Today, Thursday, is a mixed kind of day. Part of the day will be spent on the train and the other part canoeing down the first section of the river. Everyone is really excited to get on the water.
We’ve become one with the sun, but getting up at 6:00 a.m. is not easy for everyone and requires a bit of an adjustment, or rather a big one. But judging by the empty plates at breakfast at 7:00 a.m., everyone seems to be wide awake.
At 8:00 a.m., everything is loaded in the guides’ truck and we head to the train station on foot. When the train arrives, we load everything on board with the help of VIA employees. At 9:00 a.m., we head to our last destination, i.e., our canoe launch, 100 km further north. On the way there, with Marie-Michelle’s guidance, the group establishes the values and behaviours they would like to govern their next few days together.
Around 11 a.m., we start unloading all the barrels and canoes. The train is unloaded and the canoes are loaded. The group is quite efficient and at 11:30 a.m. we’re already paddling down the Spanish River. We’re off!
The guides take advantage of this calm section of the river to teach a few paddle strokes. We kind of zigzag down the river, but we move forward and today doesn’t feel too long. We need to paddle just over 5.5 km to get to our first campsite. When we get there, we empty the canoes again and carry the barrels over 500 m to get to the campsite. The participants barely have a chance to drop their barrels when safety instructions for the next days start to be given.
The participants are then divided up into three teams to help the guides in various jobs that need to be done. A team goes with Nick to collect wood for the cooking fire and the evening’s campfire. The instructions are clear: we can only collect dead wood on the ground. And we sure need a lot of it. The second team helps Amy with the cooking. The third team is tasked with setting up the tarp and making sure the toilets are adequate.
When all the group work is done, we move on to setting up the tents. Not everyone has been paying attention and some individuals have to restart their setup to make sure they don’t repeat the same errors under less favourable conditions. And then it’s dinner time. Burritos are on the menu and kids this age sure eat a lot. There’s not much left on their plates, a good sign!
The day finishes up with a discussion on the reasons why the participants signed up for the expedition as well as their fears regarding the next few days. Answers are spontaneous, generous, some are even a bit emotional. Curious about what was said? Sorry, but what is said on the Spanish River, stays on the Spanish River . . . 😊
I’ll give you a small peak into their world, however. Many participants mentioned that they came on the expedition to be able to share with other people their age who have been through similar experiences. And after only three days together, I can confirm that they’ve already reached their goal. For more details, you’ll have to ask them!
Today was key to the trip because much information and many instructions were provided. In the evening, everyone is quite tired and not many are left standing.
What does tomorrow, Friday, have in store? If today was spent learning basic strokes on calm water, tomorrow, we’ll be moving on to more exciting things on white water. We won’t be moving camp quite yet, but we’ll spend the day working on our technique on the water.
Louis-Étienne Provost
Volunteer photographer-blogger for the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation
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Translated by Anna Tomczyk
In pictures
