The plane for Copenhagen leaves at 6:10 in the morning from Bergen's airport in Flesland. Voss is a little over and hours drive from Flesland were told to meet at 3:00 in the morning to take the cars down to the airport. Some of us slept in a little late however, so we didn't end up leaving until about half past 3:00 (not me though, I was there rite on the the dot at 3:00). That being said we still made it to the airport with plenty of time and before we knew it we were on the plane to Copenhagen. After around a 2 hour layover in Copenhagen we were on the plane to
We arrive at the apartments and did just what any one else would do, we ran through the entire thing and claimed beds. Well at least that's what the guys did... Anyways, there was a separate apartment for the teacher (Arill), the guys, and the girls which was nice because lets face it, girls take wicked long showers.. ;) After unpacking and such we went down to the shop to pick up the kayaks and gear that we would be using for the rest of the week. Nothing really worth noting about that, it was really just something that had to be done. Then finally after we got back from that me and the guys went out to the store to get some food for the next few days at the store. I never thought I would spend so much time shopping for food in my life but I had no idea what anything was or where to find it. I mean even the milk was hard to find and that's saying something. Anyways, after shopping we headed back to the center of town to grab a bite to eat. We ended up stopping at this place that served everything from pizza to trout to deer and it was great. Almost every night after kayaking we would head over there and grab a bite to eat. And I believe that concludes the day 1. I didn't stay up to late because I hadn't slept in over 24 hours (I stayed up until 3:00 to get the car from Voss so I never slept that night, because well I don't think I would have gotten up). And that's that.
Day 2 8:00 in the morning
It's 8:00 in the morning and with a full nights sleep and a nice big breakfast I was ready to go. We were supposed to meet at 8:55 outside to catch the car that would drive us to the first drop off point for kayaking which left at 9:00 sharp. Went over pretty well too. Everyone was awake and on time which was a good thing because I was ready to kayak.
Ok so we need to take a little break form the story so that I can explain something real quick. The way we kayaked the river may seem a little confusing so Ill try to explain it here. (Map)
*Stretch 1 is the bottom left, Stretch 2 is the upper left, and Stretch 3 is the middle.
-Day 1 of kayaking (which is day 2 in the blog, meaning day 2 of kayaking is day 3 in the blog etc.) takes place on the bottom left stretch "Stretch 1"
-Day 2 of kayaking we kayaked the entire river, "Stretch 2"-->"Stretch 3"-->"Stretch 1"
-Day 3 of kayaking we started with "Stretch 1" and then went to "Stretch 2"
-Day 4 of kayaking we also started with "Stretch 1" and then went to "Stretch 2"
Now we can get back to the story ;)
We loaded up the car with our gear and were off. Now I have never been to Slovenia and had no idea where I was or was going so I guess it was good that we had our own personal drivers to drive us around. After a short 5 minute drive we were at our first drop site ("Start Point"/"Stretch 1" on the map). The gear was loaded out of the cars and the kayaks from the trailer. Arill held a quick meeting where we just talked about the river and water and then it was down the path to the river. It wasn't that far of a walk from the car either, maybe 2 minutes tops. But, you have to remember that we have a wet-suit bottom, dry-suit top, and kayak skirt on and then on top of that we have the kayaks on our shoulders with paddle in hand. Now 2 minutes down hill was nothing but just keep in mind the gear that I have on and what I have to carry when we have to move from the river to the car...
We got to the bottom of the path and were greeted by a white stony shoreline with crystal clear water and as much as I just wanted to hop in the kayaks and get rite in the water I couldn't because Arill wanted to have yet another quick talk before we got in the water. It was over quick enough, I think I mite have actually been in the kayak and on my way into the water while he was finishing.. but that just shows just how much I wanted to get in the water. The others weren't far behind either. Soon everyone was in the water and warming up. This is actually something important and worth going into because before every trip begins the group takes about 5 to 10 minutes (give or take a few) to play around in the current, catch some eddies, and just get the muscles warmed up. So we don't just hop in the river and start paddling down stream.
After everyone was all warmed up and ready to go we took off and where on our way. This first trip was aprox. 3.3miles/5.3km and took us quiet a while to finish. I'm not so sure how long we were out so I wont guess but it was definitely over 2 hours. You have to remember that this was our first trip though so it would naturally be a long trip. Back to kayaking.. I can remember the entire thing actually, the first current we went though I was rite behind Arill following him into and eddie. Now I saw a rock and I was a little skeptical about trying to go around it/over it but I saw Arill do it so I though what the heck why not. Nope, I flipped over as soon as I was over the rock. I had forgotten one of the first things you learn when kayaking, look up stream when you turn into an eddie. (Sorry for those who don't understand the technical terms/logic behind this, if you want I can explain it because its really not that hard :) Anyways I was under water but Arill was rite there so I naturally grabbed his kayak and flipped back over. Why I didn't roll back over myself I have no idea. Maybe because it was so early in the trip I just wasn't thinking, I'm not sure. It was ok from there on out though because I didn't flip once the rest of the way. Well that's actually a lie because a little later on we took a long pause in a nice big eddie where we practiced/refreshed the roll. That's a little later on though. Before we got there we took a quick stop beside some nice flow in the river and surfed a bit on some small waves. It wasn't anything to big, but it was good practice and a lot of fun. After some surfing we hit that nice eddie where we did the rolls and then continued on a bit before we stopped for lunch. Something I forgot to mention, and its really important.. It was sunny and warm. I mean it was amazing and the water was so crystal clear. The lunch break was relaxing, a nice break for the legs/feet. If you've ever been kayaking then you'll know how much your feet/legs hurt when you haven't kayaked in a while and you jam them into your kayak for over a hour. For those who have never kayaked then, put quiet simply it hurts.. quiet a bit too. I mean the pain just gets worse until you can't feel your legs anymore. Wow I just made kayaking sound really awful... it really isn't though you get over it and its so worth it!
I don't know why but I feel like lunch that day lasted forever.. whatever, it was finally over and we were off once again. There isn't much to say except that we kayaked down the river I guess.. haha. Well the last ~1000m/3000ft of the river was pretty interesting. We split into 2 groups because some liked to take longer breaks between strong currents then others. I was in the quicker group and through this last stretch the river got a little more challenging. It was quicker water with more rocks/boulders in the river making for really nice surfing and eddie catching. I was able to really push myself in this section and I'm glad because pushing myself that day made the rest of the week that much better. Something happened that day that made kayaking just click for me. Before I had always been riding in the kayak, but all of a sudden I was driving the kayak and really pushing it around. This is THE BEST feeling. I don't really know how to explain it but it almost feels like you have power over the river which is saying something because that's a lot of water moving really fast. Anyways, something clicked and now I was in full control and having a blast. But all of a sudden it was done that last stretch was over, the end point was in sight. I got out of my kayak and fell to the ground. I had lost all motor function in my legs. They had fallen completely asleep being jammed in the kayak the entire day. Soon enough I had it back and was pulling the kayak up onto land. Now remember what I said about having all that gear on and having to carry the kayak. Well this is where it comes into play. We had to walk ~500m/1500 feet uphill with the kayaks on our backs to the pick up point where the car would get us and our gear. I can just see my dad saying "Peter it's good exercise" but after you have been kayaking and not this leisurely stuff I mean hard core kayaking a lot of the time then your tiered. I got up to the pick up point, dropped the kayak and stripped down to just my wet-suit bottoms because I was so warm. That mite have been a mistake because it was a bit windy and I soon became a little cold but it was ok because the car was soon there to pick us up and bring our change of clothes that we had left at the drop off point.
Back at the apartment we hung up our gear to dry and hit the showers because 1. we were a little cold and 2. we stank like wet-suit (not a very good smell). Me and the guys got together after cleaning up a bit and headed off to grab some pizza. We had to go to a different place this time though because for some weird reason the place we had gone to the day before was closed on Tuesdays... anyways the pizza was still good, maybe even a bit better. That was the last straw though because as soon as I got home I hit the bed and passed out. My body was exhausted and I was tiered. The best part.. Arill came in later that night and said "8:55 tomorrow morning". And that's day 2.
Day 3 8:00 in the morning
We got word that the weather was going to be getting worse and worse as the week went on so the plan was to make today the longest day. It was party cloudy and a little chilly in the morning which was better then expected because we were expecting rain. We grabbed our gear from the drying racks and loaded up into the cars once again. Today we were going to kayak all three stretches of the river. So we drove up to the beginning of "Stretch 2" and unloaded the car. It was about a 5 minute walk downhill through the woods to the river. We spent a good 15 maybe 20 minutes down there before we actually got into the kayaks. A little exploring into a cave and scouting the first corner of the river and that was that. I don't know why but some people used a bit of time actually getting into their kayaks and then into the water. Me however, I slipped rite into mine and into the water in under a minute. I was ready to kayak and wanted to be in the water as quick and long as possible.
Everyone was finally in the water and had warmed up a little in the launch point going in and out of the current and taking some eddies. And we were off once again! Now "Stretch 2" is definitely my favorite stretch. It has the fastest moving water and a little more rocks making for some great surfing, combos, and eddie taking. However, it also made for a lot more swimming. We had quiet a few people swim on this stretch, flip in their kayak and eject while upside-down, leaving them soaked and cold and the kayak filled with water. It's really not the flipping that sucks so much (unless you do it a lot) but the fact that you have to bring your kayak to the edge of the river and empty it. That being said I think everyone still had a lot of fun. And to make it even better the sun came out full throttle later on in the day and it was getting really warm. It would have been so perfect except for the outrageous number of bugs in the air over the river. There were stretches of the river where you had to paddle with you face down and you eyes and mouth closed because there was just so many bugs. I actually ended up kayaking backwards down some of the stretches where there were a lot of bugs which helped a lot not only with the bugs but also with my kayaking technique. And even on top of that it, it was helpful to learn to paddle backwards because I was leading quiet a bit that day and it's good to be able to see people paddle down sections that mite be a little sketchy.
I wish I was able to explain the entire stretch but there is just too much to say so your going to have to take my word that it was a great trip! We took our lunch break at the kayak shop or the beginning of "Stretch 3". From there to the beginning of "Stretch 1" was actually a little boring though, it was almost all flat with no strong currents at all so we just had to paddle until we got back to the beginning of "Stretch 1" where it began to get a little more challenging. And then we were back to the stretch we had done the previous day. Not as much fun as "Stretch 2" but still fun. Arill took us all out to dinner that night where I got deer! It was so good I can't even explain, not just because it was deer but because I had been kayaking for the entire day. And that's that.
Day 4 8:00 in the morning
Woke up to the sound of rain this morning. Not the best thing to wake up to but it's only rain rite? And you're going to get wet anyways so it doesn't really make that much of a difference.. well I hadn't been outside to feel the temperature yet. I believe the driver said that the outside temperature was 3 degrees celcius. So, while everyone else was packing up the car, I was taking on my wet-suit bottom and dry-suit top inside while they were nice and dry because there's nothing like changing outside in the cold rain. It was so worth the little amount of rushing I had to do before we headed out.
The plan for today was to do "Stretch 1" again. Because we had already done this stretch 2 times it gave everone the chance to work on specific parts of that section. Say you found a really good surf but passed it the other day, well today was you day to make up for it and catch it. Even though the river is quiet a ways you would be surprised how well you can remember it. It's just like driving actually, if you've driving somewhere before then you remember it fairly easy. Well the same goes for kayaking. I was able to grab a few eddies that I had missed before and surf a few waves (attempting for most part) that were rite in the middle of some big currents that I would normaly fly by. Besides that the ride was pretty much the same. The end came up soon enough and we done. It was FREEZING though. Everyone was shivvering and cold. By the time we were at the end everyone was quick to get out of their kayaks and walk up the hill, once again, to the car.
We were all at the top when Arill asked if we wanted to go for another run on the upper part of the river "Stretch 2". Me and 3 other girls raised their hands. I didn't mind that I was the only boy, I mean it would have been nice if at least one of the guys came but they were all freezing. I was pretty warm however. It was probably because I haden't flipped the entire stretch though. Anyways, those who were done headed back to the apartments and the others where off to get some more kayaking in.
We got into a nice warm car and drove to the drop site. Getting out of that nice warm car was so hard because I knew as soon as I opened the door that I would be cold and I was. So I grabbed my kayak and ran down to the path to the river. I didn't even wait for the others to come down. I was straigh into my kayak and in the water warming up. Not even 5 minutes later I was all warmed up and ready to go. Having so few people in the gorup was pretty nice to. The river was less crowded and there was less waiting around so we made it down in record time. It also gave the group to make more stops for those who wanted to work specific pats of the river to which was great because there was one section that I had been looking forward to doing again ever since the previous day. It consisted of a ~10meter/30foot skinny stretch that shot out water very quickly. I worked on moving in and out of the current form the eddies. It's a lot different then moving into a normal slower moving current too becuse you go from one side of the stream to the other very quickly. In a matter of 2 or 3 seconds your on the other side (given the stream is ~6meters/18feet wide). We spent quiet a bit of time there going back and forth. And rite before we were about to leave I caught edge and flipped. I was exhaling when I flipped, so I reached my head up to grab some air and that was just enough to pop the skirt of the kayak. It was over. I was in the water. I had water everywhere, ice cold water. I was having so much fun that I just started laughing though. It didnt matter that I was ice cold and wet. So I went and emptyed my kayak and took the current one more time before we were off again.
There were a few more spots that we spent some time on but I won't go into detail so much because like I said there is just so much to say about the river. We were at the end of the stretch soon though and before I knew it I was back at the apartment laying in bed. But, before I passed out, Arill came to have yet another quick meeting tell us that the next day would consist of some of the more advanced kayakers starting and then the others coming after we had finished (around lunch time). And that's that.
Day 5 8:00 in the morning
So there was a banging on the door this morning before we left, somewhere around 7:20. I opened the door to Arill staind there. He came in and called all the guys down to the kitchen area to let us know that we ahd gotten 4 more cubis of water in the river over the night. Now im not really sure what that means in technical terms but I would soon come to see that it makes a big difference when kayaking. Anyways he told us that we were going to do what we did the previous day and start with "Section 1" and then if anyone wanted to they could also do "Section 2". I kept thinking to myself 4 cubis of water. Well 4 is kind of a small number so I didn't really think much of it.
We where back at the drop poitn once again and unloaded the kayaks and gear. It was raining today aswell but it was a little warmer which made for a more pleasent trip. Anyways, I was the first down to the river again and it looked the same as it always had, maybe a slight increase in current speed. As soon as I slipped into the river I noticed the differnece. Eddies that I would normaly just glid into, I would actually have to work a fair amount to get into. 4 cubis of water really made the difference and I was pumped. All I could think about was getting the chance to push myself even harder and move even faster. I paddeled down the river pushing myself as hard as I could not only because there was more water but because this was my last day! I had to make the most out of it. The trip went even faster then I before and we were soon at the end. But, today was a bit different. Instead of going up that hill to the parking lot Arill decided that we could try the next section rite after what we had just finished. We of course scouted it out because it was very, very quick moving water with a fair amount of rocks. We would ony be able to paddle ~200meters/600feet down the stretch and then would have to walk the kayaks back to the hill and carry them back up that stupid hill. But, today was the last day so I decided to do it.
I was yet again first in line and made it down quicker then expected. The current was a little quicker then I had expected but it made it that much more fun. I got out and pulled my kayak to the side of the river so I could see the others come down. Unfortunately we had someone get pinned onto a rock unable to move rite after me. They getting the kayak free and ejecting. This wasn't planned though and soon we had a kayak going full throttle down the river. Arill was sitting in his kayak downstream behind a rock to catch and flippers so he was unable to see the whole insident. He ended up coming ashore and walking up a little to get a better look at the situation but as soon as he did she had ejected. He ran down to his kayak and I gave him a push into the water. It was a chase to catch up with the kayak now. Arill was in his kayak chasing it and me and my friend Audun where running over the rocks along the side of the river with throw-lines in case Arill needed help. We ended up going about ~500meters/1500feet downstream chasing this thing. We finally caught up with it and had control. The only trouble was that we had to carry the thing back up and its not like its a nice flat way. No, the side of the river was a fairly steep and extremely rocky mess. To make matters worse Arill had pulled somthing pretty bad making the rescue so he was out for the day.
After this big mess of things we still had some people that wanted to go and kayak the other stretch "Stretch 2" so Arill had his friend who has been kayaking with us the whole time bring us. It was all the same because I wasn't relying on the instructor to help me anymore so I still had a blast kayaking the second section.
Well thats it for the trip in Slovenia. We packed our things that night and left bright and ealry the next morning. Or is that the end ;) There is something kind of cool that I forgot to mention and that's that when we drove from Venice to Slovenia. When wen landed in Venice it was flat, the landscape I mean. And when we drove to Slovenia we would slowly be able to see the mountains. We came closer and closer until we were finally driving right into and around these huge mountains. We went from flat, flat land to mountains in a matter of 2 hours!
Day 6 The Trip Back
The flight doesn't leave until 18:00/6:00pm but we left Slovenia at 9 in to morning. So your probably thinking what did Peter do from 11:00 when I arrived at the airport in Venice until I had to leave... Well we took the bus into the center of Venice! This was by far one of the coolest things I have ever done/wanted to do. After seeing all theose James Bond movies with boat chases ans such I have always wanted to go! And all of a sudden we were there. It was only a 15 minute bus ride from the airport. We spent maybe 4 hours there jsut walking around doing whatever we wanted to do. So we walked around, went over some bridges, saw some boats, and of course.. ate some REAL ITALIAN PIZZA!
Yup, that really happened. But just like anything else it was soon over and I was soon in Copenhagen again and from there Norway. And thats the Slovenia trip of 2012 with Frisport!
Venice Pictures Slovenia Pictures
No comments:
Post a Comment