Walking around Thetis Lake and dancing Salsa Rueda

This morning I joined Katrina and Jakki on a walk around Thetis Lake. The drive there took a bit longer than expected since there was a traffic jam at a crossing. We got there at 10:45 and walked about 5.2 km around the lake. Today was a surprisingly nice day and thus it was really nice to spent the morning outside. I was a bit surprised about how friendly all the dogs interacted with each other compared to how dogs often act in Germany. Katrina told me that here in Canada all dogs were usually neutered, which was probably the reason for their quieter behavior.
We got back to the car by noon and when we got back home, I ate some granola as a snack and researched why the bark of the arbutus tree has often peeled off. I had been wondering about that for a while now since you can see those trees with their smooth skin in so many parks around here. However, I didn't find any scientific answer, there were only some guesses that it's supposed to prevent insects or fungus from living in the bark or that it's a protection from watter freezing within the bark in winter and destroying the tree in the process.

Since I wanted to be fit enough to go dancing this evening, I didn't go out in the afternoon. Instead I spent it watching 'White Collar' with Katrina again and enjoying some more popcorn and chips just like we usually did.

Xue joined me for the Salsa Rueda tonight. It was her first time dancing but I'd say that she did pretty well. I spent the first hour dancing as a male lead, as there were not enough men for the beginner lesson. It was really weird to have to do everything the opposite way and I sometimes messed up my footwork. On the other hand, it was nice to see a different perspective, although I felt like the female part was more exhausting.
After the beginner lesson was over, I dared to join the big dancing circle. This time, I was dancing the female follow part again, which was definitely easier than the male lead role as I barely knew any of the figures we were dancing. It was still a lot of fun and felt like a really good workout. I hadn't moved this much and felt so hot and sweaty for a while. Even though I sometimes messed up a little due to the unfamilliar steps, I really enjoyed it.

I missed my bus on the way home and as I didn't know how long it would take for the next bus to come, I just took any other bus going south. Consequently, I needed to walk for a few blocks to get home but it was still nice out, so I didn't mind.
Katrina was getting home at the same time as me and since we were both pretty addicted to the show by now and it wasn't too late yet, we decided to watch a little more 'White Collar'. Katrina had baked a banana bread a few days ago and offered me to try some. I had never tried banana bread before but I really liked it now.