natethenorsk

One of the most tranquil places I’ve been on earth. I’ve been up in this area about a dozen times as my great uncle owns a cabin just outside the BWCA. My dad and I have made multiple excursions up into the wilderness area and a couple of times have gone deep into Canada. The lakes are crystal-clear, you often won’t see another human for days in a row (especially in Quetico), and the wildlife is everywhere! I’ve seen moose, black bears, wild turkeys, loons (my favorite, they have this eerily beautiful call), frogs, beavers, fish (of course), and more. Fish practically jump into your canoe.

Some advice:

Use an aluminum canoe. Yes, it weighs 75 lbs vs the 40 lb kevlar boats, but it’s much steadier. The last thing you want is to be in the middle of a large lake when a storm blows in and have to worry about keeping your lightweight canoe from capsizing and having your gear float away or sink! Plus, you really don’t have to carry it that much. Take your time, there’s lots to see if you keep your eyes open. You’ll likely see lots of Native American petroglyphs on the cliffs at the edge of lakes. Prepare for leeches and LOTS of mosquitos.

This place is run by the coolest hippies I’ve ever met. You have to try La Folie if it’s available to sample. It’s their award winning Belgian sour brown (it beat out every sour brown in the world, including every entry from Belgium!).

You’ll understand the conflict after visiting Palestine. Despite hearing some gunfire at night I felt very safe everywhere I went. Customs in Tel Aviv was a bitch. If you venture into Gaza or the West Bank, tell the agent you’re there only to tour, nothing else. I was in Beit Jala to help repair a Palestinian elementary school. The customs agent didn’t appreciate the fact that I was doing that and that I called the town I was in “Beit Jala” (Arabic name) instead of “Har Gilo” (Hebrew name).

Spent a few days in Riga. There were parts of Riga I liked and some I didn’t care for, but it’s an up and coming city, and the people are fantastic. I remember watching “Biosphere” in my hotel room. It was dubbed in Russian with Latvian subtitles, but the English still came through in the background. I remember feeling a bit embarrassed that Pauly Shore was being exported into Eastern Europe. Haven’t these people been through enough, what with communism and all?

I spent nearly 2 weeks in Rezekne, near the Russian border. I remember taking a 4 hour train ride from Riga to Rezekne with no head on the train cars. When I got to Rezekne, I went into the restroom located on he platform, but was so disgusted by the putrid, stagnant urine sitting in the trough-style urinal that I threw up and ended up relieving myself behind a bush outside.

It was extremely rainy in July, but I still had a great time making new friends in Rezekne. Went to a nightclub that was a blast, but almost got beat up by this huge Russian mafia thug. He wanted to play snooker with me, but since I didn’t know how to play, I refused. Things got ugly, but a new Latvian friend I had made, Sasha, was able to diffuse the situation by talking to the guy. And all I had to do is pay for this guy’s drinks all night!

I spent 2 weeks in Belize, mostly in an orphanage between Belmopan and San Ignacio. It was life-changing to, for a short time, become a part of the culture and help out kids in need. The locals were living in what the West would consider poverty, but they were some of the happiest people I ever met. Life for them is about friends and family, not getting the latest iPod or watching the season finale of Heroes. I did get to spend some time exploring the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. Also enjoyed tubing down the Mopan and snorkeling off the reef. I was surprised at the large Chinese population as well as several Menonite communities. Cuban cigars were plentiful and inexpensive. Don’t drink the water, though! I was careful to filter, but still somehow contracted amoebic dysentary. I had a 104F temperature the night I returned home and spent 2 weeks living on the toilet. I ate nothing but white rice, jello, and bananas for a month!

I spent a summer in Norway in 2001, right after high school. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I love the people, the weather, the scenery, the lifestyle, the ubiquitous light (in the summer at least!). It’s been my dream ever since to purchase a summer home on the edge of some fjord.