This one of a series of posts about my trip to Canada. Most posts about this trip can be found here.

Lakes. So many lakes. You think you’ve seen lakes? I’ve seen lakes. There are 250,000 lakes in the state of Ontario which is 1/5 of all the freshwater on the planet. A stat I couldn’t quite believe until I’d seen all the lakes.

By the final day I was extremely ready to not be on a train, especially at night where I was managing a half decent sleep but my back and bones were aching and my skin was crying out for a proper shower.

But despite this, nature continues to amazing. The scenery continued to whip by. An older lady I had befriended was getting off at Sioux Lookout, she had a house right on the lake. An American family got on for a short stop on their way to their holiday destination. The empty landscapes of a few days ago was quickly being filled with humans.

And then it was over. We came to the city on the Great Lake. Mountains replaced with skyscrapers. Forests replaced with neighbourhoods.

5 days. 4 nights. 4,440km. 1 train. We did it.

I got to my hotel and took a long hot shower, instantly refreshed and headed to a local bar for a well deserved pint. Once in the Horseshoe Tavern I overheard the server saying something about Pulp playing tonight. I inquired and yes, they were! Sold out? No!

A few hours later I was at the Budweiser Stage watching Pulp with a fellow Brit I had made friends with at the same bar who also got last minute tickets. She was a travel journalist so probably would have written about my trip in a better way, but as the sun set, and we danced and sang into the night I thought - Earth is beautiful when it’s empty, but I’m so glad it’s full.