Questions and Lists

"Would you do it again?" That's an easy question to answer. It gets a resounding, "Yes!" And so does the other question that usually gets asked before or after this one, "Are you glad you did it?"


The next one is "How have you changed?" and that is going to take awhile to answer. We know that what we have seen, heard, tasted, touched and experienced during the past year has already made an impact on us. But how it becomes woven into the fabric of who we are and the choices we make at any given point in our lives is going to take years to unfold. It's an unknown, but perhaps this is one of the most rewarding parts of this trip. A new adventure to be lived out.


While in Casablanca we started preparing for THE question everyone asks, "What was your favourite part of the trip?" The truth is, we don't really think of it as a Trip. It was a Journey. And we have lots of categories of Favourites. We had fun putting these lists together, and you'll see that we didn't stick to any rules about number of favourites!


Favourite Playground

- Kinsmen Park, Saskatoon, Canada

- St. Kilda's Adventure Playground, Melbourne, Australia


Favourite Places to Swim

- Rock Springs, Florida, USA

- Laguna de Apoyo, Nicarauga

- San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

- Tongelreep, Eindhoven, Holland

- White Beach, Philippines

- Falls at Banfora, Burkina Faso

Favourite Countries

- Philippines - the kids loved having other kids to play with

- Australia - great friends, great sights and all the comforts of home

- Canada - we are still here aren't we

- Nicaragua - lots to see and do and easy to get around (relatively speaking)

- Thailand - food, beaches and elephants

Favourite Bike Rides (this is really all our bike rides)

- Santa Monica, LosAngeles, USA

- Brisbane, Australia

- Ometepe, Nicaragua

- Holland - everywhere

Favourite Forms of Public Transporation

- rickshaw, Bangladesh

- moto trike, Philippines

- tuk tuk, Thailand

- Canadian school buses, Nicaragua

- London Tube, England

Favourite Books

- Elijah of Buxton, Christopher Paul Curtis

- Tales of Greek Heroes, Roger Lacelyn Green

- Penderwicks, Jeanne Birdsall

- Making Globalization Work, Joseph Stiglitz

Things Stolen

- one camera case - that was it!

Favourite New Foods

- Repocheta, Nicaragua

- Tom Yam soup, Thailand

- Gallo pinto, Nicaragua

- Roti by Bipul, Bangladesh

- Potato Corner Fries, Philippines

Favourite Places to Sleep

- on the beach at Bowron Lakes, BC, Canada

- Los Banos apartment, Philippines

- Elephant Nature Park, Thailand

- YMCA Geneva Park, Ontario, Canada

- sleeping outside at Parc W, Niger

Worst Traffic and Pollution

- Manila, Philippines

- Dhaka, Bangladesh

- Cairo, Egypt

Scariest Moments

- first zip line, Mombacho, Nicaragua

- shortcut between Clinton and Lillooet, BC

- driving in Bangladesh, anywhere

- driving to Batad (rice terraces) in the rain, Philippines

- learning all our flights were cancelled with 5 months left to go

Most Beautiful Views

- 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Australia

- El Encanto, Ometepe, Nicaragua

- Whistler Mountain, BC, Canada

- Batad rice terraces, Philippines

- sunrise on Mt Sinai, Egypt