Trains, Boats and Planes

While most of my journeys to date were taken by boat or by thumbing, I commenced a new chapter of my trip by purchasing a 30 day Amtrak Rail Pass. All of the backpackers I have met to date have been riding the Greyhound buses. God only know why. I'm not a fan of bus travel at the best of times but Greyhound just takes the piss. The prospect of sitting next to a fresh-out-of-prison ex con for a 12 hour overnighter would do nothing for me.

Although I must admit that I have a bit of a thing for rail travel. In fact it was one of the main reasons for my coming to the States. Rather than traveling down mundane highways with only 'gas stations' and McDonalds for scenery, the train slices right through the heart of the fantastic natural beauty that America possesses.

The Yanks are getting into a real state about oil prices. I mean they are getting really fucked off with it. You don't mess with an American and their vehicle. Here the car is sacrosanct, its practically in the constitution. Never before has their right to drive been threatened so much. So in a perverse way, the environment is inadvertantly coming onto the political agenda again, purely because its hitting the pockets of everyone, and doing so in style. I have to remind them that they've been getting the shit for nothing all along anyway. They have started to realise that car usage has peaked. In some ways this may be the only thing that will save Amtrak here (highly subsidised and threatened with extinction for years).

Much to my amazement, I found Amtrak trains to be far more luxurious than their European counter-parts. The seats are designed to absorb the gigantic asses of Fat America and are more spacious than the ones you get in first class on a plane. If train seats were this size in China, they'd probably throw their entire family and their three goats into one seat.

The scenery leaving Seattle was fabulous as the train cut through the Cascade Mountain range before the sun went down and I tucked into my 6 pack .........

Seattle

After two nights of freezing my nads off in my tent, the queen-sized bed at the Green Tortoise was a welcome change. Seattle is famous to many as being the home of Starbucks, Amazon, Boeing and Microsoft, among others but for me 'it is all about the music'. From '92 to late '94 - when Noel Gallagher entered my life, my music collection was purely Grunge and almost entirely Seattle influenced. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney and Soundgarden washed down with a strong dose of Jimi. It was cool to stroll through Belltown, the area where the scene began.


Todays scene is based on Capitol Hill where the liberal west coast-itis is found. Cool cafe's, bars and thrift stores where all the cool kids hang out. much better than Vancouver's Commercial Drive but still no Haight-Ashbury.

Seattle also saw my baptism into the wonderful world of couch surfing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couch_surfing
Such a wonderful idea yet such a simple one webbing together the global network of backpackers and rescuing us from the evil clutches of Hosteling International's (HI) butchering of independent travel.

Myself and three french lasses were hosted by John (Delp) a real cool lad who divides his time between the kitchen of the restaurant that he runs and playing the diverse range of zany musical instruments he has procured over the years. So easy going a guy that he was, that he stayed with his girlfriend and left his home to the four of us for the night. Ridiculous really.

Into the Wild

I was lacking serious conviction in my aspirations to visit Olympic National Park mainly due to the lack of acclaim that others had bestowed upon it. Buoyed by another reasonable weather report I decided to go for it. What a rewarding decision it proved to be. Brian dropped me at Lake Cresent where I failed to locate the 'informal campground' that I had been told about. In the process of searching for it, I happened upon one of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in a long time. A remarkable vista of the tranquil lake with the late evening streams of sunlight bouncing off the ripple-less water.

I cooked my dinner and sat there soaking up this riveting moment. While the independence of traveling alone provided me with the great experiences I had at the hostel in Vancouver and hitching for the past week, it is not a process devoid of the negative. To be honest I would have preferred to have one or two of my pals with me but what about it.

Lying alone in my tent, freezing my ass off, in the middle of the deep forest, unable to sleep for the fear of bears (who are very common and pretty dangerous) with only my measly new swiss army knife as protection I was cursing my choice to travel alone! The following night I remedied my insomnia with a 6 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

So on monday night I sailed into the Bright City Lights of Seattle.............

Off the Grid (ii)

It was really strange to be able to sail down to the States from Victoria. Kinda reminiscent of all the irish people arriving into Ellis Island all those years ago. Getting into the country was far less arduous than I'd anticipated. Not a rubber glove in sight and a very pleasant immigration officer. All the more surprising given that me and Homeland Security got history !

Having missed the last bus out of Port Angeles, I was once again forced to use the thumb. While everyone had assured me that hitching on Vancouver Island was a doddle, everything i heard about doing it in the States was quite the opposite. Maybe American paranoia, maybe not. Nonetheless, I had no choice in the matter. Once again with despair setting in, and I situated on Highway 101 with cars flaking past, Lady Luck/Karma Police shone down on me as Brian with the dogs rescued me. Not only did he provide great campany, he drove me far past where he was meant to go. I had arrived in Olympic National Park (more on that later).

My next encounter with hitching came on the monday morning. Trying to leave Sol Duc Hot Springs, Chris and Meg took pity on me. Once again a wonderful experience was had. Hoping merely to get to the main road, I ended up spending the entire day with them and they dropped me at the doorstep for the ferry I was to catch to Seattle. They introduced me to their great habit of crashing wine tasting venues. Class.

We then found a nice brewhouse where we filled our empty stomachs. If dropping me direct to the ferry, finding me a place to crash in Chicago and trying to entice me to their place in Olympia wasn't enough, they insisted on paying for my meal. Ridiculous generosity and very humbling.

That summed up my hitching experience. Initial, trepidation replaced by extremely warm experiences and heart lifting generosity. Also a great sense of solidarity and responsibility from other erstwhile hitch hikers. I am not naive enough to expect all hitching experiences to be rosy so I am soon embarking on a new transport option - the train.

Off the Grid (i)

I took a ferry to Vancouver Island which unveiled some surprisingly amazing scenery reminiscent of what i'd imagine you'd find in New Zealand or Norway.

With the irregularity and expense of the bus service I'd said i'd chance hitching out to Tofino. And so started a wonderful week of great scenery and extremely generous people. Tofino is the surf capital of Canada but is extremely isolated, at the edge of a rain forest and only has one road accessing it.

I got picked up before i'd even started thumbing and overall it was a relatively straightforward experience. A few rides later (one from a wheel chair-bound old lady; talk about perceptions...) and i got collected by George in Port Alberni. He was going all the way to Tofino - sweet ! We stopped off at all the hot-spots along the way - amazing scenery all over Vancouver Island. If that wasn't enough, he insisted that crash in his place and he gave me his campervan for the night. what a sound guy. The next morning we finished the sightseeing tour and I headed on my way. Overall, Tofino was a lovely, really rugged, chilled spot. It reminded me of Itacare or parts of Hawaii eh except in the rain...

Speaking of rain, it had really started to bucket down when i started on my way again. This was far less of a joyous experience ! Walked for a fckin hour as the tourists/rich fucks sprayed water on me as they sped past. Eventually I got picked up by a former hitcher (this is usually the way; hitchers are big believers in Karma !) and dropped me off 40km down the road with a can of Smirnoff Ice in my hand (???). Another half hour of getting drenched and despair mounting before Tony and Linda from England came to the rescue. They were sound out and good company and dropped only an hour from my end destination - Victoria.

I've always found hitching to be a great leveller. The moment you think you've mastered it and get cocky, it drops you right in the shit and when you think you're fcked and are about to give in, it picks you up with a dollop of good fortune.

It was getting dark in this shit hole called Duncan and I was about to call it a night having come so close when a car veered across two lanes and jammed on the breaks in front of me. Luke was another former hitcher and a lovely fella. Brought me back to his gaff so i could check my email and tried to make me eat dinner. As much as it pained me, i had to say no, felt guilty enough about his generosity already. They dropped me at my hostel and i went out to meet the two Geordies - Ricky and Dave for one.

And so the next morning I left for the States with Canada a country high in my estimation. Nice people, fantastic scenery and overall a nation with an unassuming opinion of itself.

Leaving Vancouver

I finally got my ass in gear and managed to drag myself away from Vancouver last week. It was tough in a number of ways. Good people had been met and friendships formed. It was made harder by the epic send off we got.

I rolled back to the hostel bout six, after sorting out the little bits and bobs that needed taking care of, to find Karl tucked into a bottle of whisky with Alex, Michael and Eric ably following suite. I got on the vodka, we took the ipod out and the party was started. All and sundry joined in to create a rip-roaring party so good that we never made it to the Cut Copy/Black Kids gig.



With a 10am departure pencilled in, I had decided to hit Tofino on Vancouver Island, based on a reasonable weather forecast. To my disgust I arose at half fcking two ! Plans binned. I rumbled downstairs to be greeted by Alex who was meant to have caught his bus at 7 that morning to head off tree planting. Oh how we laughed. Knowing that we both fcked up made us both feel all the better bout the situation!!

As he would say himself, "we partied way to hard". Added into the mix was the fact that Eric got evicted! for apparently decking some guy who was trying to check in late at night. He can't remember but apparently he thought the guy was a thief.

I was determined to head regardless of the tardiness of my departure. Mainly cos I didn't want to have to say my good-bye's all over again but also because I needed to make progress and recommence my adjourned travel plans. Ah the end of chapter one......

Vancouver

I left home on April 2nd with a cocktail of emotions running through my head. all the goodbye's etc, wasn't quite ready to go but plans are plans. although as soon as i got the bag on my back i had that feeling in my gut and was ready for road again.

Flew to Vancouver from Belfast on the 3rd via a night on Walley's couch in Dublin. Planned to stay here for four days but three weeks later i haven't fckin budged !

Rocked up to the American Backpackers Hostel in downtown Vancouver. $10 a night, i was expecting the worst. i mean its got to be the cheapest hostel in North America - a match made in heaven I hear you say !

Turns out they haven't increased their price in 23 years. they'd be protesting in the streets if someone tried that in Ireland.

Its a hostel essentially only in name, its really a commune. people rarely spend one or two nights here. its full of twenty-somethings from across the globe over to work in Vancouver for a year. so everyone is in the same boat which is great. loads of Mexicans (i've yet to meet a Mexican i didn't like) and Japs, Kiwi's and a few lads from Belfast.

Really its the hostel that has kept me here. so many sound people under one roof. Free keg parties every fortnight. outstanding joint. Certainly ridded me of any apprehensions I had about traveling alone.

so after a few days i really didn't want to leave. and contrary to other trips i've taken, this time i was super prepared, with a strict well researched plan. so much so that i was worrying about myself. so i said fck it, put my flights back three weeks and availed of the ridiculous job market here.

the fact that im sans visa matters not a jot to many here. in fact, they say that in vancouver if you dont work its cos you dont want to work. you can just pick your job, its incredible. ive never known anything like it. its all down to the Olympics here in 2010. ive worked in five different jobs in two weeks so far.

often they only need you for a day or two. at the moment i've been doing roofing and as strange as it seems, im loving it. i mean, coming after two and a half years of working in an office and the shite that goes with it, its a real breath of fresh air to do this. i work outside in the fine weather with normal straight-up guys and at the end of my day, i leave with a wad of notes in my back pocket having actually accomplished something !

although my first job wasn't so rewarding. delighted at having gotten a job in a cool cafe (a real Daly job) it all went sour when i met the boss on my first shift. what a fckin goon. one of these fckers who just has a problem with everything. i was warned by everyone though. huge turnover off staff, gee where have i seen that before.... anyway he tells you to do something, you do it right to the letter, and then he still complains. so anyway on the second day, after a day of him busting my balls, he tells me he doesn't like my hair and that i have to cut it. what the fck like. i didn't sit through 6 years of college to have a baldy fcker telling me to cut my hair !

i told him there wasn't a hope in hell of that happening. so that was the end of that......

As a city Vancouver is very impressive it must be said. I have long thought about moving here so it was well handy to be able to give the place a proper inspection. Quite a chilled liberal city with a huge Asian population and a thriving cafe culture but burdened with the high homeless population and acute drug problems that go with it. Quite like San Fran in many ways. Serious urban renewal has gone on over the past 20 years so visually its pretty impressive. But what makes Vancouver is its surroundings. Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the vast Coast Mountain range some of the views are breathtaking. After Rio its probably the most encapsulating city I've visited in terms of its setting.

You can be on the slopes within 20 minutes of leaving the city and within a 5 minute walk from Downtown you can be walking in the absolute wilderness of Stanley Park - a 1000 acre urban park. its fantastic really.

the drawbacks ? fckin Irish weather and a very average nightlife.......

although saying that, 3 of us managed to blag tickets on the door for the long sold-out arrival of Hot Chip. absolutely magic gig.

overall, a well cool city where you'd have a seriously good quality of life. but its not for me i think, at least i got to see it first hand and decide for myself. had a class time here but the open road beckons. i'll be outta here next wednesday. off to the tranquility of Vancouver Island with 2 Geordies.

until the next post, take it easy.