On the long journey across Canada

My journey to Alberta started on Tuesday around midday. I first took metro then a bus, it took me almost two hours to get to the far end on west side of Montreal Island.
Then again 30 min walk to cross the bridge and find a spot to start hitchhiking.

on the bridge to cross the Saint-Laurent river and get out of Montreal

From there I have been very lucky. After about 10min a car stop, with a young couple from Sherbrook that was on their way to BC, for a similar adventure as me.

Antoine and Magali, they started their trip much faster than me, as they decided to leave just Monday evening. They quickly pack up the car, take care of everything at their places and left Tuesday morning. Magali pass by her job in the morning only to say she quit. And during the trip they both had to call their parents and friends to tell them they are leaving.  That was pretty funny.

As we all heading in the same direction we made the entire trip to Calgary together and that was really awesome.  We always found great spot to put our tents for the night and cook ourselves really delicious meal.
With spent a lot of time in the car of course but we had some very nice break to swim in the lac or to spend the night on random place.

We get along very well with Antoine and Magali we are very like-minded, and have a good taste for adventure. It makes the trip really awesome, I couldn't ask for a better way to cross the country.

Finally they dropped mi in Calgary on Sunday and they move on to BC to do some fruit picking for the whole summer and save enough money to travel to Australia for a while.

For me it's time for a very small break, make some washing and get ready to explore the mountains!!

On a new start!!

So here we are, I decided to leave Montreal for some new adventures. This time, there is no trip around the world, no flight, no new country to discover. I decided to stay in Canada and go to the west to discover the mountains and see what the life around there is.

As I already said and it always makes more and more sense; the best way to travel is always by hitch hiking, you meet amazing people and you get to see much more things on the way. You keep all your freedom with a lot of adventure.
As I realize all along my first trip, planning only gives you boundaries, and don't really help once on the road.
The only thing I had in mind was to hitchhike to the mountains in Alberta and find a good spot to stay longer, find a job and enjoy the mountains and nature around.

From the time I decided to go and my actual departure it was quit fast, about a month. Just enough time to warn my job and my flatmates that I’m leaving, and to say goodbye to everyone. As I had nothing plan it was easy to prepare, I just spend the last week-end to get rid of all the stuff I had in Montreal. Without too much pressure, I was leaving only when I was ready. I was thinking of leaving on Monday, but I have been a bit lazy to prepare my stuff. So I end up leaving Montreal on Tuesday, Direction ... WEST!!

The comfort zone

As I already said before, if you want to travel, the hardest part is always to make the first step, once you step out, everything will go on and looks easy.
There is one thing that prevent most people on doing this first step. You probably already heard about it, the Comfort zone.
The Comfort zone apply to every single aspect of your life, but to keep it short, as my blog is all about travel, I’ll focus more on that part.

The comfort zone is that part of your life where everything seems to be under control, everything looks easy and you can make very long term plan without any doubt. this is a very good things, it provide you with all your basic needs, you can live like that forever. but it’s also what prevent your to move forward. and to reach higher expectations.
Stepping outside your comfort zone is always difficult. you need to left behind something you know and you like, for something you don’t know. it’s always scary, and it’s normal, the fear of the unknown. the fear and failing. people get attach to their comfort zone and usually can’t get rid of it. it act as a “golden prison” it provide you with all your basic needs, but prevent you from reaching all your dream and feeling really accomplished.
It’s a bit like being in bed in the morning when it’s a bit cold outside, you feel so good and warm in your bed that you don’t want to get out in the cold ever. Even if you know you have to, so you can start doing something of your day.

When you are at home you have your life in control, your job, your apartment, all your friends eventually boyfriend/girlfriend, and all your small habit, your routine that you know perfectly and it feel very good that you don’t have to worry about anything. You don’t really take any risk as everything stay about the same, you always know what will happen on the next day.

When you start thinking about stepping out of this comfort zone for going on a big trip over few month/years, you start realize, you have to leave your job, your house, get rid of millions things you bought and you don’t really need. you will leave behind all your friends maybe your boyfriend/girlfriend. you will have to leave everything that you know so well and that feel so easy and comfortable.

And in exchange of all this, you have absolutely no idea about what you will get. You go in a direction you don’t know anything about! you will have a lot of fears. “what if something goes wrong ?” “what if I can’t make it?” of course it feels terrifying, you leave all most everything for something you have absolutely no idea.
That is a huge step outside your comfort zone. that’s why it’s so hard to even think about it!! But the real question you should ask yourself is “what if I make it right?”
You have no idea about where you going. Of course many things will goes wrong and you will have some more difficult time. But that what will make you learn more, and teach you the life lessons you need. And you will also have many things going well and make you move forward. one things is sure you will learn a lot and have an amazing time overall.

To make that step out of your comfort zone you have to find enough motivation to fight that fear. Your adventure side need to overcome your emotional side that will make you want to stay warm in your comfort zone.
Once you really take the decision of leaving, that you accept to left behind a part of your life for a while. You accept the challenge in front of you, and everything else will be easier.

Since I got back to Montreal I get back in my old comfort zone, get back on a job that I know well, with good pay, with many friends around, got an apartment, I own a bed for the first time in 2 years !! And recently, as some of you may already know, I took a new step Outside of this comfort zone… more details soon !!