well, it hasn’t changed much in the past three months.  After decimating the gift certificate, we enjoyed dinner at the Thai House restaurant and headed back to Kingston along the pastoral Highway 2 rather than the multi-lane Highway 401.

Babcock Mill (rear view) - Odessa, Ontario
Babcock Mill (rear view) – Odessa, Ontario

Even though it is only about 10 miles west of where we live, we had never really explored the back streets of the village of Odessa.  The persistent daylight allowed us to finally do that and to see the historic Babcock Mill (also shown in the photo at the top of this posting) for ourselves.  I don’t think the interior is open for visits anymore, but we were still able to wander around the site and ruminate about Odessa’s long-ago golden age.  We hope to visit some more local attractions before heading overseas again on August 6.

Having the past few weeks at home has enabled me to do a lot of planning for the remainder of the year.  Stay tuned for my next blog entry, where I will be revealing my next destination!

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Thoughts on Group Tourism

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

As you may recall from my pre-Peru posts, I had never taken a multi-day group tour before.  I was a little concerned with how it might turn out, given my long history of travelling independently.

I needn’t have worried.  Practically everyone in my group was in the same position:  none of us had ever been to South America, nobody was fluent in Spanish, we were all new to group tours, and we were all curious about this country with a legendary archaeological site.  We were all from either Canada or the U.S.A., as it turned out; this was neither good nor bad, but it probably helped to give us a few more things in common.

Hiking to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu
Hiking to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu

Although my major trip (almost 3 weeks) in August will be independent, I will not be as quick to dismiss group tours as a travel option in the future.  I doubt that I would ever embark on a group tour in Western Europe, as I have family there and I have been there many times, but that doesn’t mean that a first-time visitor should avoid a European group tour if that will make them more comfortable.

I'm not entirely sure what is happening here, but the police and various other people were quite interested (Cusco, Peru)
I’m not entirely sure what is happening here, but the police and various other people were quite interested (Cusco, Peru)

Of course, you have to do your research.  I chose to use G Adventures for my visit to Peru because they were a Canadian-based company with a long history in Latin America and a commitment to more sustainable and “authentic” travel experiences.  My voluntary visit to McDonald’s (the photo at the top of this post shows the location on Cusco’s Plaza de Armas) was the only international company I experienced while in Peru:  all of our hotels and restaurants were locally-owned.  We also had the freedom to do a fair bit of exploration on our own; on our full day in Cusco, for example, the only scheduled group activity was dinner.   I think the tour company’s approach meant that the others in my group were looking for more or less the same thing that I was.

Llama at Machu Picchu
Llama at Machu Picchu

The big question now:  will I travel with  a group again later this year?  The answer is “yes”!  In fact, two of my remaining trips could be considered group trips, although only one of them is a “conventional” group tour.

Typical street in the San Blas district of Cusco, Peru
Typical street in the San Blas district of Cusco, Peru

Here’s why I chose the “conventional” group tour for my late October trip:  this year is a special opportunity for me to see places that would normally be too remote for a 1-2 week vacation.  There is one destination that I have often thought about but never seriously considered because of its utter isolation, my lack of experience in that part of the world, the language barrier, and a host of other excuses that (especially after successfully visiting Peru) I don’t think should stand in my way any longer.  This destination is ideal for what I’ll call adventure-oriented group travel and I’ve found some tour dates that appear to work.   While I haven’t booked it yet, it is in my internal travel calendar and I expect to complete the formal arrangements within the next few weeks.

Still more from Machu Picchu!
Still more from Machu Picchu!

As for the “unconventional” group trip I have planned for early September, it does not focus on the acknowledged tourist highlights of a particular region.  Instead, it focuses almost entirely on a special interest of mine.  However, I should also have lots of free time to explore on my own because this special interest is not a day-long activity.  Not all of my fellow travellers will be complete strangers, either.   Perplexed?  It will all be clear in about 6 weeks!

Posts from Base Camp

A New Kind of Travel (and some final clues)

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

In two days, I will be arriving at a new destination.  It’s special in many respects:  not only is it a new country for me, it is also a new continent.  Even so, I find myself thinking most about the format:  for the first time in my life, I’m going on a group tour for (almost) the entire trip.

Splendid ski lunch with friends - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Splendid ski lunch with friends – Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

I grew up visiting Europe every few years with my parents.  By the time I was old enough to make my own travel arrangements, I had the confidence to deal with travelling in (European) countries with different food and where different languages were spoken.   After being directly immersed in Europe so many times, taking a group tour there would have felt limiting…maybe even a step backwards.

Walking away from the Giant's Causeway (Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland)
Walking away from the Giant’s Causeway (Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland)

However, when I started to think seriously about visiting my next destination, I felt somewhat uncomfortable with the prospect of doing it myself.  I wanted to have a safety net in case something went wrong.  Frankly, I also felt that I could use a break from planning every detail of every trip.  Between trips, I am generally planning ahead several months and taking care of details so that I can make the most of each trip (and keep my costs down).  I thought it would be nice to “coast” a little and just savour the moment.

Part of my discomfort was likely the result of negative media portrayals of this country in the not-too-distant past.  It hasn’t always been economically healthy either.  As it turns out, however, its economic indicators are stronger than at least one of the European countries I have already visited (alone) this year.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated here in 1914...World War I followed in due course (Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated from this spot in 1914…World War I followed in due course (Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina)

While my apprehension may have been misplaced, I still think it will be useful to view travel through the lens of a group tourist at least once…and maybe determine if there is a future destination that would be best visited with a group.  If nothing else, I am sure that I will meet some interesting fellow travellers.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I have kept this destination a secret.  In addition to the clues in my previous post, I can say this:

(1) The country is soccer-crazy but is not competing in this year’s World Cup.  I have no doubt that I will be able to follow the progress of “my” Dutch and Swiss teams.

(2)  It’s winter there!

(3)  German will be essentially useless and English won’t be nearly as widespread as it has been in my travels to date.

Ducks on Collins Bay (Kingston, Ontario) - April 2014.
Canada Geese on Collins Bay (Kingston, Ontario) – April 2014.

I may not be able to blog in real time on this trip, as I may not have WiFi access.  However, even if I do have access, I don’t know if I will have the time to blog.  The itinerary is packed with activities as we are only spending 8 days together (including arrival and departure days).   At the very least, I hope to post the occasional update on Facebook and blog about the trip extensively upon my return to Canada.

One final clue:  I think the photographs from this trip will be spectacular!