Canoeing Is Not For Wimps

Warning: This post has way too many pictures. I just couldn’t narrow it down. Sorry!

So today we had a real adventure that was WAY out of my comfort zone! As in my arms were very uncomfortable! We went on a guided canoe trip sponsored by the embassy. One of our goals, as a family, is to find things that are more active to do together. So when this opportunity presented itself and Jason was so excited, I decide to go for it.

We arrived to catch our Mercedes bus (apparently that is how we roll these days!) and drove 40 miles north of Warsaw. We were set to canoe down one of the tributaries of the Wista River.

Jason was the only one of us that had ever been in a canoe before so he took Carlie and Alaynah rode with me.

I arrogantly thought, “How hard can this be? Paddle left, paddle right, repeat!” Yeah, that lasted for about 5 strokes and we realized that there must be a trick to steering and that know one told it to us. The first half of the trip was tough. Alaynah and I zig-zagged down the first half of the river and my arms were worn out.

During our break, Alaynah and I made it our mission to hitch rides with other canoers. We realized that we were great paddlers and needed some steerers!!!

After our little change-up things went fabulously. We kept up and enjoyed the second half of the ride so much.

The ride offered wonderful views of beaches filled with Polish families, beautiful nature, and even a few other interesting creatures cooling off in the river.

After our journey down river, we stopped in Modlin, a town north of Warsaw. We took a guided walking tour around its fortress that has been used since the early 1800’s.

After all of our hard work we stopped for a lovely Polish meal and then headed home. We were hot and sticky but had had a fabulous day! The bus ride back was very quiet because I think most of us, myself included, slept the whole way!

All in all it was a wonderful day. My babies are sun-kissed and my hubby is happy and snoring in the recliner beside me. Here’s hoping I can lift my aims in the morning!