What's in the plans for 2025...?

Obviously, we are starting 2025 in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

But on January 2nd, we are heading west towards the Pacific Coast. It will probably take us the full month of January to get there, because we have a stopover planned at Valle de Juarez... one of our other favorite places in Mexico!

Market day!

We love going to the once a week Sunday tianguis market here in Valle de Bravo!

So around 11:00am, we said goodbye to friends Paco and Oti. They were getting ready to head back to Toluca and would be gone by the time we got back from the market. We are hoping to see them again late January around Mazamitla or maybe even Guadalajara.

I had to sneak a photo through the bushes!

One of the kitchen items that Ruth had purchased before we set out with Igor was a small 2 Quart Electric Crock Pot. She's used it a few times already, but yesterday she did a small pork loin. So it was on cooking all day. With clear skies and sunshine, the rooftop solar panels combined with the new portable one put out enough power to keep our batteries nicely charged up, even with the crock pot cooking away.

Fantastic views above Valle de Bravo!

I was going to tell you about our plans for 2025, but since we did a little excursion yesterday, the 2025 blog post can wait until we have a quiet day.

We've definitely been feeling like we're lacking in the exercise department so yesterday we went and did some hiking! 

2024 Year in Review

We started the year 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and we ended the year in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

And in total, we were in 15 different countries during the year. Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkiye, France, England, Albania, Italy, Portugal, Canada, and Mexico. Several of these were new countries, and we have increased our total countries visited count to 72.

Well that was a bit of a marathon travel day!

We got up at 3:30am Wednesday morning. Then we had to do a one hour drive from Playa del Carmen to the Cancun airport in order to get there early enough for Lindsey and the kids to get their 8:00am flight to Montreal.

We said our goodbyes, then headed to a nearby beach parking lot where we had a snooze for a couple of hours in the car!

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One last day at the beach!

We relaxed for much of the morning, then headed to the touristy southern end of Playa del Carmen. There's an upscale area called Playacar where there are some small Mayan ruins that are actually part of the residential complex there, and we remembered from our last visit to this area that there were a lot of iguanas hanging out on the rocks in the sun.

Akumal, Mexico

Ruth found out that there is a Sunday tianguis (traditional market) here in Playa del Carmen. I was skeptical, since it's such a touristy area, but when we arrived I was pleasantly surprised. It was much like the tianguis that we have been to in non touristy areas, and there were very few other gringos.

Busy day with lots of photos!

A highlight for many visitors to the Playa del Carmen area is the fabulous Xcaret theme park. 

Xcaret is part water park, part zoo, part cultural exhibition. There is a lot do see there, in fact you can't see it all in one day. And it's all very well done.

It's also VERY expensive!

Beach photos

 Just a few beach photos today!

Coba ruins and cenote swimming

We were up early, and on the road by 9:00am. We had an hour and forty minute drive to the Coba ruins, and there was heavy traffic getting out of Playa del Carmen. In fact, it was heavy all the way to Tulum.

It's unbelievable how much this area has developed since the first time we were here in 2003. In fact, even since we were here in 2018 it seems a lot busier. Especially the Tulum area.

Off to the beach!

The kids were looking forward to going to the beach, so we set off just after 10:00am to drive down to the central tourist area of Playa del Carmen.

The entire central area is pay parking on the street, and you have to pay at a machine and then leave the slip of paper on your dash that displays the time that your parking expires.

I saw a guy standing there with a sign with my name on it!

Up at 4:15am Tuesday morning along with Paco and Oti who were so nice to take us to the airport at that ungodly hour. 

No traffic at that hour of course, it took only twenty minutes or so to get to the airport from their house. It was only a local flight so no need to get there too early. We already had our boarding passes, and we didn't have any bags to check. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:10am.

Bus trip to Toluca, and visit to Metepec

Boy, it doesn't take long to get a day behind when we're busy. 

Monday was travel day! We took the bus from El Arco on Monday afternoon, for the hour and a half or so bus ride to the city of Toluca where we were met by friends Paco and Oti.

Next stop, Playa del Carmen!

We headed back into town yesterday to try and do something with Ruth's shoes. Also, Sunday is market day in Valle de Bravo, and while we didn't need anything because we won't be here for the next week, we always enjoy wandering around the market.

So anyhow, we made it to the place we bought Ruth's shoes... and the door was locked. They took our money and ran!

It actually arrived!

Despite the fact that I thought we had a rooftop solar panel setup sufficient for our needs, we still wanted a portable panel for the times when we might want Igor to be set up in the shade, and yet still be able to have electricity coming from a panel that is set up in the sun. 

Or, for when we have a cloudy day and need an extra boost.

Sometimes it's just not worth trying to be cheap

Once again, our attempt to be frugal has backfired.

Ruth had wanted a pair of walking shoes. She didn't want anything fancy, just something to wear when she wasn't wearing her hiking boots or sandals.

Crazy stuff!

Thursday afternoon we went for a walk along the road north of here that follows the shoreline towards Colorines. 

There is a big gated community on the hill and we wondered if they would let us in to go for a walk around.

A trip into town

We needed to do some more grocery shopping, plus we hadn't yet wandered around town. So we hopped into a collectivo taxi that runs by the roadway out front to take us into the center of Valle de Bravo. 

The cost is 25 pesos ($1.75 CAD, $1.25 USD) per person one way.

A sad day in the RV blogging world

When we started writing this blog many years ago, there were several other RV'ers also writing blogs. And although we were among the first, having began in 2007, there was one other RV blog that began the year before us... Al and Kelly from The Bayfield Bunch.

It was most common for these RV bloggers to use the same Blogger platform that we do, and many of them had read each others blogs, so it was easy to follow each others travels and sometimes even meet up when the routes crossed.

Fun afternoon out on Lake Avandaro

Paco and Oti had some friends visiting, and they invited us to join them all in their boat for a tour out on the lake.

Once again, an absolutely gorgeous day.

We're pretty excited

A week from tomorrow we fly back to Cancun. We were only there a month ago, but of course it was just a one night stopover on our way to pick up Igor at the border. 

This time, it's to meet our daughter and grandchildren. And even though that area of Mexico isn't our favorite, we're pretty excited!

Well that was a fun day!

Market day is Sunday in Valle de Bravo, but just for a change we decided that we would go to the Saturday market in the town of Colorines, about 16 kms (10 miles) away.

We have to take the collectivo (shared taxi) to get there, and it costs 25 pesos ($1.75 CAD, $1.25 USD) per person each way.

New friends, and other news!

Last week when we were in Valle de Bravo doing some shopping, we overheard someone speaking English. And as they walked past, I mentioned to them that's not a language we hear very often in this area.

That started a five minute conversation, and by the end of it, we were invited for lunch!

Views above Valle de Bravo

We finally got up enough ambition to get some exercise. So we set off to walk up a road that leads behind the village of San Gaspar, about a kilometer away. We have done this hike a couple of times in past years.

However this time, we got to the path that leads off the road and there is now a locked gate. We spoke to a local guy, and he suggested a different route that led up to a quartz quarry.

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November Expenses

November was yet another expensive month. It started off in Ottawa, Canada and ended up in Valle de Bravo, Mexico! So, there was quite a lot of travel expense involved.

I had guessed a budget of $3,750 CAD, and we ended up spending $4,769 CAD ($3,389 USD). We actually did pretty good, considering most of the extra comes down to a new laptop for me, and Igor's fuel pump needing replacing. Two things that we couldn't have planned on. Otherwise, we were actually pretty close to target.

Another beautiful day in Mexico...

Just a relaxing day yesterday!

Friends Paco and Oti took off back to their house in Toluca, but they will return here on Friday. Really nice that they left out their sun loungers and hammock so that we can use them while they're gone!

Sunday is market day in Valle de Bravo

We always love market day! The weekly tianguis markets in Mexico is where you go to get the best prices on the freshest produce, and there is always lots of delicious street food available.

We set off with Paco and Oti at about 10:30am to head into town. Sunday is a busy day in Valle de Bravo, so best to arrive early to get a decent parking spot!

Back to Igor, and a nice surprise!

We didn't have to leave our hotel room until noon, so we went down for breakfast around 8:30am and then had showers and took our time getting ready. The plan was to walk from the Mexico City historic district to the Observatorio bus terminal... a distance of about 11 kms (6.8 miles).

And we had a couple of stops to make along the way.

Walked our feet off again!

It was a pretty good included breakfast here at the hotel. Scrambled eggs, toast, sausages, mixed vegetables, fruit, and of course coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. As I said yesterday, we got a good deal at 773 pesos ($53 CAD, $38 USD) a night. I forgot to mention the name of the hotel... it's the Hotel MX lagunilla. Wouldn't hesitate to come back here. 

The only drawback is that it's beside a busy road, and there is a fair amount of road noise if you get a room facing the street, which we did. One of the interior rooms would be quieter, but without the view. It's a tradeoff.

Mexico City!

The bus was leaving central Valle de Bravo at 11:00am, but we were able to pick it up at nearby El Arco so that we wouldn't have to go into Valle de Bravo. It arrived there at 11:15am, and there were still quite a few empty seats.

Cost from El Arco to Mexico City's western Observatorio Bus Station was 295 pesos ($20.35 CAD, $14.50 USD) per person for the two hour trip.

A new furry friend, and a little birthday celebration...

When we arrived here at the marina, we noticed that our host Chago had a new puppy. 

The puppy's name is Solitario (Lonely), and we think that he sometimes lives up to that name. He's only about four months old. Chago isn't here all the time, and it's especially quiet here during he week. And when Chago is off running errands, Solitario gets tied up under a nearby truck. 

Excited to arrive at one of our favorite places in Mexico!

We woke up Tuesday morning in anticipation of arriving at the destination that will be our home base for the next month or so.

We spent the better part of 13 winters in Mexico between 2007 and 2020. And we haven't been back since the spring of 2020, so almost five years. And we made a lot of friends in Mexico during those years.

Tlalpujahua, the Christmas town

Up at 6:00am to say goodbye to Adrian and Roman. Adrian drives Roman to school at 6:45am, and then he heads to work. Brenda is currently a homemaker because she has a bad wrist and is awaiting surgery.

But she made us a delicious breakfast, and then we had showers and did some laundry. Always nice to set out fresh again! Thanks for looking after us!

Into the city of Queretaro, and the El Cerrito Pyramid

It was chilly Saturday night up in Mineral de Pozos. We woke up in the morning and it was 2C (35F) outside, and only 7C (45F) inside Igor. Nice and comfy under the covers, but a little cold getting out of bed!

We decided to drive for half an hour and use the engine heat to warm us up. By the time we parked up for breakfast, the sun was shining and the temperature headed up into the 20's (70's).

The ghost town of Mineral de Pozos

We actually had a pretty good sleep in the hotel parking lot. There is a lot of heavy truck traffic in that area on the outskirts of the city of San Luis Potosi, and we had been hearing a fair bit of it prior to going to bed. But then in the morning, we each mentioned that we had woken up at some point during the night and it had been perfectly quiet.

We got up and hit the road right away to try and beat some of the traffic, but I'm thinking that the north - south highway 57 never really quiets down.

Not every day goes according to plan!

When we travel by motorhome, we think it's best to have a plan to arrive at your destination by 2:00pm. That way, there is lots of daylight hours left in case your plan doesn't go according to plan! And if everything does go well, you've got a few afternoon hours to just relax and enjoy yourself.

Well yesterday was one of those days that didn't go according to plan.

The caravan showed up!

We had a nice morning just puttering around. Ruth was going to do some laundry, and we both remember that there had been an old washing machine in the RV Park area, but maybe we were thinking of somewhere else. Anyhow, there is no washing machine here now!

The hotel wanted typical rip off prices to do any laundry, but I don't really blame them. They aren't in the business of doing laundry, so if you want it done, you have to pay.

It's a good thing Igor broke down!

Wow, lots to talk about today! And so, a long blog post with lots of photos. And lots of good news!

The mechanics didn't begin work on Igor until about 10:00am, which was okay with us. We left them to do the installation of the fuel pump and re-install the gas tank, and we decided to do a 10 km (6.2 mile) walk to a nearby lake.

Progress!

Man, we've had a lot of bad luck lately. First my laptop breaks, then my Amazon account gets closed, then Igor breaks down. It helps that we are pretty good at rolling with the punches!

By the same token, we've got a lot of great things on the go as well. Number one is that we're in Mexico!

Stuck on the side of the road...

We headed out from Chris and Juan's at about 9:45am... about 15 minutes later than planned. We always try to have a plan that sees us arriving at our destination by 2:00pm or so. That always gives you lots of daylight hours in case you have problems.

Well.. we had problems.

Time to head further south

Yesterday morning we said goodbye to Bjorn and Freya. Chris and Juan drove them to the bus station in central Monterrey and they took the bus from there to Nuevo Laredo at the border.

They then walked across the border and into Laredo, Texas. They said it was the easiest border crossing ever.

Very frustrating...

First off, let me tell you part two of our laptop story.

Because the card machine wasn't working properly at the store, I had a look at Amazon Mexico and found an identical laptop that suited my purposes, and I ordered it to have it delivered to the hotel campground at our next planned stop in Matehuala.

Bjorn's birthday, laptop shopping, and tour around Santiago

It was fun to be able to help Bjorn celebrate his birthday yesterday!

We all went out in the morning to do some laptop shopping. Here in Mexico, they do a thing similar to Black Friday that starts the weekend before Dia de la Revolucion (Revolution Day), so there are a lot of sales on.

A great day in Mexico

I'm thinking that there will be a few blog posts with that title this winter!

We hung out at the house for the morning, and then early afternoon we set off to the Cola de Caballo waterfalls. But we had a stop to make along the way. 

Reunited with Igor... and into Mexico!

We were up at 6:00am Wednesday morning, and down for our included hotel breakfast at 6:30am. It was actually better than expected, with lots of eggs, cheese, fruits, cereals, and yogurts.

Then we had to figure out how we were getting from the hotel to the border crossing. Uber apparently works in Reynosa, but the system showed that any available drivers were quite far away.

Cancun beach time, and flight to Reynosa

We hung out at Carmen's apartment for the morning, and then took the local bus from there to the hotel zone where she works as a property manager, renting out condos to vacationers.

It cost 12 pesos ($0.80 CAD, $0.58 USD) each for the half hour ride.

Welcome to Mexico!

We were up at silly o'clock (3:00 am!) in order to get ready for our 6:00 am flight to Cancun.

We planned on getting the 3:30 am shuttle from the hotel, and we were down there at 3:20, waiting in the area specified by the front desk. But at 3:30 am, the shuttle hadn't arrived!

Next stop, Cancun!

Writing this Sunday evening from our hotel at Ottawa airport.

The hotel was actually paid for by our house sitting hosts. They had asked if we were willing to stay past our original flight date of November 1st, and we couldn't get a rescheduled flight until November 11th. But their returning flight arrived on the 10th (today).

Dinner party

We've spent much of our last week here in Canada visiting with friends, as it could be a long time before we're back here again. 

We had Bob and Denise here on Monday, but forgot to get a picture!

Settle down...? Why would we want to do that??!

We actually missed it, and Ruth only reminded me the other day that we began our 18th year of alternate lifestyle travel on October 15th. In fact, you can go back and read our very first blog post to see when we set off across Canada with our motorhome Sherman.

We're often asked "when do you plan to settle down", or "what is the end game"?

What's the plan for Mexico?

One week from now, we will be sitting on an airplane flying direct from Ottawa to Cancun. We are sooo ready to go! Yesterday, after the ridiculous one hour time change that they still do here in Ontario, sunset was at 4:50pm! That is way to early to be getting dark. And it'll be even worse a week from now. So yes, we are ready!

Then, we have one night in Cancun staying with our friend Carmen who lives there. The next afternoon, we fly Cancun to Reynosa. 

Igor update

We are happy that we receive regular updates from Bjorn and Freya as they make their way to the Mexico border with Igor. It's almost like being there. And, we've been to many of the places along their route, so we are able to give them some hints on things to see and do, although they are doing pretty good on their own!

Friends from the Mexico RV caravan

The other day, I noticed through a facebook post that a couple of our Mexico RV Caravan friends were going to be arriving in Ottawa.

Michel and Louise were on our spring 2018 Yucatan caravan trip. They are the couple who took over when Sherman broke down and we had to gets some repairs done.

October Expenses

Financially, we completed Igor during the month of October. With the mechanical repairs finished, and the new fridge and furnace installed, the major items are done. All of that has been included as a "capital expense", which now stands at a total of $26,325 CAD ($19,000 USD). Anything else that needs to be done will be included as repair and maintenance as part of our monthly expenses, unless it is something that we feel will increase Igor's value.

Will we ever recoup that much when we sell him? It's difficult to say. That figure is certainly higher than we expected it to be when we bought him, but we did a lot of improvements for our own comfort and not necessarily expecting it to be returned to us. Time will tell.

Indian summer

We're having a bit of an end of season heat wave here in the Ottawa area. Temperature got up to 23C (73F) yesterday, so we took a drive down to the village of Burritt's Rapids to go for a walk.

Burritt's Rapids is along the route of the Rideau Canal.

Memories of Zihuatanejo

Yesterday, we went to visit Wendy, the mother of one of my oldest friends, Dave. 

Dave was the best man at our wedding! And his mom and dad were avid fans of Mexico, traveling down there regularly until they were well into their 80's. They really loved the beach town of Zihuatanejo, and we actually stopped in to visit them there a couple of times when we had our motorhome Sherman.

Great photo!

Yesterday morning, I was sat doing some computer work when I glanced out the window. I said to Ruth "oh, look at that" and pointed outside.

There was an owl sitting on a branch just the other side of the back deck!

Two weeks to go!

We're enjoying the down time, but we do admit that we're just about ready to go! It's starting to get chilly here in Canada, although they're calling for a two day heat wave this coming Wednesday and Thursday where temperatures are supposed to get up to 23C (73F).

Two weeks from today, we will be flying to Cancun.

A funny story

Our nearest Walmart is about twenty minutes away. We had to do some grocery shopping, and there were a couple of deals there that we wanted to pick up, so we decided to go to the one at Kemptville where there is also a forest with some walking trails.

So we stopped at the forest first to get some exercise.

Igor had an adventure!

Well, it was great while it lasted, but our unseasonably warm temperatures have reverted back to normal. As I write this, the morning of October 25th, it is -1C (30F) outside. That's about normal for this time of year, and in fact I see the forecast is calling for -6C (21F) by Sunday night.

At least we haven't seen any snow flurries yet.

Igor video tour, and a great deal for our Canadian readers

We heard from Bjorn and Freya yesterday as they made their way with Igor to Niagara Falls, and from there into New York State.

They had a few issues with US border control, which was not unexpected. As Bjorn says "When you are a Belgian citizen coming in with a Canadian van, and going to Mexico, it sets off multiple alarms".

A bit of panic!

So yesterday morning, Bjorn and Freya were getting ready to leave with Igor when there was a bit of a panic.

"I can't find our passports" says Freya.

You can still buy bacon and eggs breakfast for $4.99!

Saturday afternoon, we drove to Montreal to pick up our Belgian friends Bjorn and Freya. They had arrived in Canada on Thursday and spent a night with a friend downtown.

Traffic was terrible, and there were several delays, with more along the route. Eventually, they offered to take public transit to the north part of the city, and we met them there.

Back to downtown Ottawa

Ruth's sister Lesley is in town with her friend Lynn, so yesterday morning Ruth took off downtown with the two of them to do a tour of the Parliament West Block, and then a wander around the central Ottawa area. 

Of course many of the sights they saw were similar to the ones we posted a couple of weeks ago, but the parliament tour was interesting.

Nice weekend ahead!

Looks like we're going to have an "Indian summer" weekend, with sunshine and highs around 21C (70F). Great weather to welcome our friends Bjorn and Freya who are flying to Montreal today.

Their plans in Montreal have changed, so we will be picking them up there on Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday. We have an airbnb rented just south of Ottawa for the four of us through until Monday, then they will probably take off across the border heading south through the U.S. with Igor on Monday morning.

For the first time in years, I have an actual useable phone number!

Cellular data access is always a problem for us when we return to Canada because it's just so expensive compared to other countries. 

During the last three months, we've been using an eSIM package that costs $30 CAD ($22 USD) tax included for 15GB of data. And that's data only... no voice calls or texting. And I'll tell you, 15 GB doesn't last very long anymore!

We have heat!

It was quite a few hours of work, but Igor's gasoline heater installation is finally finished! 

Drilling holes through the van floor, running the wires for the thermostat inside wall panels, tapping into the fuel line and running the line to the new fuel pump, and hooking it up to the heater, then running the cables directly to the battery was all more time consuming than I thought it would have been.

Out with the old, and in with the new!

Yesterday, I took a break from the furnace installation to do the fridge installation.

Igor's 31 year old Dometic propane/120VAC fridge was still working, but it wouldn't keep a stable temperature. Especially on propane, which we would have been using most of the time. Given that we are setting Igor up for an extended trip to Mexico and south of Mexico, we wanted something that didn't use propane, and something that we were more confident in.

Progress report...

I'm not surprised that Igor's new gasoline furnace installation is taking a while. The system itself is fairly simple... but locating the unit in a suitable location, then drilling the holes and getting it fitted properly, then running the fuel line and fuel pump, then running the wires for the thermostat and power cables is very time consuming!

And, Ottawa and area is having a bit of a cold spell which makes it not as enjoyable to be working outside.

Yet another change of plans

Regular readers will remember that we were supposed to be doing a month long house sit in Manotick during the month of October. It was cancelled last minute due to a medical problem that the host is having. 

However, the host was looking for options outside of Canada to get this medical problem resolved.

We've been busy!

Hence why the three day hiatus from writing blog posts!

Tuesday and Wednesday were Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, so we had a lot of work to do with our facebook group telling them about all the deals. And in between the deals, I was busy trying to install Igor's new furnace!

Weird clouds in the sky!

We stayed in the campground until mid afternoon. I did a couple of minor projects on Igor, while Ruth was labeling some photos. 

It was pretty chilly overnight! We tried out the old electric heater, but while it does work, it's not putting out nearly the amount of heat that a 1500 watt heater should. 

One thing we can say about the Airstream B190... there is lots of interior cupboard space!

We've got a list of minor things we want to get done to Igor this week, as well as the two major items... the new furnace, and the new refrigerator.

Most of the minor things aren't super important and we would normally just putter away at them while on our way south. However friends Bjorn and Freya arrive in Canada on the 18th, and it is them who are taking Igor south. So we would like to get as many of them done as possible before they get here.

Our most expensive campground ever!

We didn't want to overstay our welcome in the overflow parking lot at my mother's building here in Ottawa. And although it wasn't ideal, it was okay for a couple of nights.

So, what were our options? 

In for a penny, in for a pound

This is a phrase used to express someone's intention to see an undertaking through, however much time, effort, or money this entails

And that's the way we're starting to feel about Igor!

We made the decision yesterday to order yet another fancy expensive item to make our lives better.

Another project for Igor

Last night I posted our September expenses report. And I mentioned that didn't include the mechanical repairs we had done to Igor since they will go into our capital expenses which include the cost of the vehicle itself. So I wanted to tell that part of the story.

As well... we just ordered a fancy new furnace for Igor... more money!

September Expenses

We started the month of September in Nova Scotia, and ended up back in Ontario, but we were also in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Alberta! Five of Canada's provinces in one month!

We had a planned total budget of $2,396 CAD ($1.776 USD). 

A beautiful day playing tourist in our hometown

Although we've been back to our hometown area of Canada's capital city of Ottawa many times in the last five years, we can't remember the last time we actually went downtown. So with Igor tied up at the mechanical shop, we decided to head to the center of the city and see the typical tourist sites.

And, the last day of September was a gorgeous fall day.

Arrived back in Ottawa

And today is the last day of the month. October the 1st, tomorrow, was when we were supposed to be starting our one month house sit out in Manotick (a small community just south of Ottawa). Our hosts had to cancel sort of last minute because the husband is having some health problems. 

We understand that kind of thing can happen, and we're flexible. It does present some issues, but nothing we can't deal with.

Last day in Alberta

Sunday morning in Cochrane, Alberta as I write this, and this afternoon we will be flying back to Ottawa to arrive back at Igor where he is waiting at the mechanical shop parking lot.

Unfortunately, he is not quite ready for us!

More views of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Yes, we were out hiking again yesterday. Besides seeing my sister, this was the main reason for coming. And of course the cheap airfare deal from Ottawa to Calgary return helped as well! We paid only $188 CAD ($139 USD) return per person for the flights.

And that included free beer and wine! Hard to go wrong at that price.

Almost a slot canyon hike... and a cave!

My sister Alison is a zumba instructor, and teaches a class on Thursday before noon. Ruth went with her to the class, so we didn't set off on a hike until after lunch.

Of course there are a ton of different hikes in the mountains near Cochrane, the only drawback is the minimum 45 minute drive to get to them. And of course there are many more (some very spectacular) within a two hour drive.

Gorgeous day hike above Barrier Lake

Wednesday was an absolutely beautiful day here in central Alberta, although they were calling for some strong winds in the mountains. We had been planning a ridge hike, but with the strong winds we changed our plans and instead hiked up the Prairie View Lookoff Trail to Yates Mountain and up to the Barrier Lake Fire Lookout.

We arrived at the trailhead at 10:00am

If I had to do it all over again, I would become a helicopter pilot!

We had decided to put off the more strenuous hikes for a day and so my sister Alison had planned us an easy walking route around the town of Cochrane.

Cochrane is one of the fastest growing towns in Canada with a current population of around 37,000. For perspective, twenty years ago it was only 14,000.

Arrived in Calgary

We dropped off Igor at a mechanic shop yesterday after lunch. He runs well, but idles a little rough on start up. Also, there is an odd chugging sound in between some gear shifts (and it's intermittent, to make diagnosis all the more difficult) but two different mechanics have said they think it's a misfire.

I had a quick look at the spark plugs, and they honestly look like they've never been changed. 

Another great weekend away with the boys.

With near perfect weather in the books, I completed yet another weekend away with my guy friends. I think we figured out that was the 13th annual. I missed a few gatherings in the early years because Ruth and I were traveling, but I decided several years ago that I would not miss another one. Just too much fun with these guys, we all value our long friendship and the older we get, the faster that time seems to go by.

Two more of them are retiring next year, so we've pretty much decided that our next annual guys weekend away will be an international trip. Some of the discussion revolved around Mexico, so we'll see what happens.

A major change of plans.

At the end of our last update, we had overnighted at the Quebec/Ontario border just east of Hawkesbury. We crossed at Hawkesbury, headed to Ingleside to pick up our son's car, and then to Ottawa where we had a 2:00pm meeting with Gretchen and her three cats.

While I am at my annual guy's weekend away, Ruth will be housesitting for Gretchen.

Quebec City is very photogenic!

It's taken us two weeks to do this drive between Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, and the city of Ottawa... and we still felt rushed. There is so much to see along the way, and one of those places is the historic city of Quebec City.

We had been to Quebec City before, but it was way back in 2008. At the time, we had our dog Whiskey with us and we had parked our motorhome Sherman across the river in Levis, and taken the ferry across to explore the city.

Arrived in Quebec City

The campground was quiet. There's a reason we normally choose the September/October time frame to return to Canada. The kids are back in school, the weather is perfect, and the bug season is generally over.

We did our laundry on Monday morning before leaving the campground, but we were still on the road by 10:15am or so, headed southwest along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River towards Quebec City.

Lots of nice scenery along this route, and the trees are starting to show some color.

Igor's first paid camping spot

We were in need of showers and laundry. Yes, Igor does have a shower, but it's a bit cramped. It works if you have to, but it's not ideal. So if there is somewhere else that is convenient, we prefer that.

And in the town of Tadoussac, there was a listing for showers ($1 for five minutes) and a laundry at a municipal park near the marina. Sounds good to us!

Last minute ferry ride!

We were up and on the road at 6:00am Saturday morning!

Why up so early? Well, we knew that we wanted to take the ferry from Matane that goes across to the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. We've done the south shore drive several times, but have never been on the north shore.

17 km (10.5 mile) hike in Gaspesie National Park

We drove about 30 kms (18 miles) north to get to the visitors center at Gaspesie National Park. 

Just an FYI... Quebec's "national" parks are actually provincial parks. They are NOT run by Parks Canada, and Canada's national parks passes do not work here. 

Waterfalls, and a view, and another great overnight spot!

 We got up at 6:00am, and went for a hike!

We had been parked overnight at the back entrance trailhead for the Mount Carleton hike above the town of Carleton Sur Mer. That's a fairly long hike, and I had some computer work to do yesterday morning, but we figured we had time for the shorter hike to Grand Sault Falls.

Views over Campbellton, then back into the province of Quebec

We said goodbye to Denis and Marjolaine just before 10:00am Wednesday morning. Really enjoyed our stay with them! Thanks, and hope to see you again someday!

It was looking like a really nice day, and we had a plan to climb Campbellton's Sugarloaf Mountain before heading across the border into Quebec.

Well that was a good day!

This area around Campbellton is really nice. We were really enjoying our time with Denis and Marjolaine, and they said we were welcome to stay another night so that they could take the time to properly show us around the area.

Denis has had a hobby of building hand made cedar strip canoes that are easier to navigate the shallow waters of the nearby Restigouche River. And he offered to take us for a boat ride on the river!

We met two sets of blog followers yesterday!

Ruth had been in touch with a lady from the FB group Senior Nomads. Cynthia and her husband Tom are from Arizona, and have been full time travelers for only four months. They've got a cottage rented for a month up here in Dalhousie, New Brunswick which was right along our route, so we made a plan to meet up.

Dalhousie is a town of 3,200 located very close to the border of Quebec, just below the Gaspe Peninsula.

Miramichi was okay, but unimpressed with Bathurst

The rain had stopped overnight and it was starting out to be a nice day. We hadn't had a walk around town the day before due to the rain, so we went for a walk before heading out of Miramichi.

Our new Lifesaver RV Water Filter System

Yesterday was a rain day! Before the heavy rain started, we drove about 92 kms (57 miles) from Cap Lumiere Beach to the Miramichi area where we found a library and a laundromat and just waited out the rain. 

We didn't do very much yesterday, so today I'm going to tell you about our new water filter... the Lifesaver Cube!

Canada's only bilingual province

We hung out using the winery WiFi until about 10:00am, then set off heading north along the east coast of New Brunswick.

Pretty slow going because the secondary roads aren't in great condition, but we're in no rush anyhow so quite happy to plod along.

Welcome to New Brunswick!

I had some internet work to do yesterday morning, so we got up and drove right away, at 6:30am. But we had a stop to make first! There was a nearby waterfall I wanted to see, so we got some exercise with an early morning hike to Drysdale Falls.

Another great day exploring, and another perfect overnight spot.

We slept great at our overnight spot at Tennecape Wharf. And no, we didn't float away at high tide!

I did get up to go to the bathroom at about 3:00am, an hour after high tide, and I looked out the window to see the water about 8 meters (30') away, so no problem!

But by the time we got up, it was back to low tide again, so we left Igor there and went for a morning walk along the shoreline.

Fantastic overnight spot for our first night back on the road!

We had originally tried to leave Lindsey's before lunch, but then she had to go out in the morning and wouldn't be back until 11:30am, so we hung around. And then when she did get back, we decided we might as well have lunch, and then go. 

And then, we decided I needed a haircut, so Ruth got that done as well using some of Lindsey's equipment.

We think we're ready to go!

It's been a fun and productive month here at our daughter's place in Nova Scotia. We spent a lot of time with the family, and got a lot done to Igor!

And we were sure lucky with the weather. Very little rain, and temperatures between 20C to 28C (68F to 82F). Couldn't have asked for much better.

Finished Igor's bed, and took Sadie out for some birthday treats!

There was some rain in the forecast so I didn't get the fourth and final window done in Igor the motorhome. Instead, it was time to complete the upper bed!

First, I had to install the mattress underlay which prevents condensation and potential mold growth under the mattress by providing air flow.

August Expenses

We were a little over budget for August, but only because the budget wasn't accurate to begin with. I had forgotten to include anticipated expenses to celebrate our grandchildren's birthdays. We normally aren't able to do that when the actual event occurs, so we do it at the next available time. Which was in August!

Anyhow, not a bad month, considering we're in a very expensive country.

How much did it cost to restore our Airstream B-190 motorhome? The final tally...

When we bought this motorhome at the end of June, we knew it needed some work. But, due to that fact, we got it for what we thought was a good price at the time. Given what I know now (hindsight is always 20/20!) I think we may have actually overpaid by a little bit. 

Still, I think you'll see by the end of this exercise that we actually did okay!

Heading out on Tuesday!

I spent the day on Wednesday putting the window I had removed back together. All four of Igor's RV windows needed to be refurbished. The channels and tracks were all full of 31 years worth of gunk and had never been maintained. This causes the drain outlets to become blocked, and the windows start to leak.

It doesn't appear that they have ever leaked from the actual seal around the frames themselves. 

The parts have arrived!

The last major project on Igor is the RV windows. 

When we bought him, the exterior hadn't been washed in probably two years or more, and the windows were the same. The rubber seals had shrunk over time, and the drain channels were all gunked up and there was green stuff growing in them! 

Searching for fossils and another motorhome renovation complete!

All work and no play is no good, so we decided to take Cameron and his friend Chandler to Blue Beach for some fossil hunting. 

Blue Beach is a rocky shale beach where there have been numerous fossil finds in the rock. There is even a fossil museum at the location.

Always fun to get together with fellow travelers!

At some point in time, someone had installed a cyclone rotating sewer vent on Igor's roof. And these products actually work very well. But this one was in sad condition, and the installation hadn't been done very well in the first place.

Also, since we now have a diverter toilet and no black holding tank, we didn't have the need for a fancy vent cap. 

The rest of our time here in Canada

We are going to be in Canada until November 1st. A total of four months, which is the longest we have been here since the summer of 2018 when we drove up to the Arctic Ocean. 

So, what do we have planned for the balance of our time here?

Still waiting for a couple of things

When we had Bundy and Joyce, our RV in Australia, one of the things that was a problem was the lack of air space between the mattress and the bed frame. And because we were there in cooler weather, that caused a problem with condensation caused by our body heat when sleeping.

And our first motorhome Sherman did not have any kind of spacer either.

The biggest catch of the day!

We were on the road at 6:30am yesterday morning, headed for the popular coastal tourist town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where we had an 8:00am reservation to go deep sea fishing with Lunenburg Ocean Adventures.

Arrived at 7:30am to find it spitting with rain. And in the process of making sure grandson Cameron had everything he needed, Ruth realized that she had forgotten her own raincoat!

A frustrating problem solved...

Normally I do blog posts first thing in the morning. But on Wednesday the 21st we will be on the road very early, heading for the coastal town of Lunenburg where we are getting on a boat and going deep sea fishing for four hours or so.

This will be grandson Cameron's belated 13th birthday present from us.

Building the upper bed assembly

Our son in law Justin is a woodworker and construction guy, so he has all the necessary skills and tools to do this job. It's actually not a difficult job, and I could have done the whole thing myself. But what would take me a few hours, would probably take him thirty minutes!

And, most of his tools are in his van or at his current jobsite. So we managed to corner him on a Sunday to get this done!

Very pleased with the end result!

Back on Igor's roof yesterday! First part of the day was cleaning all the glue and residue from where the air conditioner had been installed. Then finished switching the air conditioner wiring over from 120 volt to 12 volt so that I could use the same wiring for the Maxxair fan.

Once again, more complicated than expected

Yesterday morning I got into taking off the roof air conditioning unit with the intention of replacing it with a Maxxair powered vent. 

The first problem is actually separating the unit from the roof itself. The air conditioning unit itself is fairly heavy... it probably weighs about a hundred pounds. So the second problem is actually getting it off the roof!

Another RV renovation update

I completed the solar installation, and moved on to the DC-DC charger. This is a piece of electronic equipment that enables the lithium batteries to be charged at a high rate of current while the vehicle is being driven. 

But to handle that high current, and the distance between the engine battery and the house batteries, I had to use fairly heavy 6 gauge cable. And run it the distance between the two.

Igor's new electrical system is almost finished!

Because we like being self sufficient, solar electricity is a "must have" for us when it comes to RV'ing. And we've done it for so long now that we're aware of our electrical needs.

I had bought a 200 watt RV solar kit that includes two 100 watt solar panels, all the wiring, mounting brackets, and charge controller. It was on sale at the time.

More motorhome renovation fun!

This part was actually not all that fun! 

On Friday, our new kitchen faucet showed up. We were very limited as to which faucet we could buy because of the angle of the body of the van where the kitchen sink is located. So when it showed up, the first thing I did was set it into place. Fortunately, it fit... with a half an inch to spare!

Passport photo denied!

Bit of a rain day yesterday. It spit on and off for the morning, then it really came down for three hours or so in the afternoon.

So, not a lot accomplished on Igor, although I did get the remote keyless entry system properly wired up and working, so that was good.

Everything I try to tackle on Igor becomes more complicated than it should be!

Had a nice day with the family again yesterday. Weather was perfect. Beautiful and sunny with a high around 24C (75F). 

Started off with a drive up to Scots Bay at low tide to do some beachcombing. Along the way is the Blomidon Lookoff with a view of the tidal basin and Annapolis Valley.

We're all a bit sore today, but it was worth it!

Canada's Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. And the volume of water rushing in and out of the bay causes waves that somebody decided would be fun to take people rafting on.

We've known about this adventure for a long time, but had never done it. So with all the family together, and the grandkids now at the right age, we decided to take everybody out for a day of water and mud!

Four projects on the go

I've got four major things to complete on Igor during our time here in Nova Scotia. Rebuild the upper bed frame, install the solar panels, install the DC to DC charger, and repair the water leak under the kitchen sink.

At least the temperature here is much more conducive to working. The forecast highs of 23C to 26C (73F to 79F) are far better than the heat and humidity we had in Ottawa during July.

Fun to be back with the family!

We said goodbye and thanks to Judi and Ian and hit the road again at 9:00am, planning to arrive at our daughters place around lunchtime.

We drove straight through, and pulled into the driveway at 12:10pm.

Almost at the Nova Scotia border!

We don't think we had ever been into the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick (pop 58,000) so we decided to find a spot close enough to the center and go for a walk around before hitting the highway.

We set off at 7:00am from a totally peaceful night at the quarry, and ended up in a city park parking lot where a lot of people were walking dogs and getting their morning exercise.

We are going to be a day later than planned...

Not because of any problems... we just remembered that we don't enjoy doing too many miles in a day!

We had originally thought we would end up at our daughter's place in Greenwich, Nova Scotia this Sunday afternoon. And we could have, but it's still 500 kms (300 miles) away. That's just too many miles in a day for us.

Enjoyed being able to practice our Spanish again!

Woke up Friday morning after a very quiet night in the municipal parking at the village of Fortierville, Quebec. 

Igor's left rear tire has had a slow leak. I've been topping it up every three days or so. Not enough to worry about, but it was getting worse. The rear tires normally take 80 psi, and when I checked it yesterday morning, it was visibly low, and at 35 psi. Time to do something about it!

July Expenses... not bad, for our first full month back in Canada

We're going to be spending (pun intended!) four full months back in Canada, so we're prepared for the living expenses that go along with that. Having said that, July was about what we expected.

We had a budget of $2,700 CAD ($1,980 USD) for the month of July, and we ended up a few hundred dollars over that, but mostly because of renewing our passports, which is something I forgot to include in the original July budget.

Ingleside, Ontario to Fortierville, Quebec

We set off from Bob and Denise's place in Ingleside on Thursday at about 11:30am. Headed east towards Quebec City, although by that point, we weren't sure if we would make it that far, and it really didn't matter either way. 

Our only deadline is that Igor has an appointment with a garage in Nova Scotia on Tuesday morning to do the provincial safety inspection there. Yes, he already has one from Ontario, but the provinces don't talk to each other in that regard. Oh well... this way he will be twice as safe!

Ottawa to Ingleside... day 1

Went over and said goodbye to my mother on Wednesday morning. We'll be back again in mid September, so won't be gone long this time around. 

Then it was back to finish packing up Igor, but we were almost done anyhow. It never did rain like they were forecasting, so that was good.

The day has arrived!

Hard to believe we've been a full month in Ottawa. It was a really busy month for us, so time passed quickly.

We have almost everything moved into Igor. We purposely did as much as possible yesterday, because it was supposed to be raining this morning. But so far it's holding off. 

Igor is legal for the road!

Monday morning, we were out the door at 8:30am headed for the "Service Ontario" location nearest us. This is where the provincial government does any business related to vehicle and driver licenses, among other things. It opens at 9:00am.

I had tried to get an appointment online, but the next available one was the second week of August. 

Moving day, and getting ready to head out!

Friday was moving day at my mom's apartment. She was only moving from the 5th floor down to the 2nd floor, and from a one bedroom apartment to a bed/sitting room apartment without a kitchen, because all her meals will be done for her.

And that meant that a lot of stuff won't fit!

It's pretty standard that when you're dealing with the government, nothing is going to happen efficiently.

My mother has been in this seniors building for about 11 years now, in her own one bedroom apartment. And she is staying in the same building, but moving down to the floor where she no longer has to do any housekeeping or cooking. Everything is done for her.

But, her room is much smaller... more like a standard hotel room, with just a main living area, and a bathroom.

I've decided I'm not playing their stupid game

I bought us some more flight tickets the other day. Not the ones to Calgary that I already told you about... this time I bought flight tickets to Mexico!

Yes, we are flying to Cancun on November 1st. 

"But what about Igor?", you ask.

Another project complete... and two more started!

The paint was dry on the fridge vent that I was replacing, so I was able to finish that job yesterday morning. Actually, not totally finished, because I need two strips of foam that glue to the side brackets that tighten the door up so that it doesn't flap around. The only thing that holds it in place is the little twist knob at the bottom, so the foam gives it some structure at the sides when it's closed.

So I drilled out the rivets and installed the new one. Pretty happy with the result!

We ordered a compost toilet for Igor

After a lot of research, we decided that Igor should have a compost toilet.

Let me tell you a little about what I learned regarding compost toilets for RV's...

Time is passing quickly

Here we are, three weeks into the month. 

We're making good progress on getting Igor ready to go by July 31, but with only ten days left we're going to have to continue working hard. Especially with my mother moving next weekend. Fortunately, she's staying in the same building, just moving apartments... and she doesn't have very much "stuff".

Booked some more flight tickets!

I love booking flight tickets. Even when they're on a substandard airline like Air Canada (Motto: We're not happy until you're not happy!).

So I got a flight deal notification from a site that I subscribe to. Ottawa to Calgary direct, for only $188 CAD ($136 USD) return, tax included. It's about a four hour flight, so that's a great deal at $94 CAD ($68 USD) per person each way, taxes included!

In for a penny, in for a pound!

An old British phrase that has evolved to express someone's intention to complete a project once it has been undertaken, no matter how much time, effort, or money this entails.

And so it seems to be with our new house battery system for Igor. Once I decided to go with lithium batteries, I knew it was going to add up.

Just like Christmas!

We spent a bunch of money over the last two days. We need a lot of things to outfit Igor the way we want to, and we saved our purchases for Amazon Prime Day, hoping that a lot of the stuff we want would come on sale.

And sure enough, it did.

An interesting story...

We've been over at my mother's place pretty much every day. It sure is a pain and very time consuming doing this address change stuff, but we're making progress and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

She's been going through her filing cabinet, and came across this interesting story...

One of the problems with an older RV...

At 31 years old, Igor can almost be considered a "vintage" motorhome. I guess that's why the Airstream B190 has a bit of a cult following. It was only made between 1988 to 1999... an 11 year period. 

The Ford E350 van chassis and much of the body was produced for a much longer period, and mechanical parts are readily available and inexpensive. But much of what is related to the "RV" portion of the vehicle has now become obsolete. 

You have to celebrate the tiny wins!

So we're out doing some grocery shopping last Thursday, and I happened to see the deodorant that I like, and it was on sale. Regular price $4.29, on sale for $2.99. Not bad. Anyhow, I picked one up.

I'd say 80% of the time, we check the prices on the bill as we walk out of the grocery store.  The other 20% of the time, we simply forget. But we're normally pretty good at checking.

Our Amazon delivery guy has been busy!

I think he's been at our doorstep every day this week! 

There's a lot of stuff you have to buy when you're outfitting an RV from scratch... as well as the stuff we are buying to get Igor fixed up the way we want.

The one thing we miss about Canada...

There isn't much that we miss from Canada when we're off traveling the world... but one thing we definitely miss is pure Canadian maple syrup! 

And the cheapest place to buy it is still Walmart, where they sell a 1 liter jug of the dark amber stuff, (which is our favorite) for $15.97 CAD ($11.71 USD).

Motorhome for sale... in Alaska!

Our friends Glen and Steve are the British couple who got us into this whole motorhoming thing back in 2007 when they stayed with us and explained how they travel and explore inexpensively by motorhome.

They have since bought and sold many times, similar to the way we are doing now. They buy in a different country, then sell when they are ready to move on. 

Getting Igor ready to go

Good thing I got the vent replaced which fixed that major water leak coming from Igor's roof. The remnants of hurricane Beryl are coming through southern Ontario today, and they are calling for heavy rain for about 4 hours starting around 10:00am.

There are still some very minor leaks coming from the windows on the side of the muffin top (that's what Airstream B-160 enthusiasts call the fiberglass roof) but I don't have a ladder. That can wait until we are at Lindsey's next month. 

Not sure why we get so ripped off here in Canada...

Spent a couple of hours yesterday with my mom going over some financial things and figuring out her change of address stuff. Of course the post office will do an address redirect for you, but it's not cheap... so the most logical thing to do is proactively change all of the addresses yourself, which of course you would have to do anyhow. But man, it sure is time consuming!

Then back to the house to finish my project.

No problem staying busy here! Especially with a motorhome project to work on...

Instead of writing a blog post first thing this morning, I was outside before 8:00am in order to take advantage of the cooler morning weather. The project today was to replace the old Fantastic Vent Van in Igor's living area.

The fan still worked, but the plastic had turned all yellow and while the previous owner had replaced the vent lid, they never did actually repair the leaks.

June Expenses... more than double what we had planned!

Well, it's time to get this mess out of the way. I've been delaying telling you about our expenses for the month of June because there have been odd circumstances involved!

Our original budget for the month of June was $3,500 CAD ($2,565 USD). Which in hindsight, was a bit ambitious as it was. And then, on June 11th, we made the somewhat last minute decision to come back to Canada which of course would put us well over budget. And finally, we decided to buy this motorhome in London, Ontario. 

Introducing you to Igor... our new motorhome!

We've been running through suitable names for our new to us motorhome, including all the suggestions made by readers on our FB page. We had narrowed it down to either Eddie or Hector. We had pretty much decided on Hector. Then, we're out doing some running around yesterday afternoon, and Ruth says "Igor. Because he has a hunchback". (Like Igor in the movie Young Frankenstein). And we both laughed. Too funny. 

Igor is not Spanish, but that doesn't matter to us. A name of Russian origin meaning warrior. Igor is short, sweet, and strong! And, we think it's funny. So, Igor it is.

Since we arrived back in Canada...

So, it's time to get you caught up on what we've been doing for the last week. I'm not going to do individual posts for the several days that we missed... otherwise I'll never be up to date, and we've just got too much to do.

So... where to start? Well, when we arrived at our son's place in Gravenhurst, Ontario on June 28th, he and his girlfriend CJ already had plans for the weekend, so they weren't home when we arrived. He did come back and spend a couple of hours with us on Saturday morning.

Our one day in Porto, Portugal

Still trying to get caught up on our blog posts, and there's still quite a lot to tell you about! We had a very hectic week between when we finished our big hike and we made it back to Canada.

I already told you the story about our flight delays, so when we arrived in Porto, Portugal on the 26th of June, we only had the one day to explore. 

Big news... we bought another motorhome!

Anybody who follows our facebook page already knows this because I posted a photo four days ago and it is probably our most "liked" facebook post ever! But, I didn't provide any details. So here is the whole story...

We had sold our European motorhome Max last August. We're not done with Europe by any means, but Europe is easy to do by motorhome, so our plan is to put that off until we're in our 70's.

Peaks of the Balkans Day 10... Vusanje to Theth, 17 kms

The last day of our Peaks of the Balkans hike!

This day was billed as a grueling 21 km hike with 1,306 meters (4,300') of elevation gain, followed by 1,600 meters ( 5,300') of descent into the valley of Theth. That's a tough hike for anyone, but made even worse by the fact that they gave us a 4:00pm deadline to arrive back in Theth for our ride to Shkodra, with a penalty of €10 per hour for every hour you are late!

Peaks of the Balkans Day 9... Taljanka Peak Loop, 9.2 kms

Even though it was fairly short, this was probably the second toughest hike of the trip, but with spectacular views of the Gerbaja Valley, as well as stunning views of the Accursed Mountains. It's actually a detour from the classic Peaks of the Balkans trail, but it was included by the organizers of our trip since it is one of the most panoramic of the area.

We were picked up at our guest house in Babino Polje by van and arrived at the trailhead in Gerbaja Valley at 9:15am.

Peaks of the Balkans Day 8... Roshkodol to Babino Polje... 11 kms

June 21 was a relatively short hiking day as we had only 11 kms scheduled due to guesthouse allocation. That was totally okay with us though, because it still entailed a steep one hour climb at the beginning, and then a descent into the valley that seemed like it would never end.

And wildflowers... lots of beautiful wildflowers!

Casino Fun On The Fly: How To Keep Playing In Prairie or Park - Gambling On The Go

We all love a little time resting and relaxing, whether that looks like chilling on your couch with a good book or spinning a few reels at an online casino. When you’re trotting around the globe, either at a breakneck pace or snail-slow, taking the odd breather is pretty crucial in making the whole journey worth it, but a lot of people think they’ve got to hit casino central to indulge in their passion for high-thrill gambling… not so!

Peaks of the Balkans Day 7... Gacaferi Pastures to Roshkodol, 14 kms

Continuing with our recent ten day hike in the mountains of Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro.

We woke up to a wonderful breakfast at Gacaferi Guesthouse. Probably our best overnight experience of the trip. Really friendly people, and the food was great. It was going to be a hot day, and once again we wanted to get an early start.

Peaks of the Balkans Day 6... Climbing Kosovo's highest mountain, 18.5 kms

This was probably our favorite day of the whole ten day adventure. The Gjeravica Peak hike is one of the most scenic, with sweeping views over a mountainous landscape. 

We had separated from the friends we had made over the previous days. They were now one day ahead of us, and some of them had done the Gjeravica Peak hike the day before but they encountered clouds near the top, and weren't able to enjoy the great views. Not the case for us!

Peaks of the Balkans Day 5... a day off? 8.5 kms

We had done some strenuous hiking over the previous 4days, having already completed 65.7 kms (40.7 miles) since the start of our Peaks of the Balkans adventure. 

So, we had scheduled a day off to give ourselves a break. When I was speaking with Marigona at Balkan Adventure, she included a short 8.5 km "day off hike" to keep us busy during our rest day!

We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin

We have a lot more to tell you about our hiking trip to the Peaks of the Balkans. However we're going to delay that for a day or two to tell you what we've been up to since our hike ended.

What an adventure the last 36 hours have been!

Peaks of the Balkans Day 4... Cerem to Doberdol, 15 kms

A relatively easy day on Monday June 17th. Only 15 kms (9.3 miles). Still with 1,025 meters (3,363') of cumulative altitude gain, but it didn't seem as strenuous. 

A bit of a late start as we set out at 8:30am. Again a beautiful sunny day!

Peaks of the Balkans day 3... Valbone to Cerem, 16 kms

So, Sunday the 16th. Day three of hiking. Breakfast not as good as yesterday. Bread, cheese, eggs, apples and some kind of fritters. Fine, but not as good as the day before.

Set off at exactly 8:00am. The route was known to be difficult. "Only" 16 kms (10 miles), but this would prove to be the toughest day of the entire trip, with a cumulative elevation gain of 1,215 meters (3,986') over 5 kms (3 miles). And a rocky karst trail that was difficult to get your footing right.

Top scenic walking tours to experience this summer

Looking to go on some scenic strolls this summer? You’re in the right place! In this article, we will look through some of the most beautiful trails from across the world. 

Peaks of the Balkans... Theth to Valbone 17 kms

We have returned from our hiking adventure, and will try to quickly get caught up in posting. If you missed day one, you can read it here... https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2024/06/hiking-peaks-of-balkans-day-1-theth-to.html.

Day two was the popular Theth to Valbone route. This is the most popular hike in the whole region, with many people only coming to Theth to do this route.

Hiking the Peaks of the Balkans... Day 1, Theth to Blue Eye, and return, 17.7 kms

We are now finished our 10 day Peaks of the Balkans hiking trip that took us through the  Accursed Mountains (also known as The Albanian Alps) of Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro. It's going to take us a while to get caught up on blog posts because that's the longest we've been off line since we did our Kilimanjaro trip over three years ago!

But we shall start at the beginning. On June 14th, we woke up in a hotel in Shkodra, Albania where we helped ourselves to a wonderful buffet breakfast at 7:00am.

Some pics from the last few days

I'm writing this post from my phone, so apologies in advance for any formatting problems!

This is the last time you'll hear from us for a while!

Today is the official start of our hiking trip! No hiking involved, but a hotel in town is part of the trip, so we have moved there. Then tomorrow morning they supply breakfast and then they drive us up into the mountains at 8:30am where they have a 19.8 km (12.3 mile) day planned for us!

And the long term weather forecast looks fabulous! Sunny, with highs of around 25C (77F), except for a couple of days where it's supposed to get up to 30C (86F). Gonna be sweating on those days!

Motorhome Trips in America’s Wild West

The freedom of the open road has always been a major attraction for us and we have been lucky enough to experience the great outdoors across a variety of continents. But a road trip that is on many people’s bucket list is one taking in the wild west of the United States.

 

Generations have grown up on old western films and even more modern stories depicting this fascinating region of the world. Those long straight roads were built for motorhomes to explore and we thought we would share with you a trip that would allow you to take in the stunning scenery and sights – as well as a chance to check out all the Las Vegas betting online sites.

Albania has become a tourism hotspot

We slept in a little after arriving at Tirana Airport so late. Made it down for breakfast just before 10:00am. Pretty refreshing to see the prices, after having spent almost six weeks in England! 

Although, things are more expensive than the last time we were here, just like everywhere else in the world.

Arrived in Albania - a little later than planned!

Tuesday was a travel day! We had to make our way from Birmingham, England to Tirana, Albania.

We left the hotel just before 9:00am and did the twenty minute walk to Birmingham Coach Station where we caught the bus towards London's Luton Airport. We had to transfer half way to another bus, and arrived at the airport right on time at 12:15pm. Cost for the buses was £21.85 ($27.85 USD, $38.25 CAD) each.

Major change of plans.

I mentioned the other day that there's a lot going on behind the scenes here at Travel with Kevin and Ruth, and that is proving to be totally true.

Our original plan for July was to continue through the Balkans, with quite a lot of time spent in Serbia, a country that we have never been to. Then perhaps Georgia for August, before heading back to Canada in September.

Well, all that has changed.

4 Affordable Ski Resorts in Europe for Holidays on a Budget

Excitement is high when you decide to go on a ski holiday, but it plummets when people check the prices. You won’t have to go through that if you search for deals at affordable ski resorts in Europe. Chances are that you haven’t heard much about such budget-friendly establishments, but there are many out there. In this article, you’ll discover four of them, which are characterised by amazing prices and excellent services, so that you can enjoy the exhilarating experiences offered at the best ski resorts in the world without breaking the bank. 

Hiking in Peak District National Park... day 2

Unknown to most who have never been, the name "Peak District" has nothing to do with mountains or the landscape. And to be honest, we didn't know that either. In fact the terrain in Lake District National Park has more mountains than Peak District does. In fact, the highest point in Peak District is only 636 metres (2,087 ft) above sea level.

But Peak District is not quite as busy as Lake District, and the scenery is just as good. And there seemed to be a lot of walking trails in just about any direction.

I'm not gonna lie, we were pretty much done!

We had done Friday overnight at the Ravenstor Hostel in Peak District National Park. We had met our friends Antoinette and Ki there, and we all had breakfast together and then headed out. They do a lot of hiking in this park, and they had planned the route for us. 42 kms (26 miles) over two days!

We set off day one at 9:30am...

We have arrived in Peak District National Park!

We said goodbye to Aly and Martin this morning. Thanks again for putting up with, and looking after us! We wonder where in the world we shall meet again.

And we headed into the city of Sheffield. This is the city where my grandfather went to work in the steel mills when he was 13 years old!

It is so frustrating!

While we have been quietly meandering our way through the English countryside, there is a lot going on behind the scenes here at Travel with Kevin and Ruth. Let me explain...

Although we've been enjoying ourselves doing this "senior backpacking" style of travel, as we call it, we are missing our favorite method of travel... motorhome.

The area where some of my relatives came from

A bit of a dismal morning, so we just stayed indoors until things cleared up. It ended up being a decent afternoon, but with a cool breeze.

Aly and Martin took us for a drive through some of the smaller towns. My grandfather (my mother's father) was born in nearby Wakefield. He started working in a steel mill there when he was 13 years old.

Funny story...

We fly to Albania on Tuesday evening for our 11 day hike in the Albanian Alps. We're so excited!

In preparation, we've been trying to do some walking every day, but it's tough to get in any hilly areas to work the legs. So we've booked a walk in Peak District National Park this coming weekend.

A nice walk to the next village

Monday was a dull morning, and we had some computer work to get caught up on. Aly and Martin went to do some work on an investment property they bought, and they did not make it back until dinner time.

The skies cleared mid afternoon though and so we went out for a 10 km (6.2 mile) walk to the next village and back.

Beautiful day in York, and more photo matching

The forecast was for a gorgeous Sunday with sunshine and a high of about 21C (70F), and that's exactly what happened. It was a perfect day.

We set off just after 9:30am along with Aly and Martin and the four of us drove about 45 minutes north to the ancient city of York.

May Expenses - thanks easyJet!

Well, we had a budget of $2,750 CAD  for the month, and we ended up spending $3,097 CAD ($2,275 USD). Not bad, considering we always make our budget purposely at the low end of the scale to give us something to strive towards, So it's actually pretty rare that we meet our budget. But considering Ruth bought new hiking boots, that's really the item that put us over the top. Having said that, I should have budgeted for them in the first place.

Technically, we spent far more than that, but we were lucky that our easyJet flight had been late and they compensated us £880. We also used some credit card points to pay for our flights from Antalya to Paris on the 1st of May.

The pubs in old town Hull, England

Saturday morning we went for a walk in the center of Hull. They call the area "Old Town". 

Hull has a lot of history, dating back to the 12th century, and next to London, it was the most bombed city in the UK during the blitzes of WWII when 95% of the city's buildings were damaged or destroyed. 

We're lucky nobody was hurt!

We took a rare blogging day off yesterday! But we're back on track now, and so I'll combine Thursday and Friday together in this post.

On Thursday, we spent the day running some errands with friends Glen and Steve.

Almost bought another motorhome!

Yesterday we drove down to Manchester airport and picked up our housesitting host. Again, ridiculously expensive parking charges, just like the other day when we dropped her off at Liverpool airport where they had a £5 ($6.35 USD, $8.70 CAD) fee just to drop someone off close to the terminal. 

We were picking up this time, not dropping off. But at Manchester airport, there is no free pickup outside the terminal. So I figured out a place where we could wait for free five minutes away, and when she made her way through immigration to the baggage she sent a message. Then we could drive to the short term parking area where it cost £6 ($7.60 USD, $10.50 CAD) per half hour.

It was a good week house sitting

Despite the regularly overcast skies, we had a good eight days here in Preston. It seemed to pass by really quickly, even though two of those days had wet enough weather that we never left the house!

We need to try to do more house sitting. I actually applied for one next week, but when the host doesn't respond after 24 hours, I withdraw my application, explaining why. 

England has so many scenic walking areas!

It was another wet drizzly morning, however the forecast called for clearing around lunchtime, and that's exactly what happened. 

We made a plan to have lunch, and then head forty minutes north toward the town of Arnside where there are a couple of National Trust properties with a lot of walking trails.

I came across an eSIM data plan that never expires!

When we were in Turkiye for most of the month of April, I had bought an eSIM for the phone. This was my first experience using an eSIM.

Usually we stop in and pick up a local SIM card for whatever country we happen to be traveling to. It's not as convenient as an eSIM, but its often quite a bit cheaper.

Fantastic hike in Lake District National Park

We woke up Saturday morning, and we were happy to see the sunshine through the bedroom curtains. We planned to meet up with friends David and Mirsie in Lake District National Park, so to have nice weather would make for a perfect day!

We hit the road at 7:45am for the hour and fifteen minute drive to the village of Coniston located in Lake District National Park.

These boots are made for walking...

We packed a lunch and set off to the Forest of Bowland National Landscape about 40 minutes drive east of Preston. 

Still overcast and misty even though there was no actual rain in the forecast. High of 12C (54F).

The rain finally slowed down enough to get out for some exercise

Another wet cold miserable day yesterday here in northwest England. We stayed inside until the rain slowed down after lunch, but the unappealing weather doesn't change the fact that we're trying to be in shape for our upcoming 10 day Albania hike.

So we bundled up and set out on an 8 km (5 mile) urban hike leaving directly from our doorstep here in Preston.

Wandering around Liverpool, and new hiking boots!

We were up just before 5:00am Wednesday morning to take Jane down to Liverpool airport. It was about an hour drive, mostly on the motorway. Of course the highway is not very busy at that hour, and with sunrise in this area at 5:00am it was already light outside.

Arrived at the airport to find they have an odd way of dropping off and picking up people. You have to pay £5 for "express" drop off at the terminal where you have five minutes to say goodbye or you pay another £5!

Easy tips for hiking on a budget

Hiking is an activity that is typically very affordable as it’s very accessible. For the most simple hikes, all you need is a basic set of equipment and then you can simply start walking through the terrain and set off on your adventure - then, as you begin having bigger budgets to play with, you can look into hiking holidays, which are based over a few days or weeks (depending on the duration you would like to do). 

Cat sitting, but that doesn't mean we'll be sitting still!

We did the last bit of our drive from the Dairy Farm to Preston yesterday. 

Arrived in Preston around 3:00pm, and stopped in at a Lidl grocery store to pick up a few things we knew we would use, of course not knowing what our host Jane might have in the fridge that might need using up. 

We sure put on the steps!

The step counter on the phone read 24,365 by the end of the day.

We had checked out of our room but left our bags in the storage area so that we could make our way to pick up our car rental on the other side of Birmingham. Then, I found a little breakfast and lunch restaurant in a nearby industrial area. That turned out to be a great choice!

On the road again!

We had an enjoyable couple of weeks with Helen and Tony. Thank you both for having us. Always lots of laughs when we get together, and we look forward to the next time. Hopefully this coming November in Mexico!

We got packed up and our ride arrived at just after 6:00pm. Tony's Uncle John had come down for the wedding, and they live north of Birmingham so were able to drop us here on their way home. 

And then the skies opened up...

Other than feeling a little tired this morning, we all survived wedding day. We had arrived at the venue yesterday around noon, and had an hour and a half or so to get ourselves cleaned up and into our fancy dress clothes.

Obviously Ruth and I don't carry around fancy dress clothes! However, when we went to the wedding in Ireland last year,  we had Max the motorhome with us and we were able to transport our clothes to Helen and Tony's where they were stored until we needed them yesterday.

Steaks on the grill

So, we've decided to keep the rental car as we had it arranged with pickup in Birmingham on Monday. We probably would have saved a few dollars by taking our house sitting host up on her offer of letting us use her car for next week, however the logistics became difficult. 

Anyway, we decided that the extra cost was worth the extra convenience. 

Getting ready for the wedding

We have a car rental booked for this coming Monday in Birmingham, but yesterday evening I received a note from our house sitting host that she has an older car we can use if we want to. Which is very nice of her!

And I can cancel our car rental at no charge, but before I do that I need to check out just how much we'll save to see if it's worthwhile. 

Nice day trip down to Wareham, Dorset

We packed a lunch and set off for an hour drive towards the riverside town of Wareham, Dorset. But along the way we stopped in at the village of Moreton. Helen and Tony knew of an interesting little church in the village.

Moreton is also the resting place of  Lawrence of Arabia!

House sitting booked, and a preview of next month's adventure!

I mentioned the other day that we had applied for a house sit up in Preston, England and we found out that we were accepted. So we'll be looking after Stripey the cat for 8 days from May 21st to the 29th.

We're also renting a car, but we don't pick it up until we get to Birmingham on the 20th. It looks like we may be getting a ride up there from one of the other wedding guests. With a car rental, we'll be able to do lots of day trips from Preston, including some time in Lake District National Park which is about an hour north of Preston.

Off to the doctor... again!

Boy, it seems like we've been in a lot of doctors offices the last while! 

I wasn't even going to tell this story because it may be nothing... but as travelers, it's always interesting to hear how the medical system works in other countries. So, here it is...

Day trip down to the Jurassic Coast

We were all up at 6:00am Sunday morning. We had made a plan that we would drive down to England's southern Jurassic Coast and arrive there before the crowds. It was supposed to be a beautiful day, and based on the weather forecast it might be the last one for quite some time!

Our thinking was that we would then be able to head back later that morning while most of the traffic would be in the opposite direction.

I told her she would never be bored.

Saturday afternoon we took a trip over to a nature reserve just west of Glastonbury. It's run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and sure enough there were a lot of birding people there with the big zoom lenses and birding scopes.

It's times like this that I miss having the big camera with the fantastic zoom lens, but to be honest, I don't miss it enough to go back to carrying something like that around. Totally happy with the camera on my smartphone.

What's on the agenda for the rest of the month?

We've been really lucky with the weather this week, but it looks like we're in for some more typical "British" weather next week. Overcast with rain and a high of between 15c to 18c (60f to 65f). Oh well, it is only May after all, so we've had it pretty good.

Yesterday morning, we took Lindsey and Sadie over to the Castle Cary train station for their ride back to London's Gatwick airport.

Last day with Lindsey and Sadie

Yesterday morning, I received a notification from our Wise currency account that £880 ($1,103 USD, $1,509 CAD) had been deposited by easyJet. If you missed it, this is related to the compensation for the late arrival of our flight from Paris to Bristol. 

They said it would show up within 7 days, and it did! Did I mention we love easyJet?

Out for a hike above Cheddar Gorge!

We've done a lot of walking in the past couple of months, but it's been mostly flat city walking, not an actual trail hike that includes some climbing. And with our big ten day Albania hike coming up in just over a month, we need to get our legs in better shape.

So yesterday we went up to Cheddar Gorge to do their 5 km (3 mile) Gorge Top Walk.

The smallest city in England

We never did get any rain, but it was after lunch by the time some blue sky arrived. It turned out to be a nice afternoon, with high around 20C (68F).

Tony drove us over to the city of Wells... the smallest city in England based on the fact that it has both a cathedral and only 12,000 residents. We had gone through on the bus the other day and Lindsey had said she would like to go back and wander around. Helen stayed home... she has a bad foot and is trying to give it some rest.

Made it back to Helen and Tony's

On Monday, we walked almost 2 kms to the Bristol Bus Station and took the 10:55am bus from Bristol to Glastonbury. 

The bus was right on time, and it cost an amazingly cheap £2 ($2.50 USD, $3.40 CAD) per adult, and half that for Sadie.

April Expenses

We've been busy since the end of April, and just haven't had time to post our monthly expense report!

We started the month of April by arriving in Kuwait City on April 1st and had two flights throughout the month as we made our way to Istanbul and Antalya, Turkiye. 

Our budget called for $3,115 CAD ($2,300 USD) for the month, but we knew we had some medical things to get looked at, and ended up spending $3,512 CAD ($2,566 USD) in total.

Fantastic news!

Well, the "maybe some good news" from yesterday unexpectedly turned into fantastic news today!

I had mentioned yesterday that because our easyJet flight from Paris to Bristol was late arriving that we may be entitled to compensation. The European Union (EU) has some strict regulations governing the airlines and their commitments to their passengers, and if your arriving flight is more than three hours late, you can submit a claim to the airline.

Arrived in Bristol, England... and maybe some good news!

Yesterday's blog was posted late, so if you missed The view from the Eiffel Tower you might want to go back.

We were up at 5:45am to catch the bus to Paris airport for our 9:00am easyJet flight to Bristol, England. The bus outside the hotel arrived right on time, but we didn't have any small bills to pay for the bus. Only a €20 note. It was supposed to cost €2.50 each for the adults, but when I went to pay, the driver just waived us on through! So the ten minute bus ride to the terminal was totally free.

View from the Eiffel Tower

Friday was a bit of a hectic day! We had to be out of our apartment by 11:00am, but had arranged to be able to leave our bags behind, provided we were back to pick them up by 1:00pm.

So we headed out to return to the Eiffel Tower in the hopes of getting up there to match up another photo or two.

Busy day touring Paris matching my father's photos

For whatever reason, Paris has never been on our "to do" list. I guess that's why it took 62 years for us to get here!

We've only got a day and a half to explore the city, so we were pretty much planning on sticking to the highlights. But with lots of walking, we would see other stuff along the way.

Welcome to Paris!

France is not a new country for us. However we have never been to the actual city of Paris, despite having flown in and out of Paris airport a couple of times.

So when our granddaughter Sadie said that she wanted to see Paris as part of her trip across the pond, we decided that now is a good time!

Next blog post coming to you from Paris, France!

Our daughter Lindsey and granddaughter Sadie arrived in London, England yesterday morning after doing the overnight flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

They spent the day exploring London, and then the evening and overnight at Ruth's aunt who lives in the city.  Today, they plan to go to a theater show, among other things. Then tomorrow afternoon they will take the chunnel train from London to Paris.

Road Trip Savings: 5 Top Tips for Economical Car Hire Deals

No one can deny that cars are among the technological advances that have made everyday life much easier. An additional and extremely important benefit is that travelling has become much less tiring and much more fun. Brits know how great road trips are, as they’re their favourite getaway holiday plan. In doing so, they not only experience something out of the ordinary but also get to know their own country better. However, not all of them know how to save money when looking for a car. You can avoid pitfalls by following our top tips for economical car hire deals in the UK.

Liverpool’s Concealed Delights: A Day to Discover the City’s Hidden Charms

London is the top destination in the South of England, but in the North, the elegant Liverpool is a city that takes everyone’s breath away. Its musical legacy, its maritime heritage, and the urban beauty make it stand out. You may have read articles about the special character of this English city before. However, this one can be the first to reveal Liverpool’s concealed delights. Spend one day of your holidays going to the underrated attractions mentioned below, and you’ll get to know Liverpool in more depth.

Exploring the Unforgettable Journey of Kevin and Ruth: A Tale of Wanderlust and Adventure

So I was wasting time on the internet, and playing with the free ChatGTP Artificial Intelligence program.

Just for fun, I asked it to come up with a blog post about the history of Kevin and Ruth from Travel with Kevin and Ruth. And literally less than two seconds later, it came up with the text. It's quite amazing... and almost a little spooky! Here it is...

More photo matching coming up!

Saturday afternoon, we walked down to the beach. 

Even though the property where we are staying is billed as being a beach stay, it's still a 2 km (1.3 mile) walk to actually get to the beach. There is a big open "forest" area between us and the beach with a lot of walking tracks, but none of them appear to actually lead to the beach. So we had to go along the road.

Moving day

We chose our new place east of the city of Antalya at Lara Beach. Somehow we had to go almost 16 kms (10 miles) with all of our worldly belongings.

I checked the price of a taxi, but that was going to cost over 400 lira ($12.30 USD, $16.80 CAD). Not really that expensive, but we had lots of time so I checked into taking the bus. The problem of course was carrying all of our "stuff".

This is our third time in Antalya

The first time we were here was back in December of 2020, during Covid. At the time, we had an inexpensive rental car, and that convenience enabled us to get an inexpensive apartment on the outskirts of the city so that we could do a lot of day trips.

The second time we were here was in late February of 2022 when we were here with our motorhome Max. 

Lots to look forward to, and it's coming up quickly!

We've proven to ourselves again that two weeks in one spot is enough for us. 

Even when we like where we are, we get itchy feet after a maximum of two weeks and it's time for a change of scenery. And sometimes that's all it takes, is a change of scenery... and some different areas where we can go walking and explore.

Fun to watch the Turkish Stars aerobatic team

We didn't leave the apartment until 3:00pm Tuesday afternoon! Not sure exactly where the day went, but the time does seem to pass quickly, even when we are doing nothing. Neither one of us seem to have any problem wasting away a few hours on the internet. Wasting is perhaps the wrong word, as I am generally researching either future travel or something to do with our investments in the gold market, and Ruth spends a lot of time labeling and organizing our photos.

And speaking of photos, I sure took a lot yesterday!

Booked another flight!

2024 is turning into the year of flying! We've already been on 10 different airplanes so far this year.

Still, it's a long way off from the 21 different airplanes we were on in 2019. We keep track of all of our flights since 2012 at this website... https://my.flightradar24.com/karead7/. You can use the drop down box in the bottom right corner to see the flights by year.