From a Sleeping Bag to Egyptian Cotton

It seems like ages I last made an entry into my blog..I've been SO busy!

I spent the weekend at Algonquin National Park Canoeing and Camping. This was not your pump up bed and running water variety..oh no...this was no toiletries except a toothbrush and paste required, no showers, a thin ground sheet, sleeping in your clothes to keep warm variety! Despite the lack of luxuries, the people and the sheer beauty of the area made for a memorable experience.

Autumn was already beginning to emerge and the leaves were turning magnificent shades of copper and mustard. The canoeing consisted of a short lesson and then they became our only mode of transport (except for the hiking) we used. Our guides were two young men in their early twenties...their knowledge of the area and camping overwhelmed me and they kept everyone going with their good humour, great meals and campfires.

There were only seven of us on the trip, two couples and three women...a variety of nationalities and lots of stories to tell long into the night.

The two couples interested me the most. They were perfect examples of relationships at different points of your life. One young, Dutch/Canadian couple had only been together 6 weeks and knew they wanted to stay together for the rest of their lives. The other couple were celebrating 23 years of marriage at camp....it was their second marriage...they knew the pitfalls, regrets and the mistakes of youth..they were growing old together and enjoying every moment. The morning of their anniversary, they got up, went into their canoes and paddled to a quiet island to go skinny dipping! I think that's great!

A strange thing has happened...I used to take time to get to know strangers but in a situation where you are on your own and your only conversations will be with strangers, you become the talkative person, you become the person that brings others together and dare I say it, you become the one that seems to do most of the talking...I never noticed this until I met these 6 strangers and left with 6 emails and memories of our conversations and the landscape, water and early mists of the morning before the sun had any chance of removing it.

When I returned, I was booked in for my final three nights at a stunning five star hotel. The contrast with my camping conditions was very strange indeed.
Last night I saw Samuel L Jackson in my hotel. He is a few floors above me...according to hotel sources!

Yesterday I went to Niagara Falls. Despite the town itself being in praise of tourism of the tackiest sense, the falls itself (and there is more than one) is a sight to be seen. It is beautiful...you find yourself staring at them for a good twenty minutes...amazed by the power of nature.

I met a great French/Lebanese woman called Michelle from Australia...we went onto the famous 'Maid of the Mist' boat together (the boat takes you right into the falls). Even wearing the protective and rather fetching, protective blue capes, no one can prepare you for the shower you will get...but to really see Niagara is to experience the sheer power and scale of it and this boat ride certainly allows you to do that.

Today I had a late start (I'm exhausted) and saw my final festival film 'The Pleasure of your Company', a very funny and alternative comedy with the star of American Pie fame, Jason Biggs. It was an amusing and intelligent look at whether it is possible to meet 'the one' with one glance or a few meetings.........

I'm off in a few minutes to meet Julie again to go to Kensington Market and have dinner.

I like Toronto but beyond that it doesn't really do anything to me like some of the other places did. For beauty, Yosemite has to be the most amazing place to visit with Langkawi as a close second..I will certainly go back to these places as well as Hong Kong and San Francisco.

I had a few days where I was ready to come home and in a sense, I still am but I'm also realising time is now rapidly running out and all of this will be coming to an end...Will I do this again? YES!! I'm going to start saving when I return...I want to go to Thailand and Vietnam....travelling alone is the most wonderful and liberating experience I have ever had and the only questions to myself would be, why didn't you do this earlier? What were you so scared of? Fear is the key...fear holds us back and those that ignore it get to experience all of the wonders of what it feels like to go beyond it and realise there is no fear, just perceptions with no reality.

The media presents us with the most awful examples of individuals and yet I have met people that just restore my faith in the goodness of humankind and the selflessness of the human spirit.

Everything is possible now..there is no barriers and anyone just wondering for a moment whether they should do this...whether it is right for you, my advice is, do it..it will be the best time of your life and provide a glorious platform into the life you continue with when you return.

I have deferred my entry into my PhD for a year and rather than just talk about trying to get a 'life/work' balance like everyone does after a holiday I am going to actually do it. I am a perfectionist, I can't change that, but what I can change is not making work such a focus for my life...that's just sad..we are all replaceable, let's not kid ourselves about that........a career is important but so are people and time to spend with them, so are hobbies and time to do them and I realise now, in order to be really happy (and I don't think I was before I left...because I now know what happiness really is) I must fill my life with hobbies and friends as well as work. I used to be involved in a creative writing class and now I intend to go back and reignite my involvement in Drama....only I can make that change and we all have responsibility for our own happiness.

I've realised now, in the future, I may not ever have a grand house or lots of material things but I want to be well travelled and have friends all over the world I can visit...This journey may have been expensive but it has been priceless for what it has done to my mind.