The tale of freedom, wilderness, nirvana and JOMO.

The tale of freedom, wilderness, nirvana and JOMO.

JOMO – (after Urban Dictionary) – ‘Joy of Missing Out: A sensation of pleasure caused by social deficiency. JOMO cherishes moments of aloneness, it distances one from the extravagant broadcast of social interactions.’

Never have I ever thought I would go into a forest full of snakes and find complete inner peace.

We’ve seen lakes, rivers, seas, the ocean, falls, mountains, forests, plains, and hills.

The greenery is everywhere, it is overwhelming, it consumes you.

We visited many national parks in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, travelled over 8000km by car.

There were moments when we were alone in the middle of vast forests, just animals around us. Bears, moose, wolves, racoons, squirrels, chipmunks, beavers and snakes (lots and lots of sneaky snakes).

There is nothing that can compare to living in a tent in such a place. The sun waking you up in the morning, the howling of wolves at night, racoons trying to steal your food, chipmunks eating breakfast with you, and coffee from an aluminium cup never tasted better.

Hours went by as we sat in silence, read books, and just stared ahead of us, enjoying the nature.

It’s true what they say about getting to know people in the hardest of conditions. When you spend 24/7 with someone in a small car/tent you just can’t smile all the time. You get tired, cold, cranky, sick, you are at your worst. You learn ’the other person’, you learn compassion, and patience. I couldn’t have picked a better human to share my journeys with.

Now, the pictures. There are hundreds of them, so I’ve chosen only favourite places to show you. Enjoy!

Algonquin Park (Ontario).

One of the biggest parks we visited. When there are over 2000 black bears around you, you have to keep your food in lockers!

Niagara Falls (Ontario)

The amount of water going through is unbelievable. Definitely worth putting on your bucket list. Photos don’t give it justice. Go and see for yourself.

Hopewell Rocks and Alma (New Brunswick)

A place with one of the highest tides in the world. We got the chance to see the low tide and walk in places where there is usually few-metre-deep water. Got my one and only Canadian shell here. A place famous for lobsters and scallops (look closely at one of the boat photos – you’ll see piles of scallop shells). Very rainy and cold!

Prince Edward Island

The coldest and rainiest place we visited in Canada. Home of Anne of Green Gables, unique dunes, red-sand beaches and lupin. We spent many hours on the beach, walking in Avonlea (a village from Montgomery’s books) and eating really good chocolate from Anne’s chocolate shop.

Tadoussac, St. Lawrence River and whale watching

We spent three days (our wedding anniversary) by St. Lawrence River, eating best subs ever, wandering tourist tracks and watching whales. We took a trip on a very small boat and saw belugas, minke whales and blue whales. The next day we sat by the water with binoculars and watched the whales from the shore. Amazing!

St. Anne Canyon (Quebec)

A complete coincidence. We saw a sign, turned and… spent the whole day walking paths and bridges in the canyon. Few tourists, and lots of friendly chipmunks.

Bruce Peninsula, Wasaga Beach and Flower Pot Island (Ontario)

The last part of the trip before heading back to Toronto. The water in Canadian lakes is incredible, it looks like the Carribeans. Wasaga Beach has the longest freshwater beach in the world (14km). Bruce Peninsula had the biggest population of snakes we’ve ever encountered – it was like traffic on a busy national motorway. One of my favourite places in Canada.



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