This morning, I woke up at 5:30am. It was beautiful. The wind was slamming against the house, and the aftermath of rain was splattered against the patio doors. The sky was gray and cold, and I was loathing the idea of being in a wetsuit. But I sluggishly prepared my delicious and nutrional lunch: a wagon wheel, a chocolate/almond/caramel granola bar (why even bother with the granola?), fatty yogurt, a carrot (yes!), and a sandwich. Mmm. Has anyone ever heard of milk bread? I think it may be something beyond just white bread, because white bread isn't indulgently unhealthy enough. That is what I made my sandwich with, that and a fat slice of processed cheese, black forest ham, and a few redeeming pieces of lettuce.
I showered much too slowly, then ate breakfast. Then I realized that I had been dawdling for too long, and had only seven minutes to get to the college. Which is a problem because, as I've said before, it takes about 30 minutes to walk there. And, usually, at least 10 minutes to bike. So, I raced out the door, and pedaled as fast as I could, then ran to the meeting place. And, I made it! Just in time. Thank goodness.
We took the buses to the rafting prep building, stood in line there for the washroom for 10 minutes, then were outfitted in stinky wetsuits, life jackets, helmets, and shoes. The shoes were the worst. Filled with sand and sopping wet and completely worn out. But, definitely a better option than soaking my own only decent runners. So off we went to La Rivière Shipshaw... or something along those lines, and were grouped into rafts, and given a safety talk. The guide giving the talk made a mistake while speaking and swore, then apologized, saying he had learned his English in BC.... hahaha.
The rafting was a lot of fun, though not quite as intense as I had been hoping. Although there were definitely a few good waves! The last rapid was the most exciting. In some of the other rafts, people actually fell out. Thankfully, the water wasn't that cold, and they all made it back to their boats. We stopped partway through the trip, and went cliff jumping. It is always so exciting to build up apprehension and expectation as you climb, then overcome your fears and just jump. And afterwards, when you have resurfaced and are floating in the water, with your helmet, shoes, and lifejacket all still attached to you, you feel happy, and want to do it again.
At the end of the trip, we had to carry the rafts through the underbrush to where the trucks would pick them up, then hike up to our buses. After that, we had some time to eat while everyone took turns changing. We left for the Cégep as the second group of rafters arrived, and made it back for 1:45 pm.
Now, what to do with a wonderful, windy Sunday afternoon? Bike of course! I was too tired to be social, and so decided to turn my ten-minute bike ride home into a thirty-minute leisurely period of exploration. The wind was perfect. It was forceful and cool, and blew hard against me, flattening my jeans to my calves. I love love love wind. I also think that Sunday is a sort of laundry day, because I saw a lot of clothes hanging out to dry at many different houses. There was one white house, with a blue and white flag of Québec flung back in the wind, that had blue and white laundry to match. C'était très agréable. I also found a house with a small watermill that had trees growing and hanging about everywhere. It made me think of mushrooms and dwarves and deep forests. I eventually headed home, and lay on the grass in the front yard for about an hour. Just feeling the wind against me. Thinking, not thinking, dozing, daydreaming.
