Tonight’s text is truly special. It was written with 26 hands. I usually enjoy playing the role of the omniscient narrator, but this time, I felt like pumping it up, as the song says. And what better way to do that than to involve the main characters themselves and give them the chance to tell their story, just for a moment, during a little writing workshop. At Caroline’s suggestion, they decided to share with you the secret recipe for living a perfect expedition day.
Ingredients
Having a thirty-minute late morning wake-up
Waking up to a ukulele serenade
Going to a beautiful place
An amazing view to look up to
No mosquitos
Coffee by the fire waiting for you
Access to infinite fancy grilled cheese with caramelized onions and apples in it
A karate warm-up session with a black belt, soon-to-be 4th dan instructor named Sensei “Shweet Pea”
Paddling all together, with beautiful people
Great guides
The sparkling sound of the water
The sunshine
Songs to sing: La mer, My Heart Will Go On, C’était un p’tit bonheur, Tassez-vous de d’là, I’m on a Boat, Mr. Brightside, Le phoque en Alaska, Dancing Queen
(And then they’re all singing… while writing OMG! here we go again)
Interesting views along the way
A free, infinite circle massage
A yoga session
A forest bath
Incredible (but not magical) mushrooms
Discovering the smell of dry cedar on the ground (or cedar puffs)
The moss
Labrador tea
50 shades of green
Hugging trees
Feeling rooted
The vastness
The sadness of impacting nature
Co-showering
Swimming
A solo canoe lesson
A good recipe for the recipe
Calzones on the fire (a.k.a. wild pizzas) by our private cheffe
Music from Céline Dion, Richard Séguin, Jean Leloup, Patrick Bruel, The Eagles, Jay Scott, 4 Non Blondes
A dance floor
The highs and the lows
A haki
The perfect sunset with trees dancing on the horizon
Candies
So many jokes and laughs
(Still singing, while eating their candies)
Fish jumping on the water
Trauma bonding
And finally, the forest all around—just listening, not judging.
That’s it for tonight, folks!
Manu, Jolyanne, Jimmy, Caroline, Mylène, Mathieu, Tobiasz, Vincent, Mélanie, Judith, Annie, Quentin, and Gabrielle
