Canoeing Time!

Welcome back!

So a great adventure came up for me this weekend: camping and canoeing on the River Dee. We set out for an hour and a half trip south of Aberdeen to a site along the Cambus O' May suspension bridge late on Friday night. I seriously can't get over how great the names of towns and attractions are over here. Many of them are derived from the Gaelic (pronounced Gahlic to denote the Scottish version seeing as the typical pronunciation is Irish) word for them. For example the town where we ended our canoe trip was called Strathdee (Srath Dhé in Gaelic) means 'Deeside'-how clever! Sorry for the tangent, but anyway we ended up staying within the boundaries of the Cairngorms National Park. We got a surprise visit as we were setting up out tent- across the river two people in high visibility jackets started shining their flashlights at us. Thinking we were for sure going to get kicked out, we packed up our tent and waited to be told that it wasn't a proper camping ground (it wasn't- a sign in the parking lot read 'No Overnight Parking'), but they never came. So…we pitched the tent again anyway and had a more than marvelous evening of potatoes and haggis on the stove. 

The next morning cocoa was made and put in a thermos, right before we set off, we thought we'd have some. All of us had been poured a cup, when someone decided to shake the thermos. Only then did we realize that it had broken and that shards of glass had been poured (and partially drank) in everyone's cups- and that marked the beginning of the trip haha. After that fiasco, we unloaded the canoes and proceeded to be given a lifejacket, helmet, and wetsuit. I literally thought they were crazy. Only about two hours later did I realize how vital all of that equipment was. We weren't taking just any casual trip down a river- we were whitewater canoeing (or I guess they call it Canadian canoeing). Savannah and I hit some rapids and began taking on water, then the big one hit- and the canoe capsized. As we both toppled in, our breaths were literally taken away by the cold. Gosh, it's a pretty weird feeling being numb while being pushed by the current. That combined with attempting to move a sixty pound canoe filled with water when you can't even touch the river bottom makes for an interesting time. Eventually, after the other canoe tipped and all four of us were in the water, we recovered the waterproof camera from the perilous current, we set out again. Mind you the wind after this point became unbearable, I'm not sure I've ever been that cold and numb in my entire life- whoops! The entire landscape was beautiful though. I don't think I could have picked a better way to witness the changing leaves across the expansive rolling hills!

All in all we paddled about fourteen miles that day. We waited for about two hours to be picked up and driven to our take-off point that morning. In the mean time, I took laps around the park to stay warm. I can only imagine how ridiculous a girl in a wetsuit and lifejacket looked running around a rural park. After it had become dark a lady came up to us who had parked in front of a local hotel. Hoping she was stopping over to bring us tea- she asked instead if we could help her carry barrels into her car. We obliged and after being questioned on our attire we told the lady our story of the day. When she came back for round two of the barrel transporting, she came with four beers and water and offered to make us food and tea to warm us up and thank us for our efforts. We declined the second portion, but the beer was mighty tasty. People can be so nice :)

After being picked up, we began traveling back to our site and soon found out a tire had gone flat on the car. So while the car was being fixed we walked toward our destination and came across a village. This village had made an old church interior into a garden- it was a beautiful idea. Finally, we ended up back in Aberdeen- safe, warm, and able to tell the tale!

Such a good time, talk to you all soon!

Me and my three mates before setting out for the day

Suspension bridge-I couldn't get enough of it!

Part of the scenery...