The Hiking Tales

I wasn’t much of a hiking person. It involved way too much walking and climbing—two activities I wasn’t exactly a fan of. But then I moved to Montreal, went on my first “proper” hike at Gault, and realized… it wasn’t all bad. In fact, it was beautiful. Sure, the walking was tough (why does life always have to be uphill?), but the views were worth it. Since then, I’ve been trying to do more hikes. And now that I’ve done a few hikes, I decided it was time to write a blog about them.

Let me start by saying that even though Gault was my first hike, Oka will be the first one I describe. Why? For starters, the whole experience was very memorable because I went there with some amazing people. Also, Karolina’s mom has been waiting for me to write this blog about our Oka hike. Every time I bring up writing, Karolina loves reminding me of her mom’s excitement. And honestly, you can’t let down someone that enthusiastic. So here it is—Oka gets to be the first hike I write about.

Oka National Park

It had been a while since we had done something adventurous, so one day, Aayush and I decided to shake things up. We booked a car on a whim. If you don’t book things, they just don’t happen—at least that’s how all my trips are going right now. With the car set, we had a week to figure out where to go, what to do and who to drag along. We asked around, and Karolina, who had been part of our stargazing misadventures before (a story for another blog), was instantly in. Soon, Kanishk and Rishav also joined the team. We were now all set for a fun filled hike.

The morning of the hike was, let’s say, a little chaotic. Rishav showed up late… like, really late. And to make things worse, I added the wrong address to pick up Karolina, which caused even more delay. But somehow, after all the mishaps, we were finally on our way to Oka.

Before starting the hike, we decided to grab some food. There was this pizza place that claimed to be the best around, so we stopped there. Now, I was on a diet, so I ordered a salad. But I ended up eating some anyway—I couldn’t let it go to waste. Dieting can wait, wasting good pizza is just wrong.

So, after all the delays and eating, we finally started the hike. It was a very easy hike—honestly, I wouldn’t even call it a hike. It felt more like a walk through the woods, but a very pleasant one.

The trail eventually led to a viewpoint where there was a chapel, and along the way, we came across many small buildings containing the Stations of the Cross. “What is this?” you ask. Karolina, with her Christian education, took the lead in explaining the 14 images that tell the story of the Passion of Christ—starting with his condemnation by Pontius Pilate and ending with his burrial. We stopped at each station as Karolina shared the story behind it—how Jesus Christ, the son of God, was condemned to death, bore the cross, met his mother and the women of Jerusalem, was nailed to the cross, and finally died there. You can see in the pictures below how she was peeking into the chapel, trying to see the details, explaining everything to us, and, of course, clicking a photo for her mom ;)

We kept talking about religion and a few other related topics, and before we knew it, we reached the peak. The view from the top was pleasant. We took a moment to check out the last two chapels, enjoy the view, and take a few photos. Honestly, the hike felt way too short—it barely took us an hour. So, we decided to keep going and explore the other trails before going to the beach.

As mentioned earlier, it was an amazing walk for the next 2 hours. We spoke about so many different things (without a single mention of AI—a big achievement in itself). Karolina shared her wild stories from China, including surviving a dog bite and getting stuck in quicksand. But the main topic of the walk turned out to be arranged marriage and how it works in India.

I explained the different types of arranged marriages, from the traditional “family-approved matches” to the more modern “semi-arranged” versions, where parents act like dating apps (think Hinge, but run by your mom and dad!). What really surprised me was how open Karolina was to the idea. I always thought people in the West assumed arranged marriages were “forced marriages.” But it turns out, that’s not the case at all. I suspect Indian Matchmaking and Seema Aunty have played a big role in establishing this perception. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to is her fan and seems to have gotten their understanding of arranged marriages from the show. It’s funny how a Netflix series can give arranged marriages such global fame.

We eventually wrapped up the hike and headed to the beach. Honestly, this is what makes Oka so special—a short hike paired with a relaxing time by the water. We spent the rest of the day swimming, splashing around, and just enjoying the calmness of the waves. It was so much fun, and I highly recommend visiting Oka if you’re looking for a mix of nature and relaxation.

After plenty of swimming, we saw someone eating ice cream, and of course, we had to get some too. The ice cream looked amazing and tasted even better. Unfortunately, a lot of it was melting while we brought it back to the others, so naturally, I had to “save” the ice cream by eating a little of it myself XD.

It started to rain after a while, so we decided to head back. As we were driving back to Montreal, I jokingly said, “The only thing that could make this trip more perfect is a rainbow.” And just like magic, there it was not one, but two rainbows in the sky. It felt like a heavenly sign, as if the chapels we visited had left us with a small blessing for our journey back. The trip ended on an equally amazing note with some delicious Indian food.