This article is the first amongst several that will retrace exactly how we planned for our trip, how we saved money before going, how we saved money while traveling, and how we did it while still being respectful to the planet.

Have you ever been sitting at your desk, or have come home from a demanding day at work, and had a flash of being somewhere else, perhaps backpacking the Mediterranean, camping in the mountains and overlooking a lake with a backdrop of mountains and sunrise; someplace that wasn’t…here? It’s almost impossible to separate the idea of “backpacking” with all of these romanticized ideals that go along with it. It all seems so exciting – trying to survive on your own with just a backpack, meeting new people, experiencing the Great Wonders with your own senses, making memories in a far off place, trying new dishes, learning about the world. And while all of these things are very true for anyone who has ever trekked out on their own, one thing about backpacking has echoed throughout the decades, ever since the counter-culture era of the 60’s, and right into the “green” movement of today - the desire to kindle a relationship with the natural world.

That’s probably why there are so many resources for aspiring backpackers who are planning an adventure on a tight budget, and who hold the environment not only as a priority, but as something they want to experience along the way. Looking back on it, for us the entire process of “going backpacking” was a time period where we had never lived so sustainably – not just the backpacking itself, but the entire time leading up to it as well. It is only now that I’ve realized that backpacking was not only a way to get back to nature, but it made us completely revamp the way we were living before we even left!

So, let’s start from the beginning. And for us, the beginning was with Halifax Retro. This publication was the bi-product of our inspiration to start focusing on living for the earth, and not just on it. We wanted to make a difference, and hopefully reach out to others who were trying to do the same. And while we hold our Halifax Retro project very dear to our hearts, we felt like we were missing something. We wanted to see the world so we could see where we fit in, what we could do to really help, to get inspiration to bring back to our lives, our readers, and to Halifax Retro. We wanted to see if we could survive with just a backpack, to not depend on things we thought were necessary, and to become more aware of our place in the world. After we decided that backpacking was something we needed to do, we began planning.

Like anyone, planning for a three month trip requires a substantial amount of savings. For us, with flight included, we were budgeting for approximately $7,500 (which is not a lot when you consider we were planning on visiting approximately 15 countries as well). During this time, we would stock away most of our pay checks into a savings account, and were then forced to live on the meagre leftovers. This inevitably prompted us to re-evaluate what we were doing on a daily basis. Other than the obvious expenses we had to pay (rent, our phones, etc), the things that we could control were:

a) what we were eating

b) how often we were driving

c) cutting down on frivolous spending (clothes, restaurants, etc)

d) creating inexpensive ways to have fun

Ever since I started my job in sales, it was not abnormal for me to purchase my lunch at least 3 times a week. To remedy this cash blow, we began pre-making our lunches, and started purchasing more raw foods at the grocery store and making our own recipe batches – we found soup to be the most inexpensive, healthy, and abundant thing we could make. Not only did this save us tons of money, it was the healthier way to eat anyway! Did we have to wait until we had no money to finally realize this? It makes me wonder sometimes about the bigger picture, on a global economic scale. Are we all just too lazy and unenlightened to realize that the more sustainable choice is actually the most economic as well?

Something that eats up money like no other is the gas tank. If it was possible to walk somewhere, we would. Luckily for us we lived in the downtown core, so getting anywhere only took a few minutes anyway. The one thing that we did cut down on was taking leisurely drives on the weekends. Instead, we would still drive somewhere, but instead of just driving for the heck of it, we’d get out of the car and hike for most of the day.

Like a lot of women, even the environmentalist ones, I like shopping and pretty things. For about a year before we set off to Europe, I put a stop service on my bank cards when it came to shopping malls. If I needed something, I would walk to an independent store and buy it. I went almost a year without going into a mall, which meant I spent next to nothing on things I really didn’t need anyway. If I was in the mood for something new, I would scope out the local Value Village, or at least I would go to an indy shop downtown and look there. Malls can be scary - they suck you in and spit you out, fabulously dressed albeit, but broke.

Instead of going out for dinner, out for drinks and overly priced beer, or to the latest movie, we’d find ways to entertain ourselves without breaking the bank. One of our favourite ways to spend Friday and Saturday nights was to walk down to the Halifax library and ransack the DVD section. With just a library card (which is totally free) you can take out half a dozen movies at a time, without spending a penny! They have everything from the latest releases, to documentaries. We would also often find entire documentaries on the internet and spend long nights watching them cuddled on the couch. Again, not only did this save us money, but it also gave us tons of ideas for articles, like the ones you’ll read on Halifax Retro! Instead of at the bars downtown, you could find us on the waterfront or at a nearby park with some drinks and a picnic.

These are just some of the ways that we had to be creative and come up with ways to save money. If you look at them all, they are all things that not only saved us money, but they are all things that contributed to our cause of being more planet friendly!

Please stay tuned for the next part to this series on Backpacking on a Budget on Halifax Retro!

One of the things I found most different about Europe, among many, was the fact that you are allowed to drink anywhere - not to mention buy drinks anywhere. If this policy was introduced here to eager Atlantic Canadians, after all hell broke loose for awhile, I believe it would eventually lose the obscene appeal we think it has when we visit these far off places, and create a society better off for it.

It’s funny, although you can buy beer anywhere, even Macdonald’s in some countries; there is the same amount, if not less, people who are walking around belligerently drunk. I didn’t really think about this strange observation until we got to Norway, which essentially had the same liquor laws as Canada. There, we had a discussion about how Norwegians love to drink, like here, as a means to being more socially comfortable.

I don’t mean socially comfortable as in needing to have a drink when everyone else is having one, I mean getting drunk, inducing behaviour that at the time seems comfortable to enact socially, but later can make things very uncomfortable.

In other areas of Europe, this does not appear to be the case. You rarely see a drunken Frenchman staggering around blasting obscenities, which seems strange considering they are allowed to drink wherever they want and buy liquor anywhere they want; at almost any time of night…not to mention it is at least half the price in most places.

I thought about it and started thinking that maybe this is because drinking is not considered taboo there. It is more socially accepted without laws preventing where you can buy it, where you are allowed to consume it, and so on. So at a young age, perhaps you don’t necessarily think it rebellious to illegally obtain and consume alcohol to have fun. Perhaps in this type of upbringing, the youth are less susceptible to thinking one can’t have fun on his or her own, without the aid of this otherwise rebellious substance.

Thinking back to my own youth and even now, I feel I would be much less likely to drink excessively if it never had been considered a social cog in the life that is trying to fit in as a teenager. I feel if you were allowed to say, drink a beer in the park at your leisure, perhaps one would be less likely to sit at home where it is legal and consume as many as possible without the “cops” being able to do anything about it - sticking it to the man by killing your brain cells in the privacy of your own home - because doing it anywhere else would be illegal.

Maybe this would increase drunk driving? Perhaps, but Europe has no more of a problem with drunk drivers than North America does. In fact, one could argue that because people are actually drinking less, fewer accidents would occur, because people are going to drive drunk anyway.

Maybe I’m wrong, but perhaps that is what our government is keen on. We seem to consume more that way, and all while paying much more for it than people in Europe do. It doesn’t cost more to make here, so where does the access of the inflated price go? Into the pockets of the government, who regulate the liquor stores themselves.

I bet if our regulations on alcohol mimicked what they currently are in Europe, there would actually be less alcoholism in the long run, because it would be more accepted to just have a beer you bought at the corner store on your way home from work, instead of having to buy an 8-pack. I mean, considering you had to go all the way to the liquor store, why just buy one?

Our laptop has crashed here in Europe. It was probably bound to happen, as we have SO many great articles to write. Unfortunately we will have to wait until we step onto Canadian soil again… which will be in early September. Please check back then and there will be lots of updated articles about our journey!

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Internet in Italy seems almost non-existent sometimes, as this article was actually written almost two weeks ago in France. We have since passed through Italy and Switzerland and are learning and experiencing more than we ever could have dreamed. We are now in Austria using free internet at McDonald’s, and one of the most shocking things we’ve noticed in Europe so far is the rather bizarre presence of McDonald’s. While we usually only buy an ice cream or coffee to use there facilities, it has saved us from having to spend 30-50 cents on using the bathroom (the standard rate for using the bathroom in many places here) on numerous occasions, it also proves to be the only location with free WIFI access almost everywhere we go.

The bizarre thing? You know how back home how it is actually called McDonald’s “Restaurant”? Well, here it is actually much more like a restaurant than a fast food place. The food is pricey, there are no $1.69 cheeseburgers you can purchase to make yourself sick with over here. We couldn’t believe this, mostly because the restaurants were unusually packed, with outrageously large seating area’s you would never see back home.

About a week into our trip, we figured out why: There is no mass production of beef here, and with American beef deemed too low grade for importation to France and Ireland, the McDonald’s here are forced to use real meat. You heard me correctly, when you go to a McDonald’s in France, you are actually eating meat that isn’t pumped full of strange chemicals and isn’t packed full of other mystery substances.

In Ireland, the beef used is even sometimes local free range cattle. Although this isn’t required, many have signs up stating its commitment to using local Ireland beef – something that if you ever saw back home you’d have to rub your eyes and read again and again to accept the belief of.

In Italy it is a little different, as one McDonald’s actually sold single hamburgers for 50 Euro cents. It goes to show just how McDonald’s Restaurant is able to sell such products at such cheap prices, because you pay for what you’re getting, and Italy has no restrictions on US beef imports.

It’s a funny thing. While back home we had grown to loath McDonald’s and its food which always makes you sick with its profits driven, cheaply health abusing menu; over here we have grown somewhat attached to it. Well, Its free bathrooms and internet, anyway. The Sundae’s are pretty good, too!

We are now in southern France and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find places with both an electrical outlet and internet (not to mention having time to use them). The monastery we stayed in was a special place, especially notable because they also ran a farm on top of their four daily church ceremonies. One father in particular, father Bryan, was in charge of running the farm, with the help of many helpers whom stayed at the monastery as well. They had chickens, which were used for eggs; cows for milk, sheep for…well, from what we gathered the sheep were are rare breed there just for fun. They send off young cattle when the stock becomes too plentiful and are given subsidies on certain operating costs for providing a quota of milk. All animals are free range.

The fact a 65+ monk could operate a farm in this fashion gives us hope in being able to operate our own someday. Not only does he do this, but also tends to the many garden around the property. I spent several hours speaking to this kind old man one day and he advised me that almost all the flowers and plants in the garden had biblical references, another aspect of his daily chores which would absorb ample amounts of time. Also, there was quite a vegetable garden he tended to that included lettuce, cabbage, carrots, fennel, olives, and numerous others.

If there was anything thus far that has inspired us on our mission to open a farm of our own someday, it was watching (and occasionally helping out with) the daily operations of this place. The meals we were served all incorporated this natural way of living. We were ecstatic when we found out the veggies included in out dinner were freshly picked earlier that morning, further reinforcing the fact that this way of life was something we wanted to immerse ourself in later on in life.

On top of all that, the enlightenment attained at this fantasy land will never be forgotten by either of us, as the generosity experienced at this place is something I’ve never known to exist back home. Staying there is done on donation basis, so if you don’t have the money to cover their expenses (approx. 65 euro’s a night) of having you as their guest, they don’t hand you a bill and demand you pay. Instead there is a donation box in the guest house which you can secretly provide them with whatever you have…you don’t even have to attend the ceremonies in the church.

It is an incredible display of human oneness, which I will never forget. Going from there to the streets of Cork and even Paris was almost disappointing, (haha I know, poor us, eh?) and I will spend the rest of my life attempting to figure out a way to go back there (or live there, which I already planted the seeds of question with several of th monks.

Our sincerest apologies for not posting in so long, time goes by fast. We just finished staying in a monastery in Ireland, about 1KM from the small town of Murroe outside of Limerick. I can safely tell you that it was the most beautiful place I have ever been, and the energy there is unlike any I’ve ever experienced. Before getting to that in my next post, let me just take a minute to explain what happened up until then.

Our last week and a half in Halifax was great. I in particular had very little to do and spent the time camping and spending time with those who are now already greatly missed. We caught a plane at the Halifax airport on the 11^th of this month, grabbing a quick Murphy’s Irish Stout at the bar before taking off (Jackie can now safely say she is disgusted by dark beer). This didn’t bother me, however, as I quickly gulped hers down as well. The plane we took first stopped in Toronto, where Jackie got the first veggie burger I have ever seen that had actual veggies in it. It was incredible, “best veggie burger I’ve ever had,” she exclaimed, a pea falling from the bun onto her plate. The real reason I bring this up is because the waitress at this place made a statement that stuck with us: “in North America, you work until you eat, in Europe, you work ‘to’ eat.”

We arrived in Germany after about a 6 and a half hour journey over the Atlantic ocean. Beer was free so I slept fairly well for the last 2 hours after watching “Paul Blart Mall Cop” (maybe rental worthy if you’re into Kevin James comedy). We then hopped onto a little plane to Dublin, plunging into a fairytale of green pasture. We had earlier made a statement wondering how long it would take us to see a castle – then saw one during our descent to the runway.

Despite Jackie’s bags being picked up by someone else (we eventually got them back), our first day was one of the most fun thus far. We tried out “couchsurfing” for the first time and were somewhat intimidated at first, however, it proved to exceed any expectations we had. Not only were we given a couch, each, by our hosts, but also a key, internet access and the offered usage of anything in the house. Amazing people. Not only that, but they took us to 2 different bars, showing us a splendid time and, best of all, found game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on their laptop for us (which was hooked up to a giant projector) so we could watch while they went to bed (it started around 2 in the morning Dublin time and ended around 5AM). I tried to convince them to stay up and watch it with us but people here are mostly into Rugby and Football. They had all been to Canada before, though, and had already experienced first hand the Canuck love for the sport. Sorry if I woke you guys up with the cheering. Good final.

What we especially loved about our hosts is that they were into sustainability. One of them, Joe, was a vegetarian and filled us in on Irish politics, which apparently includes the Green party currently being in power (go figure). While European politics were a bit difficult for us to understand (presumably because they aren’t a complete farce like the fiasco we call politics back home) from what we understood there are several high up ministers in the Irish Parliament that are from the Green Party and whom wield a great deal of influence. They are currently trying to make radical changes to environmental practices in the area.

There are several main differences in the area of sustainability which I have noticed so far. One problem the Irish are dealing with, however stereotypical this may sound, is that the legality of drinking in the street causes massive amounts of cans and bottles to be left around the city. While there seems to be around the same amount of garbage cans in the cities as in the West, it seems that there are simply not enough garbage cans to handle all the refuse alone, let alone the recyclable refuse as well. In the West, if you leave a can in the street it will surely be picked up by someone within a day, because our recycling program (bottle deposits) allow people to trade them in for money. There seems to be no such thing here, as even tax is already built into the price of everything.

That’s not to say there isn’t a recycling program, as there are “recycling depots” around the cities, however, with no bottle collectors and so many people drinking beer in the streets, there is a definite litter problem.

Another thing we have noticed is that even in fast food restaurants, organic meat and veggies is advertised frequently. “Free range eggs” signs can be seen in many windows, and organic veggies were even available at a local Subway. I feel like the fast food chains are given the ability to regulate their own practices over here, as prices for the same thing often varies as well from store to store. Maybe they can do that back home as well, and just choose not to, but in either case, you have much more options for organic meals here, without the always hefty price tag. Cattle are also mostly free range here, to the point where they rarely even advertise it. The quality of beef available in the United States is deemed unsafe and illegal for import in most of Europe.

After leaving Dublin, we took the train to Limerick and spent the night there. There is a mid-evil portion of this city that was more amazing than anything we saw in Dublin. We explored a castle originally built in the 13^th century, the site of countess Irish battles and hardship defending against the English (who ruled or tried to rule Ireland in one way or another for 700 years). We then took the bus here, a monastery built within a castle built by my Barrington ancestors hundreds of years ago. My link to this place predated that of anyone who lives there, which I found truly nostalgic. It is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen, without question, which brings me to now, having just left. Hopefully now that we have filled you in, we will be able to post more frequently, however, limited internet access + limited time = limited ability to do so. Miss you guys.

This documentary uncovers one of the most theologically damaging discoveries the world has ever known, yet doesn’t seem to know about.

The documentary that holds this distinction is called “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” - which was first broadcasted by Discovery Channel and Vision TV in Canada on March 4, 2007 – and covers  the discovery of the Talpiot Tomb, the final resting place of Jesus Christ (that is what the film contends, anyway). It was directed by Canadian documentary and film maker Simcha Jacobovici and produced by Felix Golubev and Ric Esther Bienstock, with the famous James Cameron serving as executive producer.

The claims this documentary makes are currently the subject of controversy beyond the reaches of what we can know, as it transcends the boundaries between the archaeological and theological fields and is being condemned by everyone from weekend church goers to biblical scholars.

The tomb itself was discovered in 1980 during a housing construction project located halfway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. When the tomb was initially uncovered, archaeology teams quickly had only a few days to excavate it. Inside, Ten ossuaries were found before the tomb was cemented over, including the six that are the subject of Jacobovici’s film.

Six of the ossuaries have inscriptions of common names, nothing out of the ordinary until research uncovered that they were no simple set of names. Individually they may have been quite common, but the fact that the following deciphered names were all found in the same tomb is astonishing, especially when carbon dating found them to have been put there approximately 2000 years ago:

Yeshua bar Yehosef, Aramaic for “Jesus son of Joseph” .

Maria, written in Aramaic script, but a Latin form of the Hebrew name “Miriam” (”Mary”).

Yose, a diminutive of “Joseph” mentioned (in its Greek form ????? “Joses”) as the name of one of Jesus’s brothers in the New Testament.

Yehuda bar Yeshua, Aramaic for “Judah son of Jesus” .

Mariamene e Mara. According to the filmmakers this is Greek for “Mary known as the master.” The similar name “Mariamne” is found in the Acts of Philip: Francois Bovon, professor of the history of religion at Harvard University has suggested based on his study of that work that Mariamene, or Mariamne, was the actual name of Mary Magdalene.

Matya, Hebrew for ‘Matthew’— The film claims that there is evidence that Mary mother of Jesus had many relatives named Matthew.

The documentary then ascertains the probability that a tomb might contain such a specific group of names as those found in the Talpiot Tomb. While it is maintained that many of these are common names, the filmmakers allow a statistics professor to show us that the odds that such names could be found together in any one tomb are (depending on variables) no less than 600 to 1 in favour of it being authentic, and that’s intentionally taking into account a large margin of error, which otherwise would make the odds far higher than that.  

Normally a find like this would be in the realm of coming across the fountain of youth or the holy grail, however, the film has been largely ignored and criticized, due to its obvious contradiction of the events concerning Jesus depicted in the New Testament. The film’s suggestions contradict the basis which an entire faith rests its beliefs upon, making it probably one of the most controversial archaeological discoveries of all time, which nobody seems to have heard of…

Thinking of all the ways this contradicts the Christian faith, it’s obvious why the church is so quick to denounce the discovery, as it exposes it as a sham at worst and at least leaves some serious question marks at best. Just the fact that Jesus remains were found conjures up a whole set of contradictions, as that means his death was followed only with a spiritual ascension, not a bodily ascension that Christians are led to believe. Also, the fact that his wife’s remains were found, the fact he had a child and siblings and his mother presumably not being virgin kind of raises some eyebrows, as well.  

It seems that there is a chance Jesus may have simply been human, folks. That’s right, a philosopher, activist, and genuine hero, but not the son of god. Hard to believe, I know. How could the one and only son of god that we’ve been lead for millennia to believe had superpowers, be a mere mortal?

There are certainly flaws and embellishments in some of the arguments the documentary raises, which have been picked apart by religious figures, who maintain the film ignores reason with its outrageous assertions and is an unprofessional work of fiction. I think, though, that if we’re going to play that game, it may be safe to assert that perhaps the Bible maybe did a little embellishing of its own? No way, never…

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

I really loved this documentary so much that I watched it twice, back to back. I’ve seen two Bob Dylan documentaries, this one, and Don’t Look Back (1967). I must say that while both are really well done, No Direction Home goes beyond Bob Dylan himself, and provides more of a look into the world that helped shape him as an artist, and provides a fleeting  glimpse of understanding into a world that so many have haughtily tried to analyze for decades.

The title, No Direction Home, is in homage to his classic song, “Like a Rolling Stone” [How does it feel, to be on your own, no direction home, like a complete unknown… like a rolling stone?] The upbeat, 2-disc, discovery session is a visual representation and scrapbook of Dylan’s musical foundation, which proves to all who watch it, that we are essentially a composite of our own experiences, environment, and ideologies. It’s extremely inspiring.

And like only Dylan can do, he sums up the entire documentary in his first few words:

“I had ambitions to set out and find an odyssey of going home somewhere. I set out to find a home that I had left a while back and I couldn’t remember where it was, but I was on my way there… I was born very far away from where I was supposed to be, so I’m going home…”

Other Memorable Quotes:

“There’s a saying among the Tibetan Buddhists that if the student is not better than the teacher, then the teacher’s a failure. And I was really knocked out by the eloquence, particularly, “I’ll know my song well before I start singing”, and “I’ll reflect from the mountain where all souls can see it”. It’s sort of this biblical prophecy. Poetry are words that are empowered that make your hair stand on end; that you have to recognize it as some form of subjective truth that has an objective reality because someone has realized it. Then you call it poetry later”.

-         Allen Ginsberg on Bob Dylan, and Dylan’s song A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.

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“He articulated what we all wanted to say, but couldn’t say”

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“…He [Dylan] came out and stayed with me in a beautiful house… Bob would like to write there. And he would just be tapping away at that typewriter. He would always say, “Uh, what d’ya think a this?” and I wouldn’t understand the thing at all, but I loved it. So, I’d go, “Okay, I’m gonna figure this one out”. So I read through it, and I gave back my interpretation of what I thought it was about. Then he’s say, “Ah, that’s pretty feckin’ good, ya know… a buncha years from now these feckin’ people, all these assholes, they’re gonna be writing about all this shit I write. I don’t know where the feck it comes from, I don’t know what it’s about, and they’re gonna write what it’s about…” Ha!”

-         Joan Baez on her relationship with Bob Dylan

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“Johnny Cash was more of a religious figure to me. To be standing next to him was a huge thrill for me. For him to be singing one of my songs, it was just unthinkable”

-         Bob Dylan on Johnny Cash

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Appearances and mention in No Direction Home include:

Ø     Allen Ginsberg

Ø     Joan Beaz

Ø     Woodie Guthrie

Ø     Odetta

Ø     Hank Williams

Ø     Leadbelly

Ø     The Weavers

Ø     Pete Seeger

Ø     Johnny Cash

Reviewed by: Jackie Howatt