Swatchless

What is the most important thing to do when you plan a vacation? Well, after figuring out where to go, who to go with, and where to sleep, my mind started wandering to where I can find good roving and yarn.  (I MAY have a bit of a problem!)

If you are traveling with another knitter or spinner, then you are set!  If you are traveling with non-knitters, you might need to disguise your itinerary a little.  Get your groceries at a farmers market that just so happens to sell wool too.  Go to a farm (that sells fleece and roving) to see the animals sheep and goats.  Find a good restaurant that might be across the street from a yarn store.  All of this takes quite a bit of planning…

Here’s my approach

Step 1:  Check on Ravelry to find local yarn stores near where you are staying.  Search the “people” section for people from the area, and ask them where they get the best quality yarn.

Step 2:  Search for local farms.  I found farmfresh.org to be very helpful.  Search by the product (veggies, honey, roving etc), or search by the town.  Maps and websites and farmers market details are all listed.

Step 3:  Ask on Twitter to see if anyone has recommendations of area farms to visit, markets or sheep and wool festivals to go to, or local yarn stores that are not to be missed.

Step 4:  Put all the locations on a Google map.  It is a great way to keep all the information in one place.  Link to websites, keep track of business hours or market days.  Use streetview where available so you know what the yarn store looks like when you “stumble upon it by chance”.

So far my plans include visiting alpacas on Martha’s Vineyard, pygora goats near Providence Rhode Island, llamas at Journey’s End Ranch in Middleboro MA, and sheep at River Valley Farm in Lennox MA.

If you know of anywhere in the Cape Cod Area that’s worth a visit, let me know.

Today was a long and wonderful day.  It started off bright and early with a bus ride to Montreal (very productive for knitting!), an adventure through the Biodome where we explored several different artificial biomes.

There were monkeys and macaws and otters and lots of fish and frogs and starfish…

…and penguins…

…and puffins…

…and so much more that were hiding–I never did see the 3 sloths that were apparently up in the vegetation.

In the gift shop I found lots of cute things, including these knitted beauties!  Can you imagine that there are people in Kenya knitting life size penguins?

It seems a bit strange to me, but I was impressed by the “made from scratch” aspect–hand spun, hand dyed, hand knit…right up my alley!

After the biodome and a quick lunch downtown we headed to the Cirque Du Soleil tent at the old port.  I had walked past this site once before, never thinking that I’d have the chance to see a show.  I’m so glad that I took the opportunity to go today!

I am not able to sum up in words what I saw–and photography wasn’t allowed.  There were  feats of strength and balance, daring acts on a trapeze, incredible synchronized performances of unicyclists who kicked metal bowls onto their heads and the heads of other unicyclists–you have to see it to believe it.  There was a hoop dancer, and a rollerskating duo, and a couple of clowns who made several appearances and were very funny!  There were people in monkey suits that you’d swear were ACTUALLY monkeys, and guys doing trampoline stunts on a flexible balance beam.

The costumes, were elaborate and beautiful.  The music was rhythmic and blended so well with the action–at one point scientists in lab coats were playing percussion on giant test tubes, and playing small test tubes like panpipes.

I strongly recommend going to see a show if you ever have the opportunity.

Of course, I took the opportunity to finish my my sock during intermission.  I will always remember that this was my Cirque Du Soleil sock.

People laughed a lot when I was taking these pictures–most of my family and friends know that I knit a lot, and take pictures and post them up here, but to strangers in Montreal I must have been quite a sight.  Some stopped to talk to me, but others giggled and walked right on by.

Trying on my finished sock!  Very excited that it fits and it stays up thanks to calf shaping (increasing 2 stitches every 6 or 7 rows up the back of the leg).  I must get started on the second sock because I want to be able to wear them before it gets too warm for wool.

The kingyo mittens that I mailed to my good buddy in Japan arrived safe and sound.  This is a picture of her with the mittens and a hamaya–a “demon breaking arrow” bought at shrines for New Year to ward off bad luck and bring good fortune.  I think she loves the mittens.  She told me that she cried when she opened the package!  I wish all knitters have such a thankful friend to knit for.

(Photo credit: Papa-Pea)

My friend and I have had many adventures together in Canada and in Japan.  I helped her learn English, introduced her to my family, and took her swimming in the lake!  She hosted me for several days in Japan, showed me around her hometown, welcomed me into her family, and together we suffered through an exhilarating all-night-climb of Mt. Fuji in the summer of 2007.  In the summer, it is difficult to see the mountain clearly due to the rapidly forming clouds.  It is such a shy mountain!

Mount Fuji Dec.2009 (photo credit: Papa-Pea)

Her dad woke up very early in the morning this winter, and took these lovely photos to show me that the mountain that took so long to climb really does exist.  It’s hard to imagine that I was once standing on that very crater…

Me and my friend at the top of Mt. Fuji Aug.2007 (photo credit. Papa-Pea)

Here’s another thing that’s hard to imagine…a Coke machine at the top of Mt. Fuji!

Coke Machine on Mt. Fuji Aug.2007

Where’s the craziest place you’ve mailed your knitting?

Ossama! He was our tour guide in Jordan, and from the first smiles on the bus, I knew that it was going to be a fun 5 days together. From impromptu Arabic lessons on the bus, to stories about the different archaeological digs, and stories about his own family, Ossama added a personal touch to our tour. He spent time with all of the group, getting to know each of the 14 of us, and asking us about our countries and lives.

fashion lessons on the bus

Even though he has been to all of these places so many times before, he presented each historical site with enthusiasm. He showed us through Petra, pointing out things that we would never have noticed on our own. He showed us around the Wadi Rum desert in the footprints of Laurence of Arabia. It was that night, camping under the stars in the desert that we got to really appreciate his sense of humour. Thanks Ossama to being on scorpion patrol!

At the end of the trip, we exchanged contact information, and have continued to be penpals over the last few months. I’m glad to have made such a nice friend in a far away land. I’m learning so much about the everyday life of a tourguiding nomad!

To thank him for his fantastic tourguiding, I made him some lovely wool socks for his birthday….but they got lost in the mail (which makes me quite upset).

the missing socks

So, Ossama….I’m sorry that these haven’t found you yet. When you are in Amman, take a close look at the footwear of those around you. Let me know if you find these socks walking around somewhere. You’ll know they are yours….they have a “small fox” on each sock.

(for the knitting geeks out there: Socks were knit cuff down, and fox sewed in afterwards with duplicate stitch)

Would you, could you in a cave?

The best tea drinking experience of the year for me happened in a cave, in Petra, Jordan; and although these kids were cute, and had an excellent sales pitch, we refused to ride an “air-conditioned bedouin ferrari” to get there.

We set off, climbing up winding paths in this mountainous desert terrain for over an hour (850 steps) at the heat of the day (at least 38 C).

At the end of our climb, there was a cave, which was welcome relief from the sun.  We sat there, on the floor, resting against cushions for a good hour, drinking hot sweet mint tea and enjoying the glorious scenery, and resting our weary legs.  Beside us was a friendly bedouin cat, and several men playing instruments and having a good chat and enjoying their sheesha (water pipe).

This is a better picture of the monastery, taken from a different vantage point.  From inside the cave, it’s hard to appreciate the scale of this building that was carved into the rock by the ancient Nabatean people.  Petra is a magnificent place.  If you go there….be sure to climb up to the Monastery, sit in the cave, and enjoy the most memorable cup of tea you’ll ever drink!

The Monastery, Petra--look at the tiny people!

Would you, could you in a boat?

My most memorable tea making experience:

Captain Hamada and Ali taught “Captain” and I how to make tea during our 4 day felucca journey.  We became quite good at it after a bit of practice.

Here are the basic instructions: (taken from my journal written while on the boat)

Step 1: The tea tray (10 inch round cake pan), tea glasses (1/2 cup), sugar bowl, loose tea, and tea spoon come off the shelf.

Step 2: The gas stove is lit (with matches or with flint, as “Captain” showed us)

Step 3: The kettle is filled with Egyptian tap water, from a big container on board.

Step 4: The kettle is boiled, and the glasses are rinsed with boiling water. To do this, cardboard is needed to wrap the handle of the kettle or else you will be burned.

Step 5: Tea is spooned out carefully into the glasses. Captains take 1 spoonfuls, but we only take half (Egyptian spoonfuls are HEAPING spoonfuls).

Step 6: Sugar is added. Captains take 3 spoonfuls, and we started off taking 2, but weaned ourselves to 1.

Step 7: Hot water is added, and stirred.

Step 8: Drink the tea after it cools a bit and everything settles.

Step 9: Carefully lean over the edge of the felucca and hold the glass tightly and dump the tea leaves into the Nile.

Repeat 6 times a day at least.

Best Packaging of the year….

Borio cookies!!!

Bought in Egypt–12 cookies for 5 Egyptian Pounds (1.25 Canadian Dollars). Eaten on the way up Mt. Sinai.

ETA: They tasted pretty good at the time, but are nothing like their more famous North American cousins.

I find that when I travel I encounter foods that I would rarely find in my hometown. I am generally more adventurous when I travel, which can lead to great discoveries, or a sore tummy. This year on my trip, I discovered fresh pita bread, the kind that melts in your mouth, the kind that boys carry on big bamboo baskets above their head as they bike through the market, it is delicious, but something that I will never find in my town.

I discovered felafel while sitting at a patio in Aqaba with “Captain” and our tour guide and busdriver. A delicious “breckie” to remember. I discovered that a dinner “of sorts” served on an Egyptian night train is NOT really food

I discovered that in Egypt, you can order viagra from a menu….

…but we weren’t brave enough for that one!

The most wonderful food that I thought I’d never eat was found on a felucca. It started out with a holler to the neighbouring fishing boats, asking for Bolti fish (which we later discovered is Talapia). The fish were bought from the side of the boat, freshly caught from the Nile.

They were cleaned by Captain Hamada over the side of the boat

cooked up in the boat kitchen (a square meter of space with a 2 burner gas stove, which I learned to light–how I got the nickname “crew”)

The fish was served up with rice and vegetables, and eaten by candlelight. The fish still had the heads on them! I’d never tried eating fish like that before. I’m not actually a fan of seafood, but this was SO deliciously fresh, cooked in front of my eyes, and eaten with friends who were quickly feeling like family.

We ate, Egyptian style, half with fingers, half with spoons, or pita bread to scoop up the food from our bowls, and enjoyed the lovely view of the Nile. This is food that is very simple, from a world with no refrigeration. All ingredients are fresh, and in season, and cooked up with Captain Hamada’s family recipes. Go see him and his brother Ali on the felucca “Flower 2″ if you are in Aswan. His food is better than the near by restaurants. Tell him Rachel from Canada sent you

This story, like several others, comes from my vacation this summer in the Middle East. Toward the end of the group tour, we found ourselves in Egypt, on the Sinai peninsula, at the monastery of St. Catherine, home of the burning bush (which burned but was not consumed by the flame) where God spoke to Moses (Exodus 3:1-6, 14).

Our group was about to climb to the top of Mt. Sinai. The group was given two options of how to summit this mountain:

1. Ride a camel
2. Walk along the camel path

“Captain” and I had been doing our research, and had heard of an alternate route up the mountain along the path of repentance 3700 stairs (and I use that term loosely) up the mountain. “Captain” We decided that since this is the one time that we’d be climbing this mountain, we should do it the right way and take the stairs. We had hoped that this would allow us the chance to take our time, and enjoy the experience, rather than lurching up a path on a stinky camel or perhaps worse, walking behind the stinky camel. To our surprise, half of the tour group decided to go with us.

To set the stage: it was hot, temperatures were above 30 C. We were unsure of where we were going, or what pace we would travel at. We had eaten a big lunch, which was not sitting so well in my stomach, and we were climbing up a mountain. I have some difficulties with doing strenuous exercise at altitude (I am such a “sea-level” kid!). Although we had been walking a lot every day, and I been training on the treadmill before the vacation, that did little to help with my “stair” climbing ability.

looking down at St. Catherine's monastery

The journey up the mountain started mid afternoon. We walked, scrambled, and climbed up rough hewn steps and rocks (do you see steps in that picture??), following our mountain guide, appropriately named Moses. He has climbed up and down this mountain three times a week for ten years, leading tourists and religious pilgrims up and down the treacherous slope.

Did I tell you that it was over 30 C when we were climbing? Anyway, these steps seemed to go for ever. We’d climb over a rise, and there’d be more waiting for us. Moses would tell us that we were half way there, we’d keep walking, and after another 20 minutes, we’d still be half way there! I took many breaks for water, air and photo opportunities. I began to question why we had chosen this route. I began to understand why the path was called the path of repentance. For me, it was a grueling climb.

My legs and lungs burned as we kept walking. Thank goodness for “Captain” who kept me going forward, telling me that the next part is pretty flat, or that we must be more than half way now, or that the view from the top at sunset will be amazing. I really wanted to reach the top, I really wanted to see the view, but it took all the determination that I could muster, to make me keep going. The monumental task of climbing the mountain became one of putting one foot in front of the other. The task became a matter of “take that next step”, “take that next breath”–a useful mantra in any challenging situation!

success!

We made it to the top, in good time too, arriving just as the stinky camels did. The view from the top was outstanding. Have a look at this movie that Captain took. (I’d share mine, but all you can hear is me sounding like a scuba diver gasping for air)

We sat at the top, glad to be finally done climbing, and feeling surprisingly chilly. Our group made up 15 of the 20 people at the top of the mountain as the sun set. We sat awestruck by the view, giddy from the climb, and happy for the company of our group.

Our descent started soon after the sun set. We all walked together along the camel path, as the “stairs” would be impossible to use in the dark. If you’ve been reading my other posts, you’ll realize that all it takes are a few glowsticks to start a party. I had brought 15 glowsticks with me up the mountain, and handed them out on the way back down to each of our group members…

Our group with glowsticks

…and to Moses, who had never seen anything like that before. He was so excited to bring them home to show his children. Unfortunately the tourist police men were also interested in the glowsticks, and confiscated several so they could play too.

Moses getting his first glowstick

That night, I slept very soundly. I had conquered my challenge, rising 2285 meters above sea level, in the scorching heat, up 3700 steps. The experience was made all that much better by knowing that we didn’t cheat–we climbed the mountain the tough right way. I am grateful to Moses, for his patience, and to all of my group members for their encouragement. Thanks also to “Captain”, I couldn’t have done it without you!

The Siq

My moment of peace came at the end of a rushed day of sight seeing in Jordan this summer.  “Captain”, my traveling friend, and I purchased bread and cheese at a small grocery store, and set off, separate from our tour group.  We ate our dinner on the walk, listening to the call to prayer echo from the near by mosques.  The sun had set, and dusk was upon us.  We met up with around 100 people all eager to enter the Siq (the high walled canyon) that led to the ancient Nabatean city carved into the rock.

Petra by Night is intended to be a silent candlelit walk through the canyon, however many tourists either didn’t understand those directions, or didn’t care to follow them.  Hanging back at the very end of the group, walking very slowly, we allowed everyone to pass us.  “Captain” and I walked together along the trail.  We could see the high canyon walls rise upward, framing a ribbon of star studded sky.  The warmth of the day was radiating outward from the rock, while a cooling breeze blew past us.  We were walking on ancient stones, on a path that was once lost to all but the bedouin, to a city that was written about in ancient Greek and Roman texts.  The history contained within those rocks, the people who had walked along that path, from ancient incense traders, to the film crew of Indiana Jones, and now us.  Our story seemed insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but those moments in the Siq have left a lasting impression on me.

The path was dimly lit, and the cobble stones uneven, which forced us to take our time and walk with deliberate steps.  I was glad to walk slowly, to savour the sights and sensations of this mystical place, knowing that there is only one first time to see Petra.  Each step was bringing us closer to the Treasury building, something that we were eager to see, but something that would bring this magnificent walk to an end.  Almost scared to break the silence, “Captain” and I would stop, and point out different things to each other without speaking.

I have heard of people being moved to tears, but I never thought I would experience that for myself.  I don’t cry easily, but found myself welling up because of the majesty of my surroundings.  “Captain” and I agreed that this could easily become a place of quiet and calm that we could close our eyes and return to at moments of stress in the “real world”; it is a place that I have returned to in my mind several times in the past few months.

in front of the Treasury

As the Siq opened out in front of the Treasury we could hear the music of a bedouin flute echoing against the surrounding high walls.  We sat, in silence, surrounded by candles and silent tourists, listening to the unusual music, staring at the Treasury that was illuminated by the flashes of neighbouring cameras.  We drank hot sweet mint tea, and lay down to watched the stars shoot across the sky.

None of my pictures of the Siq or the Treasury by night actually turned out.  I am ok with that.  The best pictures are in my mind.