Day 27, June 25th, Silver Bay East of Thunder Bay (0km)

Searching For Treasure at the Dump

Hostels have always had a special culture.  Unlike hotels, guests share a common kitchen, TV room and bathroom.  What makes hostels so unique, is good conversations with random strangers.  Over the years, I've spent a lot of time at these types of places.  While Thunder Bay International Hostel is older than most, its owners provide the character for a very special refuge for weary travelers.  Lloyd and Willa have lead extraordinary lives.  In the late 1960's they spent 6 years in Borneo, before traveling to Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia.  They traveled at a time when backpacking was in its infancy and were lucky enough to see places like Afghanistan and Lebanon before the wars that plague those countries.  After spending a day here, I realized Lloyd is no ordinary hostel owner.  He's the head of Backpackers Hostels Canada.

Sign Posts Made by Hostel Guests

Backpackers Hostels Canada is a group of independent hostel owners who banded together after years of dealing with draconian rules set by Hosteling International.  The group has over 150 independently owned hostels that serve budget conscious travelers across the country.  Lloyd's son Ken,  has continued what his father started and operates an excellent hostel in Ottawa.  More information on their network of hostels can be found at www.backpackers.ca 

Lloyd Makes a Discovery

In addition to their great work within the hosteling industry, Lloyd and Willa have been strong advocates for refugees.  The two of them were responsible for sponsoring 200 Karen Burmese to Canada who previously lived in refugee camps after being persecuted by the Burmese army.  Many have thrived in the local community and credit Lloyd and Willa for the lives they have and their freedom to live.  Lloyd is walking one of the girls down the aisle for her wedding.  She is deaf.  I wonder what kind of life she might have had in Burma had Canada not opened her doors.  They really are the elder statesman/stateslady of adventure travel and human rights and have tirelessly taken on issues long before the issues were popular with the public.  Now in their golden years, operating a hostel on the back roads outside Thunder Bay, the world comes to them.  The hostel is a tribute to their life's work.  Newspaper articles, pictures and clippings line the walls.  There really is an appreciation within the community for the work that they have done.

My Super Tough Touring Bike

There are only 3 of us here tonight.  A young couple from Switzerland is biking from East to West.  They're so romantic.  When I mentioned they were going the wrong way to catch the prevailing winds, they stated they wanted to finish in the most beautiful part of the country.  Next year they're getting married.  I'm happy for them, they both have such great attitudes about their trip and their life.  As bicycle tourists going opposite ways and meeting halfway, we've been passing on a lot of information to each other.  Today they told me about a website www.warmshowers.com  This is a website for bike tourers run by bike tourers.  Like www.couchsurfing.org it provides a data base of places bike tourers can stay for free.  Unlike other websites providing this service, it specificity to bike tourers is what makes it special.  Ask anyone on a bike what the most important thing is at the end of the day and they'll tell you a warm shower and washing machines.  

Kitten at the Garbage Dump

Today Lloyd took me to the garbage dump.  He had to throw out an old mattress and I was more than happy to come along for the ride.  The couple from Switzerland came too.  Having studied environmentalism, the girl was interested in the way Canadians dispose their trash.  Arriving at the dump, she was shocked.  There are so many things that can be recycled that get thrown out.  It was worst than the system she had observed in third world countries around the world.  We found 3 little kittens amongst the garbage.  I guess this must be home for them.  We told the operator about our find but it's all we could do for them.

Solitude Along Lake Superior

After getting back to the hostel, I decided to take a trip down to the shore of the lake.  Lake Superior is massive.  Being almost 20km outside of the city, I had the place all to myself.  It was beautiful.  I had picked up a little bit of lunch at a local grocer and sat on the warm rocks overlooking the lake.  A couple of girls on a fishing trip interrupted the solitude.  Today they had no luck.  One of them was just happy to be back by the lake.  After spending 3 years in Germany, it was what she missed most.   The locals are always friendly in these smaller places.  I never see a need to lock my bike and more often than not help is offered before it's solicited.  Tomorrow, I leave for a 700km stretch of highway that takes me to Sault St. Marie.  I'm going to miss this hostel.  It really is an oasis in the middle of Northern Ontario.  Hopefully the rainstorms and lightening hold off for the next 5 days.