Superthon 2015

You've heard of a marathon, right? In case you can't remember the exact distance of a marathon, it is 26 miles (41.8 km for those metric kids in the crowd). Well, yesterday we participated in our hiking guide Emile's first every SUPERTHON, a 31 mile (49.9 km) trek from Matelot to Lopino. Emile hand picked only the strongest, the toughest hikers he could find. And because there weren't too many of those around, he allowed us to join the fun!

The day went like this:
- Up at 1 am
- Arrived to the bus pick up at 1:45 am
- Attempted to sleep on the 3+ hour drive to start point (very ineffective)
- Started hiking at 6 am, with a gentle rain and uphill terrain, and slippery trail conditions
- First stop, Madamas beach, 9 am and 3 hours into the hike
- Second major stop for "lunch", 12 noon, Paria Bay
- Third major stop, 2:30 pm at Brasso Seco, for great eats (rice, potatoes, dhalaloo, chicken, salad and juice)
- Fourth major stop, and the FINISH, at 7 pm at Lopino
- Fish broth soup, a medal and the sweet sense of having accomplished something REALLY physical and mentally tough

Gayle looks on as Emile gives instructions at 5:55 am to the sleepy hikers!

On the way, it was cool to realize that there was no way, other than by trekking or boat, to get to these remote places.  We could see fresh turtle tracks and some fresh egg shells that had either hatched or been dug up by predators.

Why did we CHOOSE to do this? As you can well imagine, I questioned this during the 13 hour trek. It wasn't about the views, or the yummy snacks along the way, it was about the challenge and pushing my limits to see if I could do it. Life really begins when you are on the edge of your comfort zone, right?

PS - There wasn't really an option not to finish. Most of the trek was only accessible on foot or by boat. It was only after Brasso Seco and the 25 mile mark that you could have opted for the bus to take you to the finish. But then there wouldn't have been a medal! Note: All 16 participants that started the hike finished, one solely due to Paul's heroics. But that is another story.

The end of the hike with our Medals!

Unfortunately, due to a technology fail, the camera was not charged so there is no gallery to share.
You can see the details with our Interactive Map.

A look at one of the many north coast beaches we explored on our hike.

St. Vincent Part 3 - Authentic St. Vincent

As teachers, we are always trying to provide authentic and relevant learning opportunities to our students. Well, given those two criteria, our ride back into Kingstown from Chateaubelair was truly a great learning experience!

On our last day in St. Vincent at 8:45 am we reached Chateaubelair on foot, optimistic that we'd catch a minibus within 30 minutes, and fit in our 3 planned stops (the Vermont hiking trail, the St. Vincent Botanical Gardens, and the Fort Charlotte tour) before flying back to Trinidad at 6:45 pm. Right, we were overly optimistic and failed to realize that things aren't as orderly or reliable in St. Vincent as they are in Canada.

By 9:45 one full mini bus had arrived and departed. By 10:15 two pot smoking guys assured us another would be along shortly. By 10:45 we had befriended a young woman who said "Big Mac" was on his way in his minibus and she had asked him to save her 3 seats. By 11:30 three more full minibuses had come and gone and one pot smoker was still there assuring us once again that he would flag a taxi or minibus for us when they came along. At 11:45 Big Mac barreled into town, and somehow we crawled into the back seat of the van where we settled in between two others for our ride back to Kingstown.

Combine loud music, hot and sweaty conditions, a stop to put more oil in the engine, smoking brakes, 23 passengers plus a baby, narrow windy roads and fear the back door would unlatch and throw us on the road to our deaths, it was perhaps the most memorable ride yet. And it only cost $3 Canadian!!!

We did manage to tour the botanical gardens, and the downtown market area before catching our flight back to Trinidad. One out of three isn't bad!

A New House

Early in the new year we started into the availability of houses in Belleville and Prince Edward County. We have always resisted the idea of living in the city, however, our time in Trinidad has found us living the suburbs in an apartment!  We like the idea of living rural, but we've realized that there is much more to taking care of a home in the country.

The MLS website is very helpful and we watched some desirable properties came and went.  In the middle of March, we found what looked like a good house and contacted our agent. She, took a look for us, and gave us a very wise "slow down". 

I booked a trip for the Easter weekend to come to visit Abby and to have a look at some houses. After dinner with Abby and her new boyfriend I arrived at the Furmidge residence on Friday evening. Before I left, we'd researched online and had interest in 7 homes in and around Belleville. Rob and I toured with the agent for a good part of Saturday.

We saw old, new, big, small, finished, fix-'er-uppers (we scared off some potential buyers at one house when we measured a ceiling beam to see if it was warped!) and one that we really liked near Moira.

After a thorough home inspection on Monday, we started the purchasing process, and by noon on Tuesday, we had a deal.  We are moving into 29 Munro Avenue on July 10th. It's a nice 2 bedroom bungalow with a finished basement. 

Click here to have a look.

Special thanks to Rob and our agents, Colleen and Marc who helped make this happen. And to the Furmidge and Palmer/McCarrell families who hosted me!

St.Vincent Part 2 - On the Edge

We knew very little about St. Vincent before our Easter getaway, but learned much during our 5 days there.

In researching things to do in St. Vincent, hiking to La Soufriere Volcano was put on the top of the list. And it didn't disappoint. On Monday morning, right after our 7am breakfast, off we trekked with our guide Franklin, in hopes of clear skies and a decent down into the crater of the volcano.

The beginning of the hike was easy, as we strolled along the beach and then up an old river/lava flow valley. The next leg of the journey took us up the mountain, along various NARROW ridges and through NUMEROUS ganga farms. I'm finding it funny that spell checker is highlighting ganga, when it is SO common in St. Vincent. It was crazy to see so many pot farms tucked deep in to the sides of mountains, but then I guess who is going to go up there and bust them?

After 2.5 hours of hiking uphill (you can't imagine the size of my legs now :) - and for those who have seen us both in shorts you should figure out this is Gayle typing, we finally reached the summit and one of the coolest views we've both ever seen. We were looking into the mouth of a volcano. And it gets better - the volcano erupted in 1979!!!  So what do you do when you are at the top of the crater of a volcano? You climb in, of course.

So down we went, using ropes to sturdy our steep decent. The coolest (or warmest if you want to be literal) part of the crater was a fuming, stinking and sulfur spewing mound of greyish yellow coloured rock. Did I mention it reeked like sulfury rotten eggs??? Needless to say we didn't hang around there too long.

The walk back to the academy was quick, and Franklin's 316th trip to the volcano was in the record book with two Canadians.