Parklife in Toronto and Drowning in the Caribbean

My upcoming trip to Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago in June has finally reached the preparation stage. I’ve never had to fully prep for an adventure before; usually I just arrive and go with the flow.

When I swam with the dolphins in Argentina the captain said, “The dolphins are over there. Put on your wetsuit and jump in the water!”

When I went canyoning in Switzerland the guide said, “The waterfalls are over there. Put on your wetsuit – and your helmet – and jump in the water!”

When I went whitewater rafting in Costa Rica, we spent a grand total of ten minutes on the land learning how to paddle properly and respond to all the verbal signals. Because I was partnered with a local Costa Rican family, I spent most of that time learning the Spanish words for “left,” “right,” “forward,” and “back.”

When I went scuba diving during that Caribbean cruise, we spent a grand total of fifteen minutes in the shallow water off St. Thomas learning how to scuba dive.

Of course, my mask didn’t fit right with my head and seawater kept leaking into the air pocket. Later, in much deeper water, I couldn’t tolerate it any longer and swam to the surface to adjust my mask. Within seconds, two lifeguards were swimming towards me and “saving me” from drowning!

“I’m all right! My mask is messed up!”

“Did you alert your dive instructor before you surfaced?!”

“I couldn’t see her. There were all these fish. And my mask was leaking!”

I was then banned from scuba diving for the rest of the afternoon. Stupid mask.

Now I have to seriously prepare for this 600 kilometre walk… by walking. A few times a week for miles at a time. It’s all about breaking in your comfortable walking shoes and preparing your feet and legs. The goal is to avoid blisters and shin splints and knee problems – as best as you can. Walking 25 kilometres a day in Spain will shock your body significantly more than a ill-fitting wetsuit and a leaky scuba mask.

So when I went to the travel gear store, I was given four pairs of shoes and told to walk around the store. When I narrowed it down to my top two pairs, I was told to try them both on again and walk up and down the stairs. When I finally made my shoe choice (after thirty minutes inside the store – or about twice as long as my scuba diving lesson), I was then lectured about proper socks.

I bought the recommended three pairs with the wicking material on the inside and the wool material on the outside. “You used to have to buy an inner shell and an outer shell for each foot. Now it’s all-in-one!” This is what the brilliant minds are working on – minimizing your sock supply for the Camino.

So now I walk. I pick further flung places to go for my errands. On my way home from work, I exit the subway a little early and walk the rest of the way home. And I always choose parks over city streets.

Once (so far) I walked all the way home from work (mostly on park trails). It took 3 hours and 45 minutes and I learned two valuable lessons. 1) Don’t listen to your iPod when you’re walking on the train tracks. (Yes, a train was barreling towards me and I had to scramble out of the way!)  2) Listen to the experts and don’t wear cotton shirts when you walk long distances. That shirt got pretty sweaty and that shirt chafed me in a couple of rude places until I developed a rash.

Oh well.

And while my legs were definitely tired, my feet were unharmed. Thank you, comfortable shoes. Thank you, magic socks.
 
For more extreme adventures, check out:

https://www.johnmeyerbooks.com/running-with-the-bulls/

https://www.johnmeyerbooks.com/walk-for-the-ages/

 

“This Week in Britpop History”

(As you know, Bulls, Bands, and London is loaded with Britpop goodness…)

Twenty years ago this week – two weeks after Oasis released its debut single, “Supersonic,” from their debut album, Definitely Maybe – and one week after Pulp released its 1994 album, His ‘n Hers – comes the definitive Britpop album from Blur, Parklife.

It went quadruple platinum in the UK and cemented Blur as the leaders of the new Cool Britannia movement sweeping across Great Britain. Even Noel Gallagher said it was “Southern England personified.” (For a time, the album was even going to be called London.)

However, it had virtually no airplay in the United States (thanks to the grip of grunge) but still managed to reach gold status in Canada.

It went on to win four awards at the 1995 Brit Awards including Best British Album (beating out Oasis and Pink Floyd).

“Girls & Boys,” “To The End,” “End of a Century,” and “This Is a Low” were some album highlights but “Parklife” was the one track that really captured the campy fun of the London experience. For a few short years…

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted… just like scuba diving in the Caribbean.