english

Oct 8 2006

HBC

hudson bay company

Because we were early and close to Winnipeg’s airport we had some time to visit Lower Fort Garry. This was the basis the Hudson Bay Company used for their exploration and exploitation of Northern Manitoba. It’s also the place were Treaty Number One was signed, a treaty with the Native tribes of Canada that turned out to be far more profitable for the white Westerners than for the original inhabitants of Canada.

It’s still hard for me to grasp that most of Western Canada was owned by the Hudson Bay Company and later sold to Canada.

The Hudson Bay Company that still exists today and has a large chain of department stores (think “Bijenkorf” for the Dutch readers of loglog) was recently sold to an American investor.

By • A., canada, english, travel •

Oct 7 2006

Moose

moose

We had almost given up hope. It was getting dark, it drizzled and we were cold and exhausted. So we decided to leave the wild life viewing spot and hiked back to the car. And then there was a noise in the woods and a big moose crossed our path. He was very close and didn’t pay us much attention but just kept going its way. Our hearts were pounding, it was the first moose for both of us.

Too bad this photo was taken in The Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg and the moose in the previous paragraph was non-existant. We saw a lot of geese but no meese. Hecla island was almost deserted, the season was definitely over. The campsite closed, all shops closed and we couldn’t even find the hiking trail that was on our map. So we walked in a slight drizzle that later turned into rain along the shore over boulders and pebbles. We did see a couple of American Bald Eagles though, but they were pretty far away. Huge birds with a wingspan of 2 metres. And even though we had a bear cannister we didn’t see a bear either.

In the evening we decided to head back towards Winnipeg and camp somewhere there so we wouldn’t have to get up at 6 in order to catch our flight home.

By • animals, canada, english, outdoors, travel •

Oct 7 2006

Camping

camping

Yesterday we checked out off the expensive hotel and went to a Provincial park that has a march where a lot of geese gather every night to spend the night. The geese are loading up food to prepare for the big annual trek South. I took some pictures, but it was very dark and you don’t see any geese. Last night we camped for 11 dollars. I must say slept just as good on my Thermarest mattress in our tent than in the soft hotel bed. It’s thanksgiving weekend and this camp site is in another provincial park very close to Winnipeg. So there are lots of people with big pick-up trucks full of beer and firewood who had a party last night. One of our neighbours was snoring very loud but still I slept very well.

Today we’re heading north to an island in Lake Winnipeg to hike and maybe we’ll see some moose. Unfortunately the weather has changed and it is grey, rainy and cold. In combination with the totally flat landscape it really reminds me of the Netherlands. No, I’m not homesick…

By • A., canada, english, travel •

Oct 6 2006

18+

18+

While walking in a shopping mall in Winnipeg I encountered this shop. First I thought it was a porn theatre but then I found out that they just sold tobacco products. No advertising of any sorts, blinded store and a big age restricted warning sign: Apparently tobacco is the true source of evil in Manitoba, the first step towards crack-cocaine and chrystal meth use.

On the other hand in Québec you can buy cigarettes at every depanneur, magazine store and supermarket.

By • A., english, health •

Oct 5 2006

Roomservice

roomservice

I think this is the very first time in my life that I ordered room service. I usually don’t stay in 200-dollar-per-night hotels and I like going out to grab food. But today I was still hungry and too lazy to scour the streets to find some food.

So I had a nice mushroom lasagna for 17 dollars. A good thing Alison’s employer picks up the tab.

By • A., canada, english, food, travel •

Oct 5 2006

Mural

fire escapes

Winnipeg apparently makes a lot of effort to preserve and restore old advertising murals. They are everywhere and I think they look very nice.

By • art, english, travel •

Oct 4 2006

Winnipeg

view from fairmont hotel

Alison currently travels a lot for her work. The company she works for was bought by a company in Manitoba and she works on the integration of the two company’s computer systems, so she sometimes has to be in Winnipeg. This time I decided to join her for a few days, because I could use a break.

Manitoba is located in the middle of Canada, on the prairies. A three-and-a-half hour flight from Montréal (2400 km), or a two and a halve day, 1000 dollar train ride if you have the time and money. I flew. It’s my third Canadian province that I visit.

We stay on the executive 19th floor (the rest of the hotel was full with a union meeting of the steelworkers union) of the plush Fairmont Hotel, and the view is really nice. It’s like resembles the Netherlands, it’s all flat, but there are way more trees. Actually as far I can see there are trees.

The hotel is located in downtown Winnipeg and in the evening the downtown area is completely deserted. We even had difficulty finding a restaurant that was still open.

What I also noted was that taxis here all have cameras on board and GPS and a protective shield around the back of drivers. It appears they have a big problem with crack-cocaine here, and the crime related to it. So yet another resemblance to the Netherlands. We’re lucky in Montréal with our low crime rates.

By • A., canada, english, travel •

Oct 1 2006

Bear

bear vault

We’re going hiking in Winnipeg next weekend and since there are bears in that region I decided to buy a bear vault. It is a canister of strong plastic that bears can’t open (and humans, with their smaller paws can) and can’t destroy. You put your food (and other smelly items) in it so you’re not feeding the bears. We used to hang our food in a tree, but finding a branch and throwing a rope over it is often a big challenge. Especially when it’s dark, raining and you are in a forest with only small trees.

A fed bear is a spoiled bear and eventually starts to roam around humans, cause trouble and eventually will be shot. We don’t want that. Not that we expect to have an actual bear encounter, because black bears are quite private and usually try to avoid contacts with humans.

O, and in case you wondered, Pepe doesn’t like bear vaults. So no Bonsai Pepe.

By • english •

Sep 29 2006

Display

desk in full glory

The desk is almost too big for our living room. I put it there temporarily so the client could see it and admire it. And they did, although they also thought it was a bit big. But that’s what they ordered, and it will fit in their room, don’t worry.

I put plastic bags around the legs so one of the dogs (read Pepe) won’t lift his leg and pee on it. I’m glad I did because this morning I found a wet spot on the cardboard, but the bag had prevented worse. Bad dog.

It now has to be painted, and they asked me to do it, so I have to take it apart again and move it back to the basement. The legs and drawers come off but the top part is still very heavy. Alison almost perished when she helped me to take it up, so I’ll ask for a stronger person to help me this time: the client. Ha, that’ll teach ’em.

By • english •

Sep 25 2006

Phones

2 phones

In the continuing phone saga some new developments. After I registered my phone with the wireless phone company they told me my phone was already registered. I thought that was very strange since I got it out of the shrink-wrapped package, but whatever. A few hours later they called me back: “We’re going to send you a new phone. We’re afraid someone has tampered with your phone.”

So now I have two phones.

Fortunately the delivery this time was less of a hassle since they delivered it when I had a day off. To my surprise the new phone is the unbranded version of this model phone, costing twice as much if you don’t have a contract. It also doesn’t have as many standard pictures on it that I can’t delete, but still a couple of them. I don’t understand why they put stupid animations on phones and lock them so they take up space and clog the menus.

Unfortunately I found out that I can’t use either of these phones when I’m in the Netherlands, since the phone company doesn’t offer roaming there for Pay-As-You-Go customers. So I guess I’ll have to hack the phone so I can unlock it and put a Dutch SIM-card in it. But I’ll deal with that later.

By • english •

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