吃飽後我們稍微逛了一下超市,就準備要前往旅館Thriftlodge Kingston。與之前的住過的旅館大致上都差不多,提供一些簡單現成的早餐,整潔程度也都有該有的水準。唯一比較要注意的就是在晚上時開車比較難找到入口,因為就是我負責把大家載回旅館,in the dark。在晚上開車總有種什麼都看不到的感覺,說真的若突然有路人衝出來就會撞上去了,加上地上的線也看得不是很清楚,轉彎時對我來說還真的滿刺激的,主要是轉彎時對於方向盤的控制尚未很熟悉,整個手忙腳亂XD因為視線真的不佳,我就轉到了一個以為是入口的巷子,後來才發現走錯了,交由Louis(Andrew?忘了)來救援。
離開教堂後我們就搭捷運前往Old Montreal河畔那一帶逛逛,絕大部分的景點都在那一帶,是個很熱鬧的地方。首先會來到一個廣場── Place d'Armes,抬頭仰望便是 Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal(聖母聖殿)。而我們一群人待在廣場就很容易會有人找我們幫忙拍照,我們當然也會互相幫忙了。在整趟旅程中,自拍棒真的是很好用的東西,讓我們要拍合照也不需求人,垂手可得。曾經也覺得那是一種中國大媽會拿的俗氣的東西,但好用就好也沒人會管你那麼多XD
接下來當我們抵達加拿大邊境時又是另一個小插曲,Andrew忘了帶passport出來,他只有帶他的driver’s license,因此我們就被帶到旁邊的建築物裡了。加拿大的custom就對Andrew說了,Is Canada a part of America? No! So you have to bring your passport!,真的是酸意滿點。所幸Andrew有將他的passport備份到messenger,所以在邊界好不容易接上微��的網路後,秀給海關他的passport照片,海關才放行,下不為例。
我們五個人點了三大盤,一盤poutine,一盤雞肉沙拉,一盤雞肉。說真的光是要看懂菜單就花了很大的力氣,因為都是法文!Poutine本身看起來真的不是會很勾引人食慾的菜色,看起來大概就像一堆東西混在一起。但當你吃了就會深深了解never judge a book by its cover! 就是一種當你很飽了,你還是會一直塞進去的美食。我們幾個也真的點得有點多,但價格卻便宜。我們把吃不完的雞肉外帶當隔天早餐。說真的,就算放到隔天變早餐微波後還是非常讚!
這種組合後來看其實還滿妙的,兩對情侶,加上我。出發前Jenny & Andrew跟怡君Louis沒講過什麼話,但經過這一趟旅程大家彼此互相照顧的那份情感真的變得不一樣。在美東的這五個禮拜之中我的旅伴前後換了不少,後期Andrew為了見習先回了台灣,而Angel就加入我們一起在紐約玩了幾天,其中Louis也先回了台灣,怡君便跟Angel到Tuft見習去,我和Jenny就一起到Upenn和Joy和毛見習去。這張照片應該是我最喜歡的照片之一了,作為這系列文章的開頭再適合不過了。我們到了 Shenandoah National Park 的Big Meadow,我們至少待了一個多小時有,在夕陽斜照的光影下用Louis的相機拍了超多照片,有的甲掰,有的搞笑,而有更多的是大家開懷大笑的瞬間。
On the edge of “Wait a Minute” It’s been almost a year since I went to Cape Town. And I have replayed this clip several times to catch the trembling voice of Wait A Minute slipped from my mouth. Still my sweat couldn’t help but come out of my hands and feet, feeling proud of myself who stepped forward and jumped without hesitation. Well, I sort of didn’t STEP forward, instead I was carried by the two strong men because both of feet were firmly tied up and were attached to the thick rope. As the last one in the troop to jump down, i was really nervous for sure😂😂
Adrenaline challenge of height in South Africa 🇿🇦 Bungee jumping in the Garden Route is definitely daunting yet unforgettable. The bridge walk to the place we leap down to the gorge was totally scary, you have no idea what challenge is right ahead you. The moment the staff pushed me down the edge got me to shout “ Wait a minute!” And everybody spotted the moment I screamed and I had become the guy to be laughed at in the group ever since then. The feeling of gravity was truly amazing, and I sort of enjoyed the moment to bounce back due to elasticity of the rope after I reached the lowest point. This had repeated several times before I was slowly dragged back to the plunging stage. I didn’t dare to open my eyes because it was just even much scarier than jumping down, to me it was like forever to finally embrace others at the top. And after that events, bungee jump seemed to help me conquer the fear of height to some degree. There is nothing else that could hold me back from doing; we were even thinking about skydiving and paragliding. Luckily we got the chance to paraglide down the Signal Hill and enjoy the panoramic scenery of Table mountain and the majesty of Cape Town. The flight took about only 10 minutes or more to navigate through the hill to the coast, while it took nearly the whole morning to wait for the optimal winds. The flight was more of a ride on an invisible roller coaster in the air, only slower so that you can glance through the glamour of the city. Sometimes you go directly up, and then suddenly you go abruptly down as if you were falling. The view along the coastline was really amazing. I may even consider living here after retirement.
Taking photos under the big blue sky needs little adjustment afterward, anyone would make a good photographer. This is one of the biggest botanical garden in cape town, the name of which I have totally forgotten cause it sounds pretty much like German. There were many beautiful flowers and scenery was definitely breathtaking, and that was pretty much all we could appreciate, because we could hardly recognize the names for the different plants. Thus we spent a lot of time on the lawn taking pics of ourselves, and we did come up with plenty of ideas of how to pose in front of the camera😁😁
Third time to set foot on the African continent, each time with different people and they all meant a lot to me.
The very first time, I met my girl.
The second time, I realized what mobile dental services in rural areas is like.
The third time, maybe the last time in my years of college, I have to say that’s reason why I love Swaziland so much.
As one of the captains, I’m pretty glad that we had got mostly everything in control, and the vibe of our group was totally perfect. We talk, we communicate with each other, everybody takes good care their own tasks, and most important of all we had really much fun.
Let’s see who’s missing in this pic, the guy taking the pic, “Banele,” and “Dudu,” who I believed was drinking coffee somewhere in the store.