Nagged into it!

My littlest sister is fiesty. And has decided that my lack of blogging disappoints her. So I'm back. (I go back to England in a month and don't want to put her in a bad mood!). Anyway, its been three hectic weeks, and frankly I can't see myself blogging each day in retrospect, so some key memories/observations for you (in no particular order).

•  Apparently the word 'difficult' does not mean the same in different parts of Canada, at least when it comes to hiking trails. We've walked 'difficult' trails before with ease...so when we booked our hike along the Saguneay Fjord we thought we would be fine.......we were not. At least not on the first full day. 16km feels a darn sight further when most of it is uphill on dodgy terrain. P and I were ready to quit after the first night. S didn't give us the option. He was right, the next two days were much easier and definitely worth the effort. 

•  Traffic Jams in Canada are more fun. The road to our campsite was blocked due to Hurricane Irene damage (oo-er!). We were diverted to a beach, where we made a cuppa with our camp-stove and watched Belugas with the binoculars. Magic. 

•  Paul gets almost excited about inch-wormy caterpillars as he does whales. (In his defence they are exactly like the Sesame St.. ones and very cool).

• Steve can light fires without matches., on one occasion he managed it without even his flint, just with his eyes. He is the manliest man I know. 

• Except for P, who can portage a canoe 850m down a muddy incline, hopping between rocks and limboing under fallen trees. Amazing. My biggest challenge that day was eating all my oatmeal. 

• Booking youth hostels from websites without many photos is a risky business. You may end up with all three of you in one big bed, with a man in a hammock hanging above you, someone on a couch at the end of the bed and another 5 people in various other spots aroudn the room.......don't let that put you off though, it may also be the quietest and most relaxing nights sleep you've had in a long time. Very considerate folks stay in $20 hostels in downtown Montreal. Fact.

• It is NEVER a good idea to make coffee using water drained from making Kraft cheese dinner. No matter how low on fuel you are. Learn from our mistakes. 

• Motels are cool. Sitting outside motel rooms on benches, supping cider from the can and sharing a big bag of cheetos is cool. Thats another fact.

• Even non-birders are impressed by the sound of loons calling in the night. Especially when there are 17 of them on the lake. They are less impressed however by dogs who grumble in the night and sound like bears. 

• Photos of these adventures can be seen on flickr as usual. (More on flickr than on FB). For now I leave you with the bread I baked on Monday night. Thankfully I finished the last of it at lunchtime, as I have just had to chase a squirrel out of the kitchen, that was munching on Steve's salted sunflower seeds. Jasper was asleep on the bed.