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Carol Patterson

INSPIRING EVERYDAY EXPLORERS Through wildlife tales and trails

Carol Patterson

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Scandinave Spa highlights the value of contrast

January 11, 2017 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

scandinave-spasYou don’t realize how much you talk until someone asks you to be silent. When I arrived at Mont Tremblant’s Scandinave Spa Angelique Papadopoulos, Directrice Marketing greeted our group of weary travelers with a warm smile and an invitation to relax.

She showed us a map of pools, saunas and relaxation areas, and explained how we should start our hydrotherapy with a dip in a hot pool, followed by ten seconds of cold water, and then relax for fifteen minutes before repeating the sequence. “The sequence traps heat in your muscles,” Papadopoulous explained.

The hot tubs and steam bath sounded inviting but the cold choices were leaving me, frankly, cold.

I could stand under a cold shower or if feeling adventurous, hop into the Diable River winding by the spa. I was still reeling from the idea of ruining a warm feeling with an abrupt slosh of cold water when she made one other announcement “no talking in the spa”.

Phones and cameras were verboten – that made sense because I wanted to unplug and relax. But I hadn’t seen the ‘No talking’ edict coming. It seemed the contrast here wasn’t just between hot and cold, but between conversational chatter and quiet, and between looking inward versus outward.

I was eager to take the challenge.

The first pool was easy to slip into, the warm water soothing my tight muscles and the steam rising from the water tickling my nose. I dragged myself out after the prescribed ten minutes and decided I was getting cold for no longer than necessary. I tensed my recently relaxed muscles as I edged under the Nordic waterfall, liters of cold water pounding my shoulders. I gave those water droplets the minimum time needed to cool me off and I was out of there.

The next stop was a large hot pool a few steps from the river. There were other people in the pool but everyone was respecting the silent rule. I didn’t miss the small talk and with nothing to say, closed my eyes without feeling rude, letting the water pull months of tension from my muscles.

Spa welcomes you to a world of silence
Spa welcomes you to a world of silence

Thoroughly warmed, I wandered over to a hammock tucked into the forest along the river. It wasn’t a warm day but I was well-done from the hydrotherapy and laid back in the adult-version of a cradle. I rocked back and forth gazing up at the leaves, noticing veins and patterns I’d been oblivious to only hours before. I was so relaxed I feared I might start drooling!

I headed back for one more dip in the warm waters before lying on a lounger that resembled a half-cracked egg. A gentleman glided into sight with pieces of fruit and water infused with cucumber. “Would you like something?” He asked in a low voice. I was strangely reluctant to speak; the effort to form words suddenly an expensive use of energy. I settled for nodding and sipped the water with an appreciation I usually reserve for a fine Pinot Grigio.

The spa has several places to relax between soaks
The spa has several places to relax between soaks

The contrast between hot and cold, speaking and silence had done its work. I was reconnected to my inner guru, however zany she may be, and my mind, body and spirit were united in their relaxation response. The toughest part about this experience wasn’t the cold shower. It was leaving.

If you go:

Quebec’s Scandinave Spas are found at Mont Trembland and in Old Montreal. They are also found in Blue Mountain, Ontario and Whistler, B.C.

Hang your hat at Westin Resort & Spa located in the heart of Mont Tremblant’s pedestrian village and keep the relaxation going by walking to restaurants and shops.

TWEETABLES

Discover why Mont Tremblant’s Scandinave Spa is a must visit on your travel list: Click to Tweet.

My friend, @Reinventure, recently got to experience the value on contrast on her travel adventure: Click to Tweet.

Cold pools, warm pools, hot pools and no talking…Why you must visit @ScandinaveSpaMT: Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: Quebec, Travel tips Tagged With: Mont Tremblant’s Scandinave Spa, new year resolutions, new year's resolutions, quebec, Scandinave Spa, spa, travel

Happy New Year!

January 10, 2017 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

I hope your new year is starting with hope and baby (or big) steps towards your most cherished goals.

For the second year in a row, BBC Travel came out with their celebration of travel and the planet “50 Reasons to #LoveTheWorld”.

I was thrilled to contribute (I’m behind reason #33) and the exercise was a chance to reflect on what I love about travel. It’s not the airport hassles!

I love the chance to discover things on my own. I love reading the little signs overlooked by many people or asking a guide how they found passion, for fungi or bears, or whatever has put a sparkle in their eye.

I’m hoping 2017 puts a sparkle in your eye!

TWEETABLES

Discover “50 Reasons to #LoveTheWorld” from @BBC_Travel. Click to Tweet.

My friend @Reinventure shares the #33 reason of “50 to #LoveTheWorld” via @BBC_Travel. Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: latest post, Travel tips Tagged With: 50 reasons to love the world, adventure travel, bbc travel, travel

Tremblant Resort’s festival waste hits the right note

November 8, 2016 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Volunteer Vincent Denis weighs festival garbage. Photo credit: Tremblant
Volunteer Vincent Denis weighs festival garbage. Photo credit: Tremblant

While tapping my toes to the sweet notes of blues musician Sugar Brown, the last thing on my mind was my empty water bottle. As I danced to the Porn Flakes in Place Saint- Bernard I wasn’t calculating how much waste the Tremblant International Blues Festival generates. But if I had paused in advance of Mike Gaudreau’s performance at Scene Casino to ponder garbage generated by travelers, the sustainable tourism initiatives of Quebec’s Tremblant Resort Association would have had me kicking up my heels.

The festival attracts thousands each summer to Quebec’s Mont Tremblant with more than 100 musical events over ten days. Festival organizers recycle signage from year to year, minimize handouts by putting event schedules online and on large signs, encourage walking by grouping events in the pedestrian village and keep the gondola working into the evening.

Organizers also reduce food waste through their ‘green squad’. These keen volunteers hover near garbage cans and in food courts – not the first place I usually look for music lovers – and help visitors sort their food waste so little goes into the garbage. There are also gentle reminders from the stage to think of the environment. “Our emcees often remind our visitors of many possible green initiatives that can be taken on site,” explained Linda Lloyd, Director of Operations, Tremblant Resort Association on how sustainability initiatives permeate the event.

The festival is a certified eco-responsible event by Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables and has moved to a Level 2 rating as staff green more festival activities. The biggest sustainability challenge is reducing carbon emissions for artists’ air travel. With the need for international performers this facet is daunting but in other areas, progress is impressive. As part of the certification process all garbage from the event is gathered, sorted and weighed. In 2016, only a few bags of garbage went to the landfill! Now that is something to sing about.

If you go:

Mont Tremblant International Blues Festival happens 7 to 16, 2017

Stay within walking distance of most events at Westin Resort & Spa

Slip away from the crowds for a drink at the uber hip Le P’Tit Caribou ptitcaribou.com/en/

For information on the festival or its sustainability initiatives, contact Annick Marseille amarseille@intrawest.com

TWEETABLES

#Tremblant Resort’s festival waste hits the right note: Click to Tweet.

My friend, @Reinventure, recently attended a blues festival where only a few bags of garbage went to the landfill. Click to Tweet.

Discover how the #Tremblant International Blue Festival is reducing waste in all areas of the festival: Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: Quebec Tagged With: adventure travel, quebec, travel, tremblant international blue festival, tremblant resort association

Thawing out with flaming gin

June 14, 2016 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

flaming-ginThe surfs so cold on Vancouver Island it causes brain freeze.
Think surfing and you probably think bronzed bodies, frothing waves and warm sun. Tofino, British Columbia has the waves, but the sun hides behind the clouds that make this a rainforest, and bodies are hidden under layers of neoprene. “In winter I wear a thick wetsuit, hoodie, boots and gloves but when I go under a wave I still get a brain freeze, ” explained surfer Sarah Smith, her delicate features belying the inner strength needed to ride a board into 45°Fahrenheit waters. “In summer I still wear the same gear but my head doesn’t hurt from the cold.” Just watching surfers bob among the wake wash on Cox Bay was giving me a chill as rain dripped from the sky and down my back.

This place gets 130 inches of rain a year and is a nature lover’s dream. I’d come looking for thousands of shorebirds that stop en-route to Alaska and had instead become transfixed by surfers traveling by bicycle, their surfboards strapped to metal sidecars. Realizing I could gawk from indoors where I didn’t need my long underwear, I headed to the Great Room at Long Beach Lodge Resort where bar manager Andre McGillivray served up gin infused with hand-foraged botanicals.

Rumored to taste like the nearby forest I was eager to try this craft gin. McGillivray layered gin, lemon juice, demerera sugar and meringue into a creamsicle-colored cocktail that provided a pop of color against the grey sky. McGillivray pulled a lighter from his pocket and set angostura bitters on the drink ablaze.  The flames danced above the glass and faded quickly like some of the surf attempts outside the window. I slid the frothy liquid down my throat. It did taste like the forest or perhaps like the fresh air whipping over the ocean. Tofino may serve up the coldest surf on the west coast but its methods for warming up are a no-brainer.

To learn more about Long Beach Lodge Resort’s gin and surf offerings go to www.longbeachlodgeresort.com

TWEETABLES

Have you ever tried flaming gin? Click to Tweet.

My friend, @Reinventure, recently took a trip to Tofino, BC & enjoyed this flaming beverage: Click to Tweet.

Long Beach Lodge Resort’s gin and surf offerings are next to none: Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: British Columbia Tagged With: adventure travel, british columbia, long beach lodge resort, tofino, tofino surfing, travel, vancouver island

A catch and release aquarium?

May 10, 2016 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Ucluelet-Aquarium
Ever feel conflicted about watching animals in captivity? Zoos and aquariums do important research, species reintroduction, and education, but when the last frontier for wild animals is a confined space I feel sad. However Ucluelet aquarium on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island has a new spin on animal attractions. Each spring, volunteers go into the cool Pacific waters and gather specimens for the aquarium and at the end of November those same creatures are released back to where they came!

Some creatures – like sea anemones – that attach to rocks stay year-round (ripping them off would be very harmful) but anything that is free swimming goes home to the ocean at the end of the tourist season. Visitors can enjoy the colorful flash of a rockfish but its stay at the aquarium will be just a short part of its decades-long lifespan.

On the day I visited the Ucluelet Aquarium one of the three Giant Pacific octopuses crept out of it’s den and stuck its tentacles to the walls of its tank. As it normally avoids the light, Chief Biologist Carly Janusson felt it was looking for food and brought a live crab to drop into the tank. It wasn’t a good day for the crab – the octopus pounced on it within seconds of its arrival – but I learned that octopus put their prey to sleep before they eat it, a kind gesture from the ocean’s fastest-growing predator. You can see the hunt on my video at https://youtu.be/V3TjGdv5tFU

Janusson explained, “octopuses double in weight every two months and in a month we will need to move this octopus to a larger tank and in a couple of months we will need to release her back to the ocean because she will be too big.” Unlike the other creatures that spend the whole summer, the aquarium will replace the octopus as they grow out of their tanks.

An octopus is very smart and it can be hard to keep them confined. “We’ve never had an octopus escape,” said Janusson, “but other aquariums like Seattle aquarium have had octopus that escape their tank via the plumbing, go into other tanks, eat the fish in there, and then go bank into the tank before the workers come back in the morning!”

The octopus I watched wouldn’t need to escape like Inky at the National Aquarium of New Zealand: it will get a free ride back to the ocean after the good eats have it outgrowing its enclosure. To learn more about the temporary residents of Ucluelet Aquarium go to http://www.uclueletaquarium.org

TWEETABLES

A catch and release aquarium? Click to Tweet.

#Ucluelet aquarium on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island has a new spin on animal attractions! Click to Tweet.

Discover more about the temporary residents of #Ucluelet Aquarium: Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: British Columbia Tagged With: adventure travel, british columbia, carol patterson, national aquarium of new zealand, octopus, travel, ucluelet, vancouver island

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