The travelling spirit

Tasha Waite, Wild Blues: Lessons from the Road.  Victoria, BC: AwareNow Publishing, 2014.

Reviewed by Alex Greer

Do you have that urge to do some travelling? Summer will be here before you know it, and it is good to have your trip planned to the last detail well in advance. How about when travelling with only a general sense of destination and a vague sense of not knowing where exactly you will lay your head down at night? You may not be Bilbo the Hobbit seeking the golden mountain, but if this kind of life of the vagabond or the backpacker appeals to your sense of direction, much wisdom can be gleaned from Tasha Waite’s recent Wild Blues: Lessons from the Road.

Tasha Waite is originally from Winnipeg and now she resides in Victoria. Her adventures in backpacking travels have taken her to northern Ontario, across the prairies, to places in the British Columbia interior, and to the upper regions of Vancouver Island in search of a hippie or “rainbow” gathering. Each chapter is a vignette about a particular road incident, which is followed by Tasha’s reflection in the form of a lesson or two. Upon receiving a nice drive from a generous couple in Nelson, Tasha notes that “spontaneous opportunities crop up when you least expect them to.” Our fearless hitchhiker also has stories of unpleasant circumstances with shady characters. 

Half of Wild Blues is about adventures in Mexico and Central America. Down there Tasha did not stay at five-star hotels and/or at beach front resorts. She had only what her backpack could carry. She either camped out, or she and her friends rented a place at the cheapest hostel. Sometimes friendly locals took them in. As strangers in a strange land, every day was a new experience, especially when she and her friends ventured further south to the troubled state of Chiapas. When on the Mexican roads, Tasha learned “how to connect with a wide range of people.”

Should you choose to travel light to unknown destinations, better check with what advice Tsaha Waite has given.

Wild Blues can be purchased at either Niagara Grocery (579 Niagara St. in James Bay) or at Camas Books (2620 Quadra St).