The freeloadin' garbage man!
Trip Start
Sep 20, 2006
1
16
30
Trip End
Nov 10, 2007
Courtenay,
British Columbia,
Canada
Friday, July 13, 2007
Bjork.
Around my birthday, I witnessed Bjork in concert. My plan was to try and hitchhike as much as I could, and bus the rest of the way. On my first ferry, I met a Cortes local who was also making her way to not only Vancouver, but Bjork! I had my ride. The ride was pretty uneventful and long, but much good music and conversation were had. Bjork turned out to be an amazing show. It was outdoors in a big green park. I had some beers and used my stick like body to sneak my way towards the front. Bjork was very quiet between songs but had a very strong voice which blew me away. The show quickly turned into a semi-rave; Bjork, the crowd and I all going nuts and dancing like it "ain't no thang". That's a cool thing to say, right? After the show I met a lady who gave my crew and I a ride back into the city to a Japanese bar. Then I went home.
The next night I stayed at CDI, the ESL school I was working at in North Vancouver. I snuck into the school and stayed with some old friends, and the next morning surprised the kids by waking them all up. It happened to be my birthday too so it was a good morning. The rest of the day was not so good, as I got stuck in Nanaimo for the night on my way back to Cortes due to a greyhound strike. I spent my birthday with a very delicious salad in a hostel.
The next month on Cortes was even better than the first, although there isn't a lot to tell here. My favourite memory was swimming alone and naked in the ocean one full moon, and I spent most days hiking around the island and conversing with some very unique and memorable individuals.
It was late mid-June when I left Hollyhock and Cortes Island. Once off the island, I met two nice hippies who drove me all the way to Vancouver. We listened to reggae and ate lots of good food. Once I got to Vancouver, I met up with my good friend Marnie and we took off to Squamish for a few days of rock climbing.
Squamish was full of mishaps. Our lack of serious planning played against us. We arrived and realised we only had half a tent and a gas stove that didn't work. We got around these minor details though and spent a few days climbing between some pretty rainy days. I got a cold so we went back to Vancouver and ate a feast of Indian food!
After a week in Vancouver, I decided the city was too much and went back to the island. I contacted a lady in Courtenay, Vancouver Island, who said I could work on her farm in exchange for food and a place to sleep. I did a lot of weeding and mulching with a German guy who was also staying on the farm. We played a lot of chess and hitchhiked around the area with some very friendly people.
My week of farming in Courtenay led me to the Vancouver Island Music festival, which I had decided long ago to volunteer at. My job title was "Host", which basically involved walking around the main stage making sure people were 'being cool and feeling the vibe'. They were, so my job was easy. In exchanging for 4 hours a day of hosting, I got three days of music, food and camping! It was a very sweet deal. The first night I was frozen despite wearing every single item of clothing I had in my pack. Sleeping in a tent with no blankets, sleeping bag or pillow wasn't going to work. The next day I walked and hitchhiked into town to two different salvation army stores, and eventually found a thick blanket and an inflatable pillow for a very reasonable price.
Although the nights were cold, the days were very hot which I enjoyed. One night, I decided to drink two beers, and found myself quite drunk for the first time in a very long time! After stumbling around and talking to and talking to some strangers and friends and strangers who became friends, I eventually came across a backstage pass from the festival the year before sitting in a box in the Host's tent. Without a second thought, I wandered backstage and waved the pass to security. They were a little confused, as the pass stated that I was the Coordinator of the entire event, but the less suspicious of the two said I could go. Suddenly, I was surrounded by great food and musicians. I ate some cakes and a big handful of grapes and walked around with a big grin on my face. I found some computers and went on the internet and danced around to some music until it was time for bed. I was very drunk and satisfied.
The music at the festival was amazing, with many different artists from different cultures. My favourite was a Inuk throat singer by the name of Tanya Tagaq. Her music is very experiemental and varied from high pitched wails to very deep "Wilson" growls.
Ok, this entry is very long already. Go have a rest; a cup of tea perhaps, and i'll write a seperate part 2, in which you will find out about who the freeloadin' garbage man is.
