I’ve created an adventure monster!
A phone call this morning from my fellow March Microadventurer stirred me to action.
“When are we going paddling?” “Er…….”
Having just arranged flights for the May microadventure and just been lastminute.com to Roscoff for Easter, I hadn’t quite decided what the April microadventure was going to be. Perhaps exploring Roscoff was it, but I kinda felt that it was a half-hearted attempt at a microadventure. Whilst eating crepes and drinking local cidre is perhaps likeable, it is not necessarily adventurous. But I had sorta convinced myself that cycling on the wrong side of the road and attending the Easter Day service at the local church pushed a few boundaries and was therefore a microadventure!
I’d already mentioned that I was planning to paddle the Lower Bann in May so a practice paddle was not a bad idea. Nichola seemed really keen and who am I to skip a day’s work for a little trip out!
So we have decided to paddle our own (borrowed) canoes from Exeter Quay to the Turf Locks Hotel for lunch, a distance just short of 5 1/2 miles. I looked at the possibility of going down the river on a falling tide and back up the canal. However, neither of us are competent in that kind of paddling or navigation to do it on our own and we don’t want to donate our lunch and beer money to the Exmouth Lifeboat crew!
I reached out to a number of companies to see if we could get a one-way hire. Sam seems to be our man. I like the cut of his jib and he seems really laid back about when and how long we want the canoes.
Picking up that we were 2 persons of the female species, he thought it wise to double check our ability to portage the craft around the lock at Double Locks. Me thinks he underestimates girl power or, at the very least, our ability to flick hair and flutter eyelashes at passing persons of the male species!
Please sir, would you help us carry this canoe to the other side of the lock?
Only time will tell whether we still have the power!
This paddle is barely 10km so as practice for the 60km Lower Bann Canoe Trail, it is barely a morning’s work. However, one does need to practice moving one’s arms – upwards and downwards from table to mouth!
2015 A Year of Microadventures for a Scaredy Cat 