A travel fund of only $150 may not sound like enough to spend much more than a day out of town, but two students from the University of British Columbia managed to cross the country for a total of $9.99 thanks to the generosity of strangers.
Philippe Roberge, 22, and Ori Nevares, 23, hitchhiked from Whitehorse to St. John香蕉视频直播檚 over the summer in an effort to see the country and mark Canada香蕉视频直播檚 150th anniversary.
Roberge said they initially wanted to go to every national park in Canada but the gas cost alone would have been about $3,000.
Instead, keeping with the theme of the sesquicentennial, Roberge said they set a budget of $150 each for their 42 days on the road this summer. They spent the $9.99 for groceries in Yukon near the start of their trip.
The coast-to-coast journey exposed them to grizzlies, moose, bison and the diversity of Canada香蕉视频直播檚 landscape while meeting plenty of Canadians in the 58 rides they were given.
香蕉视频直播淪ome of the major things we learned is how nice Canadians were and how generous they were. We never felt unsafe. We were always welcomed into people香蕉视频直播檚 cars and homes and fed, which was really amazing to see,香蕉视频直播� Nevares said.
Roberge, who was born in Montreal, said with the exception of a handful of trips in Canada, he had seen very little of the country while Nevares, who was born in Vancouver, said he had previously only gone as far east as Saskatchewan.
香蕉视频直播淲e really didn香蕉视频直播檛 know very much about our country and we haven香蕉视频直播檛 experienced a lot of it so we wanted to actually learn and educate ourselves about Canada,香蕉视频直播� Nevares said.
The trip not only exposed them to the changing landscape through each province but also the diverse cultures and cuisine.
They ate fresh sheep meat from a farm in Alberta, ribs in Manitoba, homemade poutine in Montreal, lobster in Maritimes and cod tongue in St. John香蕉视频直播檚.
Although the trip wasn香蕉视频直播檛 without a few bumps.
The hitchhikers said they began questioning their decisions after narrowly missing a tornado in Saskatechwan and finding themselves back under the same storm system in Manitoba.
香蕉视频直播淭here was crazy lightning, multiple strikes every second. I香蕉视频直播檇 never seen lightning like that before. And then according to the weather (reports), there was ping-pong sized hail supposed to come in and also another tornado warning,香蕉视频直播� Nevares said.
A driver in a passing car took them to a Tim Horton香蕉视频直播檚 where, once the storm had passed in the middle of the night, they pitched their tents in the parking lot. The next day, they made their way to Winnipeg.
They said they learned many lessons along the way and asked all their hosts and drivers for parting advice.
Roberge said a man from Moncton told them, 香蕉视频直播淵ou don香蕉视频直播檛 get what you don香蕉视频直播檛 ask for. Often times the thing is waiting right there for you but you香蕉视频直播檙e just too scared to ask so you never get it.香蕉视频直播�
They香蕉视频直播檝e set up a Facebook page and website photos, video and a blog of their experiences from the road and they said they plan to put together a documentary with their footage as well as a coffee-table book.
香蕉视频直播擶ith files from Gemma Karstens-Smith.
Linda Givetash, The Canadian Press
