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Look back ... way back

Susan McKenzie / 14.09.2006

Adventureteam.si paddles slowly down the Bay of Aras, their paddles not quite so synchronized. The Slovenians work hard to move across the way, clearly setting their own pace, as slow as it is. The team is last, absolutely last, in the rankings, but still in official contention. They speak little as they paddle.

What appears to be an unranked team paddles just a bit further ahead of Adventureteam.si. One kayak holds two people, the other one holds just one person. Or so it appears. As we move closer we see that there are two people in the kayak, it’s just that one of them is curled up in her seat. Buff pulled down over her face, Myriam Muris is sleeping as Laurent Vallette paddles. He’s happy to have company as he paddles, noting that the team members have grown tired of each other. He’s in good spirits, but physically he’s having a bit of a challenge.

“My ankles are swollen from dehydration,� he says. “They’re really getting big.�

Like many of the teams on the race, Planetetonique.com has seen its share of wildlife on this race.

“We saw wolves and we saw a bear cub, too, on the side of the river while we were paddling,� he says.

“The terrain in the running sections has had so much up and down, it’s quite challenging. Especially on the first section, we were up and down and there was so much of that. Here, the terrain is largely trees, so it’s hard to get your bearings, it makes it hard.�

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