Thursday having been a rather long day, we decided to leave the kayaks aside on Friday, our 5th day of expedition. The day off started well. First, a deer dropped in for a visit at our campsite. Then, Mario caught a good-sized bass that was a welcome side dish at supper. Despite having slept in late, the kids are still kind of bushed. Leisurely stretched on flagstones, they follow Sébastien’s instructions on how to imitate the call of the loon.
Part of the morning was used for a mid-adventure discussion. It’s an important part of the Foundation’s expeditions. Basically, the kids are asked to share their impressions, their feelings, and the way they manage their fears as stated at the beginning of the expedition or the objectives they had set for themselves. Often this exercise is very touching. This expedition was be no exception.
“I feel I’m being reborn.” “For the first time since I was diagnosed, I can live in the moment.” “This is a dream come true. The same dream I made while in the hospital.” “I now realize that this expedition was what was missing to mark the transition between my illness and the future I wish for myself.” Not a dry eye to be seen during these sharing moments.
The other highlight of this beautiful and warm day didn’t happen on the water but in the waters of Cullingham Bay, a small bay on Franklin Island where we set up camp. Virginie (Gargano, one the of Foundation’s guides) held a sessionon righting a capsized kayak.The participants were invited to capsize their kayaks and try various techniques that would allow them to climb back in their crafts in deep waters. After some shouting, much laughter, amost wonderful sense of accomplishment settled in.
At day’s end, Jerry, Sébastien, Brennan, Patrick, Robert and Mario came back empty handed after fishingfor an hour. No matter, we ended the day together with a “sex on the beach”, watching the sunset. [Translator’s Note: Our friend, who writes the blog in French, thought he’d stump me with the previous sentence. He even imagined I would write “Nevertheless, we still allow ourselves to end the day by having sex on the beach all together at sunset.” GOTCHA!] Friends and families of the participants, relax! This is a “sex on the beach” cocktail, without alcohol…