Interview with Wander Boy-the international couch surfer

One of our adventurers has recently embarked on a fascinating, unique and exciting adventure around the world, not by plane, not by train, not by automobile but by couch. Yes, that comfy fluffy thing sitting in the middle of your living room. An interview with this charasmatic couchsurfer reveals answers to some questions you may have for him:

Captain Q: What is your goal?

Wander Boy: As cryptic, Zen-like or just plain stupid as it may sound; my goal is simply to find a goal. I have always just existed, working jobs I hated so as to save enough money to live in shitty apartments and get drunk on weekends with no real passion or purpose. This kind of lifestyle is detrimental to the soul. I hope that while travelling this fascinating planet, immersing myself in its cultures and experiencing its marvels, adventure will be kind enough to show me a purpose that I can finally, wholeheartedly and passionately pursue. If not that, than I at least hope to find someone who can finally beat me at a thumb war. He (or she) has got to be out there somewhere.

Captain Q: What exactly is couch surfing?

Wander Boy: http://www.couchsurfing.com started as a website to offer travellers free accommodation in different cities around the world but has since grown into something much more substantial. Couchsurfing now is more of an ethos; a belief that there is something much stronger and more sustainable in the relationship between individuals than can ever be manufactured by commercialism. Couchsurfing is a way to meet people, share culture and language and to help one another, not because there is money in it, but because it unites us.

Captain Q: If you could have one super power which one would you pick, why?

Wander Boy: I’m sure most people have posed this question to their friends and answered it dozens of times themselves growing up. I often thought immortality or mind control were good ones, and no doubt they’d have their benefits, but I’ve come to realize that in having everything you want, when you want it, it cheapens whatever it is you covet. Half of the fun in owning something is the struggle to obtain it. So I can say with confidence, if I could have any super power in the world, it would be that of flight. It epitomizes freedom. Pilots must think the rest of us are all suckers. I’m writing this interview from a 5 story balcony in Barcelona and all I can think of doing now is soaring over the rooftops.  I don’t think it’s something you could ever get jaded with. It would also cut travel costs significantly.

Captain Q: What leg of the trip do you think will pose the biggest problems?

Wander Boy: I think the part of the trip that will pose the biggest problem will probably be coming home. When on the road there is always something to see and people to meet. There are always obstacles to overcome and adventure surrounds you. You can be who you want and nothing seems impossible or out of bounds. Stepping out of that world into a routine where you are known and familiar is a hard transition to make. The longer the adventure, the harder the transition. And I plan on being gone a long time.

Captain Q: Please share with us your most memorable couch surfing experience.

Wander Boy: My most memorable couchsurfing experience? That is difficult. I suppose one that will probably be with me till the grave is shopping for a gimp mask in the various sex shops of the seediest districts in Tokyo.

I was staying with a legend of couchsurfing, Yuji Hidemura. Yuji had a 2 bedroom apartment in Tokyo and at any given time would be hosting 7 or 8 people simultaneously. For his birthday, as a joke, I and some fellow surfers thought it would be funny to buy him a gimp mask. We were looking for something both stylish and practical. It took the 3 of us several hours and about 6 different shops before we found the perfect mask.

But no doubt my most memorable couchsurfing experience is yet to come. The trip has only just begun and I have a considerable amount of adventure ahead of me.

Adventure is like a swift river. Whether you are willing or not, it’s always rushing past, ready to swallow you up and carry you off should you get to close. So leap in, head first, with wanton disregard for structure or routine. Wrap yourself up in the frightening unknown and relish it. It’s reckless, dangerous, terrifying and nourishing for the soul.

Captain Q: Well Conner, thanks for your time and good luck in your fantastic couchsurfing adventures we look forward to hearing more. To follow up on Conner's adventures check out his blog at the following link: Chronicles of Wanderboy.

Promising Whales and a Lucky Marriage-Joel

The 2007 sea-kayaking season in Johnstone Strait was well underway when I was asked to take a honeymooning couple on a daytrip out of Telegraph Cove. On the eve of the trip, my thoughts drifted, wondering what the next day’s paddle might bring. I imagined the excitement of being on the water when the Northern Resident Orcas made their first seasonal appearance in Johnstone Strait. 

It had been a particularly strange summer so far in the region. The salmon hadn’t yet arrived in full force, nor had the Northern Resident Orcas appeared in Johnstone Strait. Even the region’s long time naturalists remarked the strait’s lifelessness. I promised myself to donate money to salmon conservation efforts if we should see Orcas during the trip.

The next morning I found myself in Telegraph Cove (‘TC’) awaiting the now late honeymooning couple. Three quarters of an hour went by and still no one showed, so I decided to parade around the busy little cove in classic kayaking attire: gumboots, shorts on top of long-johns, a synthetic long sleeve with a bright yellow PFD, topped of with a salt crusted brimmed hat. The ploy worked; soon a blue Ford truck approached me and rolled down the window: "Are you a kayak guide?" they asked anxiously… "Did you just get hitched?" I replied reassuringly. They were relieved I hadn’t left them on account of their lateness. Soon we were all geared up and on the water.

It wasn’t far out of ‘TC’ when it became apparent that on this trip we would see some good wildlife. In the middle of Johnstone Strait, the local whale-watching boats had grouped together and were drifting. Whales were in the area. With cautious optimism, I suggested to the couple that we paddle mid-strait in hopes of spotting a wispy spout or at best a glimpse of a black dorsal fin in the distance. They excitedly agreed. 

Ten minutes into our paddle, we noticed a mile away; the whale watching boats had altered their course towards us. We stopped paddling and surveyed the waters in front of us. And there it was, a plume of spray jetting into the air accompanied by the unmistakable tall black dorsal fin of an Orca. To our astonishment, we quickly began to notice several other blows, some moving along the Vancouver Island shoreline and others spanning the width of Johnstone Strait. The Northern Resident Orcas had finally arrived! We formed a tiny raft and waited adrift for the Orcas to pass.

The movement of one particular Orca kept our attention. The distinctively abrupt jets of water made by Pacific white-sided Dolphins closely followed its movements. Suddenly, this frantic group simultaneously turned in our direction. Within five minutes we became engulfed in a euphoric frenzy of marine life. Dolphins were all around us, under our boats, ‘porpoising’ off our bows. The three of us transformed into little giddy children not knowing in what direction we should look. 

Abruptly, we were shocked back into reality by the unexpected shotgun blow of an Orca surfacing ten meters astern (important reference to footnote ‘2’). Stunned by the powerful sense of presence that a five tonne animal commands, we silently watched as the Orca slipped back into the ocean depths. As quickly as the waters around us had burst into life, the storm of activity moved on. In silence the three of us reflectively floated… We arrived back at Telegraph Cove stupefied.

While packing away the daytrip gear, the coupled mentioned they had married on July 7th (07/07/07). Apparently they had been experiencing amazing luck on their honeymoon. Although, in the morning they thought their luck had finally changed. Their alarm clock did not go off because the power to their vacation cabin went out and were consequently late. The couple feared they had missed the daytrip. In retrospect, their luck hadn’t changed. Our delayed start assured we were in the right place at the right time to witness the Orcas arrival in Johnstone Strait.

Whether or not this paddling experience was a series of coincidences or wedding luck and telepathic whales holding me to a promise, I can’t say… But like so many stories most sea-kayakers share, it reminds us of the awesome gift of wild encounters and the importance of honouring these experiences through our actions. Needless to say, I happily kept my promise to the Orcas and donated money to an organisation working on salmon conservation.

I am aware that this distance is much closer than the whale watching guidelines allow, but on occasion one is helpless to remain at a distance of 100 meters when these marine mammals change course unpredictably and swim five times the speed you can paddle. I strongly support the whale watching guidelines and do my best to abide by them. The guidelines play a crucial role in assuring that we minimize our intrusions on their natural behaviours.

-Joël Lagassé, Adventurer, February 4, 2008 

Porpoising: The characteristic undulating movement of dolphins and porpoises as they surface and dive successively while traveling. 

Pacific white-sided Dolphin’s ‘porpoising’ to the author’s starboard near God’s Pocket. Photo: Andrew Jones, Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures.