awanderingcanadian

[awanderingcanadian]

Dear England…

I read that you’re in a new relationship. This person is someone who we had a long term relationship with, and for many years things were good, but recently there’s been a personality change, and things have changed quickly. He tore up our relationship contract, and refuses to interact with the kids we produced between us over the years, unless we pay him. It’s so weird, and because we don’t have buckets of cash lying around, we now have to charge him for the kids when we have them, as well. It’s made a lot of things really awkward.

We used to go back and forth between our two houses, but now everything feels weird. I know that you are excited as he’s promising big things, although so far he’s just flashed you some jewelry and made promises of a future. Trust us, we’ve been there. We committed everything to our relationship, and we walked away like we were trash.

I’m not saying you’re stupid, but you do seem a little naive right now. It might seem today like he really likes you, but often he uses people to attract someone else, then drops you like a hot potato. Meanwhile, like us, you’ve started a family with him.

Be careful, this guy is trouble.

Sincerely,

Canada

P.S. I’ve heard that you are taking credit for Carney being elected PM here because he used to be the Governor of the Bank of England. Let’s be clear, he was the head of the Bank of Canada first, so we’re well aware of his skill set.

[awanderingcanadian]

Dear America, Tariffs are Only Part of our Anger

Dear American family, friends, and former allies,

You seem confused. Even many of you who are apologizing to us for your government, still miss the point. Some of you think we are “stressed”, and sure I guess we are at least a bit, given the ridiculousness of these tariffs that are unfair and probably illegal, after having negotiated and signed in good faith, a trade agreement for this current timeline. Many of you don’t seem to understand what a “trade deficit” means and how it happens, so here’s a basic answer: it’s when you buy more from a country than it buys from you. Some basic math: you have almost 400 million people,e we have about 10% of that. It would be mathematically impossible for us to buy the same amount of stuff from you, hence the “deficit” or difference in buying amounts. So America, please do not think that we are “stressed” because our days of “freeloading” are over. We do not “freeload”. We simply have 10% of your population so really cannot buy the same amounts as you do. And frankly, we have bailed you out so often. Taking all of those planes on September 11th, made such an impact that there is a Broadway show about it. And those fires, yes we sent firefighters and water bombers. We have fought alongside you in foreign wars, we have been good neighbours, but we are not “stressed”, we are angry. Make a note and adjust your conversations accordingly.

However, a tariff dispute is a grown up, government to government problem, and while we are somewhat stressed about the impacts of these on our fellow citizens, what we really are is fucking angry, and we’re united in that anger, and it’s about more than the tariffs: it’s about the constant threats to our sovereignty, the disrespect, and rudeness of your government.

Personally, until yesterday, I was also angry with most of my American who were doing a lot of complaining, (being keyboard warriors), but not really DOING anything to stop your fascist government. I felt as if my country of less than 40 million, none of whom have a vote for your president, were doing more to fight your fascist government than you were. A few days ago, while riding a ski gondola at Whistler, we met a man from Seattle who started the conversation by apologizing for your government. I said, “thank you. I appreciate that”, but my friend asked him what HE was going to stop the madness? He babbled on about making a bumper sticker…seriously, a bumper sticker?? She pushed him again, asking if he was protesting, to which he said he felt the situation in the US was “hopeless” and that he believed that “no one had ever changed their mind due to a protest”. Wow, he had given up before even trying. Frankly, I had no more energy to waste on him, so I sat silently and looked out at the beautiful Canadian scenery, but my friend still tried to engage him. As we left the gondola I gave my parting shot, “you know your country is really screwing everyone over”, to which he replied, “how do you think we feel?” My final comment, and I stand by it, was, “yeah, but NONE of us got to vote for this.” My opinion is this: I don’t care if you voted for this or not. If you didn’t vote for this, you need to be out there continually protesting. The end. If you’re not willing to protest, then frankly, you deserve what you get.

Yesterday, many of my friends gave me a glimmer of hope. Hope that you’re not going to roll over. One of my friends is in her 80’s and she’s out there protesting. It warmed my Canadian heart.

I loved some of the protest signs. They were creative.

This one was my favourite:

For more information on just one of the tariffs, (the dairy one) is, here is a link to a Canadian teacher who spells it out for those of us who need help:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joanna Johnson (@unlearn16)

To sum this up, although it’s more palatable to just believe that we’re stressed about these BS tariffs, the reason that Canadians are angry is over how your government is treating us. When it’s your turn to be threatened daily, your sovereignty and elected government disrespected, maybe you’ll understand.

[awanderingcanadian]

An Amazing Tour in Belize!

During our month in Belize, we took two days and did two different tours. We used the wonderful and friendly Ever, at Fayah Tours based in Maya Beach. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Belize was expensive, and yes, the tours were expensive, (for us anyway), but they were fabulous! We wanted to do two things: snorkel out by the barrier reef, and try cave tubing.

Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world, after Australia, so it’s well known to scuba divers. However, a dive can cost you around $700USD…for ONE day. Fortunately, we are snorkelers and the price was “only” $145USD/person. Having taken the leap on price, we were excited for our trip. We were picked up about 2 streets away from our rental, in Maya Beach, and driven down to the village of Placencia, where we met our skipper, (Kennedy), and two other people, (also Canadians), who were joining us. The beauty of this trip was that there were only 5 of us, small groups being a trademark of Fayah Tours. Our boat was a panga covered with a Bimini, so you could find shade. The water had been rough for most of our trip, so the trip out was a rough ride for the two in the front. Fortunately, I was in the back, and quite comfortable. The views on the way out were stunning. Tiny cayes, looking like advertisements for ship wreck destinations, popped up all around us. If only we could choose where to be shipwrecked, right?

The day comprised of two snorkels, (one around a coral reef, the other out further with rays and turtles), a barbecue lunch, and a stop on a private island for drinks and the most fun water slide ever! You went down and right into the warm Caribbean! There were so many fish to see, and the coral looked like an underwater moonscape.

The trip back was calm, and we pulled into the dock just before sunset. Again we were taken back up to Maya Beach, this time to our door. What great service! We definitely felt it was worth the money. If you’re staying in the Placencia area, and looking for a great tour, call Ever at Fayah Tours!

[awanderingcanadian]

Public Transit, Belize Style!

As experienced travelers, we’ve visited many countries in various parts of the world, and found our way around in various ways, yet somehow we made the rookie mistake of thinking that because one country bordered another, surely the public transportation systems would be similar. Silly us. For decades we’ve availed ourselves to the public bus systems of Mexico, (whether local buses or long distance), and they’re fabulous. So, imagine our arrival into Belize, a country governed for 119 years by the U.K., to find ourselves in a totally unpredictable situation.

For a few months I had been trying, unsuccessfully, to find for sure the way to get from Bacalar or Chetumal, Mexico to Placencia, Belize. We finally gave up and went with a shuttle service that had us change vehicles at the border, and again in Belize City, before getting us into the capital city of Belmopan in time for our 2:45pm bus. Which, although it appears on their website, doesn’t actually run anymore. We waited until 5pm for the next bus, (which fortunately did run), arriving at our new accommodation in the dark.

Things got trickier from there, and frankly during that first week in the lovely Maya Beach area, we were wondering just what on earth we had done by booking a month long stay? The nearest ATM and pharmacy was a 35-40 minute drive away, ($30USD taxi ride each way), and a properly stocked grocery store was 15 minutes, ($15 USD taxi ride each way), away. In addition, fruit and vegetables aren’t really sold in grocery stores, they’re sold at lean-to looking stands/stalls, which is fine, but until the last week of our stay, the nearest one was…yes a $15USD each way taxi ride away. We truly didn’t know if we were going to make it financially! There didn’t see to be any of the little collectivos, called busitos in Belize, (like a 15 passenger van), that we were used to in Mexico, apart from early morning ones, getting workers in to town, and late afternoon going the other way. While the late afternoon ones were fine, we really didn’t want to catch a 7am ride to town, even assuming the van had any room in it by the time it got to us. One day we took the $60USD taxi round trip to the village and back, as we had several errands, one of which was getting a Belizean SIM card for my husband’s phone. Imagine our frustration when, after returning back home, we realized that he had left his Canadian SIM card in the shop. Yup, that’s another $60USD to retrieve it. He said he would walk until hopefully a busito appeared. Fortunately, after walking for an hour in the sun, a guy we had met drove by, and stopped and offered a ride. In that hour, no busito, or regular bus, had appeared.

One day, while trying to plan a trip to visit friends in San Ignacio, I noticed that according to its website, the Floralia bus allegedly passed by near our place, on the main road, just after noon. Well, this could be exciting progress. The next day, I walked the two blocks to the main road, arriving approximately 15 minutes before we guessed the bus would pass by. I sat in the shade waiting, just to see if a bus did appear, so we could count on it for future trips…and lo and behold, it did! It was a beautiful thing. We then knew that we could get to Placenicia village for an afternoon of beach, lunch, shopping, whatever.

Armed with new confidence a week later we set off for our public transit journey to Belmopan, returning 4 days later from San Ignacio. All went smoothly to Belmopan, with our first bus running a bit late, but actually communicating with the next bus, resulting in both pulling over so connecting passengers could disembark and join the next bus! It seemed like a miracle. We then continued on through hilly, rolling roads. As an educator, I’ve ridden a LOT of school buses, and I had no idea they could fly as quickly as this one did. Holy moley! I originally thought it had lost its brakes as we careened down hills, and around corners, but they were just priming it for the uphill climb. It was obvious both that the driver knew the road, and that this was normal driving, as everyone except us, was either napping or chatting with friends. We however, were holding on for dear life!

On our return trip, we were feeling pretty confident that we had FINALLY cracked the Belize public transit system, when the wheels fell off, (not literally). Bus 3 of 3 failed to show, leaving us under a bus shelter, in the middle of nowhere, (at a roundabout), for almost 2 hours. The bus was supposed to be there 15 minutes after our drop off, but as we waited and waited, I was getting hungrier and hungrier, and that's NEVER a recipe for success. As we were reaching the 2 hour mark, I was ready to call a taxi. I texted a new Belizean friend, offering to pay him to come collect us for the last 40 minute drive, but he was out on a lunch engagement, so when 4 locals flagged down a construction pick up truck, en route to the construction site, we jumped in! I remember thinking, "this is what retirement looks like: sitting in the back of a pick up truck surrounded by sand, shovels, picks, and rakes!" While I look happy in the photo below, I think my joy was around knowing I could eat lunch soon! It turned out that the job site was a mere 2kms from our accommodation, so we started walking, and I texted our friend Ever again. It turns out he was able to come and get us!

In case you're wondering why we didn't just rent a car, here were our quotes for February: $2200USD/month for a car, or $400USD/week for a golf cart.

I'll repeat my often heard mantra, "Smooth travel doesn't make for good stories", so if you're looking for stories to tell for years to come, visit Belize and use public transportation!

[awanderingcanadian]

The Not Good, Terrible Day

Yesterday, America probably had one of its worst days in its history as a country. Yesterday, two bullies, (one a self professed “Christian), tried to bully and taunt a man, shouting at him on a televised meeting, a man whose country was invaded by an aggressor, a country who has been in David vs Goliath war trenches for the past 3 years. Yesterday, America came out swaggering like a playground bully. Yesterday, America showed the world what it has become. America should be deeply ashamed by yesterday.

During the meeting, the self professed “Christian” said the man shouldn’t have treated America that way in a televised meeting. Here’s my perspective: who decided to televise it? And with that power, couldn’t the people who chose to televise it, just turn those cameras off? After all, this was in the highest office in the land.

Regardless, it was shown in all of its beauty. There were two Presidents in the room, and while one was bullied, the other emerged the hero to the rest of the world. As of early this morning, one hundred and forty leaders of other countries have sided with the foreign hero.

I personally, while feeling sickened by what I saw, also saw the potential for the good. Yesterday, the rest of the world saw the “real Donald Trump”, as he likes to call himself on social media. The finally got to see first hand what countries like mine, (Canada), have to deal with every, single, day. I hope this is a call to action for the rest of the world. Ukraine is stop gapping Russia’s rolling into Europe, (again), and Canada is bearing up with daily threats to our sovereignty. This is the Canada who fought in two world wars, losing more men per capita than any other nation, who fought side by side with Americans in places like Korea and Afghanistan, who are well knows for their role in international peace keeping. The country who took in so many planes and people on September 11th that they made a Broadway play about it. Who recently sent waterbombers and crews to help fight the LA fires.

Based on the reactions of people I know from around the globe, yesterday the U.S. didn’t make any new friends. These people aren’t all “liberal”, “pinko” “woke” “snowflakes”. At least half fall under one of these banners: “conservative”, “religious”, “business people”. If they all agree on this, then America, you’ve got a huge problem.

If the world learned anything yesterday, I hope it was that this country is a dangerous, rogue, and fasciist nation. World, this should be your call to action. Support those of us who are already under attack before it’s your turn. It’s your time to payback what Canada has done for the world, and what the Ukraine has been doing for Europe these past 3 years. Step up.

[awanderingcanadian]

First Days in Belize

For the past few winters we’ve been looking around various places for our new ‘winter address’. We started when our Progreso, Mexico property was up for sale, and over the course of 3 winters we have spent a month touring Costa Rica, and a week to two weeks in various locales in Mexico: La Paz, Mazatlán, Puerto Escondido, the Oaxaca area, and Mexico City. This year we opted for 2 weeks visiting friends back in Progreso, then onward to Bacalar for 6 days, before heading for a month in Belize.

We have never been to Belize before, and my husband was attracted by the fact that English is spoken here. We decided to spend a month in one location to get a real feel for it, and chose to use public transportation to get around, as car rentals here are ridiculously expensive, (I’ll be writing a post later about our busing experiences). We foolishly thought that the public transit options would be similar to Mexico, where the buses are lovely, frequent, easy to book, basically they’re very efficient overall, along with “collectivos”, (12-15 passenger minivans), that run continuously back and forth between the villages.

However, despite my best efforts over several months, I seemed unable to pin down the bus route from Bacalar, Mexico to Placencia, Belize. Just a few days prior to our departure, we settled on taking a shuttle from Bacalar to Belmopan, then getting the 2:45pm bus from there, (as shown on the website, see below for a screenshot). We had to change shuttle buses at the border, and were driven to the Belize City bus station to await our 3rd, and final shuttle bus to Belmopan. It was the lunar new year, and there was small celebration with a million firecrackers in an enclosed space. We were trying to duck into shops so we could breathe, as covering our mouths meant leaving one ear open. It was crazy. We also spent some time trying to use a nearby ATM to get Belize dollars, but it was out of commission.

We reached the bus station in Belmopan about an hour before the 2:45 bus was to depart, but there was no one at the bus line’s counter selling tickets. We patiently waited until someone arrived, only to be told that particular bus didn’t run anymore, and the next bus would leave at 5:00pm. We had some time, and the Belmopan bus station ranks up there with the best sketchy bus stations I’ve come across, so we took turns staying with our luggage, and tried again unsuccessfully to find a working ATM.

Eventually, after travelling for almost 12 hours, we arrived a few blocks from our Airbnb. Fortunately, the bus stops right at a bowling alley/restaurant/bar/billiards place and right after finding our way down a sandy road in complete darkness to find our new home, and dropping off our stuff, we walked back for a good meal and a couple of drinks.

The first few days continued in a similar bumbling fashion, we paid $60USD round trip for a taxi to the nearest stocked grocery store, because there didn’t seem to be any public transportation to town. Our nearest store, about 4 blocks away, has mainly empty shelves, and until 3 weeks in we had no vegetable stand nearby. (Grocery stores here don’t really stock fruit or vegetables, and the few they do have often leave a LOT to be desired). Most things are closed on Sundays, (bakeries, fruits and vegetable stands, etc), and we had arrived on a Saturday night. The nearest ATM is a 30-40 drive, and a very expensive taxi ride away. There seemed to be a lot of challenges facing us, and we were starting to wonder what we had done in spending a month in this location.

Lest you think that Belize is all downhill, I need to reassure you that it is not. We have since found affordable ways to get to town, although given our first experiences, we now walk to the the road at least a day before trying to go to any new destinations, to confirm the bus with our own eyes. There are collectivos, called busitos here, but they are few and far between during the heart of the day, frequent in the morning running in one direction and in the late afternoon in the other direction, helping people get into town to work.

We’ve settled in, and our accommodation is lovely. The Belizean people are so friendly. The food is amazing! We’ve found our way around, and while that hasn’t been easy, making friends here has been. I’ll write more in another post about our fabulous experiences on tours, making friends, and some recent transportation adventures!

[awanderingcanadian]

Three Weeks on the Yucatan

Despite my latest spate of political posts, I actually have been travelling for the past 6 weeks. Starting in Progreso, Yucatan, where we owned a vacation rental property for 16 years, we then moved on to Bacalar, (in Quintana Roo, close to the border with Belize), then by land into Belize. Progreso is always fun, spending time catching up with friends made down there, and eating at some of our favourite haunts. This time we went down with my dad and his wife. The four of us spent two weeks at a lovely vacation rental, (and yes, it does seem strange to be renting there).

It’s always fun to see what’s changed, as well as what hasn’t, and either can be for the good or the bad. Change is inevitable, in fact change is the only thing we CAN count on.

After reconnecting, it was time to say goodbye to family and friends, and catch the fabulous ADO bus from Merida to Bacalar. While Bacalar is relatively unknown to North Americans, (we thought we were somewhat of trailblazers going there), it turns out that it is well known to Europeans. At our wonderful, splurge, 8 room hotel, we were only North Americans. Everyone else was from France or Germany. In the restaurants we met lots more Europeans and although on our boat outing, we did meet 5 Canadians travelling together, we also were with people from Colombia, England, and Israel.

Bacalar is well worth a few days for a visit. It’s easy to get to from Cancun, Chetumal, Playa del Carmen, and even Tulum, as it sits a lagoon and lake back from the ocean, linked by canals used by pirates many years ago. The Lagoon of the Seven Colours is amazing, and there are several above ground cenotes right in the lake and lagoon themselves.

My Spanish learning has been a long process, done only by putting myself in places where I needed to speak and understand it. It’s not perfect, and as an English major, my grasp of Spanish grammar is shocking, but I can understand it and be understood, so I’ll take that as a win! For that reason, as well as our love for Mexico as a country, it’s important to me to keep coming back. Since selling our place, we’ve been to many new to us places in Mexico, trying to figure out where we would like to stay for a few winter months each year. So far though, Progreso keeps rising to the top.

We’re presently checking out Belize, and I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know that I have lots to say about our experiences here thus far…but that’s for another post.

[awanderingcanadian]

Rain, Rain, Go Away

For the past three weeks the weather seems to have matched the mood of the world. Starting on January 19th with unsettled cool weather and high winds, we’ve been battling torrential downpours since the 27th. Basically, we’ve gone from “unsettled” to full on “stormy” in a few weeks…hmmm.

This sounds like how things are in North America these days. Lots of squalls, some heavy storms, unsettled conditions, and occasional bright spots. Oh, and don’t forget global destabilization, as an unstable little man brings his wrecking ball everywhere he goes.

[awanderingcanadian]

Tariffs Baby!

Let me start by warning you: this is a very angry post.

Yesterday the much threatened trade war exploded. I completely support my country, (Canada), as we battle the bully from the south, however, I feel as if we’re missing hitting a big opportunity here with tariffs: sports. Basketball was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian P.E. Teacher…let’s tax the non-Canadian NBA teams. “American” football has been played in Canada for longer than in the U.S., and our Grey Cup, (the championship trophy), as been awarded for over 100 years. The CFL, (the Canadian Football League), gave black players a professional league to play in when it was still banned in the U.S. Surely, all that is worth a tariff on football? Can we implement it before the Super Bowl? Hockey: clearly our invention, tax the shit out of that to all US based teams as well. The same with Lacrosse.

While I’m airing grievances: don’t forget whose energy helped stop those rolling blackouts in California in 2001…by the way, we were never paid in full for that energy, and you know, compound interest is a bitch. Not to mention whose energy is supposed to power you watching the sport you consider to be yours, (but as I’ve just outlined above was ours first): the Super Bowl.

By the way, securing YOUR border is YOUR responsibility. We don’t demand that you stop the flow of YOUR guns into OUR country. We actually take responsibility for our border, and our challenges with it. When we roll up to the border, we must clear US Customs and Immigration to enter the US, not the Canadian Border Services. Why?? Because it’s YOUR side of that border. Hello??

There are so many Canadians living in the US, making your lives better, going back to Lorne Green of Bonanza fame, who I’m certain the “Green card” was named after, (see anyone can throw around “facts” without any truth to them), and we don’t charge you for the pleasure of their contributions. But hmmm…maybe we should.

The bottom line is that currently, our countries are intertwined, but your latest elected government is destroying that. Canadians are tough and resilient. We have friends, (not people we buy), who will support us. We’re not perfect, but we have a better international reputation than your country, so maybe think about that when you threaten us. And please, stop wearing our flag on your backpacks etc when you travel.

Can you tell that you’ve finally pissed us off and taken things too far? I hope this clears up any misconceptions.

[awanderingcanadian]

What’s In a Name?

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about ‘people’ unilaterally renaming things.

I for one, won’t be calling any unilaterally renamed places by anything but their accepted names, until a proper name change process has happened, one that involves international participation, in particular the country/countries effected by the change. However, this did remind me of an ongoing annoyance that’s been on my mind for years: why can’t we call countries and cities by the names given to them by their actual country?

Here are some examples: it’s Roma in Italy, but in English we call it Rome, it’s Sevilla in Spain, (with the two “LL”’s making a ‘y’ sound), but in English we call it Seville, (no ‘y’ sound and no ‘a’ at the end), it’s London in England, but Londres in France. Countries are the same: España, Deutchland, and England to name a few, yet they’re called different names in other countries. Why?? Why can’t we universally use the names given to places by their citizens? Surely it’s not too difficult to say, Venezia instead of Venice?

As for the Golfo de Mexico…it’s staying that for me, although I am enjoying the memes of other recently “renamed” bodies of water.

[awanderingcanadian]

Jackboots are a Coming

Out of the gate we saw a Nazi salute. Now some people are trying to show photos of other, more democratic people, making the same “salute”, but if you saw all of them in context, you can’t deny what happened yesterday. My first two years of university were spent studying history, (mainly 20th century North American and European history), and political science, (the theory of political systems). I’m also a reasonably well read person, and I try to cover the spectrum to try to understand viewpoints different from my own. For instance, when it comes to recent US politics, I’ve read both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama’s books. I thought I had prepared myself, yet I was shocked yesterday when I saw it.

Recently, I read Timothy Snyder’s book “On Tyranny”, written in 2017.

Snyder is a Yale professor, who specializes in Eastern European and Nazi Germany history. Here are two screenshots of the introduction to one of the very short chapters.

Yesterday, I avoided media of all types, but the conversations around me showed an unprecedented level of concern and worry. The people expressing their concerns and worry were all heterosexual Caucasians. Surely if we, currently the race at the top of the American pecking order, are worried and concerned, imagine how the more vulnerable are feeling.

The day before yesterday, I was speaking with an American friend who is gay. He just wants to get out. Of course, we were speaking over lunch, outside of the US, so we felt freer to speak openly. He currently spends half of the year outside of the US.

A few weeks ago another friend said their child, who is transgender, was rushing to get a new passport with their new name. According to them, others in similar situations were doing the same.

My sense of dread is real, but this time I don’t feel as alone as I did in 2016, when I was basically labelled as “dramatic” and “overreacting”. By the way, note the date on the Tolkien quote. It’s not coincidence.

[awanderingcanadian]

Getting Out of Dodge!

With the looming inauguration south of the border, and some political uncertainty at home, it was time to get away from English speaking newscasts and head to a beach where news fades into the background. Of course, I don’t completely disconnect from the news, I still check it daily, but at least it’s not the dominant part of my day.

Arriving on Monday night, after a long day of travel, we enjoyed a charcuterie board and a few beverages at our ‘new to us’ accommodation. The thing about owning a place here for 16 years, and even knowing people who also had vacation rental properties, we really weren’t that well versed in which ones were good. Fortunately we have trusted friends here who are much more plugged into this that us, so we relied on their recommendations, and sure enough, we have a lovely place to stay.

So far, every day we’ve been here we’ve caught up with friends, and the tv hasn’t been turned on even once, so I would call Operation Get Out of Dodge a success. I guess one day we will have to return to reality and face the music, but not today…

[awanderingcanadian]

2024: Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out!

Looking back at my social media memories over the years, on this day, has confirmed that this year has been hard. In 2023, I lost my best friend, after her battling an insidious disease for over 2 decades. I was devastated, but also relieved that her fight was over. 2022 was a good year for me: retirement, travel came back, we were able to hang out with friends and family again. Of course we all know what 3/4 of 2020 and most of 2021 was like.

What made this year so hard: too many losses. They just seemed to keep coming. In January, the first boy I cried over passed away so suddenly, (although for decades now we'd merely been acquaintances), and another older friend opted for MAID. Another friend was killed instantly in a vehicle accident while driving home from working away, (doing his last big project before retiring). Another friend just suddenly dropped...and was found lying under sunny skies. These, and others, have hit me so hard. On top of that were losses of older relatives.

Coupled with a recent election result, and the skirmishes around the world, (that I feel are merely a warm up for a main event), I've struggled.

Today, reflecting on the year and looking to next year I frankly wasn't feeling very positive, let alone festive. Fortunately, I have some good friends. One reminded me of how fortunate I am to live in a beautiful small island on the west coast of Canada. I went for a solitary walk, (also running some errands), and really thought about what she said, and about life.

This year I feel like I've found a good group of people in my fitness class: we exercise then often go for coffee later.

I have a beautiful home, relative financial security, a great husband, and a family who have loved me, and I them, for my entire life. I am blessed beyond belief to still have both of my parents with me, and while one is struggling with age and health, the other is off with us in two weeks' time on a holiday.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that maybe I can't change the world. Maybe I have to try and live with it in as positive a way as I can, realizing that, for many, my life would be a dream life. Maybe it's time to stop stressing about it all, (not saying I'm giving up on my values), but I'm going to try my best to look at the positives.

In the worst case scenario, the next few years will curtail travel, leaving me 'stuck' on my beautiful little island, with my plethora of e-books, my library, coffee shops, friends, and family. Maybe staying home will give me the time to once again have a pet??

Who knows? What I do know is that I will try to walk into 2025 with a more positive mindset than I've been able to muster for the past few months. All the best for a safe, healthy, stable, and happy 2025!

[awanderingcanadian]

What’s So Special About Christmas Anyway?

Christmas is my favourite holiday, yet ironically, I’m not at all religious. However, I love getting the tree, baking, decorating the house and tree, and even putting our star on the top of the tree. Yes, I’m aware of the symbolism of the star, but for a pretty much non-believer, it’s just pretty. So, knowing the historical stories around the ‘meaning’ of Christmas, why does someone like me still love it?

For me, Christmas is about family and traditions. It’s that simple. It’s the gathering of friends, the celebration of family times, (the time of year when we all make time to be together). I love watching people unwrap the gifts I’ve chosen for them, sitting eating far too much food and sweets, drinking too much tea, and other libations. I love all of it. I love that Christmas turns literally the darkest of days, into twinkling celebratory light.

This year was a tough year for me. I’ve lost too many people, for no apparent reasons, and I’m struggling with the direction much of the world is turning. I worry a lot about whether we are heading into a global conflict, and what that will make my retirement look like, depending as we do on investments rather than company/union pensions. Christmas does its best to pull me out of that funk. It lets me attempt to see the good in this world. This year, for the first time ever, I volunteered for the Salvation Army’s Kettle fund. Yes me, the non-believer, manned a kettle for a religious organization. Now don’t get any ideas that I’m moving in that direction, because although I support the work they do with the Kettle money, I also know…personally, that bad things go down in this church, just like all the other ones. However I needed to do something to restore my faith in humanity, and manning a kettle for a 2 hour shift, twice over the season, in a part of town that is…well ‘eclectic’ would be a kind word, and seeing people with far less than I, finding change to donate, young people emptying their wallets of several dollars in change, folks taking shelter indoors for an hour from the wind and rain outside, checking to be sure I was okay, well let’s just say, the intended outcome was met.

I’m not promoting Christmas as a ‘fix all’ for everyone, but find some kind of celebration in your culture, see the good in it, embrace it and make it your own. You’ll be surprised at the happiness it brings.

[awanderingcanadian]

My Nasty Neighbour

For a long time my people have lived in our home. We’ve always had a good relationship with our neighbours, who also have lived there for ages. In fact, our relationship has been so good that we’ve never built a fence, or even planted a hedge. Not that everything is always perfect. About eight years ago they had some guy move in who was frankly, a bit of a dick. After four years, the family got together and in a close decision they decided he had to move out of their house. Unfortunately a few years later, the family has decided that he isn’t so bad after all, and he’s moving back in. While the family has said he can only stay for a set amount of time, he’s already making noise about extending his stay, and he hasn’t even moved in yet.

I’ve never really liked this guy. He associates with some unsavoury people, and he makes my skin crawl with his open comments about women’s bodies, but because most of his family are okay with him, I figured I would just shut my mouth, stay out of his house and yard, and wait it out. I’m fine inviting his family members over to my house, or meeting them at someone else’s house, but there’s no way I’m going over to their house, or playing in their yard, while he’s living there. I think we will actually be having more of his family members at our house, because he bullies them and they will want to escape, or come over when they need help. I’m okay wth that.

A few days ago he mentioned that he wants to acquire my house and yard, and that I’m NOT okay with. Our house isn’t up for sale, and even if it was, he wouldn’t be who we would sell to. I think he likes our water features, and landscaping, and he sees it as an attractive acquisition. For many years though we’ve belonged to a sort of Home Owners Association. Currently it’s lead by a man named Charles, and while I’m not a fan of Charles, I do like the people in the HOA. I’m hopeful that the members of the HOA will step up to support us in stopping our neighbour from a hostile takeover of our home. The other day I heard someone in my house use the term “appeasement”, and my blood ran cold. Many years ago, a guy named Neville Chamberlain used that term with an unpleasant neighbour. His neighbour wasn’t right next door, but rather across some water. Unfortunately, the unpleasant neighbour teamed up with two other characters and created chaos throughout the neighbourhood. We supported Neville’s house, (although by then a guy named Winston had taken over as head of household, by sending people to help out). I think this might be our time to ask for a return favour.

While I’m obviously disappointed that my neighbour has invited this unsavoury character back into their house, I will respect their decision making. However, their relative must stay in their house and yard. It is not okay to come uninvited into my family’s space.

[awanderingcanadian]

Travel Plans versus Reality

We travel a lot, and if I’m being honest, I enjoy planning the trip almost as much as the trip itself. While planning often hits snags, (for example, prices change…in the wrong direction between a quote and payment, or flights change prior to departure, often messing up the onward journey), you still have time to move things around. However, once the trip is underway, snags and changes can send you spiralling. Yet as I often tell my friends and family: smooth travel doesn’t make for good stories.

I’m writing this in the United Club Lounge in the Denver airport, and before you say, “well, isn’t she roughing it?”, I will be the first to agree, however in the spirit of full disclosure, our credit card gives us two Club passes every year, and frankly we save them for the long layover. This layover was over 4 hours, so pass worthy. Thus far our travel for this week long trip has been seamless, (although by writing this I’ve probably jinxed it). When we left we had a 6:10 am taxi, (on a small island with a grand total of 2 taxis, things can easily go wrong), for a 6:20 ferry, followed by a taxi ride to the second ferry, after which we boarded a city bus, then took rapid transit, and tah dah, we were at the airport for the first of two flights. All went well.

Today, my brother in law drove us to the airport in plenty of time for flight 1, and we currently wait for our 2nd flight, after which we will overnight in Vancouver, then ferry home the next day. As I said, it’s all been smooth travel…except ironically for entering the vaunted Club Lounge. We use our passes almost every year we get them, and usually it’s no problem, but both times we’ve tried in Denver, it’s been problematic. Because they’re down to one lounge in our area, it’s always busy, and often they won’t allow us lowly one time pass people access. Then their reader says our United flight isn’t an eligible airline, (???), and when someone comes to help us, it then says the pass has already been used. Fortunately, the lovely people realize it’s not us trying to scam them, and let us in.

However, we have found ourselves unexpectedly in Mexico City for 14 hours instead of 4 hours, (when the Max9’s were pulled out of service for safety checks…that’s fair), and stuck in Hanoi, Vietnam in March of 2020 as flight after flight cancelled during COVID, and we were trying to get home. As I say…when in the mirror, these are great stories.

I’m always in the midst of finishing one trip and finalizing two more…truth. Yesterday we paid our final payment on a January stay, and we’re booking for a Greece trip in May. Lots of balls in the air. However, I enjoy the chase of good prices, and the planning regardless of the time it takes. After all, what else to do with my retirement time?

Until next time…

[awanderingcanadian]

Winter Life on a Small Island on the West Coast of Canada

I live on a small island on the west coast of Canada. A Mecca for boaters, a summer retreat for many, (when our population soars to 12,000-13,000 from the usual 4500 permanent dwellers), it’s a different story in the winter months. Last week the vaunted “bomb cyclone” blew through, leaving around 150,000 people ‘powerless’ on Vancouver Island, and the many small Gulf Islands.

Vancouver Island is the size of England, but the population is a mere approximate 864,000. This means that, with the exception of a few larger communities, we are scattered and remote. Some communities require people to drive on dirt logging roads, like the one below, while others are one ferry, (or more) away from the main island. To reach one of our nearby islands, crews had to be barged over, (as it’s not serviced by a ferry).

Because there was a warning, our publicly owned utility company was able to bring trucks and crews from other parts of BC in advance of the storm. This was necessary because at one point all ferries were cancelled due to the 160km winds, (105mph for American readers). Some crews drove 4-5 hours, then took a 2 hour ferry to get to Vancouver Island, then were deployed to smaller communities, up to 5 hours away from their ferry landing, or to small islands. I’m sure it was an experience for all!

These crews worked tirelessly. Major centres were up first, but our little island sustained so much damage that at one point we had 15 trucks over here. You would see the Hydro, (electric company), trucks zigzagging with the tree removal people. The volunteer fire department was out and about, manning the station, (as we lost cell service as well for a day), helping to remove trees, and putting up caution tape around downed wires. These are some views from my little neighbourhood:

For 5 days the sound of chainsaws filled the air. Crews were working 16 hour days, then they sent over 3 more crews to work through the night. November is the wettest month of the year here on the coast, as well as being dark and cold, so residents were out in force offering warm drinks and warm food to the hard working crews.

Being on a small island, we are somewhat prepared for these events. Many people have wood stoves to keep heat on, many have natural gas stoves, (although it’s run on propane here), so they can cook on the stovetop. Everyone has lanterns and candles. Some have generators. We have a trailer, that has a generator, so after a few days without power, we decamped there for a few hours one morning, enjoying filtered coffee and heat. It felt quite luxurious.

Another thing about living in a small, close knit community is the generosity of neighbours, and the communication. We have a few Facebook groups, but the one I belong to was being constantly updated, by our elected RDN official, (kudos to Vanessa Craig), by the volunteer fire department, and by residents who would post when their power was restored, so we could follow the progress. People with power were offering showers, heat, and hot food to others did not yet have power. One couple who were stuck in Vancouver, asked people to stop by their place to see if it was okay, (no trees on the building). They put their address in the social media group, and many of us went by to check, (it was fine), and reported back. No one looted the house. Now, I’m not sure I personally would post my address in a public forum, but this entire experience showed in the best of humanity.

Despite gas rationing at the island’s only gas station, as of today, (Monday), they had run out of regular and premium gas. With one “dangerous cargo” sailing per week, that means no gas on the island until Wednesday afternoon. Fortunately, there are many gas stations in Nanaimo…and the ferries are running!