Change

Change is inevitable. It is as simple as that. Some change is for the better, and some would say that some is for the worst. Sometimes change is necessary and other times it seems to come without cause. And sometimes we change simply because we want to. Some moments, some spectacular moments, we wish change would just keep its distance. These moments could be compared to shooting stars. They’re moments of light that we lay all of our hopes, our dreams and our wishes on . . . but in the end they all have one thing in common, they’re spectacular moments of light, glimpses of a bright future . . . and in the blink of an eye, they’re gone.

My life has changed insurmountably since I stepped foot on Jangles last year and left home to sail the world. I’d like to say I’ve changed for the better . . . I think I’ve grown as a person, built up by my experiences. I’m certainly a different person than what I started out as . . . I’ve changed. Some changes for the better, some changes for the worst. Some were necessary changes and others without cause . . . but that’s how the story is meant to go, isn’t it? Our life is a metamorphosis . . . a transformation of oneself through experiences, through others, through change. Change finds us all, what we do with it is what defines us.

One thing you learn quickly whilst living on a boat is that plans always change. Wind changes, seas change and the course steered alters. Jangles went back on the water today and I can’t tell you where we are going as it will most likely change . . . we go where the wind takes us, we go where we want to go, we go where we need to go. So whatever lies ahead, I look forward to Jangles’ next journey.

Jangles on the water once again

Canada - Part 2

Robert and I are at the back and Josh is in the second row

Our first full day in Edmonton and we found ourselves at West Edmonton Mall, one of the biggest malls in the world. Inside the mall was a rollercoaster, a wave pool with water slides, a seal show, mini golf, a hotel and the list shockingly continues! After walking around the mall for a while, Robert met up with us. We went for a late lunch/early dinner and then hit the theme park in the mall. Robert, Josh and I went on the roller coaster. . .safe to say that was the fastest, and worst roller coaster I have ever been on. I suppose it didn’t help when Robert began telling me about the people who had died on it a few years back as we were already strapped in and moving along the track! I was so relieved when it was over, a bit shaky but glad it was done! After walking around a bit more, I said goodbye to my dad and Josh, and Robert took me back to Sheila’s house for the night, where we stayed up again, chatting the night away.

The rollercoaster in the mall

From left: Robert, Jess, Jodie, Jess (me), Josh

We went to Robert’s company and got to put a few names to faces. We met Robert’s brothers, Scott and Grant as well as two other bubbly employees, Ryan and Andrew. I was also glad to go to the office as it meant I got to say hello to Sheila again. Afterwards, Robert took us to Joe's parents farm where we watched him and Joe bail. My dad had a good time as he was doing doughnuts again on the quadbike, my brother was also stoked that he got to have a go. We were given the grand tour of the farmhouse and wow . . . absolutely stunning! The house felt like a home, you instantly got that warm fuzzy feeling as you stepped through the door. We said our goodbyes and headed to White Avenue for lunch. We had lunch at a week old pub called the Tavern. . . you could tell they were going to do well as the food was fantastic! I went back to Robert’s place and made a milktart for him and Joe and also one for Sheila, just to say thank you for opening up their homes and for taking the time to show us around. Later on, we had drinks with Robert to end the day and he took me back to Sheila’s house, where no surprise I was up chatting away once again :). 

Beautiful house

Hay bail

We went to the mall again on Friday morning to watch the new Resident Evil in imax. I thought it was a total waste of 2 hours of my life but my brother seemed to enjoy it. My enjoyment came after when I bought a record as well as the record player to go with it! We tried out the record player in the shop and the girl who was helping us had never played a record before . . . glad to say I converted someone to want to listen to music where you really experience it. . . I don’t know how to describe it but there is something so much more pleasurable about listening to music when you are listening to it on vinyl. That hazy scratching in the background, the occasional skip. . . absolute bliss! That evening we went with Sheila to Jodie’s house for a delicious dinner (one of the greatest potato bakes I’ve ever had). After dinner, Robert, Joe, my brother, my dad and I hit White Avenue. We went to a country bar, where Joe somehow got me onto the mechanical bull! Haha man was that an experience! I held on for dear life as this thing jerked forward and backwards, speeding up as it went, until it got the satisfaction of throwing me off (which was pretty much as I just got on!). Joe went on after me and was a pro! She taught that mechanical bull a few lessons. . . . After that I headed to the dance floor, not to be seen again until we eventually left around 2 am. Whilst I was on the dance floor I was told that Robert and my brother attempted the mechanical bull, and apparently did quite well! We all woke up with bruises on our thighs the next morning though!

Josh

Joe the pro

The next day was unfortunately our last day in Edmonton. I packed my bag and said goodbye to Sheila, sad to leave. I had enjoyed our long evening chats and her great company. Thank you Sheila for opening up your home for me to stay in for a few days, we hope to see you out here on the boat sometime soon. Once our bags were packed we went to the airport to say goodbye to Robert and Jodie as they were flying to Kelowna for the weekend. We sat and watched them take off, as we were waiting; we met a lovely couple named Vern and Charlene. Vern and my dad got on swell, as they were both in the avionics trade. We made two new friends who I am sure we will cross paths again with one day. We drove that afternoon to Banff and finally found accommodation at Lake Louise after phoning 35 different hotels in Banff. We arrived late at night; so hit the sack as soon as we got in the room.

Lake Louise Inn

Moraine Lake

In the morning we went to Moraine Lake, which gave us the impression of glass as it reflected the environment around it. There was a group of people doing a polar dip. We all watched as they ran in their costumes into the freezing cold lake, and laughed as they ran out faster than they had gone in. We hired a kayak and paddled across the lake. The water was so calm; it was serenity at its purest. We all got great core workouts as we were trying so hard to keep our balance as none of us wanted to fall into the ice cold lake. Luckily, we all made it back to the dock dry. We then took a drive to Lake Louise, where we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake. Now that was something spectacular to see! After lunch and the most amazing mushroom bruschetta I have ever tasted, I took a walk around Lake Louise. I strolled slowly around as I took in this breath taking lake. That night we stayed at a different lodge, called Deer Lodge. It was a great little place, which I highly recommend anyone to stay at if they ever find themselves in this part of the world.

Moraine Lake

Lake Louise, one viewpoint

Lake Louise from the opposite end

Natural Bridge

The roadtrip continues. . . next stop was Kelowna. On the drive there we stopped at a few places. One of these places was the natural bridge near Golden. It was a natural bridge that had been formed as water pushed its way through the rocks, wearing them down eventually. We also stopped at this small gas station for lunch, Eagle Pass. As we walked into the restaurant, we saw a huge hotel in the background. Just from driving past you would never of known that this was here. This place was called Ghost Town (not hard to see why). We got to Kelowna in the late afternoon. We had dinner and relaxed a bit before closing our eyes for the night.

Skipping stones

Ghost Town

The next morning was the last morning of the roadtrip. We did the short drive from Kelowna to Vancouver and caught the ferry just in time back to Vancouver Island. We were at Robert’s condo, ready for bed, shortly before nightfall.

Wednesday, we fetched Robert from the airport and went to a little spot that most people would drive past without thinking twice, and had the greatest fish and chips! Robert also got me to try a London Fog, which is basically a sweet early grey tea latte. It was actually really good! It was early evening by the time we got back to Robert’s condo, so after drinks we went back to the same lodge for dinner that we had gone to last time with Robert. We all laughed as we were led to the exact same table we had previously sat at! After dinner, with a second burst of energy, we went swimming. Luckily the pool in the complex is heated so I didn’t freeze my butt off!

Thursday was my second and last run with Robert (shocking, yes I know, if you read how much we ran sailing at the beginning of the year!). On this run, instead of just dipping our feet in the freezing cold water, we swam in it! I lost feeling in my toes and my fingers, it was so cold! Luckily, the running returned some feeling back to my body as the sun hadn’t appeared yet over the tall, beautiful trees. Once back at the condo, it was quick packing, and off to the ferry. We took the ferry to Horseshoe bay, where Robert drove us to the airport. We said goodbye to our dear friend in the hopes of seeing him again upon the water soon. The time had come for us to leave Canada. It was a sad moment as Canada was such a beautiful place, and the three short weeks we had flew by far too quickly. Thank you again to all the people who contributed to this being such a memorable trip. So to Al and Ernie, sorry we missed seeing you this time, but I hope our paths will cross once again somewhere in this beautiful world; and to Robert, Jodie, Sheila, Vern and Charlene. . .thanks for the memories :). 

Canada

So as most of you probably know, the family split up for different adventures over the month of September. My mother and sister flew to South Africa whilst my brother, my dad and I went to Canada. My mother went to surprise her mother for her 70^th birthday and my sister went on a trip to Ireland with our nana. Canada was absolutely breathtaking, a beautiful country with so much to offer. You cannot be far from God in a place like that. We did so much, and saw so much, yet we haven’t even scratched the surface.

On the ferry

We arrived at Vancouver airport and were fetched by Robert (our Canadian friend who we sailed with at the beginning of the year). Naturally, here I was leaving the airport in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, needless to say I definitely underestimated Canadian weather as it wasn’t long before I was covered in goose bumps. We took the ferry to Vancouver Island, where Robert’s place was. Despite the cold, I was up top on the ferry in awe of the beauty around me. There simply are no words to describe how spectacular the scenery was. Once on Vancouver Island, Robert took us to his place in Craig Bay in Parksville, Nanaimo. We had drinks and caught up on all the lost time since we had seen him last. Our previous encounter was upon our boats, yet we meet again upon solid ground. We went for dinner at Boston Pizza and soon after, we decided to close our tired eyes for the night.

Drinks at Robert's place.

Favourite spot at Robert's place

The next morning was running once again. It had been months since my last run with my crazy running partner. It was obvious that I hadn’t run in a while but as usual he pushed me forward. We came to a beautiful river and to this day I’m still not sure why, but we took off our shoes and walked across this river. The water felt like ice and I soon lost feeling in my toes. As usual, being my clumsy self, down I fell and got drenched in this freezing water up to my waist. Haha, there was nothing else to do but laugh at myself as I shot out of that water at the speed of a bullet. The next stop was to a market, whose roof was covered in grass and there were goats walking around and eating the grass! We walked around the little shops and got the biggest ice-cream scoops in the history of mankind! I also found a little shop where I picked up a few more records (yes, I know I have to cart them through the airport eventually but I just couldn’t resist.). We went out for dinner to a beautiful lodge and had the bubbliest waitress; it was a real pleasure being served by her. Only our second day in Canada and I was completely in love with the place.

Goats on the roof

Butterfly park

The next morning Robert left for Edmonton, and we were on the island for a few days before we began our road trip to Edmonton to meet up with him again. By Robert’s house is a small yoga studio which I enjoyed doing hot yoga at. I also went for a walk on the same trail Robert and I had run, this time though, I dared myself to swim in the river. So I did . . . I came out feeling refreshed and similar to an ice cube. Once the sun thawed me out a bit, it was back to the condo. In case you were wondering where the other two were in this occasion, they were strapped to the television watching the American Open tennis. On a day that I could finally drag them (with many complaints) away from the television screen, we went to a little museum. The museum showed old buildings and told us a bit about Vancouver Island. The most memorable part of the museum was the man we bought our tickets from. We had a very long, very interesting conversation with him. Just for me, my dad and my brother took me to the butterfly sanctuary. I was in another world as I walked around this place where these magnificent creatures flew around with such an elegant beauty. I never wanted to leave, but I eventually had to.

Craig Heritage Park Museum

Just over a week in Vancouver Island and it was already time to pack up the car and begin our road trip to Edmonton. We boarded the early ferry to Horshoe Bay and drove to our first destination, Whistler. We stopped at  Lion Bay, Shannon Falls and the Brandywine Falls along the way . . . we were constantly being struck by awe as we saw these magnificent creations, one after the other. We got so lost in the scenery that before we knew it, we were arriving in Whistler. Once in our little hotel, we walked around the little town and had dinner.

Shannon Falls

Scenery on the drive

Brandywine Falls

'Strolling In Paris' - Kal Gajoum

We spent the next day in Whistler. We went up the gondola to the top of the ski slopes. We were greeted by a stunning view once again. There were a few monks at the top, sitting and soaking up the view, meditating upon life I suppose. With a place so beautiful it’s impossibly to believe that a God does not exist. We took the Peak to Peak Gondola to the other peak and what can I say . . . the views once again! There was a cycle race on in Whistler where people cycled from Vancouver all the way to Whistler. We met a lady whose husband was doing the race and he had recently had hip surgery, his friend was also doing it in sandals as he broke his toe and couldn’t fit his foot into his shoe!!!! Due to the race, they had a concert at the Whistler Olympic Stadium. I sat and watched that for a while and then decided to venture into the art gallery I had been eyeing for a while. I walked in an instantly fell in love with an artist called Kal Gajoum. He uses oils and paints only with a palette knife. He paints city scenes but he uses strong vivid colours in a few parts of the painting and as you lower the light on the painting it darkens, but the vivid colours come to life making the day scene turn into a night scene . . . it was spectacular!

Monks meditating

The next morning we said farewell to Whistler and started our drive to Jasper. We had planned to stop half way but the scenery was so spectacular that time kept on flying by and eventually we were driving into Jasper National Park. I had been banned from liquids in the car however, as the two men in the car were hating the frequent bathroom stops. We spent the night at the Athabasca hotel, a quaint place with lots of character. It was filled with old antique furniture.

Whistler mountain

When I stepped outside the following morning, I froze. We had to go and buy a jacket for me that was actually warm. Once I had the jacket and a pair of gloves, we went up the Jasper Tramway to the top of Whistler Mountain. It was snowing when we reached the top. We walked out across the snow-covered ground . . . and then the snowballs started flying. I turned to pick up snow (not thinking) and wham! One hit me right in the butt! I retaliated with a great shot, hitting my brother right on target. Eventually we were both too cold to even pick up snow and the wind began, freezing us inside out. We went inside for lunch and had a nice warm vegetable soup. After our snow trip we drove to Medicine Lake where it started snowing again! The lake was called Medicine Lake as it disappeared completely during the summertime so the natives believed it was magic. We drove to Maligne Canyon and then Maligne Lake, also both breathtaking. The Lake was like glass as it reflected the mountains around it. As we were driving back to the hotel, we saw what we had all been hoping for. . . a black bear. It came right next to our car, eating berries off of a plant before walking across the road back into the bushes somewhere. We were all stoked that we had finally seen a bear!

Snowball Fight

Medicine Lake

Maligne Lake

Black bear

Miette Hot Springs

The next morning on our way out of Jasper, we stopped at the Miette Hot springs. We all climbed in a hot pool heated to 40 degrees and then followed that by taking a very QUICK dip into the 10 degree pool and then back into the hot pool. It made your skin feel like it was on fire as we switched from hot to cold and back to hot again. We drove the last leg of the road trip and arrived in Edmonton around 5pm. We went to Robert’s office (Weinrich Contracting Limited) and were greeted by a friendly face that belonged to Robert’s mom, Sheila. She took us to her house for drinks and we all caught up until it was time to meet up with Robert and Jodie for dinner at the Thai restaurant. It was a great dinner, and the smiles of every face at that table are imprinted in my mind as well as my heart. It was a happy moment . . . I can’t describe it any other way. Robert took Joshua and my dad to his place to sleep, whilst I went back to Sheila’s house as she had kindly offered for me to stay in her spare room. We sat up chatting for a while; it was great getting to know Sheila on a new level. Her two beautiful dogs, Duchess and Scooter, also eventually warmed up to me.

There is still so much to tell you about our time in Canada, and I will, so look out for the next blog post, it will be coming shortly. 

Orlando

So we’ve been away from the boat for 2 weeks now. Some (Mr. Captain) are missing the boat and others are enjoying being land based for a while again. We spent the last two weeks in a resort called Mystic Dunes in Orlando, visiting famous theme parks, seeing family and on my part, buying records.

We arrived in Orlando to the weather report predicting thunderstorms every afternoon. However, we were in Orlando and had to visit some of the parks. 

The first park we ventured into was Orlando’s Universal Studios. This is where we met famous people like Marilyn Monroe, Scooby Doo and Shaggy, Spongebob Squarepants, Patrick and even Squidward. We went on all the big rides. The Rock n’ Roll rollercoaster was a favourite because as you were being twirled and flipped upside down, you could listen to a song of your choice. As I was being twirled and flipped, I got to do it to the sound of Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” Another famous ride was E.T. We helped E.T. get home as we rode on bicycles through space and to his planet. As promised, it began raining towards the end of the day, so we headed home.

The girls with Betty Boop

The next day, dad and Josh wanted a golf day. They headed off, and after about three hours it began pouring again. My mother and I drove to the restaurant Kenzies by the golf club to see if we could see them and on our way there we saw a golf cart on the 18^th hole with two people sitting inside it, whilst it poured with rain. I laughed and said that I felt sorry for whoever it was. My mom said it would be funny if it were my dad and Josh. As we got closer it turned out it was my dad and Josh! My mom and I hooted until they eventually saw us and then laughed all the way to the golf club. We sat and had a drink waiting for them to arrive and eventually (40 minutes later) once the rain had stopped, they arrived all soaked. We sat and had dinner whilst we heard about how terrible they both were at golf.

Dad and Josh stuck in the rain

Josh and Rebecca on the front of the Hulk ride

Sunday morning = next theme park. We ventured to the Islands of Adventure theme park. We got there early so managed to get to the front of the queue on two of their major rides. The hulk was a rollercoaster that took you right underneath the bridge; my brother and sister loved it so much that the minute they came out they ran back around to go again! The next ride we did was the Spiderman ride. It stopped working half way so they let us to the front of the ride to try again. With American kids still at school the theme parks are reasonably quiet so there weren’t many long waits. We ended up going on all of the major rides. We made our way to the back of the park to the Harry Potter section and it was madness . . .the rest of the park was quiet because everybody was congregated here. There were massive long queues for people buying butterbeer (shortbread syrup with butterscotch sauce) and massive lines for people buying wands! The lines weren’t too long for the dueling dragons roller coasters though so we went on those. The Dueling Dragons rollercoaster’s are two rollercoaster’s that are wrapped around each other. I did one rollercoaster and ended up with a massive headache so my brother and sister went on both dragon rollercoaster’s. Seuss Land was probably my favourite land even though there was only one ride we could do in it. The ride was sitting on a couch and it took you through the world of Dr. Seuss’s ‘Cat In The Hat.” Another ride Joshua and I did, was the Simpsons ride and never again will we do it. It was the trippiest ride and we ended up feeling so sick afterwards. If you get motion sickness, this ride is definitely not for you. Once we had completed all the rides and the rain came again, we left.

Harry Potter world

After much begging on my part, my parents agreed to drive me to the record shop. As I walked in, I was in my own little heaven. My parents, seeing the size of the shop and the thousands of records that resided there, quickly escaped to the nearest coffee shop and left me to do my worst. After searching for a really long time, I emerged with six records. Two of which were Black Keys albums, one Daft Punk, one Cage the Elephant, One Norah Jones, and one Mumford and Sons. After my successful shopping we decided to go back to the car, only to find a women whose tire was flat right in front of our car. My dad helped her change tyres and saw her on her way, and then we went on our way.

We drove to Sarasota to spend the weekend with my moms Uncle John and his wife Carol. Her second cousin, Stephen also came down for the weekend. The weather wasn’t too great due to hurricane ISAAC that was moving past bringing clouds and rain, but it was a great weekend. We went for lunch to a nice spot by the water and we had shrimp and lamb chops on the braai for dinner! On Sunday we went for breakfast and then went through pictures of John and Carols beautiful wedding in Stellenbosch. It was a beautiful weekend catching up with family. Thank you John and Carol for inviting us to come and stay with you and for showing us all your beautiful home.

John and Carol at Siesta beach

Chatting with Stephen

Seaworld

We had a week until we left Orlando and had tickets to two more theme parks. One of these we went to on Tuesday. Seaworld Orlando was amazing. They had three major rides, all of which were spectacular. The Manta was a rollercoaster where you are basically in the superman position the whole time. The Kraken was another roller coaster; this one just had a lot of loops and ups and downs, also going through a tunnel. The Journey to Atlantis was like a log ride with a little bit of a twist . . .literally! Instead of going straight down, you went down and twisted to the side. They also have these little machines that you put money in and you can squirt people coming around on the ride. We had our coins in and were ready to go, when a cart came and a guy n a white shirt was splashing everyone on the ride, so we timed it perfectly and he got soaked as he was hit with a big spray of water. We could all not stop laughing, as it was so priceless, he was so angry and shocked that he had gotten soaked. My mom, sister and I also got to feed the dolphins, which was amazing! When we left the park, it wasn’t raining but it was time to go home.

Feeding the dolphins

 The last park we went to was Aquatica. We managed to go on every single ride in the park, my mom and I even going on our favourite three times. There was one ride where you went in a tube through the Commerson Dolphins pool. This was hands down the funnest water park, the only negative about the day was that Rebecca lost her waterproof camera on one of the rides. We left the park by 2:30 as we all had to pack to fly to Vancouver the next day. We had a great two weeks in Orlando, even with the weather from the hurricane, it was great. It is time for our next adventure in Vancouver. Stay safe and God bless xx

Commerson dolphin