Taking it easy

This was unexpectedly soon for an update, as t'was but yesterday I was in Kamloops moaning about how I need to slow down. Well, this is me slowing down. I had planned on taking a rest day sometime soon anyway, but after the battering I decided to inflict on myself, I thought I'd take it today.

What a place to take it though! I've stopped at the Golden Ears Community farm. I had half expected to be some bunch of rednecks living in and around a farm, maybe with a mangy dog, chickens clawing at the dirt in front of a porch, and people saying "gee maa" or "yeee-haw" with real conviction. Turns out I was wrong, oh so very wrong.

About 15 people, between the ages of maybe 18 and 30, live in and around the farmhouse, few of them related, and few of them permanent. The ethos of the farm from what I gather is to source everything locally, organically, non-GM, and as ethically as possible. They 'dumpster dive', or what's also called freeganism (nicking perfectly good food out of supermarket skips) and run their own fruit and veg stall 200m away on Highway 1.

This being Canada, everyone was exceptionally welcoming, despite me being two days early, and asking for another night's stay. I've used the word welcoming very loosely however, because within a few hours of having met everyone, I was invited into the 4 person (although we managed 6 friendly ones) sauna. Basically a very hot dark room with sweaty people. Naturally this led us into a naked sprint for the river in the pouring rain to cool off, then back into the sauna until the cold shock had passed. Now, what to do once you've been in a sauna, then into a river? Go inside, you say? Perchance a shower? Wrong. Naked yoga, obviously. When in doubt of what to do in a new, and potentially awkward situation, follow the naked hippy girls. Always.

I'll also apologise to the guy that peered in the window just after sundown, to offer cake to those 4 people doing yoga. I wish you could un-see things Matty.

To pay for my extra, and unplanned night with the Golden Ears people, I've spent today working with them, on their farm. A morning of making raised planting beds was punctuated with an enormous lunch of beans, potatoes and chicken, with salad. If it wasn't produced on the farm, it was local, and anything left came from a skip. Their food is what food is meant to be, and really good as well. I felt like some kind of drugs peddler for offering my wagon wheels around.

After lunch, about a dozen of us set out with our hoes (the tool kind) to weed a two acre corn field. Not much to comment on, though the conversation was good; we discussed love, life and lesbians, and the job was done.

I have no pictures yet, I would feel stupid walking around taking pictures, maybe before I leave I'll put some up. For now, here's where I've got to:

View Bens Transcanada for Help for Heroes in a larger map

Salmon Arm tomorrow, then Revelstoke. That's the plan. Insha'Allah...