The three things listed below were never motivation for taking this trip.
1. Finding myself
2. Meeting “the one”
3. Figuring out what I want to do when I grow up
I’ve wanted to travel for many years now. Experience different worlds and things I would never see inside the Canadian bubble. The timing was finally right and I had run out of excuses for not taking a break. I am now a week into my travels and although I don’t expect to solve issues 1,2 and 3 it is becoming obvious that some of my experiences may help at least push me in certain directions. This afternoon it was one of those experiences that has now helped me to eliminate anything nautical as a career. This morning I took a Viking Line ship across the Baltic Sea (Helsinki to Talinn) as the remnants of Hurricane Katia stirred up the water and generated waves larger than any I ever saw during my many crossings from Vancouver to Victoria. The waves tossed around the massive metal ship as if it was an inflatable dingy. The rollercoaster stomach in your throat feeling only caught me off guard on the first drop, similar that to that of a plane in turbulence. I survived the 2.5 hour voyage in much better shape than many of the green faced passengers. I’m assuming that survival means I could handle a longer voyage in tough sailing conditions, but it also made me realize, I don’t want to! Sorry water based professions but you are out.
I am now sitting in a hostel in Tartu, Estonia. Go ahead and take a moment to google it and locate it on the globe. I definitely couldn’t have done it several months ago. Why did I choose Estonia, and why did I choose to visit Tartu instead of the capital city of Talinn? That answer began in the fall of 1987 when my family moved to Williams Lake and I began grade 1 at Marie Sharpe elementary school. It was in that class that I met my arch rival (later turned friend). Colin Wenger and I attended school together from the start of grade 1 all the way through elementary school, junior and senior high, and even on to UBC. After university our paths went in dramatically different directions. While I got caught up in the corporate world he took off traveling the rest of the world. He eventually settled in Tartu and now owns and operates a hostel. It is at Colin’s hostel that I sit and write this update. I am just over 7,400 KMs away from Williams Lake, but only a minute away from sharing a pint with a Laker. Williams Lake is everywhere!
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