ON MY FIRST trip to the Canadian Rockies, we explored the parts covered by British Columbia and Alberta.
We visited several lakes along the trip: Emerald Lake, Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, Lake Bow, and all the other small ones I didn’t bother to know.
My favorite is Lac Louise.
I’ve also learned that it’s the most visited.
***
The group pushed for Lake Louise on Day 1.
I really thought we should have headed to our Banff hotels, rested, explored the resort town of Banff.
I mean, I wanted to rest after checking off stuff at the Yoho National Park: the Kicking Horse River, Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls.
***
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon at Lake Louise.
I enjoyed the view.
I had a prayerful stroll.
But with a strong sun in the west, our pictures were all washed out.
All lovely silhouettes because we were against the sun.
***
We ended up all exhausted when we reached Banff.
Some people went out to explore Banff’s main boulevard, but they didn’t go far because they were so hungry for dinner.
On Day 2 of the tour/trip, we went back to Lake Louise for our better photos.
***
Behind Lake Louise is Lake Moraine.
Along the way, the driver was raving about it.
When we got there, it felt like meh to me.
***
And just to make Lake Moraine memorable (Aren’t all lakes the same after Lake Louise?), I drank the water from the lake.
I mean, drank it on video.
Like I did in Scotland’s Loch Ness.
Or, at the Fontana di Trevi in Rome.
***
On Facebook, someone asked me, “Is the water potable?”
Like I care!
The waters in Loch Ness, the Trevi Fountain, and Lake Louise are not for drinking.
But that doesn’t stop me from pulling a stunt.
Because if anybody can do it, it’s got to be me — the Peter Solis Nery.
That’s part of the contracts of becoming the “The.”
***
I like doing stuff that people don’t normally do.
Or, if you are feeling superior, that “normal people do’t do.”
I like standing out, and doing things that have some shock value.
Like it’s what I was born to do!
And then, I laugh my ass off.
***
I laugh with the world.
I laugh at myself.
But most importantly, I laugh at the world.
Because, #1, I get to travel to these amazing places.
#2, I get to do crazy things at these awesome places.
#3, I get to have the bragging rights, and the most unique experiences/memories.
***
I mean, who gets to do ALL the crazy things I’ve done in this lifetime?
My confidence (and some would say arrogance) doesn’t come from nothing.
I have truly lived!
***
Sexually, I have done some things that maybe I shouldn’t have done.
But I live to tell those stories!
***
And when our very existence is threatened by this largely unknown virus, I just do what a sensible person would do: hold on, and affirm Life.
I always say Yes in order to feel that I am alive.
I say Yes to possibilities.
Should I drink the water from the lake?
Would the water from the lake make me sick?
Would it kill me?
***
Would I have been okay if I get sick from drinking the water from the lake?
I mean, that would have been uncomfortable.
Think painful stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea.
Think dysentery, amoebiasis, and so on.
But I’d still do it anyway.
To affirm Life.
My life.
And myself. (To be continued)/PN
