Journal Entry: Camping in Northern Ontario, And My Fear of Bears..

We're back from camping, and we had an amazing time, despite the cold, rainy weather that dropped on us, and my crystal clear realization that I am terrified of bears.. My fear was wildly out of control, encouraged by the signs everywhere that said "You Are In Bear Country. Bears Active In Campground", which I have to say, is not a good selling point.. And then my imagination took over from there. 

I did not sleep a wink. Most likely nothing would happen at all, and I know that some of you will say "Bears are so cute and won't hurt you", or something like that, but I think that kind of camping, even though I lived in a tent by myself in Costa Rica for half a year, is not for me. The only thing separating me from them is a piece of fabric  (tent), and even though we took all the precautions, I did not feel safe at all. I couldn't stop my thoughts of suddenly encountering this huge animal, stronger than me, with teeth for days, crazy claws, and is food obsessed. 

Even though everything was fine, my fear made it not fine, and I sent myself into panic that no matter how hard I tried to meditate, control my breathing or try to put myself in the place of the bears (what they might be thinking), I could not calm down, especially as night fell. I just stayed up, and every crack of a twig was for sure a bear..  It was interesting to watch myself go through that, but I'm not proud of it. I'm an animal lover, so what was the deal?

On another note, I made lots of really delicious camping food, and will be doing a section in the new book on what to bring and how to prepare it! One thing I made was a Raw + Spicy Peanut Pad Thai! By bringing zucchinis, a made-in-advance sauce and a spiral vegetable cutter, This camping meal was prepared in a few minutes. I also made a tahini dressing and a basil pesto to make other versions of the pasta, with appropriate vegetables, nuts and seeds to go on top :)) 

James and I did an incredible canoe outing on the second day that lasted seven hours (one hour too long for me, but I loved it, and felt safer on the water..). And we did two portages, which I have never done before, (James carried the canoe, while I got all the other things). Ontario is stunningly natural and breathtakingly beautiful. I managed to take some nice photos of a loon and her duckling, a painted turtle and a lot more :) 

All in all I loved being in magical forest, filled with wild mushrooms of every order, moss-covered rocks and powerful trees. I just need to get my fear in check. 
I hope you are all testing your limits and doing things that you love too :)

ps. Visit my blog to get recipes, watch vegan documentaries, and read more of what I'm up to! 
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