Canadian Nomad

Learn the dances of the world See all the world wonders Climb Kilimanjaro Attend Carnival in Rio Visit Iguaçu Falls Go to the Amazon Go to the Perito Moreno Glacier Dive in Cenotes Go skydiving Go paragliding See the Great Barrier Reef Go to Timbuktu just to say I did Volunteer in Africa Go on an African Safari See a whale shark See a panda Experience Zero Gravity Heli-boarding Set foot on all 7 continents Climb Mount Aconcagua in Argentina Become Famous Partake in Japanese Tea Ceremony Attend Burning Man, Nevada Visit India Attend the Love Parade, Germany Learn to dive Visit Matchu Pitchu Go to the Galapagos Run with the bulls Ride a bull Learn to ride a motorcycle Climb an active volcano Learn to sail Visit the Nile See the Pyramids in Egypt See the iron throwing “fireworks”, China

Walk along the Great Wall of China Be in China for Chinese new year Go to Oktoberfest Join a caravan in the Sahara Ride a camel in Egypt Visit the Salt Fields in Bolivia Get married by Elvis then have it annulled (or not) See the northern lights Get a tattoo Learn to sand board Motorcycle across Canada Get something named after myself Donate blood Go dog sledding Ride a dune buggy Learn to drift ¼ mile race Live with an African Tribe Listen to the Dali lama speak Go to the Thailand Vegetarian Festival Fly in a hot air balloon Use a fire extinguisher Fire a gun Stage Dive/ Body Surf Black Water Rafting, New Zealand Go spelunking Take a submarine to the Titanic Drive a hovercraft Take a homeless person to dinner Go to Antartica Go to the Opera Partake in a gameshow Attend Mardi Gras Visit Easter Island Ride a donkey in Greece Visit the Taj Mahal Fall in love See the Terracotta Warriors Learn to wakeboard Go to a nude beach Visit the Sex Museum in Amsterdam Live Life to the fullest

Tags: Africa, Amazon, Black Water Rafting, Burning Man, Canada, Carnival, Cenotes, Dance, Elvis, Galapagos, Great Wall of China, Iguaçu Falls, Japanese Tea Ceremony, Kilimanjaro, Love Parade, Mardi Gras, Matchu Pitchu, Nile, Northern Lights, Oktoberfest, Perito Moreno Glacier, Pyramids, Sahara, Salt Fields, Skydiving, spelunking, Tattoo, Timbuktu, Titanic, Volcano, Volunteer, Whale Shark, Wonders of the World
Posted in Personal Development | 1 Comment »

I just finished reading “Life Nomadic” by Tynan and it was a great read. I find it really sad how many people are out there and they are so scared. The world is not a scary place. I’m sure there are some parts a little more frightening than others, but all in all the world is not a scary or dangerous place. Yes, I admit I was scared to first get on the plane alone and venture down here but, there is so much to see and to do. People who never leave their country or the “safety” of a resort are sheltered. They want to travel to a different country but they think resorts are the way to do it, because anywhere else would be too risky. I love Canada, it’s an amazing place to live. But if I have the opportunity to see the rest of the world, I’m going to take it. I’m going to live in an apartment where I have to wash my own clothes, cook outside, and the water runs cold unless you wait for the heat of the day so the sun warms it. It may sound terrible to some, but it’s a great life. I have a hammock down the center of my dining room, where I can write, work, hangout or just sleep.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
-St. Augustine

I grew up with parents who love to travel. My mom would never book a vacation at a resort. She would dig and dig and dig until she found a place that looked perfect. Sometimes, yes it would be a hotel. But never a big hotel that you can find anywhere, she would find something quaint and simple. In Thailand she found this amazing place where we stayed in floating raft houses. It was a string of little huts floating in the middle of a gigantic beautiful blue lake. There was a central area for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but other than that… nothing. She likes to find places out of the “norm”. Maybe that’s why I enjoy travelling like this. Or maybe it’s because I can go for a walk on the beach and see a little boy with a can of coke with fishing string wrapped around it and using it as a fishing pole or sit for hours with a Mexican “surfer dude” and talk for hours. You may love where you’re at at home, but you could be missing out on so much more away from home. If you had the chance to do it, to just go. Would you? If yes, then anything you say is just an excuse because you’re afraid.

Tags: Fear, Fishing, Floating Raft House, Getting Away, Hotel, Life Nomadic, Safety, Thailand, Travel
Posted in Personal Development, Travel | 1 Comment »

Feb 14th, St. Valentines day was the start of the most recent part of my journey. That evening I went to a local bar to hang out and see what kind of local festivities were going on. It turned out that it was just a slightly busier night then usual. That is all. But then a weird set of coincidences started to happen.

I met a person from Canada. Not terribly unusual, I admit, and we got to talking. The usuals “oh what part?” and “oh really, I used to live there.” Then I mentioned that I used to live on the other side of the country. Well it turns out that this guy not only lived on the same street as me in New Westminster, BC but also on the same street I grew up on in Ottawa. How strange. Further he turned out to be an excellent web programmer who owned property here in Zihuatanejo. My rental was just about up at my current apartment and With times being tough down here, his geodesic domes were being left un-rented.

Back to the night at hand. I met a group of really fun and curious group of Mexicans at the bar and was practically pushed into talking with a shy but cute girl from Morelia, Mich. We hit it off and started going out. Food, parties, shows, and just hanging out it has been an interesting couple of weeks.

I moved out of my place in La Noria and moved into my Canadian friends place near La Ropa Beach. We decided to try to push each other to program online to make money. It worked and we are both doing fairly well right now freelancing and competing with Indians and script kiddies for online work. The plan has always been to take it slow, earn dollars and spend in pesos. Simple enough, it took longer then expected to get here, and it still has some ruff spots, but in general I hope this works. Time has passed and times have changed. I have settled into a pattern here working most weekdays, hanging out with friends in the evenings and weekends and generally enjoying myself.

But with a group of Mexican friends I can say I am learning more intricate things about the culture and people here. But then how to describe such things without coming off as a person who is judging, misinformed, or generally naïve? There is certainly nothing like black and white in any culture and this is no exception. Most of the people I have met have been honest, good people with good intentions and interesting things to say. Others seem to be just out for a buck or barking up the wrong tree, but this is just par for course in what merely feels like a magnified reality.

Tags: Beaches, Friends, Mexico, Travel, Working, Zihuatanejo
Posted in Personal Development, Travel | 2 Comments »