Felipe Gomez wants to share the wonders of southeastern Saskatchewan with the world. Or at the very least, the rest of the province.
Gomez recently paid a visit to the Carlyle area as part of his travels as the 2021 Saskatchewanderer. Along with his loyal canine companion Fozzy, Gomez spent five days exploring much of what this part of the province has to offer.
For those who are unfamiliar, the Saskathchewanderer is a yearly position funded by Tourism Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewanderer “wanders” across the province, stopping in interesting places and participating in cool activities, all the while sharing their experiences online using social media.
Over coffee and cinnamon buns outside of Michael’s Coffee Shop and Bakery in Carlyle, Gomez described some of what he does as the Saskatchewanderer.
“Your mission is (to) like, go explore Saskatchewan and share with other people so they can go on to spend (time there),” Gomez said. “I like to say ... I do the research for everyone. I go to a place, (do) a little research and then when you have a week off, or a weekend ... you know what to do.”
“I'm really having a great time putting different places together in the same adventure,” he added.
Gomez managed to pack a lot of experiences into a few short days in the Carlyle area: he went kayaking at White Bear Lake, swung by the Cabin Fever Art Festival at Moose Mountain Provincial Park, explored the trails near Cannington Lake, and even took in a movie at the Prairie Dog Drive-In.
A standout experience for Gomez, however, was hiking out to a Medicine Wheel near Kisbey.
“(It's ) totally different landscapes, like no trees and you get these stories told to you and then yeah, it ... feels like you're being part of (something),” he said.
Originally from Chile, Gomez has been living in Canada for about 10 years. When he’s not on the road, he makes his home in Saskatoon, where he previously worked in media and marketing before becoming the Saskatchewanderer.
Gomez is accompanied on all his adventures by loyal canine companion Fozzy, a two-year-old Irish Setter.
“I travel everywhere with him ... like, two weeks ago, he's in a floatplane. Wow. Like fishing and he goes with me everywhere, so I'm often adapting the adventures to ... have (Fozzy) go with me,” Gomez said.
While his time in our little corner of the world may have since come to an end, Gomez said he plans to visit again in the winter to check out what cold-weather attractions the Carlyle area has to offer.
To learn more about Gomez’s visit to southeast Saskatchewan and to keep up with all of his — and Fozzy’s — adventures, follow @Saskatchewanderer on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
