Although we were very sad to have to say goodbye to our first group of two-weekers, we were pleased to welcome our second group to camp on Monday! We have already enjoyed two activity filled days together, learning various Voyageurs skills and getting to know each other. We look forward to the next two weeks ahead of us with such an eager and enthusiastic group! Bienvenue les Voyageurs!
Au revoir...
...et Bienvenue!
Avant de dire au revoir á nos chers voyageurs de deux semaines, on a eu l’occasion de fêter tous ensemble. (Before saying goodbye to our dear two-week voyageurs, we had the opportunity to celebrate our time together.) We spent our last evening celebrating not only the past two weeks we had enjoyed together, but also the 50th birthday of Cameroon! After dancing the traditional danse de la pagaie (paddle dance) and sharing a final meal around the feu de camp, we joined nos amis á Lac du Bois as well as our Cameroonian staff members including Bertrand and Patrick Roger for an evening of music and laughter to wish Cameroon a very happy 50th birthday! What a wonderful way to end our first session!
La Danse de la Pagaie
Bonne Anniversaire Cameroun!
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Quelle chance que nous avons eu hier soir! (What luck we had last night!) The Voyageurs had a very special visitor yesterday: Patrick Roger Bessong from Bafia, Cameroon. Patrick Roger was kind enough to bring several of his hand-crafted instruments (including the Djembe, Mvet, and Garaya) and share some traditional Cameroonian music with us after dinner. We learnt about the various instruments and listened to Patrick Roger’s magical singing and playing around the feu de camp. It isn’t every day that the Voyageurs get to enjoy such a special visit and we are ever so grateful to Patrick Roger for his willingness to share both a taste of Cameroonian culture and his gift for music with us all. Merci Patrick Roger!
Patrick Roger playing the Mvet.
L’entrainement pour le Grand Voyage est déjà commencé! (We have already begun preparing for our voyage!) Despite a rainy opening day, spirits are high and smiles abundant with the sun shining down on our camp once again. We have been busy practicing various Voyageurs skills such as monter une tente (setting up a tent), faire un feu (lighting a fire), nager dans le lac (swimming in the lake), chanter autour du feu de camp(singing around the campfire),et, biensur, le canotage (and, of course, canoeing)! Another two activity-filled days await us before we set off on our voyage to Voyageur National Park!
Launching the canoes!
Practicing canoe strokes before heading out on the water.
The Voyageurs have arrived and our adventure in la grande forêt is now underway! Our first Voyageurs of the summer have already begun to prove their worth as they paddled themselves across the lake to their new home in the woods and met their first challenge with high spirits – an evening downpour of rain. After crafting their sacs a feu and trying a traditional Voyageur dish at dinner – le Roubabou, the Voyageurs were ready for bed after their long journey across the lake and back through time.
The Voyageurs cross the lake in le grand canoë.
