Hello Everyone

It is once again time for an update, especially because I have told several people that I looked forward to my next address. After three weeks whit Chuck and Cathy it is time to move on. On the helpx website I had seen an address that I was really excited about. I had already emailed them but it took a while before I got a reply. They were in fact very busy but I was welcome to come in May. It is an accommodation with tree houses (http://www.kabania.ca) you could look at it as a luxuries campground. What the work would be, I had no idea but it looked so cool that it didn't bother me that not much.

So I went on the road to Notre Dame de la Merci in Quebec a ride from 4 a 5 hour from Sherbrooke. It is a small town north of Montreal surrounded by ski areas, it is kind of hard to find on a map unless you are a Celine Dion fan who has here a chalet or something. Unfortunately I let the nice weather behind me, and how higher in altitude I went the more I snow there is there is even ice on the Lakes. Oh well when I arrive I meet Marie-Cristine one of the owners of Kabania and Lolita and Aurelie two helpers from France who already have been here for a while. And later that day I meet Mathieu the other owner of Kabania and his girlfriend Fennie and his father. Everybody speaks English (the one what better than the other) but most of the conversations are in French. It is understandable but not always fun if you don't speak French. But the longer I stay the more I understand from where the conversations is about ,so looking on the bright side this way I learn quite a bit of the French language.

The accommodation is going to open in July this year and there is still a lot that needs to be done, the sleeping cabins, nine in total are ready but there is still a common area to be built. This building consists of two parts one half consists of the kitchen, toilets, showers and washing machines and the other space that is still under construction is going to be the relaxation area where you can sit quietly with a large terrace outside. The intention is that they are mainly in the summer the autumn are open when the environment is very beautiful because of all chancing colors of the Maple trees and in winter because ski areas.

We sleep in the tree cabins but we manly live and have our meals in the house. During the day we start around nine till lunchtime which is a pretty long break and then we work up to somewhere around five. So you might wonder what do you all day on this location like this, well the work is very varied. There is one day that I'm sawing fire wood with a chain saw and then splitting the wood. With the necessary protection, I get started and it's a good work out, no need to go to the gym after this day anymore, but it is fun to do and I like it. Some other days I am working with Aurelie, painting the boards for the common area and painting three picnic tables which we have to put together afterwards. With Mathieu am I am fixing the pillars for the foundation which is a nice job, 30 pieces in total and the all need to be leveled out of course. Then we make the frame for the floor with large heavy beams. And then on Friday and Saturday there will arrive about 36 pallets with grass mats, so we are busy to equalize the ground. That Friday and Saturday we are pretty much the whole day on our knees working whit the grass, in this way I'll at least work of all the biscuits and sweets I've eaten too much this winter. But after all that hard work and it not raining, it is very nice to be able to finish the day with the Jacuzzi.

Speaking about cookies very now and then I bake some cookies or brownies, just because I like to do it and because I am, of course, I have sweet tooth. So I have a very good recipe for brownies that everyone liked very much because by the next day they were all gone. And then one evening I had made muffins and cookies .... 16 hours later they were already gone ... what, of course, a good sign. After the grass is laid, the gravel path needs to be finished with large rocks along the edges. A job that will keep me busy for a few days ... but I do get the chance to use the shovel to do this ....well I don't need to explain this job ... Anyway, in this way I am getting pretty handy in all sorts of things maybe I can get a job as a gardener.

On my day off I went to Mount Tremblant I had looked on the internet which route looked nice and figured out that I did not wanted to take the highway but a what tourist route. Well I say although I had the route well written down and it was good to follow, the roads were not too good. Large holes and cracks in the road as a result of the winter, and then you have those people behind your on hanging on your bumper because you do not drive fast enough to their standard. Well I would, however, like to enjoy my little car a bit longer. Mount Trembant is a very touristic ski area especially favorite whit the Americans, but if I walk around it is very quiet so between the seasons. In one of the small villages, I see a sign with le petit train du nord, so I guess that's a small hiking trail for Petit is small...right. The route goes along a large lake and is specifically for cyclists and walkers. I have no idea where the route is going but it seems that it might go around the lake, if that is the case then it's a nice walk. Along the way I see small signs with 91km .... 92km .... 93km hmmmmm ... that I'm not small that is quite long and then at one point, the path goes straight ahead at the end of the Lake ... and not around it .... So after about 5 km walking I decide to go back the same road otherwise I don't know where I'll end up. I later find out that the route in total is 200 km long and going from Saint Jérôme to Mont Laurier and was formerly a railway line. Anyway, I walk around in the village of Mont Tremblant what is only accessible to pedestrians. It looks like a bit like a Disney picture with colored buildings and I am sure in the winter it will with all the snow it will look like a fairytale. But it is nice weather (finally) and outside on the terrace I enjoy my coffee with a large banana/chocolate muffin.

Meanwhile, the construction of the common building is going steadily. The floor and the walls are ready and now they are starting whit the roof. The entire building is made of wood and despite the rain, it rises reasonably quickly. It is a pity that I won't see the end result because I'm already busy planning the next route. The following destination is New Brunswick, I want to drive along the coast but I am still not quite sure about which route trough Quebec I will follow to get there. But I still have a few days to decide because I'm waiting for some better weather, I want to go camping and to do that when they expect every day rain is not very attractive. But more about that later.

Talk to younext time,Gabriëlle