Travel

For a very long time, it was very important to me that others knew I had good taste, that the books I was reading made me seem smart, that the music I was listening to made me seem cool, that the food I was eating made me seem cultured.

And then I went travelling.

It’s officially been one year since I’ve left Manitoba. I know I’m not alone in saying that I miss travelling; I miss trying new food, staying in hotels, walking around new cities…

As someone who likes to see as much as possible when I travel, I often try to fit a couple of locations in per trip. One of the things I find myself researching the most is how to get from A to B. When I travelled for a month through the Balkans last year, I researched this a lot. One of the routes I researched quite heavily was how to get to Kotor from Dubrovnik, two cities I was very excited to visit.

In the end, I travelled the other way round, from Kotor to Dubrovnik, but the ways to get there remain the same. Because the Balkan countries are so small, it makes it easy to travel between them; I found this to be the case with Montenegro and Croatia.

When I moved home to Winnipeg nearly three years ago, I was overjoyed to find out that there had been an influx of breweries in the city. As someone who absolutely loves beer, the abundance of breweries in Winnipeg has made for many an enjoyable evening (and in some cases, an enjoyable afternoon).

Whether you’re after hoppy IPAs, unique ingredients in your stout, or just a simple lager for a hot day, there’s a Winnipeg brewery for you. I’ve made it a point to sample as many varieties of beer as possible over the past year so that this article would be up to date and accurate. You’re… welcome?

Since moving home to Manitoba, I’ve been overwhelmed by just how much there is to do and see in the province. This summer was always going to be about exploring locally as much as possible; after years checking out countries abroad, I figured it was time to explore close to home, too. Given the world’s current dynamic, it made even more sense to keep my adventures local. It doesn’t hurt that there are so many amazing summer day trips from Winnipeg to keep me busy!

When I was invited to visit Swan Valley, a region about five hours northwest of Winnipeg, I had no idea what to expect. I had vaguely heard of the town of Swan River, but beyond that I couldn’t tell you a thing.

But after spending a few days exploring Swan Valley, I can tell you this: it’s one of my favourite places in Manitoba, hands down.

Perfect for a socially-distanced trip, one that includes a lot of natural beauty, I’m so excited to share some of what I got up to while I was in Swan Valley. Nestled between the Porcupine Mountains and Duck Mountains, the valley is perfect for hiking, fishing, camping, and swimming in summer, while ideal for downhill skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing in winter. It’s a bit of a nature enthusiast’s dream playground, really, and I could have happily spent another week or two exploring all that there was to do outdoors in Swan Valley.