Hilton Lac Leamy Gatineau

We got back to the school at about 8.20am, where I received a big shock upon seeing my transport to Ottawa - a nice big yellow school bus. We don't have these in England or the Caribbean so the fact I actually had to get on one now surprised me! We left promptly at 8.30am on a very long boring ride up to Ottawa. Or at least we thought, anyway

On approaching Ottawa, the teachers on the bus realised that the driver had absolutely no idea where he was ...

... to say, I get really dirty.

Anyway, David brought a big bag of potatoes so we start peeling and cooking all of them. It takes a while but it's delicious when it's done. After that, I take a nap in a shady spot, only to wake up in the blazing sun. Arg! Why do shadows move on you like that?!

So Bonnie and the rest of the gang had to leave. David, Matt and me were left all alone until Pam, another Matt, Nathan and Gilbert ...

... They wouldn't open another cashier, there were at least 8 closed, even though you could see many railway clerks idling around with nothing to do. Maria, the distinguished district manager of Talbots got very upset about this appalling customer service, and complained here and there bitterly but there was nothing to do..."can't fight city hall". All the Italians in the line took it sheepishly, as excitable as they can be at other times they were used to ...

... of scooters were milling sometimes balancing four riders, plus bicyclists and motorized "tuk tuks", the latter go for taxis. Although here traffic should keep to the right, they were coming in opposite directions also and on sidewalks (where sidewalks were not blocked by makeshift street food vendors/bicycle repair shops or barbers). There was no evidence of city road maintenance or cleaning. Fumes, thick dust and potholes everywhere, stones possible delivered to fill ...

... signes et de suivre mes instincts, j'ai donné suite à cette suite de coïncidences, et je me suis lancé tête première, sans trop y penser, dans cette quête folle... (en ayant bien sûr l'approbation des 2 bosses - à la maison (j't'aime ti-bb) et au bureau. C'est bizarre car on m'avait déjà parlé de St-Jacques de Compostelle mais jamais je n'avais ressenti le besoin d'aller faire le chemin... Mais cette-fois-ci, le chemin m'a ...

... geek i'm fully aware no one is ever gonna let mere mortals off the street into the houses of parliament in london, let alone with a camera! Cool to see how the whole operation is run. I took a tour of the prison i was staying in and it had some serious history, including death row gallows and the smallest cells i've ever seen. Back in the olden days it was the worst prison in the world apparently and the 3 people they hanged there were ...

... comfortable we have viewed the City as best we could under the circumstances, are we returning tomorrow? Nope enough is enough we will head to Montreal with the experience behind us and we have booked ahead for two nights to ensure we can get the "tour around town" into our schedule! Hope you are all well and getting a few smiles from the way we overcome the fun bits of our travels, we are still relaxed and nope we are not "losing our cool" just taking every day as it comes along.

... easy, refreshing Chase Point although we didn't end up getting too wet. After quickly gathering our belongings we continued along our planned route to the public transitway. Another Chase Point down and 8 more to go! It gave us a good emotional boost just to have found this unexpected Chase Point. And we both felt strong, energetic, and quite positive about how we were doing so far even though the day was still young. What could go wrong?

... one: http://www.communitylife.uottawa.ca/en/ rides/ You could also check the rideshare board on Craigslist for some last minute rides around the province. Taking the Via Rail is also a lot of fun, but costs twice as much as the bus, and doesn't leave as often as the bus. It is a little faster, but I don't think it's really worth it. What to do in Ontario I've lived here all my life and I really love Ontario, there are tons of things to do. Niagara Falls ...

Wow, wow, wow... What an adventure! I am so pleased that I can finally add this final entry to my blog from my parent's home with my girlfriend by my side... It feels so good and surreal that I was afraid of waking up this morning in my hotel room in Colombia!!! So, here are the last few details about the endless number of challenges my dad, sister and I faced even while just trying to leave the country: We all got up at the regular time on Tuesday morning, had breakfast and then ...