 |
Antics of Earthbound AstronautsAuthor: Tim & Casey
One step for man, two giant leaps for Earthbound Astronauts Language: en-us Genres: Places & Travel, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Tim - In Search of the Mythical Ice Bear
Saturday, 11 January, 2014
Before we parted ways, Casey and I were discussing our expectations of our impulsively chosen destinations. I casually mentioned a half-hearted desire to see a polar bear to which Casey replied “I will give you $10 if you see a polar bear”… My epic quest had begun to see the ice bear and claim the spoils of victory, a small sum of money, yet an immeasurable amount of pride. This time I was allowed to leave Egypt, even though I did have a few issues caused by the lack of a departure ticket from Canada, which I had to “promise” the airline I would pay for if required. I boarded the flight excited by the awaiting possibilities. I arrived in Toronto, Canada with slight relieve I could easily communicate with everyone. My first impressions of Canada were fantastic! Not only did Toronto seem like Melbourne, but everyone I talked to was so incredibly friendly, I started to see truth in the stereotype. Trying to adjust to the climate, which heavily contrasted to my previous location, I made my way to my hostel in the heart of Toronto. It would be here that I strategised my acquaintance with the arctic predator. Toronto was a fantastic city that resonated Australia in so many ways, from the shopping malls to the people in the streets, I really felt at home. Amongst the similarities I saw, I definitely saw some differences that only North American culture could provide. To give you a small example of this, after purchasing a 14” super burrito and trying to ingest it in a small snow-ridden park, I spent about ten minutes chasing squirrels around the park trying to get a picture, which I think either amused or slightly scared the other park goers who hopefully assumed I was a tourist… The hostel I was staying could easily have been the best hostel I’ve ever stayed. Even though the facilities and location were great, this wasn’t the highlight; it was the small group of people I met, my Toronto family. This group of people included Nans, Flora, Jas, François, Mo and Rob, resulting in a French, German, Austrian and, of course, Australian combination rivaled by none! I experience my first NBA game, an entertainment spectacle that is incomparable to any sporting event in Australia due to the heights they’ll go to continuously engage the crowd. GO RAPTORS! Yet, in all this fun, I had not forgotten my Canadian calling and had determined exactly where I needed to be for my Arctic encounter… The self proclaimed Polar Bear Capital of the world, Churchill. Taking a slight detour passed Niagara Falls on my way to Montréal, I had the pleasurable opportunity to experience this Natural wonder. It was a miserable day, shrouded in mist, yet the falls still impressively channeled an unfathomable amount of water, a beautiful sight to see. I was a little surprised to see the sheer number of casinos around the falls on both the Canadian and American sides, but like many other naturally occurring attractions, people have successfully capitalised on the popularity of the location. I arrived in Montréal not realising how incredibly cold it was going to be, which slightly debilitated my adventurous spirit. I instead utilised my time preparing for the coming journey I was going to make across the country by train. Montréal was a beautiful city though; you could feel the French influence, unfortunately the same could not be said for my fingers or toes… I had organised a train from Montréal to Toronto, to Winnipeg, to Churchill, to Winnipeg and finally to Vancouver. A journey that would see me spend eight out of thirteen nights on a train. I jumped on the first leg of the trip to Winnipeg. Winnipeg was an incredibly lifeless city, granted when I arrived it was in blizzard-like conditions and after slipping twice with my pack on, I came to the realisation that I was unequipped to deal with ice or any real temperature below freezing… Staying only a night in an unexciting hostel, which I was the only guest, I was ready for my next leg of my journey. The two-day train to Churchill, a small isolated town that could only be reached by train or air, the destination that offered me glory or horrific defeat. Before I’d visited Churchill I thought I had experienced cold weather, but I ended up thinking about those times to revisit warmth. Arriving into -35°C with wind-chill, I yet again realised I was completely out of my depth and the winter clothes I had dragged with me all year, whilst we tracked summer around the world, were inadequate. Donning six layers and a borrowed pair of boots, as the hotelier didn’t think my $10 Kmart shoes were suitable, I walked around the tiny town. Visiting the Eskimo Museum and National Parks Canada, I saw a stuffed polar bear at both locations, but it had been specified that the polar bear had to be alive and outside of captivity… Semantics. I booked an exuberantly priced tour for the following day, giving me one opportunity to see what I’d come so far to see. I was collected the following day by my guide as we started driving around in what seemed like an old stereotypical American school bus that had icicles forming inside the cabin. He told us a history of the town and the area, which was all very interesting, yet a distraction from my main goal. I was told that I had missed the season by about a week, but we might be lucky enough to stumble across some stragglers. First we headed to the local tip, where a polar bear and its cub had been rumoured to be lingering. We searched, but to no avail. We then continued away from the town into the open plains and yet again, no luck. I did get to see numerous sled dogs and the beached tanker, The Ithica, whilst on the tour, but the true search continued. With the tour slowly coming to an end, we headed back to the tip to try our luck. As we slowly approached, the only other person on the tour shouted, “Stop! I see two of them running!”. The driver had gone just too far so tried to reverse, but the tyres had lost all grip, and we were stuck. We ran out of the bus to at least get a fleeting glimpse of the fleeing animals, but, today was not my day. Eventually another vehicle came to pull the bus out of the snow and we continued to search for the bears, but we saw nothing. My companion, the only other person on the tour, had seen the mythical ice bears, yet I had not. I had been defeated. The following day, I boarded the train for the two-day return journey to Winnipeg. There was a bitterness in the sub-arctic air, but that could have been the remorseful feeling of disappointment… I returned to the same lifeless hostel in Winnipeg, where I had to stay for a few nights due to the train schedule, and due to a lack of resolve, I wallowed in the again deserted hostel until my final two-day train to Vancouver. Vancouver was an incredibly vibrant city, void of snow, a meteorological phenomenon I once glorified, yet could now do without. Visiting Stanley Park was the highlight. A huge park by the ocean, which offered a large variety of vegetation and, my personal favourite, docks littered with houseboats and luxury yachts. I then headed to Victoria on Vancouver Island, getting there by Ferry. It was here that I was meeting with my good friend Nans whom I had met whilst in Toronto. It was great to see him again as he showed me around the sights of Victoria, most of which was the beauty of the location itself. Victoria was my final destination in Canada as I would be catching the Ferry to the US to meet up with Casey in the following days, but not before I visited a highly publicised location that I could not avoid. From Victoria, Canada I caught the ferry to Port Angeles, USA. Port Angeles is a very small port town, but knowledge of this town has started to build in the last decade due to the release of the Twilight books. As I was in the area (and to appease my cousin Princess Zazzles) I caught the local bus to Forks, the main setting of the Twilight books. The town itself wasn’t very big, but it was obvious that they had welcomed and even fostered the Twilight sensation. I visited the information centre and was presented with a “Twilight map”, so I could go and see all the sights that are discussed in the books. It was a shame I didn’t have more time in the area, because it turns out that there are numerous national parks worth seeing. I walked around the town ticking off all the ‘sights’ even though I had never actually read the books. I was curious about what people would have thought about an adult male taking photos in front of Edward’s and Bella’s houses… From Port Angeles I jumped on a bus to Seattle where I would catch a bus the following day to meet Casey in San Francisco. The Greyhound buses seemed to attract a certain type of people, which made the 24-hour journey to San Fran very interesting… Alas, my solo journey had come to an end. I had failed to see a polar bear, but I had the opportunity to travel through the beautiful country that is Canada. Now, I just have some unfinished business… Keep posted.
