I took a gap year between High School and University.
SUPER happy I did.
It opened my eyes to the bigger world. Other cultures. Other ways of thinking.
Niklas Christl didn’t know what to do when he graduated High School. Here he documents what happened on his gap year — and how it changed his life.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Sept. 1990
When I wrote this I had just moved from Calgary to Saskatoon, the summer of 1990 — expecting to stay 1 year. I ended up staying 10 years.
I was a tourist in Saskatchewan.
I drive home alone from Saskatoon to Calgary, in September, in the late afternoon. I take the smaller, stair-casing highways, speeding with impunity. There seems to be no R.C.M.P. left in Saskatchewan.
I drive through towns with great names like Bounty, Wartime and Conquest. Who got to name these places?
The prairies are a never ending stream of checkerboard fields, barns, churches, cows, dust-devils, road kill and ponderous, overloaded farm trucks. The heat rises off the roadway and seems to evaporate the mirage pools of water before I can enjoy splashing through them. The smells are … well, unique to the Prairies. And I never knew there were so many hawks in all of the world.
Grand daddy grasshoppers wing by as big as birds. Slower, less experienced insects splatter my windshield. The freshly oiled gravel roads splatters my car as well, but I don’t care.
I stop at Outlook, Saskatchewan and sit out in the middle of a sandbar in the middle of the Old Man River. The air is calm, the sun is smoking and the song in my head is called …
I never believed that I’d grow old.
The sandbar is the highlight of the drive. Glorious. The last day of the longest summer of my life. I wish it would never end.
If I could make a wish,
I think I’d pass …
Like everyone else in Saskatchewan, I listen to CBC AM radio constantly. The weather is updated every 15 minutes. They report that the canola is too dry to reap. It will shatter if harvested. But the wheat is still too moist to take off the field. Saskatchewan weather is one big Catch-22.
Driving West into the setting sun, I find myself alone with my thoughts. I dream a grand scheme.
As night falls, I approach Drumheller and the badlands. The warmth from my big mug of tea is comforting.
It’s harvest here. Dusty farmers take dinner on the tractor this evening and plan to work all night. I see the bright lights of combines bobbing along in the dark in every field.
I drive home alone from Saskatoon to Calgary in September.
I tried and failed to fly a DJI Spark drone when it was released 2017. Did not once get it off the ground. It was a dead weight on my Patagonia trip that year.
In 2021 the (Mavic) Mini SE is their entry level model. CAD $349. … How long before I break it? 😀
I’ve either gotten a lot smarter — or their drones are much easier to operate now.
Click PLAY or watch the 1st flight on YouTube.
The one tourist attraction in Seville not widely touted are the beautiful bridges.
Click PLAY or watch more attractions on YouTube.
I arrived Lisbon Nov. 2nd, 2021 — my birthday. During a pandemic.
My excuse was ESSENTIAL TRAVEL 😶 to get a dental implant done. Expen$ive — but excellent. And finished within 2 weeks. A dental holiday.
Click PLAY or watch highlights on YouTube. (3min)
I avoided museums and restaurant because PLAGUE — but ordered out from famed Time Out Market at least 6 times.
Fantastic street art for pretentious influencers. 😀
I stayed at Sunset Destination. Not the best hostel in town, but definitely the best located. On top of a train station transportation hub. AND they have a great rooftop patio.
I walked more than on a typical hiking day. There’s much to see. Many viewpoints to visit.
I really liked climbing the Christ statue at sunset.
I’ll be back in Lisbon next Spring to get my implant installed.
I’d been to Seville, Spain once before in 2015. Was happy to return to catch the high speed train to Madrid. It’s the largest city in lovely Andalusia.
It’s a great walking city.
One highlight is bridges.
The Plaza de España is fantastic.
I was there during a dusk rain storm, watching busking Flamenco dancers.
But it’s the Royal Alcázars (Palace) that is the biggest draw for tourists.
Sprawling gardens, minor palaces, regal salons, and dead end walks. A hodge podge of styles. Great for wandering.
My favourite spot was the “Baths of Lady María de Padilla” — rainwater tanks underground. Maria was mistress of Peter the Cruel.
Next door is Seville Cathedral. The largest Gothic cathedral in Christendom.
This is supposed to be the tomb of Christopher Columbus. There’s another in the Dominican Republic.
The Giralda tower was once highest in the world. You can still ride your horse to the top.
Personally, I quite like the riverside Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold).
Of course I stayed in the charming Barrio de Santa Cruz near the Cathedral. It was once the Jewish quarter. Now a labyrinth of cobblestone pedestrian lanes (too narrow for cars) where it’s easy to get lost.
I’d go back to Seville anytime.
I haven’t spent all that much time over the OTHER SIDE of the river.
I rode Portugal November 2021. November is considered off-season. There were very few tourists.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
Cycling Alentejo and the Algarve is very popular, especially with German tourists.
For me Alentejo was much better. Very undeveloped. Low population density.
The Algarve is overdeveloped. And not in any way more scenic.
Weather was good. But I did have one BIG rainstorm.
I mostly followed the EuroVelo 1 Atlantic Coast Route using an app called Mapy.cz recommended to me by two Polish cyclists. Other cyclists recommended RideWithGPS. I’ll try that on my next trip.
It’s not much signed. Not clear. The EV1 in France — by comparison — is well signed and much better maintained.
I was quick to go off route if something looked interesting either left or right. Ended up getting lost and having to backtrack quite often.
With a week long touring bike rental from BikeIberia here’s what I ended up doing:
Lisbon > train to Setubal > ferry to Costa de Gale
Night 1 – Small room beside a small town bar in Comporta
Night 2 – Great hostel in Porto Covo
Night 3 – Tenting near Odeceixe
Night 4 – Great hostel in Sagres (huge rain storm)
Night 5 – Sagres
Night 6 – Hostel Portimao
Night 7 – Great hostel in Faro
Cost was about 30 EUR (US$33.85) / day for 7 days. Cost / day is less if you book for longer.
That included a good bike, well maintained. Helmet, handlebar bag, 2 waterproof panniers, toolkit, spare tube, pump and lock.
BEST of all — you can drop the bike anywhere you want in Portugal and Spain at no cost. The company picks it up on your last day. Brilliant.
Click PLAY or watch an EV1 promo video on YouTube.
I’m already considering riding one of the Camino de Santiago routes in future. Perhaps Lisbon to Santiago along the coast.
I slept most nights in a hostel, the best of which was MUTE in Porto Covo, where I had started my Fisherman’s Trail hike the week prior.
I would have slept in the tent more often, BUT nights are long in November. And it was colder than I expected.
In general, I took the scenic route closest to the Atlantic.
Beaches in November are deserted.
I ate one restaurant meal a day.
Free coffee at the hostels. Or on the trail.
I’d detour to tourist attractions.
I easily finished at Faro within my 7-day rental. Probably the least charming town en route.
Small coastal villages are best for me.
I’ll be back to Portugal / Spain to rent AGAIN from the same Lisbon based company. This is the easiest way in the world to do cycle touring.
Having traveled over 90 nations, IF you asked me where to go in December … near bottom of the list would be Toronto, OnTerrible. 😀
Yet for reasons I’m too embarrassed to relate, I ended up staying in a downtown hostel for 5 nights.
ON THE UPSIDE, the Planet Traveler Hostel in Kensington Market is excellent. I knew the eclectic Kensington neighbourhood from the Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.
The STAR of King of Kensington was Al Waxman, a household name in those days.
Waxman died in 2001 — but there’s a statue of him in a neighbourhood park. Crowded by homeless tents.
I really did enjoy funky Kensington, however. Weird shops, cafes, and restaurants.
I went looking for the #GardenCar. And found it.
There’s a lot of bad graffiti. And some excellent art.
My best meal was slow cooked ribs and brisket from Hogtown Smoke. I brought it back to the hostel where the wine was cheap. 😀
What do you do in a big city during wet, dark winter?
MOVIES. MUSEUMS. STAGE PLAY. WALK. WALK. WALK.
First stop was an immersive van Gogh exhibit.
I attended my second NBA game ever. Toronto defeated the defending Champion Bucks — who were without their MVP Giannis that night.
My first visit to the Royal Ontario Museum was a surprise. Expensive. But excellent. The space compares well against the Prado in Madrid, for example.
My highlight? Light of the Desert, the world’s largest faceted cerussite gem, weighing 898 carats (179.6 g).
Next December? … Hawaii. 😀
Mike Sisson’s favourite work in the Prado Museum, Madrid, is Las Meninas (‘The Ladies-in-waiting‘) by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age.
It’s one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting.
5-year-old Infanta Margaret Theresa is surrounded by her entourage. The artist is stage left. I like how the entire top half of the painting is wall and ceiling. 😀
Margaret Theresa died age-21.
For some reason, the painting below by Antonio Fabrés jumped out at me.
The Slave Girl. Of course it seems to more be his erotic fantasy — not anything to do with slavery.
“El Greco“ moved to Toledo, Spain in 1577. So different than anything that had come before that he’s considered unique. Imaginative, colourful and … weird. So different than the endless portraits and dark religious paintings of the day.
Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta caught my eye.
The model for nearly all of the female figures in his genre paintings was Aline Masson, the daughter of the doorman at the Paris residence of the Marqués de Casa Riera.
In the tangled web of European old city cobbled streets, I used LIVE view for the first time.
A preview of the augmented reality we’ll all be using soon.
NOW … Google Maps often screws up. LIVE view often doesn’t work. But when it does, it’s a game changer for those frequently lost. Like me. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I’ve also used Google Map LISTS for the first time. Very handy.
Rick McCharles 