Puerto Rico 2012

William and I decided to spend our last week of 2012 in the neighboring island of Puerto Rico. We had our reservations about PR when we were planning a December trip. William wasn't sure how we would get around because the transportation systems did not seem reliable and honestly, to me PR was like traveling in the states...and on top of that we all know I'm not a beach girl. We soon decided that PR wasn't really for us. Not soon after that, I learned of one of the world's most magnificent wonders: the bioluminescent bays. These bays contain one celled organisms called dinoflagelellates that light up when something disturbs their cell walls. SO basically, they light up when you interact with them. How the heck do they light up? Exactly what I wanted to know. They get their light through photosynthesis. So, on sunny days, they absorb light and at night time they give it off when something irritates them. After learning about this, I HAD to see it for myself. As excited as I was, my expectations for it were low. We saved this activity for the last day of our trip.

Condando Beach

On the day we arrived we were able to grab a cab quickly. When we climbed in, the elderly man looked at us suspiciously from his rear view mirror. Then asked me if I was a teacher. Shocked, I responded that I was and asked him why he thought that. He explained that he was a cab driver in NYC for many years and learned that Indians were very intelligent, and therefore made the presumption that I was a teacher. No joke, ask William if you don't believe me. Ah, stereotypes. We traveled to Condando-the part of San Juan we were staying in, only to find little Miami. This place was glitz and glamour. Our hotel was next to a Cartier and a Salvatore Ferragamo. We ignored the over priced stores because we were next to a stunning beach. Condando Beach sported crystal blue waters, rough waves and some hard bodies that ran up and down it at all hours of the day. We watched those runners often, usually from the comfortable seating at Ben and Jerry's. The water was cold, but the weather was perfect. There were high rise condos everywhere, and a street that could compete with 6th for busiest night life. It was a bustling, and frou frou part of town, we didn't complain. 

Colorful Old San Juan

The next morning was Christmas Day. We had looked into what all there was to do and were fearful that everything would be closed. During the day we decided that it would be smart to go to Old San Juan so we could get a good look at the buildings without the crowds. Smart thinking. We were able to get some great pictures of the area without having to dodge other tourists and cars left and right. The cobblestone streets, colorful homes, and unique doors give this part of the city a very romantic and charming feel. The city has great European influences, and of course American influences because luckily Starbucks was open. Christmas miracle! We walked around and looked in some of the cute shops, ate a yummy snack and headed back to Condando to get some rest and get ready for our Christmas dinner! I had been looking online everywhere about Christmas Day meals in PR. They described a traditional Christmas meal included roast pork, mofongo, rice and beans, plantains and cojito. Cojito is homemade eggnog spiked with rum. When we arrived at our hotel, there was an advertisement for a little, local restaurant that would be serving Christmas dinner. That night when we went to Orozoco's for dinner we were not disappointed. We ate everything listed above and rice pudding that tasted like a gooey, delectable mix between rice and bread pudding. Good times. After we devoured our meal we walked some of it off at the beach. 

Traditional Christmas Dinner

The next day we went back to Old San Juan, this time to see the old forts. These forts were like any other, and none really compare to the ones in India. They had big heavy doors, underground tunnels, cannons, hideouts, etc. Whatever. I'm a huge history buff, but forts don't do it for me. BUT, the views from the fort did. The views were breathtaking. You could see the coastline clearly and the sparkling water. In fact you could see the other forts from the one you were at including the historical and colorful neighborhood of La Perla settled in between the two forts. Most importantly, it had beautiful views of the city and the ocean. I wouldn't have minded being the lookout guard from the forts back in the day. The fun part about the forts was that you could climb up and take pictures and feel as though you were on top of the world. I sat on top of the forts for a while. I even took a jumping picture at the edge of the top of a fort that made a bunch of Asian tourists gasp in disbelief!

La Coca Falls and La Mina Falls

After soaking up the warm sun of Old San Juan we decided to head east towards Fajardo. We rented a sporty, red Toyota Yaris and set out. On the way to Fajardo is El Yunque Rainforest, a popular destination in Puerto Rico for eco-tourism. Getting there was pretty easy. The roads in Puerto Rico are very similar to the ones in the US, which makes driving a familiar affair. El Yunque is just a short trip from San Juan. Probably the best part of El Yunque is the admission price: free. You won’t find too many other US National Parks that are free to enter, so passing up this park would be a crime. There is a lot to explore in the park, with numerous hiking trails and points of interests, but we decided to focus on the biggest attractions. There are a number of waterfalls in the park. Some are right off the main road through the park, others require a short hike. The first fall we visited was La Coca Falls. This was easy to get to because it was right off the road. You could not get in the waters of this fall, but you could climb up the side, so that is what we did. After climbing half way up and taking a few photos we decided to continue on. The most popular waterfall is La Mina falls. It’s a moderate 35 minute hike off the main park road. The hike offers a couple of nice views of the surrounding forest, and is well covered by the tall trees. The last part of the hike is all down-hill, and it opens up into the bottom of a rock face with a rushing waterfall that empties out into a large natural pool. The pool drains out a small rocky creek that continues on down the mountain. William and I took a couple photos of the waterfall, and then decided to jump in. The water was fresh and icy cold. After the waterfall we also visited the Yokahu observation tower. It’s an old stone tower with a winding staircase to the top. It offers great views of the entire rainforest and coastline and it’s a nice place to spend a few minutes looking down on the nature below.

Luquillo, PR

After hiking the rainforest we were ready for some R&R. On the way to Fajardo you pass through a small city, Luquillo. It is a very small, unnoticeable city that happened to have the prettiest beach we saw while we were in PR. We followed local signs toward the beach until we were lost in a random neighborhood. While driving through it, we could tell we were getting closer to the shore and then out of nowhere we found this stunning beach. Because it backed up to a local neighborhood, there were no tourists and it was pretty much hidden. We parked on the street and kicked off our shoes and jumped the little seawall. It was a lovely little beach and I hope we can remember how we got there for whenever we go back. 

Google Earth Map of kayaking adventure

Mangroves before night time

We saved our biggest adventure for last. The bioluminescent bay! We arrived at Fajardo and went to the beach. When we arrived at the beach we saw the biobay tour company setting up kayaks... in the ocean. I've been kayaking several times, but never off a beach in the ocean. After about an hour of training all the old people how to kayak and rescue yourself if you flip, we were ready to go in the lagoon to see the glowing waters of the biobay. Luckily, William was in Texas Crew and is a 100% capable of kayaking against the tumulus waves of a windy evening on the ocean. I helped too! Once it was finally time to get going we got in our kayaks and worked hard against the waves to get across the beach to what seemed like a forest. Once we got to the forest, we had to get our kayaks in a single file line. This was way easier for some than others (easy for us!). As soon as we were in a line, the guide had us kayak into a skinny little path covered with trees. We were finally going into the mangroves. The waters went from choppy waves to still waters. Even though it was night time and a full moon, no lights could be seen because now tree branches were creating a tunnel and blocking out all light. In the map above you can see where we started off. Pure Adventure on the map is where the kayaks got set up on the beaches. We kayaked left into the greenery and you can see the black line through the greenery. That is the path we took into Laguna Grande, the giant lagoon where the bioluminescent bacteria live. But they're not just in the lagoon, they're in the canals as well. We probably paddled a mile or so through the still waters of the mangrove. This experience was so amazing and kind of spooky. You had to be careful because it was pretty dark and there were twists and turns, and the mangrove trees were sharp. About ten minutes into the groves I started noticing that every time my paddle hit the water, it lit up. I tried to point it out to William, but he didn't notice too much (I blamed it on his color blindness) and said he didn't want to flip us over, so he kept focusing on getting us through the mangroves. Then, it became more obvious when I decided to stick my hands in the black waters (it was dark, not really black) and all of a sudden it looked like the water had electric sparks and my hands lit up under the water. When I showed William, he suddenly showed some interest. We turned into little kids, slapping the water and splashing it everywhere. Of course, we couldn't stop rowing because we still had not reached our final destination: Laguna Grande. When we did arrive, it was breathtaking. We went from small tunnel-like pathways covered with trees above to an open, still black lagoon. Our guide told us to stick our hands in the water and we couldn't believe our eyes. The waters glowed and glimmered. He brought us all together and gave us a science lesson of how the bioluminescent bacteria actually work and stuck his legs in the water, hanging off the kayak, and when he moved his muscular legs around you could see how deep in his legs were because all of the water around was glowing. We hung out splashing the water for about an hour. I discovered that I could cup the water in my hands and throw it down on my legs and the water would glow on my legs. Eventually, William made me stop this so our entire kayak wouldn't be filled with water. Finally, when it was time to go I decided that PR is definitely a destination to return to because I cannot get enough of the bioluminescent bays. I wish I could describe in full detail what that experience was like, but you will just have to go there and see for yourself!

Vancouver Delivers!

Strolling the streets

     Walking the streets of Vancouver helped me understand two things about myself: 1. I love walking around 2. I am somewhat of a city girl. I love the hustle and bustle of city life, but when that gets overwhelming I can always find a nice coffee shop or book store around the corner where I can sit and collect my thoughts. The city can be for me, but I haven't really found one quite as great as Vancouver.  I loved that William and I could walk anywhere and didn't have to depend on a car. Now, if I lived in Vancouver I would still have a car, but I am ok with not having to use it often. William and I could totally survive with just one car in Vancouver, while that would not cut it in Texas. 


      Vancouver is amazing. I feel that everyone was so pretty in Vancouver, yet no one was pretentious. It seemed to have tons of young professionals, all whom were very polite and ready to lend a helping hand. Mostly, everyone just seemed very open-minded and fun. When we walked around Yaletown, people were very pleasant towards one another. Yaletown had tons of cute shops and stores with not such cute price tags, but most importantly, I felt more than welcome inside any store in Vancouver, and I like that. Now, even though I could totally see myself living in a city like Vancouver, I have been a resident of suburbia my whole life, therefore I would still need an escape every once in a while from any concrete jungle. But, that is why Vancouver is so awesome. Just a bus ride away and you are in the hills overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean, at a picturesque lighthouse, or in a beautiful, moss-draped fir tree forest.  Can you tell that I totally dig Vancouver?

Cute shop in Chinatown

      We started off our Vancouver trip with a stop in Chinatown. We were starved and were craving some dim sum, and that is what we got! The dim sum was good, but the buns were amazing. We had chicken, veggie, and bbq pork buns and they were delish! Chinatown is relatively the same in every city. This one was way more calm than any Chinatown we've ever seen. It was oddly calm. Everyone just carried on their regular lives and it wasn't very loud. It was a sleepy Chinatown for sure. However, the colorful food markets and trinket shops did not disappoint! One thing I did appreciate about this area was that they had lots of pretty murals depicting the journeys the Chinese population took to get to Vancouver. The street artwork was definitely a treat! 

Womanizer sax player

     One of the coolest things we came across was the Make Music Festival in Gastown. Just a few days before I left Houston, I was reading Vancouver's local news just to see what was going on and came across advertisement for the festival. I was happy to see that it was going on while we were there and in an area I really wanted to visit. Both William and I planned on staying for just a little bit and we ended up spending our entire evening there. The concept of this festival is really cool. Local artists can sign up for one hour blocks and after an hour you pack up your things and a new band/solo artist comes in. Some streets were crazy with all these loud bands playing at the same time and you would just go from crowd to another crowd. Other blocks were better about alternating songs. So, one band would play and then the band across the street would play. This would give the bands a time to take a break, and no one would have to compete for audiences. The variety of this festival was awesome. There were sax players, guitarists, trumpets, soloists, violinists, bongos, cellos, I mean you name it and that instrument was probably in one band or the other. The most eclectic group consisted of 10 people of all ages, but mostly older guys. They wore bright, bold colors and crazy patterns, but all were great at their craft. The sax player came up to me in the crowd and played his solo part right to me. It was very, very awkward. Everyone kept staring at me. William thought it was hilarious, but the old guy was really funny. The festival also allowed us to see Gastown at its best. This area of Vancouver is famous for it's industrial buildings and trendy night life. 

Outside Public Market in front of Granville Bridge and False Creek

     The next morning we slept in. Since there are 16 hours of sunlight during the summers, we weren't in any rush to sight see. We sipped on some coffee, took forever to get dressed, checked our email, and bam it was already 10 am! We grabbed a bus to the train station, took a train to the seabus, and took the seabus to head to Granville. The seabus was so cool! It's a giant boat that takes you across a huge bay to the northern part of Vancouver. Once we arrived we hiked on over to the Granville Public Market. I was immediately entranced by all the yummy food and smells everywhere. Everything was so fresh! Of course, William and I headed straight to the baked goods. I mean I would describe it, but I'd probably sound like a freak. So, just take my word for it: it was tasty. The public market has outdoor seating overlooking False Creek. You can see tons of kayakers, boaters, yachts and the Vancouver skyline. It's a great place to head to if you want to explore and relax, and eat of course. If the market is not your thing, there are tons of cute little shops on the same street. They have cute boutiques, specialty stores, and other fun shops. We walked around this for a bit, then we headed over to west 4th street. This area has more shops.

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

     Later, we made our way to the Lynn Canyon Park. I have always wanted to go on a suspension bridge (I am such a child). When we got there, I expected a long hike, but we were greeted with a refreshing river and a waterfall behind some trees. It was fun standing on the bridge. I mean it wasn't one of those roped ones like on Indiana Jones that swings left to right with every step. It swayed gently and it made me want to jump on it, but many girls on the bridge were holding onto the railing for their dear lives. So, I saved myself the evil glares and just admired the view. We hung out on the bridge before we started hiking around. This place looked like the shooting location for the Twilight movies (not a fan, just simply making a comparison). 


     The next morning we started the day with a morning stroll right outside our hotel...at Stanley Park! This sweet outdoor paradise was right next door and we were shocked to find some great views of the city from there. We first came across some totem poles, which William happened to find very fascinating. Though we did not participate in any outdoor activities, it is a great place to people watch, enjoy the weather, and see some gorgeous flora and fauna. It would be a great place to have a romantic picnic to view the sunset and Vancouver skyline. 

Delicious Ukrainian Food!

     We were in the mood for some serious people watching that day and headed on over to the annual Strawberry Festival. We looked around at some cute booths, listened to some live music and grabbed some strawberry shortcake. When we were done looking around, we took a long bus ride to the Lighthouse Park. We enjoyed a good afternoon hike there and returned back to the west end when alerted by our growling tummies. We walked around desperately trying to decide what (amazing) restaurant to try next. When we came in front of a cute Ukrainian restaurant, we decided to try something new. The inside was adorable. It was super tiny and had two levels. The restaurant had an orangey tint from the cute mosaic glass lamps which gave the whole restaurant a romantic glow. The simple, but charming place was decorated with tons of Ukrainian family pictures, trinkets, plants and ivy. The waitress had a thick Ukrainian accent and her mother, a large muscular woman, was the star chef of the restaurant. We ordered our food: paprika chicken and vegetable cabbage rolls and were pleasantly surprised to get very generous portions of these homemade treats! Every bite was fantastic and the owners of the restaurant were very proud and greatly appreciated all the compliments we had to give on our experience there. Before we left, we had to try the homemade apple streusel that was cut out of the pan and plated with a scoop of hand churned vanilla ice cream. We left with food babies and great satisfaction. After dinner we lazily walked back to our apartment and relaxed for a bit and went out for coffee at the best cafe ever, Milan. Our friend, the barista, created a yummy concoction for me and put tons of shaved dark chocolate on top. We all continued to (be sort of snobby and) bash the quality of crap coffee from Starbucks, while sipping macchiatos from our giant ceramic mugs. 


     The next day was our last and we decided we should end it doing the things we loved most in Vancouver all over again. We started off getting some good ole American breakfast and headed back to Granville Island to get some more pastries and enjoy the live music at the Vancouver Jazz Music Festival taking place there. Afterwards, we got ourselves some authentic ramen bowls! The art of Japanese ramen houses are fab! The bowls are beautifully put together with thoughtful details for presentation and taste just as good as they look! That night we headed to something I had been waiting for....the Chinatown Night Market!!! We saw tons of interesting things including: grilled whole squids, yummy Nutella filled waffles, and padded panties for the booty-less hehehe. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end our trip to the city of Vancouver. I will definitely be back!

Chinatown Night Market

     


     

Canadian Adventures: Bears, Horses, and Moose!

Tangle Falls

     Driving through Banff was just as breathtaking as visiting all the different lakes. William was such a tolerant driver while traveling through the parks. I would often have him stop, reverse, and put on the emergency lights so I could get out and take a picture of our awesome surroundings. The beauty wasn't limited to closed off parks with signs and trail paths. Most of it could be seen from your car window while driving up a mountain or driving through the valley. You would often drive by streams, or bustling rivers flowing with crystal blue glacial waters. It was common to see little water falls, and sometimes larger ones like Tangle Falls. Driving through the park included shorter trips (Lake Minnewanka was about 5 minutes from our hotel) to much longer trips such as the Columbia Glacier (which was the same distance as Houston to Austin). I don't think either one of us realized how much we'd cherish those drives through the Canadian Rockies. After not seeing each other for weeks, we did most of our chatting and catching up on those drives. It was some good QT, not to mention fantastic sight seeing and wild life spotting.


     We were ever so fortunate to see bears and moose! We saw 7 bears total, and all on the same day! My favorite bear sighting was definitely the scariest as well. I think we were on our way back from the Columbia Glaciers and driving on Icefields Parkway. We saw two cars pulled over to the side of the road, but no one was out of their car. We knew something was up. Normally, when people saw a bear, they would get out of the car and take a pic. The bears were so distracted from food searching that they didn't care that they were being watched. But this time no one was out of their car. We pulled up and I totally could not believe what I was seeing! A mommy bear and cub! Everyone in Banff will tell you: Never get out of the car if you see a mother and her cub. This can cause the mother to feel threatened and there have been cases of mothers attacking when their cubs are around them. When we were on our White Water Rafting trip, one of the guides told us about a tourist who had rode with them the day before. The tourist taped an incident on his phone and showed the tour guide. Basically, someone got out of their car to take a picture of a bear and her cub. The second the bear saw the guy get out of the car she came running up to the car. The guy was able to get in his car and lock the doors. But the angry bear tore out his headlights.


     So, when we saw the mother bear and her cub, we did NOT get out of the car. We lowered our windows to find the two of them scrummaging to find berries. Then all of a sudden the mother bear walked closer...and closer...and closer to the street, next to our car (across the street from her). Our windows were down and cameras in our hands-we were so shocked to be able to see the bear that closely.. and not in a cage. Then, she came up to the road, looked both ways and froze. She was looking dead straight into our car, right at us. Her cub came and stood next to her and they both began to cross the street.

Being watched

     At this point I was freaking out. The window was all the way down AND they were crossing right in front of OUR car. I told William to reverse. His response included a crisp and sharp, "Be silent. Don't move." While they crossed, the cub peered into our car. We held our breath. What seemed like forever later, they finally reached the other side of our car and continued their search for berries... or honey (hehe). Who knows. All I know is that I had been holding my breath the entire time. We drove off and couldn't believe how close they had come. I asked William why he didn't drive away and he reminded me that we were on a curved road and had a car behind us so we couldn't reverse. My favorite part of his response was, "Yeah, Neeti. Let me just start the engine and have the bear attack our rental car. NBD." That would have been our last vacation ever (like that cruise commercial where they're camping and being attacked by the bear, HAH).

FUZZY antlers!

     After this, we still had about an hour before we got back to town and I was so giddy from our bear encounter that I was talking non-stop and acting like a 5 year old, oozing with delight. Tons of people in Banff had told us that not everyone gets to see bears, so we knew our chances were low, especially since we had that close encounter with the rams at Lake Minnewanka. We were pretty sure that was the extent of our wild life spotting. But then, in my moment of childish behavior and hopefulness I said six simple, magical words, "I hope we see moose next!" TA DAAAA! I could not believe it. Within 15 minutes there we were, pulled up right next to, not one but two, giant, fuzzy, adorable, antler-bearing moose! William asked politely for me to verbally express that he get a good step score. I did. Still hoping for that one. The moose were just as indifferent as the bears. They were over the paparazzi.


     Now for the more domesticated animals. For anyone who goes to the rockies, whether it's in the states or in Canada, I'd highly recommend horse back riding! My horse was named Moonshine and he was gorgeous! When I got on the horse, the cowboy was like..."You get the pretty one. I'll show you what you do with the horse in a sec." What "you do" with the horse? I immediately informed the guy that I was a Texas girl and knew how to get on a horse. I'm brown, but geez. Obviously, assumptions were made.

Looking pro-ish

     On another note, he was such a nice cowboy after that! We went on some great paths, but my favorite were the river crossings. My horse tried to leave everyone and the cowboy told me to "keep him in line" and I did :) I was proud of myself. On the other hand, we had to wait at the other side of the river because one of the Japanese tourists wasn't as familiar with the horsey and his horse went on a joy ride through the forest to eat some fresh green grass. We got to chill and admire the surroundings while the cowboys went to rescue the guy. He was a good sport about it. On our way back, we stopped at a light where there were some bushes and my horse gnawed on some leaves and when I kicked him to start going he managed to break off a branch for a snack later. I wish I could have captured that on camera! We got to see the sun start setting during our horse ride and saw some deer in the forests. Overall, it was a beautiful experience and I'd love to do it again some day. Banff was gorgeous and I plan on going back sometime next year! Next, we moved onto something a little more familiar, city life in Vancouver. Vancouverites did not disappoint!

Ice Exploring

     We started out our third day traveling all the way to Jasper (like going to ATX from Houston) to take the Columbia and Athabasca Glacier tours. My pictures and words cannot do this scenic drive justice. We had talked to a lady earlier and she had given us an alternate to the Trans Canada highway (which is also stunning), so we took IH 93, or better known as Icefields Parkway. She suggested this route, explaining that it's a good trip if you want to see bears. We wanted to see bears so badly, and we got to see SEVEN! They were scrummaging along the sides of the roads, digging for roots and berries. Several cars, including us, pulled over to snap some shots and the bears were not the slightest bit phased. I mean, they didn't even look at us and we were ten feet from them! The first one we saw was so adorable and was the largest. He really did look like a giant teddy bear. Then we saw a second smaller one, on our way back, we saw two more searching for food.

      When we arrived at the glaciers, we couldn't believe how massive the glaciers were. We got our tickets and immediately got on a bus up the mountain to get on our next ride: the ice exploration vehicles, Terry Trucks. This huge bus type mode of transportation would make your dog look like a crepe if it crossed this monster's path. The tires were 5 feet tall, and there are only 20 in North America. Eight belong to this company, others are being used in the military and for ice exploration in Antartica.

Columbia Glacier

        From the mountain we went down to the glacier. The slope was at a 42% grade. This means for every 100 feet forward we were dropping 42 feet in height. We were all leaning against the seat in front of us; it was steep!  When the Ice Explorer reached  the glaciers we couldn't believe how tiny we were in comparison. It was crazy! You had to be careful not to slip, fall, and die in one of the crevaces. The glacier water was the clearest water I've ever seen. Walking on the ice was extremely slippery and you had to take every step with caution. Luckily, William and I made it out alive. We decided to go visit a few places in Jasper National Park including the breathtaking Tangle Falls. Once again, William somehow convinced me to climb the side of the water fall and people pointed, again. At one point I got stuck. I was too scared to go up and panicked when I looked down. So, I just hugged the rock and William talked me through it. When I reached up, I walked right up to the water and splashed it on my hands and arms. We were touching the water fountain! Then began the scary descent. Wasn't as bad as I assumed it would be and I'm glad I did it! Other places we visited this day included: Peyto Lake, which looked like a lake filled with blue Kool aid, Crowfoot Glacier, Herbert Lake, Bow Lake, and Bow Summit. I am going to miss all the beauty in Banff!

Peyto Lake

The Deathly Glacier Waters

       I have two words to describe white water rafting: scary shit. Just a week ago I started following Wild Water Adventures on facebook and saw numerous cancellations. I was so scared that they would cancel our reservation due to high waters, but luckily they didn't. We went in the afternoon to find out that the waters were higher than usual and like a dummy I was so pumped. I mean white water rafting is not cheap, and I wanted to get my money's worth. I got just that.    

     If you ever come to Banff and want to do WWR, I would highly recommend this company. When our party arrived, we were given a brief description of what the next few hours would look like. We were then given ALL materials to be extra prepared for the hell that is Kicking Horse River. They sized me up and gave me a wet suit, booties, a super cute fleece jacket, a rain shell, life jacket, and helmet. We spent the next 30 minutes or so traveling down to the river by bus and the guides went over safety procedures. When we got to the river we practiced different ways to get back to the boat if we get thrown out and how to rescue one another. They made a really big point: YOU are an active participant in your rescue. So basically if you're a hot mess in the water, they would let you float down stream and catch you down there. After seeing the whole river, I know that I would have never made it back alive.     

     After we learned numerous ways to get ourselves back on the boat, we climbed into the rafts. Carlos, my SUPER AWESOME Costa Rican tour guide advised with a wink that the most excitement happens in the front seat. William and I, along with a British mom and son, jumped into the front wanting to get a bang for our buck. William and I sat next to each other and then Carlos pointed out that I would be a paddler and my face froze in horror so the British chap in front of me volunteered, so we swapped spots, putting me and his awesome mom front and center. Carlos then asked us to stick our hands in the water. We all did.  And, we all screamed in horror. He smiled and explained that we would be going in 5 degree water. He pointed to a mountain top and explained that this river held glacier water that was melting. And, on our way down the river, we saw water falls emptying into the river.     

     Those who have done WWR will know how scary our level 3,4, and 5 rapids were. Threes were fun, fours were exciting, and me and the British mom whose name I don't know so we'll call her Marge, were pretty sure we were not going to make it back to land on the level 5 rapids. Everytime we would go through a 5, Marge and I felt as though we were completely submerged under the water. Even with all our gear on, after our first level 5 Marge leaned over and whispered, "I have 5 degree water in places I didn't think would get wet on this ride."     

     Every level 5 rapid we had would literally knock the wind out of me. At one point there were so many, one after the next, that I was choking on water. When we came to the calm waters everyone was staring and Marge and I because we were gasping for air and coughing up a lung. Sounds horrible right? Well the first set was, after that traumatizing moment, it became hella fun. Our gloves protected our fingers, somewhat, and we were all able to hold on tightly; no one fell out of our boats. An hour and a half on the river was just the perfect amount of rafting. When we came back to the docks, they had (more!) Cadbury Hot Chocolate, pastries, and fruits waiting for us. We changed, grabbed some snacks, and gathered around the TVs to watch the pictures from the trip. They were super funny so everyone wanted one. I had found a tiny coupon earlier for a free photo DVD so we were pumped about saving 30 bucks! Overall, it was a super fun experience and I can't wait to go again!    

     After braving Kicking Horse River, we headed to Wapta Falls. This required a 2.4 km hike in super muddy trails that resembled those we encountered in the Amazon in Peru. Slimy, slippery mud forced us to make our own trails through the brush. It was a very long, but rewarding hike. We knew we were there from the sound of the waters crashing down. The water fall was intense. And it was completely empty because most people would not hike to get to the fall. We hung out there for a while and enjoyed the calm forest and fiesty waters.     

     We then headed to Natural Bridge, which is another gorgeous waterfall. What was so beautiful about this one were the mountains peaking behind the fall and the rivers surrounding it. I can't believe all these wild life critters get to live there for free; they have the best view in the world. It was around nine 'o clock and the sun began setting. Remember, they have 16 hours of daylight here! We headed to Emerald Lake to find the waters to indeed be a rich Emerald in color. This lake was surrounded by beautfiul trees and adorable cottages. We, again, were the only ones there so we went down to the dock and sat there for a while. We started getting sleepy so we decided to head back to Banff. We didn't get there til about 11 pm and found that everything was closed. We went to Safeway which was filled with delicious food, but were very limited because we don't have a microwave in our hotel. Luckily the deli was open so we grabbed some lunch meat and samosas from there. We ate and then we passed out.

Natural Wonders in Banff, Alberta

Lake Moraine

   

     We arrived in Banff a few days ago now and have been smitten by this cute and multicultural town! It is extremely picturesque and feels very much like a winter resort town. Yes, I said winter because the days are beautiful, but brisk at a high of 60 degrees! One thing I love about Alberta is that they have 16 hours of sunlight! While driving back from Lake Louise, we got to watch the sun set at 9 p.m.! Weird!     

     Today (6/18/12) We started our morning early. We were trying our best to start our day as early as we could so we walked down the street to a Safeway (Looks like Kroger's). I am amazed at the cultural diversity in their food! I need to move here! I saw frozen meals like saffron and cranberry cous cous stuffed Chicken Courdon Blue, Beef samosas, vegetable gyozas, an amazing selection of vegetarian meals, freshhhh deli meats, and so on. They have tons of great restaurants also! Taste of Sri Lanka, German foudous, Greek, Indian, Samoan, Japanese, Chinese, Irish, Vienamese, french bakeries, bubble tea, fudgeries, you name it! Anyways, for breakfast we got little sandwiches. Mine included whole wheat english muffin, sausage, egg whites and cheese. Beats McDonald's any day. We ate quickly and headed out to LAKE MORAINE. I fell in LOVE! When we arrived the it was very cool and misty, just how William likes it. I was annoyed that the sun wasn't out, mostly because I was cold. William always tries to get me to appreciate nature in all its dimensions.       

Large rock pile

     We arrived there pretty early, but even then there were so many old people! I guess the early crowd includes the 65+ crowd. When you arrive, you see a giant mountain with snow covered peaks. As you get closer you see the bright turquoise water and it takes your breath away. The entire lake is surrounded by dark forest green trees reaching for the skies. Amongst the trees was a little cabin with a smokey chimney that made it story-book perfect. (By the way, the cabin served Cadbury hot chocolate :) ) Before we started hiking back, one of the old ladies pointed to a 30 something year old man who had climbed this giant rock pile. By giant rock pile I mean a small mountain of about 200 feet. William figured of that dude could do it, so could we. I was totally gunho and we started climbing. It was the type of climbing that used every muscle in my body and involved me crawling and climbing with all fours. I could hardly move the next morning. I reached about half way and the view was amazing, but I looked down and couldn't go up any further. I decided to seek refuge on a giant flat stone and William continued until he reached the top and it was incredible (according to him and the fab pics he took up there). I could see the old people below pointing at us.     

     Going up was way easier than coming down. This part was really intimidating. I did a whole lot of scooting down the rocks. When I finally was able to get all the way down we had to get past numerous logs that were put in the shallow base of the lake to reach the rocks. The logs had been the easiest part of the rock climb so I wasn't concerned. As I took my last step off the rock and onto the log, I stepped on one that wasn't supported. It rolled over and sunk down, causing me to lose my balance. My other foot, still on the rock, lost its balance and I went sliding down. My bottom hit a flat rock, but my back hit a sharp edge. Luckily, I was left unharmed and without any bruises. The downside was that my shoes were completely submerged in 15 degree water and that was no party.

     Later on, we continued to hike and enjoyed the rest of the lake as the sun came out. Eventually William decided he wanted to go back to the front of Lake Moraine and climb up the rock again. I opted to sit out. I found a nice warm rock the size of my bed and lied down with my shoes and socks off to bathe and dry off in the sun. Then we headed off to Lake Louise, another one of Banff's gems!

Back at it

     This past year has been quite the whirlwind! While my second year as a teacher was much more fun, it proved to have its own challenges. Also, this was William's and my second year living apart. We normally saw each other about once a month, or every 3 weeks. However, this last six weeks was pretty brutal and hectic-and the longest we've ever gone (in 8 years!) from seeing each other. I finished up another school year, and William started preparing for the Step 1 exam. This test sounds like torture to prepare for and made me realize how amazing William is to work so hard, tirelessly, and without one complaint. Even I think I did well holding back the complaints only because I knew how stressed William was. Thankfully, the test will be done on Saturday the 16th, and then we're off on our next adventure!

       William and I had a difficult time trying to figure out where we could travel to. Having gone to Peru just six months ago, he wanted to travel domestically. I wanted to go abroad, and after exploring all the options we compromised on Canada, which is practically domestic, but still "abroad." After much research we knew that Banff was the place for us. I cannot wait to see the wonders that Canada has to offer.

     And, this leads me to my first post of this trip...the pissy post portraying the problems of packing (gotta love the alliteration). You would think after this many trips that I would have a method to my packing. NOPE! It involves hours of whining and bugging my mother, yelling at Pickle, messy stacks, organized chaos, piles everywhere, nagging William, multiple checklists, packing, re-packing and then some more re-packing. [Side note: it costs $50 to check in bags now! WHAT?! That is ridiculous-- not OKAY!]

      I have three tips for packing for international trips:

 1. Pack a few days before you leave. This is important for me because my brain is always going 100 miles an hour and I always forget something when I rush. When you start preparing a few days in advance, you will randomly remember some essentials that you forgot and will be grateful that you can still pack it instead of having to buy it in a foreign place!

 2. Pack once, re-pack, and maybe re-pack again! It's amazing how much room you save when you experiment and find new ways of cramming things into your suitcases. I like to pack things that I won't need regularly at the very bottom, like extra, bulky jeans-and lay everything flat! Also, put items like shoes, make up, toiletries on the sides in those weird gaps. I also shove chargers and camera chords in my shoes.

 3. When you are finally done packing, keep your checklist with you! Words cannot express how tired I am of hearing William say, "Oh.. the charger... I think I left it plugged in at the hotel." Yes, you can pat your back after you've finished packing, but remember, you will be packing again-on the way to your next destination, or on your way back and having that checklist for every stop will be helpful. Below is the hot mess I start out with. The "after" picture, which I forgot to take, shows all of this magically and neatlly fitting into a small rolley carry-on.