“You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.”
― Tom Hiddleston
I landed in Vancouver’s International Airport on a rainy afternoon. The flight had been long, and my backpack had been damaged by the handlers. I had not eaten all day.
I wearily walked to the currency exchange counter and changed a $20 US dollar bill and 70 MEX I had in my wallet. I bought a small Tim Horton’s coffee and a muffin. It was around 8 degrees Celsius outside, warm enough for some Canadians to be walking around in sandals and shorts. I went outside and felt the cold air on my face.
At Vancouver airport
A few hours later my friend Philip came by to pick me up and a new intern coming in from the UK. We then headed south towards the US border where A Rocha’s property lies.
A Rocha is a Non-profit conservation organization founded originally in Portugal but now with many international centers now. It works in environmental conservation and education as well as sustainable agriculture.
I loved the place and the people here. The next day I helped around in their daily activities, we did some water quality testing in the river, then in the afternoon we did some amphibian egg mass survey in some ponds. I was delighted to be introduced to some of these conservation projects they have. As someone who loves nature, conservation is a subject that is close to my heart.
The next night was spent in Vancouver and the next morning after walking a bit around the downtown and Stanley Park I started my cross country adventure. I took the sky train eastward to Surrey. From here I started walking hoping to find a bus to take me towards the Trans-Canada Highway. As I was walking I randomly stretched my hand and thumb out, and lo and behold! A mini cooper stopped. A friendly guy about my age picked me up and drove me to the highway, a super start to my trip!
I rummaged through a recycling bin for some cardboard and improvised my sign and stood there on the on-ramp. I stood there for over 3 hours. In the end a local guy in a pickup gave me a ride, he was going over to Abbotsford to visit his mother on her birthday. He used to hitch hike back in the days, he dropped me off and gave $40 to help me on my trip. I decided to buy some chocolate and water and then stood again on the on ramp. I stood there less than 30 minutes before a young “redneck” type family picked me up.They drove me up to Chilliwack. Here I stood maybe some 40 minutes before an older guy in a van picked me up. He seemed like a grumpy guy but was actually quite friendly and I learned a lot about the province in our ride to Hope, BC.
Hoping to get a lift out of Hope,BC
Here we start entering mountainous country, and I noticed many First Nations people were living around here. It had rained during the way here, but when I hopped off the van the rain had stopped. The air was fresh and I was excited to enter the mountains. I was hoping it would not rain as the weather was very overcast. I waited here for more than 2 hours and was thinking I might have to spend the night in a little shack that was beside the road. Finally a pickup stopped and another friendly man gave me a ride about 50km up the road till Boston Bar. He had worked extensively down in Mexico, a Canadian making Tequila in Mexico. When I arrived to Boston Bar the sun was already going down, and the prospect of sleeping in a tiny railroad town was not too cool. Luckily a pickup truck that had passed me back in Hope saw me and this time it stopped. Two girls and a small dog from the Vancouver area. We squeezed in the small cabin and we drove 200km up till Cache Creek. They went on their way north till Prince George. Night had fallen, and I walked to a 24hr petrol station, I ate a bit. Then I decided I might as well try my luck and went outside and stood under a lamp post. A drunk native came by and told me that was not a good spot, he then led me up the road to the spot were they hitch hike out of town. He went on his way and another one came by and asked where I was headed. I mistakenly understood he worked in the Motel across the street so I asked If I could use his internet connection, he agreed and we walked to his house. By the time we got there I realized he was a bit drunk himself, though not too much. So I went in, sent an email, and he then offered that I stay there overnight as the night temperatures would drop down to -15 degrees Celsius.
So I spent the night warm enough and protected from the cold. The next morning I left at 6.30am back to the road. Unfortunately there wasn’t much traffic at that hour so I stood there in the freezing weather for almost two hours. It even started to snow, a powdery kind of snow that blows over the surface of the road. Finally around 8.30 a fine lady picked me up, probably the only one that pitied me out in the cold, as it is unusual for women driving alone to pick up hitch hikers. We drove through the valley (I believe it is the Fraser valley but I’m not sure), with it’s movie like scenery from the wild west. The mountains around it produce a meteorological phenomenon that pushes away the clouds making for very little precipitation year round. So it is a semi-arid region, with cows, valleys, and the railroad following the edge of the river, on the one side runs the Pacific Railroad tracks and on the other the Canadian National tracks. 85km later we arrived to Kamloops. Here I was dropped off at an exit ramp, and there was no on-ramp there, so I started walking along the highway hoping to find an on-ramp. I kept turning my head back and holding out my sign hoping someone would stop, though I was not betting on it. Surprisingly enough about 5 minutes later a small truck stopped and I hopped in. The driver was a very nice fellow who regularly picked up hitch hikers. We had quite the chat for over an hour till we arrived to the small town of Salmon Arm. It was around 10.30 am. I thanked him and he went on with his deliveries and I went to grab a cup of coffee for the morning. I was quite stoked about how well my morning had gone, and I expected a short wait. So there I stood, smiling at all the passing cars, receiving many smiles and waves back but no rides. And since smiles won’t get you anywhere I waited and waited. The people all seemed really nice, smiling and waving but none picking me up. After about an hour a young kid finally picked me up. And as luck would have it, today was his birthday and he was on his way to Calgary to celebrate in fashion. So the wait was worth it. I hitched over 500km with him. We went through Sicamous, Revelstoke, and Golden and a few National Parks before crossing into Alberta. The Rockies I must say are magnificent, and unfortunately pictures taken from a moving vehicle are more often than not incapable of accurately representing the majesty and awe they inspire. And so we reached and drove by Lake Louise and Banff, then on to Canmore until we reached Calgary. I was dropped off in the SW part of the city. I immediately felt the frigid cold running through my body. It must have been around minus 20. I phoned my long time friends that live here and luckily I was not too far away from their home. I hopped on a bus and made my way home.
Rockies
I was very content with my progress in the day, In the morning I was not sure if I would make it to Calgary that day, and as it turns out I reached it before sunset. I must say, British Columbia is very hitchable even though it is technically illegal to hitch hike. I loved the province and its people are in excess polite. It was quite the culture shock coming from the metropolis of Mexico city with all its noise and traffic, to find the polite Canadians complain about people changing lanes in traffic and how that was unacceptable driving ethics. I was glad to have been saved from spending the night out in the cold, and was agreeably surprised at the kindness and politeness of the people. So it is not a myth, Canadians really are polite. Yet as I arrived to Calgary on the first day of spring, spring was nowhere to be seen, it appeared I had gone back in time and it was still January. Oh well, such is the Canadian weather. Here I will spend the week-end before continuing on my journey across Canada.
So stay tuned, as they say, for more adventures are coming up!
Musings of the road 