Kayaking Down the Rio Vouga

​Guest blog post by Xitlali

I had possibly one of the best experiences kayaking down the Rio Vouga today. Instead of struggling to row straight like my past attempts, Rachel and I teamed up and were actually pretty good. From the beginning we were already rowing in sync and traveling pretty fast.

    Facilitating our group was a kind, Portuguese instructor named Filipe, he gave us a couple of minutes to practice our rowing and to get accomodated. He made sure to stay in front of the group and keep us safe.

    My favorite part of the whole experience was the rapids. They were so bumpy! Rachel and I maneuvered pretty well with them, but we weren’t exempt from the splashes of the water. Still, it was a thrilling experience. Rowing is hard work, and I appreciated the extra boost the waves gave us.

    From time to time, Rachel and I would stop rowing and simply appreciate the nature around us. The Rio Vouga is the best preserved river in Portugal! Beautiful trees and bushes line the parameters of the river, and there was hardly any plastic in sight. I truly felt as if I was having an action-packed adventure down the river.

    Another beautiful sight of the Rio Vouga was actually built over it. It’s the Santiago bridge, the tallest stone archway in all of Portugal. It was so beautiful to see! I kept thinking wow, people actually worked together to build that. Sometimes it’s so easy to disconnect yourself from things and believe that they just sprung out of nowhere, but rowing under the cool stone ridges of the archway made me feel a connection to those who built it.

    The first stop we made was to snack on food and conduct some field work. With our Kayaking buddies, we were instructed to identify features of the river (flora, fauna, width, depth, etc). Filipe helped us measure the velocity of the lake! He threw a bottle full of water attached to a rope straight in front of him. Our job was to estimate the distance between Filipe  and the end of the rope. Then, we would divide that by how long it took to get to the end. I never knew you could find velocity with such a simple method!
 

Once we completed our worksheet, Rachel and I took off again. The second stretch of the Kayaking was much more rigorous than the first. There were no rapids and the water was relatively still. Rachel and I had to use our strength to keep moving, but it was a nice challenge. We got to enjoy many beautiful sights along the way that made the pain worth it.

Kayaking ended in a bittersweet manner for me. Bitter because part of me still wanted to keep exploring, but sweet because my muscles could finally rest.  I couldn’t help but smile as I helped carry the canoes up to Filipe’s truck. I thought about how nature brings people together in the most marvellous ways. I made a connection to Rachel through the simple act of rowing down a pristine river. Together, we experienced the small wonders of nature. We discovered that we make a great rowing team and had a lot of fun doing it. If there’s anything I can take from this experience, it’s that it’s not about the destination, but the places and people you see along the way.

​Thank you!

A Special Thank you to Xitlali for her amazing blog post. Everyone had an adventure packed day going down the river. It heals the soul to experience wild places and get away from the big city!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE READING OUR BLOG! None of the kids would be here without the support and encouragement of their parents!