MattThis is the second of two posts about how two long term travellers have managed during the past two years of the Pandemic. The first post starts the day the world shut down – March 15, 2020 until the end of that year. Here is the link in case you missed it.
Backpacking Mexico – January – March 2021
Let’s face it. December 2020 and January 2021 was a pretty bleak time for most of us. The short days and third wave of the (co)VID kept most of us indoors and away from people. Because of this, we were really bummed that when we returned home from the Camino we weren’t able to see many of our friends or family. Like the rest of you, we were really feeling the effects of social isolation.
Mexico was the only place on the planet that had no restrictions for travellers. So, we figured sitting around doing a whole lot of nothing could happen in either Canada or Puerto Vallarta (PV). We chose PV and took Heather’s Mom with us. The town was relatively empty and we made smart decisions to keep everyone healthy. The sun and sand did wonders for all of our mental health.
When Mom left, we took off for some exploration of the south of Mexico. Oh, how we were delighted by some of the discoveries!
The south of Mexico – specifically Chiapas has long been on our list of places to visit. Mountain biking, hiking and visiting Mayan ruins were the ticket to feeling that the world would manage this pandemic, and people could function with the new reality.
Sail Away
A year into the Pandemic and most of the world was still closed to travel. Mexico was heating up and we needed to figure out our Plan C. So, we signed up with complete strangers and sailed from Panama to Florida.
What could possibly go wrong?!
There is a website that matches captains with people looking to crew a sailboat. The idea is to exchange skills for mutual benefit. You create a profile and the questions asked are quite thorough to enable a good match. So thorough, in fact, at times it felt like we were filling out a Tinder profile (No, we don’t feel comfortable sailing naked thank you very much!).
We found a captain and his first mate that were sailing a 45 foot sailboat from Panama to Florida in need of some crew. After a few emails and video calls we all agreed it would be a good fit. (They had also selected No on the nude sailing question).
A quick flight to Panama City, and a long bus ride took us to Bocas del Toro, Panama. We spent about a week helping to provision the boat, and waited for the perfect weather window to sail into the deep blue!
Lessons Learned
We learned a lot and came to the conclusion that the majority of sailing is very monotonous.You set your sail and make sure you don’t run into any container ships, pirates or other sail boats.
That’s not to say sailing isn’t without some adventure like:
- Random wind gusts that appear at 3 am without much warning
- Trying to cook while heeled over at nine knots
- Sheeting in the mainsail in a strong wind
- Keeping awake during the four hour night watch
We both enjoyed night watches and the chores associated with keeping a sailboat running 24 hours a day. The stars in the middle of the sea were spectacular, and the size of the maritime container ships is mind boggling when you sail through the shipping lanes. The flying fish that hovered just above the water for what seemed like kilometres was really impressive to see.
Captain Derek kept us safe and First Mate Robyn kept us well fed (how she cooked anything in that kitchen while under sail is still a mystery to me!). We arrived in the Tampa Bay area after a magical morning sail as the sun was rising!
Land Lubbers
Being back on land after twelve plus days at sea was really quite strange. The land kept ‘tipping’ with each step – just like the ocean! This went away quickly, and we had our ‘land legs’ back again.
Overall we have great respect for the ocean, and understand our insignificance in the face of increased wind or bigger waves. We can’t wait for the next sailing adventure!
American Road Trip – Spring 2021
Soon after arriving in Florida we learned that the state was offering COVID vaccines to anyone that wanted one!
Yes please and thank you to the State of Florida!
We rented a car and did some road tripping in Florida, and Alabama. This road trip allowed us to visit a friend we made on the Camino and one we met on our trip to Antarctica. We made a trip (or two) to REI and even had the opportunity to live in a ‘tiny house’ for a couple of days (Thanks again Lynn).
Canada DriveAway
It was time to look for frugal (cheap) ways to get home as our summer plans required us to be in Calgary for the end of June. Canada DriveAway for the win!
There was a car that had been parked in Palm Springs for over a year as it had been left behind when Canadians were told to come home. The owner wanted the car back in Calgary, but didn’t want the hassle of flying through the States and the quarantine upon return. Enter Heather and I… of course we would like to drive your nice car home from Palm Springs!
We caught a cheap flight out west and had a few days in the baking desert weather. Our original plan was to camp on the way home – guess we should have looked a little closer at our favourite weather app. The desert gets a little warm in June! Thank goodness for new friends from Antarctica that were willing to have us stay with them in Salt Lake City – Matt and Karen you kept us from melting in our tent!
On an upnote we caught up with a very old family friend and spent a lovely evening chatting about the ‘old days’. Jeanne has since passed away, and we count ourselves fortunate to have had a final chance to share hugs and say goodbye.
Plan A.1 – Hiking the Great Divide Trail
At some point in the previous twelve months we had committed to (were coerced into?) hiking the Great Divide Trail. The plan was to take the month of July and hike with a great group of friends. During our quarantine upon our return to Calgary we planned the menu and shopped online for all the food for 4 weeks in the wilderness.
The Great Divide Trail is a backcountry hiking route from Waterton at the US Border to parts north of Jasper, in Alberta. We hiked the section from the border to Field BC – 530 kms. The trail is not for the faint of heart as there are a lot of mountain passes to climb, with limited access for resupplies. There was one section where we had to carry our food for twelve days.
It was so incredible to be immersed in stunning scenery, to push ourselves and our friends in a very physical way. Karyn, Claire, Cathy, and Rob – you guys are legends and we are proud of each pass you summited and each personal doubt you shattered with our shared accomplishment!
Great Divide Trail Angels
We had such great support from our personal trail angels who cheered us on at the resupplies. This group of amazing people picked us up on the side of the road and delivered us cold beer when we needed it most, hiked up the Sunshine Road with backpacks full of a five day resupply for five people, and watched our progress on the inreach ready to call in the National Guard if we needed it!
The day we finished the hike we were met by Kristy (one of this amazing group of angels) who had a full cooler of beer, multiple bags of potato chips and a lovely cake to celebrate our accomplishment. The joy of arriving at the final destination was indescribable. The LOOOOOONG hot shower felt pretty good too!
Cycle Touring Across Europe – Fall 2021
At the end of the summer, we took stock of what in the world was open – not much. SE Asia would have to wait.
We chose the next option for us and headed off to Europe with our bicycles.
Bicycle touring is always a great way to be a tourist, and Europe did not disappoint. We started in Amsterdam and ended up in Izmir Turkey early in December. What a journey! On this trip we experienced manny days of living outdoors, riding up to 75 km per day, and generally going with the flow of the days. We met new friends, stayed with old friends, and filled our days with laughter and loving life!
Head over to our Instagram account to read some more stories and see pictures of our adventures on this trip.
Winter in the Middle East
December 2021 included a lot of flying:
| Istanbul – Calgary | No need to quarantine this time, and we got the booster shot |
| Calgary – Anchorage Alaska Return via Seattle | A December wedding and a great chance to reconnect with a group of dear, dear friends – looking at you Johnny, Karly, Steve, Lynn, Sammy, Molly, Annie *Pro tip – don’t leave your passport in the airport in Seattle as it causes untold amounts of stress on you and your partner- passport was found and we both have more grey hair |
| Calgary – Istanbul | Christmas Eve +1 with Heather’s Mom Gail |
Heather and I played tour guide from Christmas to early March with Gail in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. We followed the footsteps of the Pharaohs, Jesus, and the Romans.
Turkey
No trip to Turkey is complete without soaring over the incredible landscapes of Cappadocia in Turkey in a hot air balloon (here is a video we made about that experience). As a group we brought in the new year at the base of the white mountain in Pamukkale, Turkey and spent the next day curing all our ailments in the hot pools above it. Of course we visited Ephesus and learned more about the ancient daily lives of both the rich and the poor.
Egypt
I was in awe as we wandered into ancient Egyptian tombs, marvelled at the state of preservation and dreamt up explanations for the hieroglyphics and murals on the wall. It is hard to feel anything other than young when you stand in the shadow of the pyramids and the Sphinx.
Jordan and Israel
After visiting the ancient ruins of Petra and living out our Lawrence of Arabia dreams in Wadi Rum we headed to Israel where we wandered the ancient streets of Jerusalem. A once every seven year snowfall delayed our plans to head south to the Sinai in Egypt – but we eventually got there!
We took up a villa in Dahab, Egypt (as you do) where the weather was warm, and the pace of life was casually slow. The food was great as well. We love Dahab, and have taken other friends there to rest and recuperate. The small diving Bedouin village on the Red Sea lived up to all the expectations.
Sudden Left Turn – Romania and the Ukraine border
In March of this year (2022) we returned to Turkey to continue our cycle trip. Russia had just invaded the Ukraine and it was clear a humanitarian crisis was unfolding in our backyard.
In between warm cups of çay we had many discussions about what we could/should do.
One Tuesday morning we both agreed we should travel to the border and see how we could help. We made sure to find a place to stay and an organisation that could put us to good use. By Thursday of that week we were on a plane to Bucharest, Romania.
We reached out to Pilgrim Movement – a Canadian organization that was working in Romania. They agreed to have us join them help with settling people into various countries throughout Europe and Canada. Here is a short video with some images of the border and Pilgrim Movment working to resettle refugees. Each person has a story and we were lucky enough to learn about most of them.
The two weeks we spent in Romania were equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring. It is incredible that in 2022 the world can still be so dangerous for ordinary people like you and me. It also reinforced how incredibly humane and kind people can be towards one another. Each day brought us to tears and reinforced our belief that people are good. We even made the news!
Check out our Instagram Story Highlights to see read more stories of the incredible people we met.
Ukrainians continue to need our help. Each person that crosses the border has left financial stability, a physical home, and social connections. They need help to build this wherever they land.
Want to help? Find an organization that is working in this area and help however you can. Pilgrim Movement is continuing to support families arriving in Romania and we can attest to the fact the money is going to help people.
What’s Next? (April 2022)
Well… we have a plan, however we anticipate the world will continue to throw us curveballs. Here is our current Plan A…
We have returned to Turkey (and to our bicycles). The plan is to ride here for the next couple of months as the northern latitudes warm up.
Fingers crossed, we will find ourselves bicycling up the old Silk Road through exotic sounding places such as Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan. The Pamir Highway is somewhat of a ‘holy grail’ of bicycle touring and we feel ready for the challenge! With the highway’s elevation, the best month to ride is June and we hope to be there by then! We will of course be watching the news closely relative to the invasion of Ukraine and plan accordingly.
Let’s try 2020 plans again shall we?
In 2020 our plan was to head to Greenland in August with stop by Iceland on the way back. Fingers crossed, we can make this happen this year – we have waited 2 years! And, sticking to the 2020 plans we will head to SE Asia in the fall with our bikes.
Watch our social media feeds and here to see what we actually end up doing!
Do you want to know more about an experience we shared in these two posts? If you do, tell us in the Comments and we will offer more than a paragraph about it.
Wishing you the best for 2022, and may you find lots of adventures in your lives. For the bike tourists out there ‘may the wind be at your back’ and the hills behind you.
For everyone who has helped us out in the past two years – THANK YOU and we can’t wait to reconnect again soon!
Lots of Love,
Matt + Heather
