Canoeing is always fun, specially in a country like Netherlands where you have abundant options: trails through lovely city canals or narrow weedy streams in the countryside, all so well connected. Canals packed with party boats and parks flodded with people sun bathing is the most common site on a fairly good summer day.
Though I am not a good swimmer but this is one thing I love most, spending a day in a canoe. Canoeing in a calm not so deep water, one would wonder how adventurous could it be ? You are absolutely right until you have been through something that I had few weeks back. May be not dangerous or life threatening but not a thought that would pop up when you think of canoeing.
It was a tour in the canals of Utrecht, a lovely big city near to Amsterdam. Utrecht doesn't attract as many tourists as Amsterdam does but it's an equally beautiful city with everything you can ask for. The centre is less crowded and unlike Amsterdam you can find canals less cramped with tourist boats. Evertyhing was as expected until our instructor gave a subtle hint that something unusual is at the door: low height bridges to cross and that will require some special maneouvor. We could have never imagined what she meant until we reached a spot where the canal was literaly blocked by a bridge almost touching the water. Apparently, it was not blocked and this was the adventure we didn't expect. Somewhere at the back of mind I was pretty sure that our instructer will ask us to pull our canoes out of water and walk across to the other side of the bridge. But she wasn't fooling around, we had no other way but to go under the bridge. Instructions : lay down, as flat as possible and come out alive on the other side. We packed our pedals since they were useless and we were just supposed to use our hands pressing the celiing and pullig our canoe. At the same time we were to make sure not to be caught up by the ancient cobwebs covering the sidewalls. We were almost 30 of us, trying all our skills, creating traffic jam, rotating in all dimensions and someone like me who cannot swim wondering what if canoe topples and I am left behind. My life jacket was my best friend for that few minutes and I didn't realise when I was on the other side, but by that time I was less scared but more excited.
Though I am not a good swimmer but this is one thing I love most, spending a day in a canoe. Canoeing in a calm not so deep water, one would wonder how adventurous could it be ? You are absolutely right until you have been through something that I had few weeks back. May be not dangerous or life threatening but not a thought that would pop up when you think of canoeing.
It was a tour in the canals of Utrecht, a lovely big city near to Amsterdam. Utrecht doesn't attract as many tourists as Amsterdam does but it's an equally beautiful city with everything you can ask for. The centre is less crowded and unlike Amsterdam you can find canals less cramped with tourist boats. Evertyhing was as expected until our instructor gave a subtle hint that something unusual is at the door: low height bridges to cross and that will require some special maneouvor. We could have never imagined what she meant until we reached a spot where the canal was literaly blocked by a bridge almost touching the water. Apparently, it was not blocked and this was the adventure we didn't expect. Somewhere at the back of mind I was pretty sure that our instructer will ask us to pull our canoes out of water and walk across to the other side of the bridge. But she wasn't fooling around, we had no other way but to go under the bridge. Instructions : lay down, as flat as possible and come out alive on the other side. We packed our pedals since they were useless and we were just supposed to use our hands pressing the celiing and pullig our canoe. At the same time we were to make sure not to be caught up by the ancient cobwebs covering the sidewalls. We were almost 30 of us, trying all our skills, creating traffic jam, rotating in all dimensions and someone like me who cannot swim wondering what if canoe topples and I am left behind. My life jacket was my best friend for that few minutes and I didn't realise when I was on the other side, but by that time I was less scared but more excited.
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