We’re heading off for our Grand Voyage this afternoon!
The past few days have found us perfecting our camping and canoeing skills, playing more games (including a round of soccer in the woods), cooking more meals, doing more crafts, and having more fun!
- L'Interprete et Louis demonstrating one way to empty a canoe of water.
- Eric and Riviere showing another way to empty a canoe.
- Eric and Riviere taking a break from canoe-tipping.
- Melodie and Luciole practice making pemmican, the beef jerky of the Voyageurs. Historically it was made mostly of bear fat and ground dried meat. Sometimes saskatoon berries were added for flavour. Each voyageur would eat 1.5 pounds of the stuff a day for nine months straight! Not the most appetizing diet.
- Mmmm... Crisco, dried meat, and cranberries. Only the bravest actually tasted it.
- Laurent chops wood.
- Marine et Luciole with la masse and la cognee.
- Marine and Ballerine on le quai.
- Smile, girls!
- Candle-making by the shore.
- Laurent and Luciole model their newly-made tuques.
- Diner!
- C'est bon?
- Autour du feu: a favourite spot.
- Out on le lac at dusk.
- Relaxed, Ludovic?
- The sunset was pretty spectacular.
- Getting darker, we paddle in silence.
- Bonjour, tous!
- Sunset panorama.
- Friday we battled wind and waves to go eat lunch with Lac du Bois. We exchanged some songs, dances, and ate delicous poutine!
- Arriving at Lac du Bois' beach.
- Sharing la Danse de la pagaie with Lac du Bois.
- Caroline explains Le Voyage Sauvage to Montreal.
- Laurent climbs up on le pont.
- Montreal fights through the toile d'araignee, spider's web.
This morning we’re finishing up our packing before heading off from our own Turtle River Lake. The next few days will see us paddle through the wild rice along Turtle River until we finally emerge at Cass Lake. There we’ll spend a night on the huge Star Island with its own interior lake before a final evening hosted by Sen Lin Hu, the Chinese camp. We’ll head home Thursday morning to prepare for Friday: International Day!
Check back with us then for a final update on how our adventures went!
