Day 1

11:50pm: Dave tells me about the Sudbury smoke stack. Apparently it is the 2nd tallest freestanding structure in the world. It doesn't look that big to me. Smokey, though.

11:30pm: Setting off again, after waiting in the cold while the bus driver messes around. Dave and I have worked out that it will take over 20 hours to get to the next big stop- Winnipeg.

10:05pm: Here we are in Sudbury. It is the weirdo colony of the world. I am stuck here for an hour while we wait for another change of buses. I don't dare look up from the floor for fear of antagonising one of these strange people. From where I am sitting I can see an ancient man looking like he has forgotten where he lives, a balding man in pyjama bottoms and massive boots, a gay Gene Wilder lookalike, what appears to be an ex-convict in an orange jumper emblazoned "Psycho Ward", an Oriental girl in a FLUORESCENT yellow tracksuit (which shines brighter than the sun), a gangster in baggy jeans, bandanna and complete with bling bling jewellery and baseball cap and then Dave, apparently stoned, wondering around aimlessly. The sooner we get out of here the better.

9:26pm: Water update- All gone! Nearing Sudbury where I can hopefully restock.

8:55pm: Have been finding out some info about Dave. He went to school in Sudbury, one of our stops, and studied outdoor teaching (or something of that ilk). He is travelling past Vancouver to a small place North, where he will teach schoolchildren to climb, orienteer, hunt rabbits etc. Also, is travelling to Namibia with the Scouts in the summer to build schools!

8:10pm: Break at North Bay. I make my first travel buddy, Dave (imaginative), from Montreal, born in England! Had to resist Cheetos in the vending machine, which was tough.

7:16pm: Ate two more granola bars. Water update: 50%. This is quite a tedious bit of the journey, actually.

6:37pm: Landscape is incredibly snowy. At some houses it rises halfway up the doors. Lots of motoneige tracks, which brings back all my nervous feelings from when Kate and I nearly got one stuck. The sun is beginning to set over the horizon, casting clear shadows across the trees.

6:10pm: We stop for 15 minutes. I was hungry, and the SMALL pack of Cheetos was calling me, I couldn't remain strong. This truck stop was a dive; the toilet flush didn't work, and evidently hadn't worked for a while. Back on the bus after 15 minutes, and end up waiting another 15 minutes. Dave bought a map of Canada, and it is demoralising. We have travelled about two inches, and there are a lot more inches to go!

5:50pm: I attempt for the first time ever to use a toilet in a bus. It isn't easy. I even contemplated going for it girl-style, but the seat wasn't a pretty sight either. Also, it seems that we are on the bumpiest road in the whole of Canada at this point.

5:30pm: Decide to actually start making an effort with this diary. I'm not too bored yet, and I am trying my hardest not to be bored, because I know there is plenty of time to come! I am sitting in front of two nattering old ladies, who are doing my head in. Their inane dialogue continues for the whole stretch between Ottawa and the small town that they alight the bus. One particular conversation continues for 20 minutes, and it goes on like this:

"We didn't go this way last time we came!"

"It must be a different bus driver..."

"Yes, a different bus driver. See (points), this is where we came last time."

"Yes I remember, we came this way, the last bus driver.....etc etc etc"

If this is how the whole trip is going to pan out, I only hope that my iPod battery holds out for as long as possible.

2:40pm: Arrive in Ottawa. I am minus three granola bars, all the fruit that I brought with me, and the big bottle of water I had is down 20%.

12:00pm: Preparing to leave Montreal for the final time. After having a shower and feeling incredibly fresh, I have already sweat profusely on the metro with all my bags, and already I stink. Great start.