It's been a crazy summer. At the end of July Carly and I packed up the van to move from Whitehorse, Yukon down to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This seems like a long time ago now looking over the photos, but as we are finally slowing down and getting settled in our new home we can take a moment to reflect. Below covers our two week drive down from Whitehorse to Vancouver Island.
I had been a little concerned about filling the van with all of our worldly possessions as it was also to be our home for the next two weeks. I had purchased a roof bag for the van so we could store things Continue reading →
We left Victoria early in the morning to head 'up island' to Nanaimo to visit some of Carly's family. From there we took the ferry back to Vancouver on the mainland. Let the first road trip in the new van begin!
In Vancouver we had a quick catch up with some friends, did a little shopping (Whitehorse is a little limited on that front) and saw some more of Carly's family who also put us up for the night. They were out when we arrived but gave instructions on how we could let ourselves in. Unfortunately we managed to set off the burglar alarm, which in a heist film style moment automatically Continue reading →
Earlier this year I applied for permanent residency in Canada through the Federal skilled worker program. This program allows you to apply for residency without a job offer in place, but relies on your education, skills and experience. From the Canadian Immigration FSW site:
Canada encourages applications for permanent residence from people with skilled work experience and education that will contribute to the Canadian economy.
As you would expect, the application process is complicated and long. To give you an idea, it took me around three months of toil to get everything together in order Continue reading →
It felt a little strange to be heading back West - the complete opposite direction to home and covering a journey which had taken me 5 months to drive in just 7 hours on a plane. My 3 flights up to Whitehorse were well rewarded however - leaving the airport the Northern lights were right above us. Carly explained that I was very lucky because although Aurora activity is common, you aren't always able to see them due to the clouds. The night was clear and the view only got better as it got darker throughout the night.
I managed to pick up a cold the day before leaving Halifax so that, combined Continue reading →
After Gaspé I headed down the coast to Percé Rock which Hilary had recommended to me. The large rock impressively sticks out of that water and at low tide you can walk right out to it. Somehow I managed to wake up early enough to get out there before anyone else. The town of Percé itself is a very uninteresting tourist orientated affair but the night before I had found a small rest stop just outside of town where I stayed for the night (there not being any signs telling me not to) Throughout the evening another two campervans had joined me at my little spot - obviously also not fussed about Continue reading →
It was a little hard to leave Montréal. I had intended to depart a week before I actually did but the pull of the city kept me there. I had made some good friends during my time there and had lots of fun – so in the end I needed to drag myself away in order to continue my journey. I think I could have stayed there for a long time... well probably until it got silly cold.
My time in Montréal continued to be busy and included gay pride parade, an art gallery, a city break camping trip with my friend Carly, an electronic music festival and plenty more partying. It was great to get a little Continue reading →
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