Niagara Falls and storm with a pleasant ending ;)

On May 2nd, we left the camp in Washington and drove all day to Lake Alegheny. We took a 45-minute break there and ate our packed lunch. I had a delicious sandwich bagel, some fruits, and of course, the absolute must-have: Peanut Butter and Jam Toast :D 1000 calories, but it doesn't matter, because it tastes too good. Teresa actually jumped into the lake for a short while, but the water was so icy cold that she couldn't stand it for long. After that, we continued driving and arrived at the National Forest in the evening. The campground was being used by us for the first time, so the sanitation facilities were not yet fully finished. But that's how it is. We set up camp and had dinner. Unfortunately, the group is not as great as the one in South Africa. And the guides sometimes neglect their job, as we don't do things that are in the plan...

We're trying to make the best of it.

On Thursday, May 3rd, we left the camp in Allegheny National Forest and drove to Niagara Falls. We visited them from the American side. We then took a boat tour through the three falls. At the beginning, everyone was given a huge blue rain poncho. I thought that we wouldn't get so wet. Boy, was I wrong :D

So we set off and suddenly found ourselves in a huge rain, snow, and wind cloud. It was absolutely impressive and breathtaking. The amount of water, the immense power of the water, and the noise. Suddenly, we were so wet and it became so cold and windy that we could hardly stand and as a glasses wearer, I could hardly see anything :D We then huddled inside the boat and tried to grasp this breathtaking experience. Unfortunately, the ride only lasted 20 minutes, so you couldn't really grasp it. I wonder where all this water comes from and how the area where all the water comes from can never run out. After all, 2832 cubic liters plunge down every second.

After this great event, we had free time and had a delicious coffee and I had a cookie :) Next, we crossed the border into Canada. It was quick, everyone got a stamp and we were already in Canada. We then drove to Toronto to the camp, set up and cooked dinner. Today I was on the cooking team. We had spaghetti bolognese. Delicious! After that, we were taken to the city. There is a street that resembles a mini Las Vegas. We went straight to the kids' casino, bought chips, and started playing. It was so much fun and I could have spent hours there! :D Every time you won, you got small tokens that you could redeem in the end. We had so many in our eyes. In the end, we won a frisbee :D But it will definitely stay in my memory! Teresa and I took a ride on the Ferris wheel and we had a really cool evening!

On Saturday, May 4th, we drove into the city of Toronto in the morning. The three of us looked for something delicious to eat first. We went to Loose Mosse. I had a Caesar salad and we shared poutine. That is a Canadian national dish. It consists of fries with gravy, cheese, bacon, and sour cream. It was super delicious! After that, we walked to the Distillery District. We had a coffee and did some shopping. I bought a bracelet, but I lost it right away :( Well, one stereotype that can definitely be confirmed is the incredible and genuinely friendly nature of Canadians. Even the homeless people say hello and wish you a nice day. It's almost creepy :D On the way back, we walked through the financial district and then through the drug district. Crazy how two such different worlds meet. We then drove back to the camp around 6:00 PM. While we were in Toronto, a very strong wind started blowing. On the way back, we passed a burning car in the middle of the highway. I wonder what happened there...

When we arrived at the campsite, a man stopped us and said that our tents had blown away. So we quickly went there and indeed nothing was standing. Tim and I took a deep breath, as we considered our tent to be quite ok. So I immediately went to help retrieve the now unrecognizable, huge pavilion from the lake 15 meters away. Until Tim suddenly shouted that it wasn't our tent. Our tent was the one completely destroyed in the huge puddle about 10 meters away. Our sleeping bags and sleeping mats were completely soaked and almost all the tents were torn apart and even the poles were bent. Fascinating how strong the wind is when it pulls a tent with about 30 kg of belongings and 6 pegs out of the ground. So it was clear, we couldn't stay here. So we all started dismantling tent by tent without blowing away and dismantled the pavilion into individual parts to be able to throw it away. Meanwhile, Katy tried to find accommodation with the office. At times, we just sat in the bus, drank Baileys, and ate bagels, hoping that no tree would fall on the bus. Due to the storm, many flights were canceled and there was also a big Star Wars party that day, so almost everything was fully booked. Except for... THE HILTON! So it cost us 150 dollars for a double room. Teresa, Marina, Tim, and I decided to share a 2-bed room to save costs. So we arrived in the room completely exhausted, tired, and no longer hungry at 11:00 PM. We warmed ourselves up with a hot shower, had a sip of wine to recover from the shock, and then slept in the cozy, huge bed in the safe Hilton hotel. Adventurous! :D