Escape : an act of breaking free from daily life.

It starts with organizing the escape’s first steps : give away cellphones, get out of the city, accept to trust the process and accept the newness. These are different steps that will help participants break free, escape from their routine and benefit from this once in a life experience.

Yesterday and this Thursday morning, we kindly welcome the group in Montreal. Around noon, one new participant join us for lunch, generously provided by St-Hubert Restaurant in Gatineau.

A big hug to Rodrigue, the bus driver, that drove the group from Montreal to Plein-air Air-Eau-Bois camp base.

(NOTE : Our volunteer that helps as a blogger and photograph, couldn’t join the group as she was having some flu symptoms. This escape’s blog will be written by our team that remained in the office after communicating with the outdoor team. For that same reason, there will be less pictures than usual.)

Arriving at the camp base, there’s already a first challenge : our lovely friends the mosquitoes. There’s a lot of them. With the buzzing background noise of these new companions, the group listens to the explanation of the outdoor equipment they will need for that adventure. They, then, go near the water to have their first contact with the rabaska, this huge and legendary canoe. This means of transport traditionally used in a cultural view point, but new kind for the participants.

Once on the water, the group go North and enjoy a moment of silence. We stop, we immobilize our two rabaskas and we take a moment to relax and listen the silence of nature. The sun is warming our faces, the wind is blowing the mosquitoes away. This moment could have last forever as everybody enjoyed it.

The group comes back at the camp base for dinner. In the evening, we share a great discussion of what’s coming next. Participants share their fear and expectation. They realize that they have a lot in common regardless to their goals and motivations in that new adventure. What they came looking for, what benefit they are searching, what are their fears and their limits. Or at least, the limits they think they have..

Soon, they develop relationships. In happens a lot when there is connexion and similarities in their histories. Various fun fact sharing and giggles tell us that this will be a beautiful adventure..