Travel update #2: Canada

So far, we are making excellent progress on our Trans-Canada Challenge. We are now in Cape Breton, an island in northern Nova Scotia, after spending the first few days in Niagara Falls and Toronto and then crossing Newfoundland.

We have hitchhiked over 1600 kilometres so far and slept in eight different "beds". We were given 50 dollars as a gift once, which we (painfully) spent yesterday on our very first paid bed, a campsite (it was actually cheaper, but then there was the national park fee...).

The fact that we have not yet had to spend anything on accommodation is not even due to our iron will to pitch our tent at every roadside if necessary. Rather, it is proof of Newfoundland's truly exceptional hospitality.

Actually, we should sell a filming permit to Hollywood for the first day alone. We pitched our tent on Signal Hill in St John's because it was simply a breathtaking view of the city. Anyone with experience of tents will bang their head, where is the wind cover? We - inexperienced tenters - enjoy the view, then into the tent. It's so loud, why is everything flapping around the tent? What's more, we could use only half of the herrings and we were lying more or less half on moss and half on stone. Well, put some earplugs in and wait and see. 11pm, midnight, 1am. We just couldn't get to sleep. The wind was getting stronger and stronger and at one point a herring came loose. Luckily it calmed down from 3am and we managed to get some sleep.

Sleepless nights are always a precursor to something particularly good or bad. Breakfast on Signal Hill, back to the city. Met some nice bike tourers who we want to visit in Quebec. Now we were off on our trans-Canada hitchhike. A little later we were sitting at lunch in the home of Chuong's little family and then he simply drove us over 300 kilometres to our hoped-for destination, just because he wanted to help us a bit and because he likes to be spontaneous. And that wasn't all, he also bought us dinner, the ferry ticket, gave us the aforementioned 50 dollars and a bunch of good tips and advice. It was incredible and we didn't know how to feel. Can you accept something like that? How can you say thank you properly?

But Chuong was not an isolated case of hospitality. A few days later, we had our first long wait. We were in Gander, it was raining very lightly and we walked back and forth between Tim Horton's coffee and the road section. After two hours, a couple stopped who actually wanted to take us over 300 kilometres! Michelle and Patrick were keen travellers and hikers themselves, so we chatted animatedly the whole car journey. They had told us about their beautiful cabin and the view from the balcony of their house and showed us photos, and when we were close to our destination, they spontaneously invited us to their home! We were cooked for (having already been served lunch) and had a wonderful time. The next day they drove us to Gros Morne National Park, where they organised a place for us to leave our backpacks and we said goodbye. We got on so well that Michelle suggested adopting us, as our parents were far enough away!

After our hike in the national park, we wanted to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia. In the end, two rides took us back to Corner Brook, where Patrick and Michelle lived, and as it was already getting dark, we called our adoptive parents again, unsure. And of course we were once again welcomed with open arms and were able to spend another night with them.

And on our last day in Newfoundland, we got a tip for a good pizzeria from Shawn, a man who only gave us a short lift. We ordered and enjoyed our garlic fingers. When we had almost finished our meal, Shawn came back into the restaurant, exchanged a few words with the waitress and then left. A little later, the waitress came to us and told us that our meal was paid for and that we still had two desserts left!

The devotion with which we are welcomed here can make you cry. Without prejudice, we were plucked off the street as "faceless" strangers, served food and given a great time. Nothing "strangers shouldn't be trusted" or "hitchhikers can be dangerous".

Do we even deserve this? We find it difficult to find reasons. Perhaps because of the courage we have to bring up to stand at the side of the road. Perhaps by listening, which can sometimes be really tiring on five-hour journeys? Perhaps by - in some way - being able to realise the dreams of the people we meet and allowing them to actively participate in our journey?

However, we try to enjoy the uncertainty, express our gratitude and continue on to Vancouver. Until then, there will definitely be a few more stories to tell.