Pre Departure Orientation in Algonquin Park

Pre departure  

1.5 weeks before my departure to the Galapagos

July 19th 2010

I’m a real city girl, born and raised on pavement. I call my trip to Algonquin before my adventure begins the “pre departure” phase because being in nature is probably much closer to the lifestyle of the Galapagos than being in the City.

Cool summer air blowing through hair

No sun in sight to create a glare

Inside Algonquin is a world of wonders and astonishing things

Nature radiates vibes and creating so much peace between us all.

And If I’m absolutely wrong, then camping is fun, and these are my last days with great friends. We are going Portaging and this would be my first official canoeing and camping trip. I love to write, and Nature is always quiet inspiring, it’s the only place in the world where you can hear your thought so clearly that it can be intense sometimes.

Through rhythmic sounds of the lake,

the birds singing so beautifully

 the wind blowing through the trees

This feels like heaven, but I’ve never felt more alive

My friends from home think that I’m crazy now. They tell me I have changed so much and they don’t even know who I am anymore. They knew me when I was in high school, and lets be real, who knows who they are in high school?  I love my friends to death, but they don’t understand me at all, especially when it comes to my newfound love for nature. We connect in many other ways though; they are brilliant and strong and would probably kill for me if they had to.

Even the sound of our own canoe

Put me in a state of constant mediation, mind over matter

Don’t stop paddling for anything, let your physical be a robot and your true self, your mind and soul, run free, swim faster than the loons

Climb higher than the trees

The thing about the city is that there is such a big concentration of people in one place, no wonder people worry about what they look like so much, and they’re being watched all the time!

 

More eyes than flies

Hard to be wise

When the common disguise

Is one filled with lies

I went on this trip with my boyfriend and his 3 brothers, my Yoga teacher/friend and his brother as well. Being the only girl on the trip didn’t intimidate me at all. The people I would be surrounded with were amazing, unique and very accepting of everyone. They are all such different people, they don’t even try to conform, and that’s hard to find in a person these days. My boyfriend/nature man is both my lover and teacher. And as compromising as that last sentence may sound, I assure you that I mean it in a way my mother would be proud of me for.

My wonderful man, teaches me what he can, about the earth and the sand and the ways of the land. He makes me want to learn, and want to burn my old ways.

You make me feel like the world is a place free of chores and stress

Hate and distress

I must say, I’m impressed

What is it about being in Nature that feels so damn good? Even me, the girl that has recently discovered its magic is addicted to the feeling. Its as if its something beyond me, an intrinsic connection between man and the land (something David Suzuki would say) but seriously, its crazy.

Only peace and water, which is music to my ears

Pine Galore! So tall and statuesque Triangular tips and all shades of greens. You can imagine I don’t think I’ve ever breathed in air this fresh in my whole life.

I feel high on life,

I know I’m late to jump on the “nature lover” bandwagon, but who cares about my crappy timing; I’m here aren’t I? Being “outdoorsy” is an understatement to what I feel. It was like love at first sight and breath for me. People from the city “escape” to their cottages, or camps all the time, there once was a time where nature was the commonality and cities were a minority. And though I can never ever deny the amazing convenience of 24hour stores, grocery stores and coffee shops at the tip of our fingers that the city offers, those are just material things. And if there’s anything these recent natural disasters have shown us, its that material things can and will all be destroyed, but we can’t let them destroy us in the process.

I love you cellphone

I love you laptop

I love you car

I love you mall

I love you shoes

I love you makeup

I love all of the things I have, and am nothing without these manmade objects.

Forget about the source, where they really came from, I love the finished product

Our intimate bond with the material world is a little bit ridiculous. I can’t wait to get a dose of another way of life. A place where natives are the general population on the island, and celebrations of the land still exist.

This trip in the trees

Around the birds bugs and bees,

Has made me feel

More real and free

All poems by cm = me
All photos except for crowded city people
and materialism. Those are from Google.
All rights reserved.