Photos of Amsterdam

Dutch aircraft

Dam square where we met up with another CouchSurfer Deniz 

Deniz and I hit it off right away.  Mainly because we both love chess!  He's from Turkey and was the 12U Turkish National Champion!  Plus, he actually played Gary Kasparov!  I guess he paid a visit to Turkey to play in a 25 simultaneous game demo.  Kasparov won 23 of 25, and the rest were draws.  Deniz lost, but he had one hell of a story to tell. 

This was from the breakfast window where Deniz and I met.  This woman had her 7 year old child in that cargo area up front.  She had pulled the tarp down and when she arrived he just popped out.  It was amazing to see the different ways the Dutch travel with their children by bike.

German chessboard in the museum

Chess museum has an outdoor board.  The chess museum was on Max Euwe Straat named after the Dutch GrandMaster.

Battle ship

So some artist named Vincent was kind of a big deal in the Nederlands.  This whole room was full of his paintings, Van G...something...I don't remember ;)

Mexico to Amsterdam - 48 hour travel day was awful, but the price was right!

Sunset somewhere over the US

I found a great deal on tickets and was able to get from PV to Amsterdam for under $1100.  In addition, I had to schedule a layover in Toronto so that I could go and pick up my bike.  I had previously boxed up my bike and sent it Purolator to Toronto, that way I wouldn't have to haul it around in Mexico.

This is outside the Amsterdam airport.  I packed all the tools I needed and I built the bike on the sidewalk.  You can see the bike box to the right.  I broke my record and had everything put together and panniers packed in 1h15m, this photo and the accompanying game face is the result of that effort.

This is where I stayed in Amtserdam, my Couchsurfing host has a place next to this clock tower.  The bells rang once on every half hour and then rang on the hour.  Which translates to 12 shattering ringing of the bells at midnight.  Amsterdam never sleeps they say...maybe that's why?

 I flew Air Transat, not the best choice.  There was very little, to no leg room at all.  It was a discount air line but I don't think I would fly with them again.  Although I did get a nice blanket, neck pillow and eye cover for 5Euro. 

This is the view from my window at Talia's place.  It was wild to connect with a Lithuanian.  I played professional volleyball there for a year, and we had much to talk about.  It was fun to try speaking the language again!

It's hard to find a Couchsurging host in Amsterdam.  As you can imagine it's quite a popular tourist destination.  For that reason, hosts in Amsterdam will routinely receive over 10 requests PER DAY!  Many of people I've heard back from won't even consider you unless you completely read their profile and send a custom message explaining why you want to stay with them.  This is always how I request couches, but when you're sending out over 15 requests in Amsterdam and you're getting nothing back, a little "copy and paste" happens now and again.  Talia said the only reason she accepted me was because I spoke Lithuanian.  Labai aciu Talia!!

More views

Houseboat on a canal somewhere in Amsterdam

The Pacific coast of Mexico

Pacific Coast of Mexico

So Dominique and I stayed at this great Air BnB thanks to my sister's negotiating skills.  I don't know how she did it but somehow we got the whole house to ourselves for $75/night.  It was so great to have a relaxing space to come home to!  Dom and I cooked up some fierce Mexican food and enjoyed the pool during the day.

Tacos

View from the hammock

My dad actually graduated from High School in Mexico, believe it or not.  He spent his final grade 12 year in Mexico City.  Later in life he would make many more trips to Mexico with his partner Lourdes.  Now I see why they like it so much!  The people are incredibly friendly and gracious, the food is flavourful and fresh, the beaches are beautiful, and the seafood is delicious!

It was great to be with Dominique for the second stop on the journey.  Once again we chose kayaks to get us out over the water.  We both said a few words, and we did what we promised to do.  It was a very touching moment, and even more meaningful because my sister was there with me!  Knowing that I'd be continuing on without her for the next destinations made it a little bittersweet.  I'm going to miss her a lot on this trip, and I'll be thinking of her often.

Ils nous quittent jamais...

Sailing the seas in Thailand.  From left to right: Gilles de Chantal (my father), Dominique de Chantal (my sister) and Alex de Chantal (me!)  This is likely circa 1994, I was 11 years old and we were near Krabi on the west coast.  We were being homeschooled by Papa while living on Koh Samui.

That picture above is the first trip I took.  I was 11 years old and we moved to Thailand.  I've taken many trips since, but this next one will be my first independent voyage and by far the longest.  I'm writing this blog for my Papa, to celebrate the undertaking of this journey!  We talked about this trip many times.  I remember the way his eyes looked when we talked about travelling.  They just lit up, they were full of excitement and desire...I could see him come alive again.  We would often sit down by the lake around the fire and discuss the trip.  Papa travelled the world, a few times, and I definitely got the travel bug from him.  Merci mon Papa.  Not only did he visit many countries, he spent most of his childhood moving from one place to the next.  Actually my grandparents picked up and moved from Quebec, Canada to Accra, Ghana at a moment's notice.  Out of nowhere...pack your bags, we're moving to Ghana!!

In conversation with my Grandmaman, we talked about how United Nations contracts came up and all of a sudden they'd be living in some far off land.  Just like that, on y va!

So that's what I did, I took 6 months off and I packed my touring bike and I booked a plane ticket.  It's an around the world trip, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be going with my dad.  One last trip together...

I saw this sticker on the bathroom wallet my Couchsurfing host's place.  I haven't stopped thinking about the message since I read it...

Bumpy Buses to Bucerias

Beachside restaurant in the small town of Bucerias

This is my sister Dominique, we're escaping the heat in Bucerias in this photo.  I kid you not when I state that with the humidity today it hit 49 degrees!  Wow, I can't even believe how impressive that sounds, and I'm living it right now.  It is like a huge weight on your shoulders at all times of the day.  It's always there, and I'm always sweating.  I think the best part of this heat is that I'm slimming up before my bike touring trip in Europe!  I swear I've lost 5 lbs already, I'm going to be one lean, mean, cycling machine when I arrive in Amsterdam!  I'm starting to understand why all the Snowbirds fly south in the winter, because they would all melt if they came in the summer!

I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it is to spend time traveling with my sister again.  I haven't traveled with her since we were home schooled by my dad in Thailand, that was over 20 years ago.  She has grown into an incredible woman, and one hell of a traveler.  She is a very experienced in the art of translation and direction, and it has been obvious these last few days that she is very comfortable on the road.  Her sense of direction is amazing, she has navigated the streets of Puerto Vallarta as if she's been here her whole life.  It's been great to connect with her again after some time apart.  I'm really happy we've made time to do this trip together.  Love you sis!

I need to talk about the bus system here for a moment.  It is one of the most efficient and streamlined transportation systems I've ever seen.  I did some research to learn about how it's setup and here's the quick run down.  Each bus is owned by the driver and they must purchase "passes" from the transportation authority.  They buy the passes and then charge each rider 7.5 pesos.  I'm not sure what they make on each ride, but it must be decent money or they wouldn't be so many buses on the road.  If you get to the bus stop first; then you get all the riders waiting.  So this makes for some rather exciting rides, but it also means that the system is extremely efficient.  All this adds up to a bus arriving every 3 minutes at a bus stop.  That is no exaggeration as I have not waited more then 2 minutes yet.  Very fluid, and very organized, muy bueno!

Our first day we ventured down to the beach in PV and watched the tourists come and go.  It was very busy, and the beach is lined with all inclusive resorts.  Not my cup of tea, but interesting to see what all the fuss is about.  We stopped in at one of the resorts to have a cold drink and the bartender didn't even know what to charge us for a beer and a lemonade.  He looked at us shocked when we asked for the bill, then he realized we didn't have a bracelet on, meaning we are not part of the all inclusive.  People just come and go drinking as much as they like, something to see but not for me.

Here's a photo of me waving my sweat soaked tshirt in the air.  I am melting in this photo, you just can't tell because of the poor iPhone camera quality.  

On the road again...

I'm really excited to be heading out on another trip!  The photo above is to show the route I'll be taking.  It took a lot of time to decide the best route for this trip around the world, I found that having a map in front of me really helped.

Red pin denotes the start and finish of my trip.  It's hard to see but there is a light white string linking each pin to the next.  I just wanted to get this blog updated again by logging in and updating a few things.  Upward and onward!

I've found myself thinking about how fortunate we are to be Canadian.  As I walked through the grocery store on my last day and looked at the abundance of food, I can't help but think that a large majority of the world doesn't have access to the food that can be found in a Superstore in Canada.  It's just incredible to think of how lavish and spoiled we are...

Getting ready for work the other day, I remarked to myself how lucky I am to have a long hot shower...knowing that I'll be in some hot countries, it may be my last for a while.  This triggered thoughts on how lucky we are to live in BC.  A province that has virtually unlimited amounts of water.  Not only do we have clean water, we also produce reliable electricity with it.  Which led to me thinking about how we water our lawns.  People walk for hours to get to a well in places in Africa, there are countries that I will soon be visiting where this is their reality.  We use a lot of our water to keep our lawns green, seems so wasteful and a little ridiculous...I don't know where I'm going with this but just the thought of travelling has me starting to analyze how I live.  That's why I love to travel because it challenges our understanding of our living situation and changes our perspective on important issues.  Travelling is an education on the human condition, I believe it brings us closer as a species, and that my friends is priceless.

Peace be with you,
WW

Earth Democracy

I just had to share some of the opening from this book with you.

An 1848 speech by Chief Seattle of the Suquamish tribe:

"How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.

If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pie needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.

This we know; the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites us all. All things are connected."

Sketching out

First yurt on the left is my current home, 20 ft Yurt. It has big french doors and lodgepole pine rafters. It's really an amazing gathering spot. It's where I sleep as well so I'd like to move my things into my master bedroom yurt so I can free up more space in the big yurt. The proposed second Yurt Will be a 12ft Yurt with a 15 ft platform. This Will leave a nice three foot porch all the way around. This second yurt will also be raised quite a bit higher, to allow for a ground level lounge area. This screened in feature will allow for a bug free and dry environment. A ladder leads you up to the yurt master bedroom, from the hammock area downstairs. The round door to the outside is shown here. The goal would be to collect the rainwater for the plants and vegetables. I think having the yurt up high will give it the treehouse effect I'm after. I can't wait for my first night sleeping in the trees!
More to come!!
Peace and love
WW

Yurts

Yurts are such amazing buildings, living in the round, is as cool as it sounds. Last night the rain on my yurt played like a djembe with the wind. Looking out through the dome, and watching the shooting stars from inside the yurt is such a unique experience. Opening up both windows and letting the hot air blow through, creating a wind tunnel of fresh air right through the middle, is such a great feeling. Being in tune with your circular structure feels so natural.

I love my yurt because it only took a day to put up. I love my yurt because playing music inside sounds so good! I love my yurt because I have a 6ft dome to look through. I love my yurt because I have a vaulted ceiling. I love my yurt because it brings people together.

I really see this as just the beginning. I know I want to see a bedroom yurt up in the trees. I know they'll all connect in the end. Eventually all paths will lead to a grand wooden mother yurt with a loft, maybe 32 ft diameter. One day, I'll have a yurt village, with communal spaces, yurt bedroom pods, cookhouse yurts, yoga in the yurt, outhouse yurt, all sorts of yurts. Going to start saving my pennies, right meow.

Love and light

WW

Live simply so that others may simply live.

Ski in, Ski out.

I love my Yurt, especially in the Winter. I love the cross country skiing, and the fires, and the stillness.

I love the seasons, it's what I really appreciate about Canada, the changes we see over the year. The snow makes you miss the hot sun, and the dry Autumn leaves make you miss the rainy Spring weather.

My time on Kauai was so incredible. The healthiest I have ever been in my life. I missed writing in this blog, so I'm going to give it more time again...I'm back and it feels groovy.

I live in Canada now, and my passion is my property on the lake. I've got a Yurt right on the beach and it has been such an amazing journey. I am so grateful for everything in my life.

This is such a release, such a delightful way to let out your thoughts, to share your energy...

I took a lot from my time on Kauai. Organic farming, sustainable living, a simple life, healthy diet. I brought a lot of those ideas, that mentality, that lifestlye, back with me from Kauai.

The solar power, the tanklesss heat on demand hot water heater, the organic garden, the outdoor shower. I am so excited to go tomorrow! I want to bring more life into this blog, I'm going write about lots of things, I look forward to this so much.

I love that quote, it just confirmed so many things for me. We live in such lavish and luxurious times in North America, and half the world's population is either starving or living in poverty. It's important to think about those less fortunate than yourself. Be mindful of how easy your life is, and how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful country. I am thankful for being Canadian, how lucky was I to be born here?! What if I were born in a third world country? We must remember we are all one; regardless of our race, ethnicity, culture, religion, or nationality.

Peace be with you,

Alex