September 2026

Belgian National Day? This year, we’re celebrating it a little differently: kayaking between Canada’s magnificent fjords.And believe me, I’d probably checked the weather for this day more often than the cycling results. For weeks back home in Belgium, I’d been following the forecast for Saguenay. Rain? Wind? Clouds? Completely pointless, as it turn

We’re still feeling the effects of jet lag. By 6 a.m., everyone is wide awake, so we decide to just get up and start the day. We make some pancakes and have a relaxed breakfast. Outside, things aren’t looking particularly promising. It rained for most of the night, with the occasional loud clap of thunder thrown in for good measure.Preparing the hi

Even before breakfast, everyone is a little nervous. Excitement is already running through our veins. Canada is famous for its bear population, but so far those bears seem more like a myth. During our first hikes, we did not see any sign of them. The Canadian forests are so dense that you can often barely see ten metres ahead. Or perhaps we make fa

I’ll make no secret of it: I think whales are extraordinary animals.Not just extraordinary. The kind of extraordinary that makes it hard to believe such creatures actually exist. Animals larger than a house, moving almost silently through the water, sometimes surfacing right beside a boat. When we started planning our trip to Canada, a whale-watchi

We usually plan our outings around good weather. We compare weather apps, hope for that little yellow sun icon, and sigh when clouds appear on the forecast. As if a successful hike depends entirely on a few extra degrees or a clear blue sky.During an Easter weekend in the Ardennes, I discovered just how wrong that way of thinking can be. We headed

When you're planning a safari, something dangerous happens. You watch videos. Lots of videos. On YouTube, lions chase buffalo across the savannah. On Instagram, leopards stroll past safari vehicles as if they have appointments to keep. Travel brochures feature elephants perfectly positioned against glowing African sunsets.After a few months of prep

For days, Hanoi had been warning us that it would be different. And just when we thought we had figured Vietnam out, everything changed. We had learned that a simple lunch can easily consist of six different dishes. We had discovered that the Vietnamese possess an extraordinary talent for transporting virtually anything on a scooter. And we could e

Some activities you book because they seem fun. Others because you feel they are part of what makes a destination special. Our canoe trip in Algonquin Provincial Park undoubtedly belonged to that second category.If there was one image we associated with Canada before our trip, it was a canoe gliding across a mirror-like lake, surrounded by forests