Canadiana Backpackers Blog

Salty Bear is well-known as the only jump-on/jump-off bacpackers tour bus company servicingthe Maritime Provinces of Eastern Canada.

They have earned a first-rate reputation for value and service on their regular tours of the scenetic Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. Provinces.

The tour also follows the Cabot trail through the spectacular Cape Breton Island region.

Salty Bear has taken this experience and branched out to Ontario where they conduct a daily tour to Niagara Falls.

They use a fourteen seat van for the day tour and, as a result, it is a friendly and intimate gathering where you can get to know your fellow travelers.

Salty Bear has engaged Mark who has been in the travel game for close to a decade and has been conducting Niagara Tours since 2003.

From all initial reports, Mark puts together a pretty good trip. He gives a running commentary on the falls, its history and it’s vital statistics.

One of the bonuses of the Salty Bear Niagara experience has over its’ competitors is having lunch at the quaint and historical town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Unlike the town of Niagara Falls where the local Burger King is topped by a giant Frankenstein, Niagara-on-the-Lake eateries are clean, quaint, moderately priced and excellent!

The larger tour buses are not allowed to stop and park within the town limits.

If you’re interested in taking this tour (and we highly recommend it) see our Front Office personel for booking assistance.

Then join Mark on his next trip to Niagara.

This weekend (the first after Canada Day) marks the beginning of Toronto’s summer festivals.

The city is justifiably proud of it’s international reputation as (according to the U.N.) “the most multi-cultural city” on the planet!

There is a large population of persons of Italian ethnicity in this city. And if you want to experience Italian Culture head for St. Clair Ave., West this weekend.

The Corso Italia Toronto Festival will shut down St. Clair Ave., West from midnight tonight until Monday morning.

The fete is put on by local merchants, restaurants, street vendors and will showcase first-rate entertainment, sidewalk cafes and dining, Food stalls, dancing…in short, a heck of a street party as only Italians can put on!

The attraction for me of this festive occasion is the wonderful Italian Food! Absolutely delicious  - but fattening!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA! We were 142 years young yesterday!

July 1st is the date in 1867 when the Confederation that is now CANADA was signed.

It is an important date in our history; but, we have become somwhat jaded and often fail to give the day the respect and importance it deserves.

That is to say, when we are here at home.

I’ve seen Canadians in my travels and they party, drink, carouse and flag waive with the best of them on our National Holiday.

There was an impromptu gathering out on our patio to toast our nation’s birthday. Since it is an official holiday, banks, public institutions and most importantly, liquor stores were all closed!

Luckily, Salty Bear Tours had an excursion to Niagara Falls on Canada Day. Their excellent tour includes a stop at a Niagara Winery for a wine-tasting experience.

Most of the people on the tour yestrerday took advantage of the winery’s in-house shop to stock up on a few bottles of Dry Red and White wines!

They shared a glass or two with others who had neglected to stock up before the holiday and raised a glass to Canada!

This should be a pretty nice blog entry today!

We just got the news that two of our dear “hostel friends” (Emma and Gary, from the U.K.) eloped in New Zealand!

All we can say is: “It’s about time Gary!”

They have been together as long as anyone can remember (back from their University days, I think).

And little Emma (five-foot nothing and gorgeous!) might be the prettiest girl EVER to stay at our hostel in Toronto! If she doesn’t have the title outright, she’s a definite contender!

Gary (a computer security expert) is OK.

Anyhow, Gary and Emma were here a few (maybe three) winters ago. They worked to save money to continue their travels! The last we heard, they were living and working in Oz.

Well, we just got an email from Kati-Kati, New Zealand (?) The couple ran off and tied the knot!

They have made so many friends in their travels that it was probably easier to wed the way they did! They quietly eloped!

We wish them all the luck in the world. But this is one pretty great couple! We doubt they will need much luck to succeed!

CONGRATULATIONS MR. AND MRS. JONES!

I suppose suppose you might safely say that Dominic has a certain afinity for numbers.

He’s an American grad student from Stanford University in California currently working on his Doctorate in Mathematics.

He is busychecking out our city because he has decided to trandfer to the University of Toronto where he palns to complete his dissertation.

His adviser, a professor at Stanford, accepted a position at the U of T and Dominic has been carrying on long-distance communications with him for more than a year.

It just isn’t the same. Face to face meetings he has found are often required and he has found can be so much more beneficial.

So far, this California man has liked what he’s seen here.Toronto does, indeed, have a lot to offer.

We’ve asked him if he has experienced our winter. Well, not yet. (Boy! Is he ever in for a surprise!)

Nonetheless in the short time he has been with us, Dominic has shown himself to be personable, poopular, affable and adaptive. If he doesn”t mind a little cold and snow, he should be a pretty good fit here in Toronto.

Andy is a lorry driver in London, England. If you are familiar with London’s traffic snarls, you’ll know that it isn’t an easy occupation.

Andy had been trying to take a holiday to Canada for some time. He even booked one last year. Unfortunately, the airline he booked on (Zoom Airways), zoomed into bankruptcy before his trip!

But some things, it seems, are just meant to be. Andy was surfing the net and won a T-Shirt from a computer company.

And where was this company located?

You guessed it. Toronto! (In fact, it was only a couple of kilometers from our hostel.)

Andy informed them that he would be in town shortly and he could pick his prize up at their offices without too much problem.

And when things conspire in your favor, they seem to do so with a vengeance! He managed to find a real bargain airfare if he would stay 16 days in Canada.

He has picked up his T-Shirt (the company also bought him lunch and beer) and he’s walking everywhere exploring our city.

He’s also meeting a lot of new friends on the patio where you can find him in the evenings sharing the convivial atmosphere with his new friends and a few bottles of cild beer!

This summer really is “old home week” at our hostel in Toronto!

A while ago, we posted blogs on past guests who were returning to the hostel this summer. Those were the one’s we knew were returning.

Yesterday two old friends, Kerstin and Curtiss, from Munster Germany pitched up unannounced! I was quite a pleasant surprise!

They are both health-care wokers in Germany. As well as being a couple, they work together as nurses.

Curtiss (Jones) is in fact, an American. He is the son of an American serviceman and a German mother and was born in the U.S.A.

He was raised in Germany when his father died in an accident more than four decades ago.

This marks their third visit to our hostel and our city. Curtiss is so happy to come to North America because he is elated with the elecetion of Barack Obama in the U.S. and the ouster of the Republican Party from power! (Who isn’t?)

Curtiss is also a big fan of basketball (he’s 6′6″) and an avid follower of the Toronto Raptor’s!

Although this isn’t basketball season, Kerstin and Curtiss just had to take advantage of some pretty low-cost flights on offer from Germany to Canada.

Curtiss also says he missed thev taste of Canadian beer! And that comment is coming from a German - the aknowledged masters of the brewer’s art!

We must be doing something right!

When you add the word “chan” to a young Japanese girl’s name, instead of the traditional “san”, the honorarium becomes an endearment.

We’ve been lucky to have Rei-chan with us for over three months. She is here from Tokyo upgrading her English skills.

Rei’s hobby is reading and she has found the ideal job in Japan. She is an editor for one of the largest publishers in Japan.

Her job involves the reading and editing of books magazines from “Novels” to “Manga” comics. In other woirds, she gets paid for something she would normally pay to do!

Her English has improved impressively since her arrival in Toronto.

But all good things must come to an end. Rei-chan is due back at her desk in Tokyo next week.  We really will miss this beautiful and charming young lady!

Well, summer is here! At long last! This is the time of year we fire up the BBQ!

On Thursday and Saturday evenings, we cook up enormous (and I mean really big!) homemade real beef burgers! We serve them with chips (crisps to the British) and juice!

We let them go for a mere $3.00 each! Almost nobody eats more than one of them! They are quite substantial and it would take a serious glutton to call for seconds!

I’m hoping for some feedback on this entry. If you had our burger, do you agree it is one of the very best deals in town?

Leave your comments. We’d like to hear from you.

We get some pretty interesting visitors to our hostel here in Toronto. Wendy (from Holland) is a typical example.

Wendy is a real “Woman of the World”.

She is young, attractive, intelligent and adventurous. In short, a woman who is not bound by convention. When you speak with her, you just know that she is the type who lives life on her own terms.

She has thus far visited every continent on earth save Antarctica and South America and when we spoke to her, she was heading south to take care of half of the problem and practice her Spanish and Portuguese language skills.

AS far as we are concerned, Antarctica isn’t even a issue! Ice is ice. Snow is snow. And if you’ve seen one penguin, you’ve seen them all!

The only reason most travelers would go there is for bragging rights. If you meet Wendy, you’d know instantly that she’s not like that!

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