I could tell you about…

I could tell you the time we got up, what we ate, how much paddling we did, whether we raced back to Air-Eau-Bois, or that we finished our day with a huge group hug and a moving goodbye, but I will not.

I will tell you that we what we experienced was something unexplainable, stronger and bigger than ourselves. Something that even the language barrier transcended. I can tell you that between Marie-Camille, who is so bilingual that she forgets to speak French, Jonas who has almost forgotten the difficult moments of his life, the nicknames that have marked us (Cindy Beauty, Captain Popeye and El smily Capitan), Larissa’s unmistakable sense of humour, the laughter while doing the dishes, the confession on the shore and the sausages on the fire, we fulfilled our objectives, met the challenges we had set ourselves, created meaningful and true friendship. We have often acted with great courage, spoken with our hearts, accepted and realized that we were blessed to be there.

Maybe we just had to be far from everything to get closer to ourselves and others. To let go, to shout with no reason, to breathe, to realize one another, to adopt a more positive attitude, to show determination, and to be free.

Maybe we needed to be outside, in nature, devoid of all forms of technology, in a beautiful place, to remind us how rich and valuable it is to simply share and appreciate the authentic human connections. To immerse ourselves in this open-air lifestyle making us stronger and enabling us to grow.

Surely, we can go further than we think in 4 days.

I can tell you that I come out of it, inspired and above all impressed.

I will tell you, you know who you are, thank you for everything and remember that “even when the relations end, they are still carried them within us. —Cindy

Geneviève Locas
Photographer/Blogger for the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation