(Special intro for board game geeks.) On a good rainless morning despite the weather forecast, the villagers wake up slowly to the singing of Laura and Marie-Michèle accompanied by a ukulele! Surprisingly, no one was eaten by the werewolves last night. Was it the witch who might have used her elixir of life? Or the wolves who slept like babies all night long, their bellies full of burritos prepared by our talented guides/chef? The mystery hovers…
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First part
Yesterday, I told you that we were camping among the wolves (it was true, literally, there are pens and all, fortunately). It made me want to introduce you to our expedition pack. The concept is simple: each person in a family clan was given the task of describing what type of wolf was another member of their family. Today, I present to you the participants; as for the “staff”, it won’t be until tomorrow. So, it goes as follows:
THE CÔTÉ
Lolo – She is said to be a natural leader, an alpha wolf. I will add that she is also a young-wise wolf since yesterday on a bicycle, from memory, she told me more or less that: “You know, people say that to be mature is not to do stupid things or not to laugh at such and such a joke, I think that being mature is above all to be able to assume one’s child’s heart and not always try to prove oneself”; certainly to be pondered…!
Ro – She’s a little wolf cub that needs to be protected, fed well for which we must make sure she drinks a lot of water (I observe that hydration is a challenge for her, maybe she is a wolf-ascendant-raisin!). If there were a family plan of attack, she would be their “sneaky” bait. That is to say that, thanks to her cunning, she could lure the prey and, thanks to her speed, she could run away and fool it.
Stéphane – He is without a doubt an analytical wolf. They say that instead of working hard, he favours working smart. It is with this technical force that he will feed his family.
Julie – She is a wolf in great physical shape, sociable and protective. If I may, I actually had the chance to observe all these qualities combined, in action, yesterday while cycling: for the last three kilometres, she put her little wolf’s paw on the back of another family’s participant to help her move forward to the end. A well-appreciated boost!
THE MALENFANT
Gabriel – He is an altruistic and gourmet wolf. He has big teeth, but he doesn’t bite. I want to say, in the tone of the Big, Bad Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood: “To better smile, my child”, because, indeed, he has a magnificent smile. To me, he has the build of a Viking wolf.
Manon – She’s a Mother-Teresa wolf; generous and far-sighted. Having been a young mother, she is on the verge of a rebirth as her cub is now grown.
THE KATALAN
Émilie – She is a jovial leader, always wilful, with a solid attitude and morale (I can confirm, yesterday on her bike, she rode about 6 times longer a distance in km than her longest ride in her life). Talk about self-transcendence!
Philippe – He is a wounded wolf who unfortunately, reluctantly, will have to withdraw from the adventure for a few days of rest due to a back problem. We will join him for the feast of the last evening. His return to the group and especially to his family clan will be greatly appreciated since he is a strong wolf in communication; he always has a good anecdote to share.
Caro – She’s a nervous and organized wolf. She’s a packing ace, everything’s ready in ziplocks. She is also the proud wolf of her decomposed but united family model. Indeed, she and Phil have not been in a relationship for several years, but they have chosen to live this adventure with their daughter, together. A meeting with a united nuclear family; recomposed differently. Inspiring!
THE BOIVIN
Tanya – A wolf in love who misses her Romeo. She has a tendency to go backwards, but in the end, she really enjoys herself! I’m sure it’s a rough diamond worth discovering.
Caro – She’s a real teammate; top number 1 co-pilot and assistant. She is strong when it comes to details and finish. I will add that she is a wolf of action, quick-witted, and well anchored in the present moment.
Stéphane – He’s a pack leader. He is strong on the “rough”, he always finds solutions. I will add that he is a bon vivant, a simple guy, a scout wolf with more than one trick up his sleeve.
(More tomorrow!)
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Second part
“Good Morning, my little hay twigs! “. We haven’t even had lunch yet when Antoine’s soft voice asks us to activate our neurons by explaining the science of using “dry bags”. Clearly, he must have a bachelor’s degree in camping to know all of this. Today is Wednesday and we are preparing for our departure on the river: we are becoming sea wolves. So, the first challenge of sea kayaking is to pack everything into pieces in multiple bags that will serve as a misshapen piece for Olympic-calibre Tetris. One goal: Everything must “fit” in the cases.
So the “dry bag” is quite easy to use: you do not fill it too much, you crush it to release the air, you roll the edge three little strokes (as said some well-known commercial, I can’t wait to “roll the edge to win” at the end of the day), and you “clip the clip”. Good! So far, it’s manageable.
But it gets tough!
Antoine gets carried away: (read quickly) “The green bag is for your mattress which is also green”; “The smallest is the day bag”; “The big yellow is for the tent, but without the poles”; “The medium one is for your laundry, but not too much laundry, but OK for three pairs of underwear”; “The other medium, either green, orange or blue is for your sleeping bag”; “There is blue, green, red, there is one with an X on it, do you remember this is where you have to put your toiletry kit?” a 25 litres, a 10 litres, a how many litres again? Don’t forget to identify each of your bags, how many do you have again? … Alouette ! All of this is so confusing, good memorizing exercise. Coffee time!
With patience and determination, everyone will arrive safely for the launch with the kayaks and all the hoopla. The Tetris is successful with flying colours! For sure, the guides would have made the podium in Tokyo.
Today, we are blessed weatherwise. The sun comes out as we paddle and, besides an episode of a few welcome rain droplets to cool us down, the electric storm will not begin until we are all in our tents with sand stuck between our toes, after a butter chicken supper (yum!).
The half-day on the water will have been exquisite.
Special mention to the Côté girls who have developed a most captivating musical quiz for us (Antoine is an impressive country music specialist), to the Katalan girls who triumph together (it’s beautiful to see), to Marie-Michèle who strummed her ukulele to embellish the river moment and to Isabelle who continued to paddle for two in the front of her kayak, to Laura who capsized in solo kayak with the biggest smile (from seawolf to submarine in her case!), to Keaven who has developed and mastered a new sport of canoeing with a kayak paddle (close your eyes, purists!) in addition to designing the coolest camp toilet (half toilet, half windsurfing board, you will have to see the photos to understand…), to Andréanne and her embracing Mama-Bear energy (in Émilie’s words) who is “ sharp” because she always has plenty of ” sharpies” and above all, especially to all the participating families who, day after days, go further into the adventure to achieve their respective personal goals.
I hear snoring, it’s really time to go to bed.
Marie-Hélène Beaudry
Blogger and Photographer
In pictures
