Uphill ride: A grandmother of six from Bolivia isn’t afraid of a challenge. Mirtha Munoz is the oldest person to ever participate in her country’s Skyrace. This race is entirely uphill and takes place on the “Death Road,” so named for its dangerous 60-kilometre (37-mile) route from lowland to mountain peak. Munoz has been biking for many years, so did not think the race was a big deal. However, it’s very different from the leisurely rides she and her grandchildren enjoy together.

Cash give-away: Some people living in a low-income district of Istanbul, Turkey, recently had something to cheer about. A mysterious man came into the neighbourhood and paid off their debts. The man went into a grocery store wanting to know who owed money to the store. After asking to meet some of these folks, he came back to the store and paid their debts. The unknown man also placed cash in envelopes and put them on the steps of the homes of families in need. When the grocery store owner asked who he was, the man would not say, but suggested they could consider him Robin Hood.

Luxurious water house: Anyone wanting to live in a luxurious home, which is also a boat, can fork over $5.5 million (USD) to buy a floating home called the Arkup. It is set up like a real home, complete with living room, lounge, four bedrooms, a kitchen, and lots of windows through which to enjoy ocean views. Available in Miami, Florida (U.S.), it is a perfect vessel for touring coastal waters, although it’s not built to travel in rough seas. It has a rainwater purification system and solar energy, as well as hydraulic stilts, should the owner choose to raise it out of the water.

Clean water: In a city in Japan, colourful koi fish swim in the drain channels that border the streets. The city of Shimabara islocated on Kyushu Island. The water is exceptionally clean in these drain channels because of an earthquake that happened over two centuries ago. The quake caused freshwater springs to gush. In more recent years, city officials decided to stock the channels with the fish, which today are a tourist attraction. Shimabara is known as the City of Swimming Carp. There areonly a few other towns in Japan with fish swimming in their drain gutters.

Damaged merchandise: If parents plan to go to a dealership to shop for a new car, it’s best to find a babysitter for their small child. A couple from Guilin, Guangxi Region, China, learned this the hard way. The couple, accompanying a friend, were talking to salespeople and gawking at the luxurious new cars in the showroom. Left to her own devices, their child decided to doodle on a number of the new cars, using a stone to scratch designs into the paint. The little girl’s creative streak led to her father being sued by the dealership for damages.

Black and white: Who knew that a few drops of ink mixed with a bit of water could result in beautiful works of art? Well, perhaps it’s not as easy as that, but French artist David Bayo has figured it out. Using this medium, he creates subtle paintings of his subjects, including animals and people. Bayo has tried different ways to make art, and his experimentation led him to an ability to understand how ink and water work together. The paintings he creates, which are often black and white, are distinctive and understated representations of the subject at hand.

Two names: In Tamaulipas, Mexico, a pet cat has two owners who did not know about each other until recently. Mary Lore Barra calls the cat “Pixi,” and she was accustomed to her pet being away for a few days at a time, presumably on the prowl. Then one day Pixi came home with a new collar. Barra put a note under the collar identifying the cat as Pixi and herself as Pixi’s owner. Soon Pixi came home with a note from another family, who call the cat “Huarache.” Luckily, the two owners think it’s a funny situation, and they continue to share Pixi/Huarache.

ATM captive: A contractor in Corpus Christi, Texas (U.S.), was just trying to do his job. He was fixing a lock in the automatic teller machine (ATM) room when he locked himself in. The man had left his cell phone in his vehicle, so he couldn’t call for assistance. Instead, he wrote notes asking for help and fed them through the receipt slot of the ATM. People using the machine thought the notes were a joke. But finally, one person took it seriously and called police, who broke down the door and got him out.

Rustic ramblings: Travellers to South America who want to go somewhere off the beaten track could try visiting Cabo Polonio, Uruguay. Located on the Atlantic coast and only a few hours from luxurious beach resorts, this isolated village attracts those who don’t care about the comforts of a modern home. There is no electricity or running water in the rustic cottages, and only a few people with generators have Wi-Fi. But the people who live there like it that way. Villagers use well or rainwater, and they cook by candlelight. The land is a designated national park and is a beloved destination of backpackers.

New friend: A man on a hike to raise money for men’s health found a new friend along the way. Max Adams was on a long trek in an area near High Prairie, Alberta, Canada. When on a side road, he could hear a loud meowing, which turned out to be a half-grown kitten sitting in the snowy branches of a tree. Adams took the desperate little feline with him because he couldn’t imagine leaving it such a long distance away from any homes. He tried to find the owner, to no avail. After the kitten was tended by a vet, Adams took it home ashis own pet.

Back in print: We are starting slowly with the re-launch of Coffee News and last week printed several hundred papers for the Nanaimo area that were distributed to a few select locations. The feedback from restaurant staff, owners and customers was absolutely amazing. We were welcomed back with open arms (and some clapping & cheers). We hope to add other areas of the Island in the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience.

Mommy’s boy: Some people will go to great lengths to help their parents in a time of need. In Brazil, a man named Heitor Schiave took it one step too far: he dressed up as his mother so he could take her driver’s test on her behalf. His mother hadn’t had much luck herself, having failed three times. So Schiave put on women’s clothing and a wig, wore lots of makeup, and tried to talk in his mother’s voice. However, the disguise did not fool Aline Mendonca, the examiner, who realized that the woman taking the test did not look like the woman pictured on her identification. Schiave was arrested for fraud.

New wave furniture: Gavin Munro is a maker of furniture, but he doesn’t use carpentry tools to do it. Instead, he trains the trees on his farm to grow into the form of chairs, tables, and other pieces. The result is very artistic. Located near Derby, England, his farm has oak, willow, ash, and sycamore trees. When the trees are just saplings, he uses moulds to make them grow a certain way. To attain his final product, he also prunes and grafts the trees’ branches. It takes a long time for a piece of furniture to be made in this fashion – between fourand eight years.

Stolen goods: A woman in St. Paul, Minnesota (U.S.), was miffed when she discovered that a package she ordered had been stolen from her porch. Hilary Smith received a text saying that the package, which contained a phone charger, had been delivered, so she expected to find it upon arriving home from work. In its place was a handwritten note thanking her for leaving the package on her porch so it could be stolen. The thief signed the note, “The new owner of your package.” Police in the area are warning residents to have parcels delivered when someone is home to receive them.

Beautiful harvest: Some farmers in Bangladesh work in an environment of great beauty - at least during the time of harvest. These farmers collect water lily blossoms in the Canal of Water Lilies in the country’s Barisal district. They paddle their long wooden boats through a sea of green leaves and deep pink water lily flowers, collecting the blossoms as they go. Collection is done carefully and by hand. These blossoms are a popular item at local markets, where the farmers go to sell their floral gems.

High design: A city high in the mountains of Bolivia is getting a facelift. El Alto, close to the administrative city of La Paz, is enjoying attention because of the building designs of architect Freddy Mamani. He calls his style New Andean architecture. His modern buildings, called cholets, are usually several stories high with shops at street level, party and gallery space in the next levels, and living space on the top floor. The designs combine vibrant colours and geometric shapes reminiscent of indigenous textile patterns. For Mamani, the architecture of his buildings is a way of promoting his culture’s pre-Columbian roots.

Tree tuggers: A group of friends who like to run took part in the Cape Town, South Africa, marathon, but they were doing more than just running. The group ran the race with tree saplings tied to their backs. Their purpose was to raise awareness about the country’s problem with invasive species, which are taking over indigenous plants. One of the runners, Siyabulela Sokomani, ran with a wild olive sapling, and he sports tattoos of his favourite trees. He and his fellow runners support the nationwide effort to plant trees and rid the country of the damaging species.

Please Note: The economy is slowing opening up but not all businesses are back to 100%, some of our advertisements may have incorrect info (hours, days open, etc.) If in doubt, please contact them directly for more information. Click links to their websites. We plan to return our printed editions in the coming weeks. Stay safe!

Ice queen: It’s not all that unusual for young teenagers to drift away from their parents. After all, that is the time of life when young people want to start doing their own thing. But mother Rhian Hughes of Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire, England, found a way to stay close to her son Harry. She secretly took up figure skating, something Harry loves to do. While training with an instructor was gruelling, Rhian soon was able to perform a routine, which she tricked Harry into seeing. He was very impressed, and now Harry, Rhian, and the rest of the family go skating together regularly, cementing the parent-child bond.

Say “Yes” to the dress: A woman from Adelaide, Australia, is tired of consumerism. After visiting India, Tammy Hall came home and decided stop buying new clothes and to be happy with what she had for at least a year. She didn’t have any trouble doing that, but she did have trouble with the thought of spending a large sum of money for her wedding dress, which she would wear for only a day. To avoid this wasteful practice, she started wearing the dress everywhere after her wedding day. That includes hiking trails, basketball courts, the gym, and even the voting station. She plans to continue saying “Yes” to the dress!

Garden solution: If you want to get rid of a nest of bugs in your backyard, don’t use gasoline and a match. That’s what Cesar Schmitz discovered. His wife didn’t want the bugs to eat her lovely garden on their property in Enéas Marques, in southern Brazil. So, with an audience of two pet dogs, Schmitz poured gas into the bug nest and tried unsuccessfully to light it with a match. Finally, on the third try, the gas ignited. Sod flew everywhere and the dogs took off on a run. Luckily, Schmitz was in a safe place, but he had to replant the garden!

Nose for golf balls: The elderly Barry Gell of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, loves playing golf, and he never has to buy golf balls. That’s because he trained his collie, Jess, to sniff out lost balls on the golf courses in the area. Over a 12-year period, Jess has found more than 50,000 balls, some even buried in mud. The smart pooch never nabs one that’s in play, only lost ones. Gell uses some of the balls and gives some away, but he still has so many that he doesn’t know what to do with them all. Jess has even discovered antique golf balls lost decades ago by golfers.

Pet rooster: Some people might love dogs, while others enjoy the company of cats, parrots, or hamsters. But for Martin Herrera of San Jose, Costa Rica, roosters are his pets of choice. He has been domesticating and training the birds for many years. His favourite is a rooster named Paquito. Herrera can be found walking the streets of the city with Paquito on a leash, taking him to markets and cafés. In San Jose, people are allowed to bring pets onto city buses, so Herrera takes his favourite bird on bus rides, too. The bird lover trained Paquito to sit on his shoulder, to the delight of onlookers.

Raining unicorns: Folks working at a television station in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), got a bit of a shock one Halloween morning when their weatherman arrived on the set. Jordan Witzel, a meteorologist, pranced in front of the camera dressed as a white unicorn, including pink hair, a horn, hooves, and a multi-coloured tail. A banner appeared on the screen identifying him as “Ferdinand: Mystical Meteorologist.” With the anchors laughing and exclaiming in disbelief, “Ferdinand” proved he could work the clicker with his hooves to present the weather report.

Please Note: The economy is slowing opening up but not all businesses are back to 100%, some of our advertisements may have incorrect info (hours, days open, etc.) If in doubt, please contact them directly for more information. Click links to their websites. We plan to return our printed editions in the coming weeks. Stay safe!

Doodle art: A young, grade school student from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, used to get into trouble for doodling at school. Joe Whale didn’t mean any harm; he just likes to draw. His parents, Greg Whale and Vanessa Jameson, decided to do something positive with their son’s skill and enrolled him in an art class. The teacher was amazed at his talent, posting some of his doodling pieces on social media. Soon, a restaurant owner called who wanted him to decorate a wall in the dining room. It’s the boy’s first commercial work, and his family has high hopes for his future.

Sandy landscape: The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve in the United Arab Emirates is a national park that’s home to plants, birds, reptiles, and mammals, including the Arabian oryx, sand cats, hedgehogs, and pygmy shrews. Visitors can book an adventure into the park, which might include going on a trek by camel, fat-bike riding, or sand boarding on the desert’s dunes. The reserve is located 60 kilometres (37 miles) southeast of Dubai. Since temperatures soar in the summer months, it’s best to go between November and March when it’s usually around 27° C (80° F).

Splashy entrance: Guests at a wedding in Anglesey, Wales, got a big surprise when the groom arrived at the venue. Wearing his tuxedo, Matt Knight rode a wakeboard behind a boat on the Menai Strait. Accompanying him were his groomsmen - brother Chris and friend Paul - who also wore tuxes. The three did a few tricks for the assembled guests who were waiting outside the hotel where the nuptials would be held. The trio were soaking wet, of course, but all had dry formal wear waiting for them. The bride, Kirsty, loved the show and said the groom made the exciting entrance due to his love of James Bond movies.

Extras: Finding chocolates on the pillow is a nice experience when staying at a hotel. Some luxury hotels are known to offer outlandish “extras” which may be part of the room rate or may incur an extra charge. A Fender guitar, for example, is available to Hard Rock Hotel guests around the world who choose the “Sound of Your Stay” program. The Acqualina Resort in Miami, Florida (U.S.), provides a Rolls-Royce Ghost to those renting a certain deluxe suite. And, if you are athletic, you can enjoy a free acrobatic skills program from Cirque du Soleil while staying at Club Med Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.