More Photos

Niagara at the top of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls

Another sunrise at Algonquin

Fall Colours

Mooooooosie - really quite ugly.

Mum and me at the falls.

Niagara Falls and Algonquin Provincial Park

sunset over oxtongue lake

sunrise from our cabin at Algonquin, over oxtongue lake

Been a hectic week so haven't got around to finishing the blog.

The last week of travelling mum and dad came out to meet us, which was lovely. We started off in Niagara Falls, which albeit rather tacky, was a pretty impressive sight. At the Canadian corner of the Canadian Horseshoe falls you can just stand right next to them going over the edge, which shows just how much water is disappearing over the cliff. We went on the maid of the mist boat, and managed to get a quiet one. It was raining a bit by then, but we found the only free thing in Canada - the stylish blue poncho's they give you! The mist from the falls soaked us, particularly as there was a strong wind blowing too. But it was good fun. We also had a wander around the massive casino opposite the hotel, but weren't brave enough to give any of the games a go. Nearby is Niagara on the Lake, which is a very quaint little place, that does look rather english. It had some nice botanical gardens and we stopped off at a winery to sample some local produce too.

Next we moved on to Algonquin Provincial Park, which was a 4 hour ish drive back past toronto and north west wards. The fall is just coming into its own right now, so it was absolutely beautiful. The colours were amazing. We stayed in "cabins" just outside the actual park as you can only camp inside, which was made fun when the electiricity went off so mum toasted bread over the open log fire! We were lucky enough to be driving towards the visitor's centre, when we noticed lots of people pulled over, so we joined then and .... there was a mummy moose and her baby just by the side of the road, drinking out of a muddly puddle. We got about 5-10m from her and she didn't seem bothered at all (we had heard that recently a woman was killed after she accidently got inbetween a mum and baby up north). After a few photos, we moved on, and then we saw a black bear and her two cubs about a mile off the visitors centre deck! We did amazingly well with wildlife, considering me and rich have been looking for moose for weeks. We also saw many a golden eagle, some deer and lots of squirrels.

Our last stop was Toronto for a couple of nights. Luckily, the hotel lent us a wheelchair, so we could actually get around the city, otherwise we would have been stuck. Toronto is not the most exciting city in the world, and its not very nice in the pouring rain ... we attempted to find little italy and were just about sucessful. We had a quick look around what was out of kensington market and then went shopping. The second day it was much nicer, so we took a stroll (or wheel in my case) around the boardwalk on Lake Ontario, which was very nice.

So that ends the elective adventures and now we are down in Torbay ready to start 5th year tomorrow with GP rotation. I am having my reverse PAO and debridement combo on dec 1st. I will try and upload some more photos soon.

xxx

Tadoussac and Kingston

WE SAW WHALES!!! Not only a few but loads. This was after the woman at the hostel telling us there was no point going out on the boat as it was too foggy to see anything. Well, stuff her, as we saw 5 different types - many minkes (around 8 m long small dorsal fin), belougas (white), porpoises (yes they are a whale), a fin whale (huge, but couldnt really appreciate its true size until you see photos from above) and a humpback. The humpback was the best as he lifted his tail fin out of the water twice, unfortunately only managed to get a photo of it side on, but still. We finally saw some wildlife!!

Tadoussac itself was a small village place, with a slightly weird hostel. The "stupid" man on the front desk asked if we wanted to stay one or two nights, (despite us booking two), so we quickly changed this to 1 only, as there is literally nothing to do there except the whale tour. After a couple weeks of sharing rooms with lots of people, we were both a bit fed up of hostels and so instead checked into the best western hotel in quebec for 2 nights. Good decision. Not only did I get to rest my hip for a few days, we had an indoor pool and jacuzzi to use! I managed to break one of my crutches on the bus to quebec, so walking was limited (the metal clip used to adjust and hold the crutch at the right height must have pinged off somewhere). We didnt exactly make the most of another 2 days in quebec, but it was just nice to have our own room and a tv!

We had a 6 hour train journey down to Kingston. We aren't really sure why we are here. The people are in bred and WEIRD. Most seem to look odd, talk to themselves or act in a strange way... not sure what happened, but it was a bit disconcerting. We did go on a boat tour of the "world famous" thousand islands this afternoon, only it was in german. We got funky headphones to listen to a translation of the most annoying "ghost" ever tell us stupid stories about the past and inform us junior school style what wind turbines are..... to top it off, we couldnt actually see most of the islands because it was so rainy.

Mum and Dad arrive tomorrow and we are going to meet them in Niagara. Fingers crossed the weather improves a bit, particularly for algonquin national park. Although I cant do much hiking, we should be able to do some canoeing I hope.

xxx

Rich's View 3

What we have learnt on our travels through Quebec.

1.a) The number 1 cause of death in Quebec is Heart Disease Secondary to Poutine consumption (Poutine being a Quebec deliquacy consisting of fries drowned in gravy with a with "healthy" dose of Cheese curd* topping)
b.) Just because you speak french, doesnt mean you have good taste in food!!
*- A cross between sour milk and a rubber

2.) Sam attracts Belouga whales (we think this is because they wish to unite against their common adversary, sunlight)

3.) Every Hostel in Quebec has a "room of noise" which we invariably end up sleeping in. In this magical room, everything you touch or stand on turns to noise. Turn over in bed, and the bed squeaks, cough and the bed squeaks, try to get out of bed and the whole room is filled with creaking and squeaking, waking up over half the ppl in the room at 6am. Just when you think you have got off the bed and will not wake anyone else up, the floor boards start there creaking and eventually lead to everyone waking up. The symphony is completed by the banging of bags, as you try desperately to find your tooth brush as quickly and "quietly" as possible and of course a cacophony of sighs and tuts as ppl are rudely awoken. Finally, a dramatic encore ensues where everyone in the room who has awoken starts to toss and turn in their beds, and a cresendo of squeaks and creaks fills the room from every corner.

4.) That despite many canadians questioning Sam's authenticity, its quite clear that she is a truely natural blonde. This was evidenced by the following:

Sam: You know when the leaves turn red, do they just turn green again in the next year?
Rich:....No Sam.... They die and fall off for the winter......
Sam: Ohhhhhh.............So is that why its called the fall?
Rich:......

5.) Weather forcasters in Quebec use satellite imaging of us going outdoors to inform you when it will start to rain....

Oh, and Sam's waterproof rucksack cover is evidently no longer waterproof.

6.) Sam cant be trusted to open doors without injuring herself.

7.) People in Quebec are really proud of their "oldest buildings in Canada" Status. Its just a shame that their breeze block cathedrals were only built 100 years ago.

8.) Red Squirrels are not only unafraid of white english people, but they actually shout at you when you cross their path.

9.) Apparently, as soon as I say just one word in french, people instantly know that I speak English. Obviously my pronouncation of Oui or Bonjour is wrong.

10.) For some reason, snowing in september isnt strange at all.....