The Conclusion - Return to Canada- Part 5 On the Ropes December 5, 2023
This particular tale has been a bit drawn out but what can you do?
I was just over 11 months on the road before returning to Burnaby and funnily enough lots seems to happen when you are on a walkabout. If you can recall I had just been put in jail at the Tunisian border for having some Tunisian currency. Accordingly, it is illegal to take their money out or import their money into the country.
I guess I had missed the bulletin and would unfortunately have the bills confiscated. Oh well, at least we were back on the road. I had been able to hitch up with two French guys in Morocco and intended to ride with them all the way to Paris.
Next stop was Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. I had met a girl and her brother when I was in Switzerland and had driven them to Milan in Italy. They had given me their address and said to call if I was coming by. Most people say that but do not really think it will happen and I’m quite sure this young lady was surprised to see me on her doorstep.
Not being well versed on the customs in Tunisia I naively asked if we could go for a walk through the Medina (the market). Unfortunately, girls are expected to have a chaperone and the walk did not go well as many of the shop owners were rude to both her and me. Oh well, live and learn.
The next adventure was about to happen. My French friends had located the ferry that was to take us across the Mediterranean Sea to Marseille, France. Naturally, my finances kept me in the hold with the other paupers while my French buddies were up a few decks enjoying the scenery.
The trip was interesting and memorable just comparing the classes of society as I contemplated my situation in life.
Arriving in Marseille the next day we put the pedal to the metal for Paris. I had delayed my friends on several occasions and they needed to return to work.
I met their families and enjoyed immensely a home-cooked meal before returning to the road and hitch-hiking my way back to London.
My mind was made up, I had to get home, complete my college semester and move north. Then it would be find a job and build a house.
Not all questions in life were answered but I did learn that most people want the same things in life. A way to make a living and safety for their family.
People helped me a lot along the way and I did discover that despite our differences we are all very similar. Muslims and Jews, Turks and Greeks, Catholics and Protestants, it seems that only religion divides people and the Beatles were right, Love is the only answer.
I now have a lot on my plate but I had done enough travelling and I was ready to move forward into some new goals.
Crossing the English Channel was by hydro-foil and it’s kinda cool watching this big boat come up on land to load.
I worked the crowd and asked several passengers if I could jump in for a ride to London. Different days as hitching was acceptable then. My focus was clear as I tried to locate a one-way ticket back to North America and found an out-of-the-way freelance agent for $125 to Seattle. Only trouble was I was down to my last $100 with no time to connect to my Dad to transfer from my personal bank account.
What to do with this dilemma? I managed to go to the Canadian embassy and they agreed to lend me the 25$ with a full disclosure if I failed to pay it back they would come looking for me. All good and back to the airport to wait for the 3 a.m. flight.
Could there be one last issue? No way, but there was. Somehow I drifted off to sleep and woke at 2:45 a.m. hearing my name over the loudspeaker.
Up and running through the terminal and up the loading ramp with just a minute to spare. What a good feeling to be heading home.
My first chore on settling back into life in Burnaby was to get a cheque to the Canadian embassy in London and clear my debt.
Interestingly enough I had missed the Canuck’s entry into the NHL and also missed the Soviet Summit series while I worked out some answers to my questions about life.
Thanks for reading.
Tom Roper, 250-877-1806 or tr.ranch@hotmail.com. Call or drop me a line.