I'm back in Nanaimo, after 2 nights in Cumberland. Staying in this hostel http://www.ridingfool.com/ with Katie and 4 other people. It was AWESOME. I don't think I've ever walked in to a place and felt so at home, whilst sharing it with 5 other random people! Katie and I were meant to be viewing an apartment Monday night, but after spending an hour in the hostel I had already changed my mind on going down that route. There was another girl, Val from Ontario who will also working on the mountain, who is staying at the hostel for the whole season. Also another 'Lifty', Ben, is staying there. I got on so well with these guys that I already didn't want to leave. So we didn't go and see the apartment! Instead we went to our new local pub, The Waverly and ate chicken and chips and came up with a rock band name and enough track names to start an EP. So it turned out to be a productive night after all!

We went back to the hostel where there was a free keg of beer and I learnt a couple of line dancing moves from Val. I preferred my own versions though and just freestyle line danced...

I had booked up to see a guys apartment at midday on Tuesday, but he failed to show up (rude much), Katie and I took it as a sign that we weren't meant to live there so we went and got Coffee at Tim Horton's and I managed to say no to a doughnut (willpower at its best!!). Ben had kindly driven us there, so we went back to the Hostel with him.

Val and I wanted to get off our butts and get some fresh air, so we borrowed the bikes from the hostel and went on an adventure in Cumberland!! As you can see from my picture, it isn't a normal bike. It had chopper type handlebars, only 3 gears and you had to peddle backwards to brake... Which we found out is difficult to control when you have stopped, whilst going down a hill!! I watched as Val got further and further down it, trying to stop with her feet. I felt like I could've rode on forever, but it was getting very dark, very quickly and my mind started playing tricks on me as we rode through the forest! We were riding down the middle of a wide paved road, with the mountain in the front of us and the tallest trees either side, whilst the sun set on the other side of the mountain. I said to Val that sometimes I still can't believe I am here in Canada, she told me to just 'be' in every moment. I just want to capture the feeling I had at that moment and bottle it! I could make a mint if I sold it on! :-D

Cumberland is the original mining town from way back in the day. It was the first town up at Mount Washington and it still has a lot of the original features. So the building fronts are very traditional looking and it feels like you have stepped back in time 100 years or so. I couldn't ask for anything more different from Portsmouth. There are miles and miles of biking trails and the mountains are just behind it. It's the first time I've rode a bike on the road without feeling like I was going to get smacked from behind by a car! Because there is only about 5 cars around the roads at any one time. Yet it has all the things you need to live, convenience stores, a post office, 5 pubs and a wool shop. Just what I need!

So in conclusion, we have booked to stay in the hostel there for the initial month that we start working. Now we have friends with Cars that are doing the same jobs as us, Katie and I are staying put in Cumberland. The place to be!

My camera has arrived in the country, albeit it's stuck in customs at the moment... But you can now expect a whole lot more pictures on here!!

Thanks for reading, its great to hear from you all on my message board :-)

xxxxxx