Emotion

We’ll Walk this Road Together, Through the Storm. Whatever Weather, Cold or Warm.
– Eminem, 2010

What a pleasure to be awakened by two cute girls singing and playing the ukulele! It’s a rainy morning, but it promises to be filled with joy. We eat breakfast early and we put away our tents and our barrels before taking off aboard the Voyageur canoes. It was us who chose the destination, through a vote where the majority decided to stop and climb a small mountain on an island. The climb is painful for some of us. Our muscles are also a little tired and the rain has still put us to the test. But after all, it is to experience a challenge that we came. And the view on the mount will have been worth the climb!

We then went for lunch in a lagoon bay on the Green Island. But don’t spread the word … it’s a unique jewel! A magical place. One would almost expect to see unicorns and dragons there.

After the meal, we split the groups into two parts: participants and facilitators. After all, the “young ones” now know how to steer the Voyageur canoes and they will be able to move along on the water without help. They will also have gained enough speed, helping each other at every paddle stroke shouting: “Uh, uuuuush, puuuush”!! (Yes, you really had to be there to understand it!) Even the many loons that we came across in the mist thought we were a little weird. Following pee breaks on “pee islands” (and, I swear that some privileged have seen MM bum!!), we finally arrived on our last camp site before leaving tomorrow morning for the refuge and back home. We must take out all the equipment again, set up the tents, our mattresses, our things. This time, as we have the experience and the cold and the rain fall on us, the installation goes faster. The following Mexican-themed meal is still as delicious as the previous ones. We are very grateful to our team of cooks/logisticians: Louis, Roxanne and Charles.

After doing the dishes, it’s time to reflect on our day and the experience we shared this weekend. There is Emotion with a big “E” in the air! Without revealing the secrets that were so honestly shared here, we must admit that we leave with goals perhaps more precise for the future, and that to help us in this journey, new friends will be present. However, words emerge from this sharing: friendship, warmth, authenticity, candy (yes…), sense of humour, letting go, gratitude, nature, bond and so many others that we will carry for a long time in our hearts. While for some, it was a first experience in the forest, as for some natural toilet (hihihi!), for others, it revealed that remaining isolated is no longer an option in the future, or that in sickness, it is possible to find some positive aspects.

Isn’t it what On the Tip of the Toes is trying to create during these fabulous adventures?

Conversations will continue until late under a starry sky. Tomorrow, we will have to put away the camping equipment one last time. We will have to board our Voyageur canoes and bring them back safely. We must try to take a few hours of well-deserved sleep. Good night… “Puuuuuuush!”