Paddo, Paddo, Paddo...tan ya ghe up!!!

In January, 2008, we ended up taking a trip to the north coast of the Dominican Republic. It was awesome, since we got it free with AirMiles, so no complaints there.

We stayed in Playa Dorada area, and rented a car, to take various day trips from that area. One of the places we went to was Playa Encuentro which is near the town of Cabarete. It is really famous for surfing. I decided to finally take a short course on surfing instead of just going into the water, and trying it out. So, we get this guy from Buena Onda Surf School, who are located right on the beach. Well the guy who taught me some basics was awesome, and I learned a lot of stuff that I thought I was doing right before, but never had anyone in the water telling me my mistakes as I surf. The problem was the language barrier, as he had a very heavy Spanish accent. My wife was taking pics and filming, and it was classic, since he kept telling me this one thing, which became the "quote" of our trip to the DR...it was "paddo, paddo, paddo, tan ya ghe up!!" Of coarse what he was saying was "paddle, paddle, paddle, then you get up!!"

Well, I did just that in the water, I paddo, paddo, paddo....

This place was awesome, and the people of the DR were really cool. Driving in this country was really fun, as it wasn't boring like back home in Toronto...you needed to pass, skid, avoid potholes (more like giant caves), avoid old motor bikes and brake all the time.

This is the type of place, on the north coast of the DR that I would love to live....

Catch you on the water, and remember....Paddo, Paddo, Paddo...tan ya ghe up!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9432939@N03/sets/72157603746575419/

Horseback riding in the Pyrenees Mountains in France

Once upon a time in Sept. 2005...
So, there we were, in Paris, and we had planned on taking the train, 5 hours or so southwest of Paris, and head to Lourdes, famous as the place where Bernadette Soubirous saw apparitions of Mother Mary. But before we actually get there by train, we have to do one of our stupid adventure screw ups.... We get off at Pau, a town about 2 stops before Lourdes itself. The funny thing is, we actually asked a French girl on the train, if this stop at Pau, is the stop that we get off, if we want to go to Lourdes. Don't ask why we even thought, Pau would be the right stop, instead of a stop called Lourdes. Anyway, she said "oui, ahhh, yes, for sure it is", so we got off, and within minutes realized how stupid we are!!!

Luckily, there was one more train 20 minutes behind us, so we bought 2 new tickets, and got on the next train. Crazy lying French bitch!!!! lol

Once we got to the town of Lourdes which sits on the Pyrenean foothills, in southwestern France we were quit happy after a long train ride.

The place is kind of freaky...there are Mother Mary water bottles where you actually drink from her head. Weird stuff. Then there are Mother Mary cups, pictures, playing cards, statues, books, dolls, neon signs, it just goes on. One kid walking with his friends, on a school or church trip, said it best...."this place is kind of creepy and weird"

Although, saying that, the actual religious part of the town is beautiful, and does have a special vibe to it. Just stay away from the Vegas part of town, where all the souvenier shops and hotels are.

Anyway, we decided to head further into the mountains and go to the town of Gavarnie, about a 40 minute drive from Lourdes. Here we would get a couple of horses and go horseback riding into the mountains, towards the Cirque de Gavarnie, a breathtaking rock amphitheatre, 1500m high, dominated by ice-capped peaks.

We get to the town, and go to the stable, and negotiate the price for the horses. After we did that, the French guy, gives us the two ropes for the horses, and just hands them to us, and goes, you have to go that way, and it will take you around 1 hour to reach the waterfall. My wife and I both look at each other, and have this look of surprise and laughter. We tell him, "are you not coming with us?" He says in his heavy French accent...."no!!"

Considering I'm a well distinguished equestrian rider, I was OK with this.....pause.....NOT!!!

We only have been on horses a couple other times in our life, what makes this guy think we could not only go ourselves, but come back alive with his horses???

After a few minutes, he decided to come with us, not because he cared about our safety, but more like he cared about the safety of his horses!!!

The ride did end up being incredible, and the views breathtaking. This part of France is awesome, and if you ever get a chance to go, make sure you visit the Pyrenees in southwestern France.

Wild West Coast Adventure on Vancouver Island

What's the deal with soap in Victoria??

Here I am on Vancouver island in Victoria. Question: Why does the soap in Victoria not wash off properly??
Answer: Who the freck knows?

I try and wash my hands, no matter if at hotel or public washroom, and once you put on the soap, that's it!!! It doesn't come off...takes a good 3 minutes before you can wash it off. Now the bigger question might be, is it the soap, or the water. I'm starting to think it might be the water. Since the "water" is the constant in this equation. Soap is different at the hotel, or any public place I go to, but water remains the same.

I must investigate further before a proper decision and conclusion can be determined!!! ;)

My studies will continue, as I have one more client meeting before I head to Nanaimo for some more meetings on Monday.

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Back in BC again

I am back in Vancouver again for work, and it's been only 5 months since I was there last time.

Got in on Sunday, as I have early meetings Monday, and took the chance to visit the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. What an amazing place, with probably the best collection of Northwest Coast Native art and cultural items. Plus, they have an international collection of masks from around the world, everywhere from PNG to Mexico. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love tribal artifacts and art, including masks and wooden carvings. It was like I was in a candy store!!

Had some meetings today, which went really good, and had a chance to walk around Stanley Park in between meetings.
Had a rental car with GPS, so I could find the offices where I had meetings, and I'm glad I did, since it would have been impossible for me to find anything at all.

I have 2 more days of meetings in the Vancouver area, and then I am on my way to Vancouver Island, with more meetings in Victoria and Nanaimo. This will be my first time on the island, and can't wait to see it.

Will post more later...salmon you later!!!

PEI , lobsters and crazy Anne!!!!

Just got back from the island province of PEI. Went there for my brothers wedding, which was amazing.

One of the strange things on the island is the amount of Anne of Green Gables memorabilia sold everywhere, from Anne of Green Gables chocolate to jam to t-shirts to flower seeds. Did you know that the Japanese are addicted to everything Anne!!! When we visited the national park where Anne's house is, we saw some Japanese tourists. Apparently it's so huge in Japan...which is mind boggling to me. Lol

Me really cool thing is the amount of fresh seafood sold everywhere. I ate lobster, lobster burgers, lobster caesar wraps, lobster everything. Pretty funny stuff but tasted pretty good.

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Hot, Humid and taxi with broken air cons

What's up with getting a taxi in Ottawa on a hot day that actually has an air conditioner that works. Apparently both taxis I took said that the air con broke the day before...ya right...it's always the day before. Not only that, the guy got lost, then his credit card machine was broken, and then he dropped me off 300 metres from the place. I went into the meeting sweating like a just worked out for 3 hours.

That's was my day in Ottawa.
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