15 December 2006
The End
Wednesday 13 December
After breakfast in the hotel, we packed for the last time (that’s something we won’t miss doing every few days), then got the hotel shuttle bus to the airport.
We were surprised to find when we checked in that our bags were between them more than 8kg below the luggage allowance. We tried to work out where we had lost 5kg on the way, and hoped we hadn’t lost anything else apart from the things we knew about.
The airside shops were disappointing – mostly just perfume and designer handbags. There were a few better shops and far more cafés in the US flights section of the departures lounge that we could see through a glass wall but couldn’t get into. That was disappointing because we wanted to go to Tim Hortons (a Canadian fast food chain that does good sandwiches and doughnuts) for lunch, but couldn’t get there. So we made do with Burger King instead.
The plane was delayed as it arrived late and then had to have a Customs inspection, but we finally took off around 5.20pm.
According to the flight information screen on the plane, we have just passed over Baffin Island and are heading towards Greenland, so we are now leaving Canada. It’s a sad moment, but we will be back.
This has been a wonderful three months and it’s hard to believe it’s over. We have learnt lots of interesting and useful things, including:
Thank you to all our hosts for looking after us so well and making this trip so much fun. It’s been a privilege to be able to spend three months in Canada seeing beautiful places and working with inspiring people.
And that’s all, folks!
(there are a few more new photos on the earlier posts below)
After breakfast in the hotel, we packed for the last time (that’s something we won’t miss doing every few days), then got the hotel shuttle bus to the airport.We were surprised to find when we checked in that our bags were between them more than 8kg below the luggage allowance. We tried to work out where we had lost 5kg on the way, and hoped we hadn’t lost anything else apart from the things we knew about.
The airside shops were disappointing – mostly just perfume and designer handbags. There were a few better shops and far more cafés in the US flights section of the departures lounge that we could see through a glass wall but couldn’t get into. That was disappointing because we wanted to go to Tim Hortons (a Canadian fast food chain that does good sandwiches and doughnuts) for lunch, but couldn’t get there. So we made do with Burger King instead.
The plane was delayed as it arrived late and then had to have a Customs inspection, but we finally took off around 5.20pm.
According to the flight information screen on the plane, we have just passed over Baffin Island and are heading towards Greenland, so we are now leaving Canada. It’s a sad moment, but we will be back.
This has been a wonderful three months and it’s hard to believe it’s over. We have learnt lots of interesting and useful things, including:
- How to wash, card and spin wool (from Marilyn Rand)
- That lambs are nearly adult size when they are slaughtered (at the Rands’)
- That ducks are useful to keep in the garden (from the Storey’s Guide to Ducks)
- That an orchard that hasn’t been cultivated for twenty years doesn’t produce many good apples (at the Crown Jewel Resort Ranch)
- That horses can be trained to respond to voice commands without a bit (at the Crown Jewel Resort Ranch)
- How to make soap (from Em Zember)
- How to move hay with a pitchfork (at the Zembers’)
- That grass-fed animals produce healthier (to eat) meat than grain-fed ones (from the books You Can Farm and Why Grassfed Is Better)
- That chickens can scratch up a piece of ground very quickly (at the Hyatts’)
- How to kill, pluck and gut a turkey (from Bryce Hyatt)
- How to kill, skin and gut a sheep (from Jacques, Andrew and Tommy Campbell)
- That border collies are very intelligent and obedient dogs (from Roger, Portia, Jasmine, Lily, Jackie, Maddy, Jock, Carrie and Alice); and
- That we really do want to be farmers (from everything we have done).
Thank you to all our hosts for looking after us so well and making this trip so much fun. It’s been a privilege to be able to spend three months in Canada seeing beautiful places and working with inspiring people.
And that’s all, folks!
(there are a few more new photos on the earlier posts below)
