The eye of the storm......... just a REALLY REALLY big eye!

Well, I'm back home and slightly more calm. So, the story breaks down like this-

Back in Winnipeg i went to speak with the Immigration Office (lots of fun and games locating the office, but there will be lots to complain about in this post so i don't want to peak too soon!). While speaking with them i was told that extending a visitor permit was no problem at all. I could just go online and do it all there. The girl also mentioned that it could take a few months before they got back to me with a "yes" or "no" response, but that the reply would be posted to an address that i had to provide (I don't think too many tourists have a postal address, otherwise they wouldn't be tourists..... they'd be residents!!). So i left happy in the knowledge that the trip was safe- all i had to do was try and contact someone and ask if i could have the letter sent to them. I also decided to leave it for a few weeks to ensure that i could stay in the country whether they said yes or no. This could work as they take so long to process an application, by the time they reply i would have been back in the UK nursing a killer hangover from the celebration drinking session for finishing the trek. The whole time they're processing i would have been legally in the country on what's called "implied visitor status". So with one month to go i went online and found that nothing could be done online other than to download the forms that i have to then post 30 days before my current permit expiry........ problem! By this time i was walking round Lake Superior and the vast majority of internet access was lacking in the printer department. I tried to call immigration to explain my situation and hopefully work something out, but before i got to talk to a human, the vastly expensive phone call chewed through my $20 phone card and laughed at me. So i kept going in the hope that the next place i came to would have a printer, and when i eventually found one it was attatched to the worlds oldest computer that couldn't download the forms for the website..... what are the odds? With no way of contacting immigration via email, and not being able to afford the phone call i was left with no choice but to take a bus from Wawa (the official end of the walk) down to Sault Sainte Marie where i hoped to talk to a human at the border to the US. I got into town with only a few days to spare on my permit, but hopefull that it could in fact still be sorted online as the woman had told me back in Winnipeg. I'm not what you'd call a "techy" so i was confident that i'd just been an idiot and missed something, and would be told that everything would be fine. Unfortunatly, this was not the case. I went into the office at the border where i was told there wasn't an immigration officer around for the next 4 hours........ remember, this is at a border- you know, that place that ONLY deals with immigration type situations.... how the F**K do you justify not having an immigration officer at a border crossing??? But anyway, i left with my friend who'd come out to walk with me from Wawa to Sault Sainte Marie........ yea, i know. We went to the duty free to see if we could sneakily buy a cheap bottle of something and then left when told we needed a license plate and passport stamp- worth a try though! Walking out of the duty free we were nearly tackled to the ground by some angry officers who thought we'd just walked across the border bridge. We were marched inside where i explained what had happened and pointed out the officer i had just spoken to. They checked our ID then told Sonja (Zee German) that she was ok to go, but told me i had to wait in the office until an immigration officer arrived. She was, to her credit, an hour early, but i think this had pulled her away from a very important date with a cake which made her act like Mega-bitch from hell! She was obviously unhappy about having to do her job so i was as polite as possible to try and defuse her temper, but this just made her angrier for some reason....... God made a MAJOR mistake by giving women periods! The end result of this meeting was another meeting with another officer that i had to make within 2 days, but even then she told me that this other officer would be able to extend my trip if she thought i was telling the truth. However, she also put an arrest warrent in the system that would come into effect on the 4th if i didn't leave or get things sorted. So i made the appointment as soon as i could and went in to speak with a much friendlier woman who told me that i could still send off the forms even though it wasn't 30 days in advance. All i had to do was keep the reciept of postage and payment and this would give me "implied visitor status". Another option was to cross the border and come back, but for this to work i needed $2000 and proof of that amount, along with letters from Canadian chairites saying that what i was doing was on the level. This was a problem as i didn't have time to get any of this, and without it she said there was a 95% chance they wouldn't let me into the US along with another 95% chance they wouldn't let me back into Canada- this information ruled out a border crossing as an option! So i went to the internet cafe that day to download the forms and print them off where i found an additional problem- one of the forms i had to send couldn't be downloaded. It had to be ordered and sent by post to an address and would take 2 weeks to do this. i'm puzzled as to why you're not able to just download it with everything else, as well as being puzzled as to why it had to be sent from Alberta? wouldn't it be easier if all immigration offices had the abilty to print one off and give it to you in person.... just as another option? So i tried to call back but they all went home at 3pm- strikes me as bloody lazy! This left me with 1 day left in the country legally before an arrest warrent was issued..... and this was a problem. Couldn't cross the border, couldn't talk to anyone to ask for any more assistance, didn't have time to get forms mailed, and if i was going to leave i had to book a bus to Toronto which would put me in the airport the day i had to leave so i also didn't have the option of waiting a few more hours to make a choice- i got on the last available bus after spending the day checking emails in the hope that someone had pulled through and enabled me to stay- but they all said the same thing- "we can't do anything with another country's immigration policy", which is fair enough really. The flight was booked by my mum as i didn't have a credit card to book online, and when i got to the airport i had a few hours before i could check in. After check in i went through security with no problem and went straight to my gate as i didnt' have any money to spend in the bar. I was sat there until my flight was almost ready to board, then i realised....... "HANG THE F**K ON!!!! THERE WAS NO BLOODY PASSPORT CONTROL!!!!!" After EVERYTHING there was ZERO check on my entry stamp, and no exit stamp! Now this is tragic as it means the only reason i was stopped in my tracks was because i was honest and tried to do everything by the letter of the law. Had i just kept my head down i'm certain that no arrest warrent would be issued and therefor i would have been able to finish and leave from Toronto without a check on my passport, thus finishing the walk with no problems. It's also a shame because i really did have some great times on the trip. I had more than my fair share of tough days too, but Canadians are awsome (most of them anyway), and the scenery is breathtaking throughout the country. But because of all this my lasting memory of Canada is that it's run by total idiots and as a result, i'm never going back. In the airport though, I had to laugh as i was flying out with Air India who obviously don't trust Canadian customs as they run their own security check before letting you on the flight- the whole 9 yards too, actual searching of hand luggage rather than scanning it along with an extra metal detector search on every passenger and member of crew. They've realised that customs can't be trusted!!

As for the trip, obviously those who donated did so in the knowledge that i would finish the trek. So i'm thinking of finishing in the UK- north to south should work out to be the distance i was unable to cover in Canada. This, unfortunatly can't happen for some time as the extra cost of flying on short notice along with accomodation costs while i ws dealing with customs put me into the red BIG TIME! so i shall be working that off and then plans can start to form with regards to the UK leg- i'm gutted that it couldn't be done in one hit, but this seems to be the only option. I hope you understand.

Thanks for reading..... it's been emotional!

Email me at sammyt12000@hotmail.com with any questions.