burnt, sore n tired

i just came back from a kayaking trip in the finnish lake district yesterday. boy, was it tiring. i feel so sore n exhausted that i think i can fall sick anytime. but it was a very good trip.

the kayaking route's called oravarietti (squirrel) trail and it's also an aquatic nature trail. the total distances is 57 km and it traverses lakes, rivers and rapids. it took me abt 17 hours spread over 2 days to cover the trail; i had spent a night at a cottage (which had very good finnish sauna - including the cold dip in the river) in the wilderness.

the weather was rather merciless. on the 1st day it was raining real bad, so i was cold and wet. to complicate matters, i didn't bring enough food - just 6 musseli bars, 2 bananas n some chocolates for 2 full days of intense activity. n on the 2nd day, eventhough there were sporadic sessions of heavy rain, the sun was bright and strong (thus the sub burns), yet the wind was strong n chilling too.

nevertheless, i found the kayaking trail most fulfilling. it felt great to b all alone in the vast expanse of wilderness; there was no one else in the area, at least not anywhere i can see. n the nature was great. i saw wild swans, families of ducks, swimming beavers, flying fish, damsel flies (mating), dragonflies, lots of plants (trees, reeds n funny aquatifc species) and ever a fresh water sponge. i thought it felt quite magical to b paddling into the reeds and see many the damselflies and dragonflies all fly away. n of course, the mosquitoes were huge n relentless. their stings actually hurt, n the biten area really itches like crazy. n insect repellent didn't work on them.

i really ain't the outdoor sporty sort, n now my back, shoulders and arms are aching like crazy. i wonder how long i'd need to recover. n it isn't exactly very condusive to recover while travelling, with all the early mornings n late nights n jam packed schedules.

anyway, i've had a slow n leisurely cruise on a pseudo steam ferry ride through the lakes from savonlinna to kuopio. the journey's 172 km n it took the ferry 10.5 hours. the scenery was not bad. but i suppose once i've experienced the lake so intimately as i have been while kayaking, little would really wow me know.

bleh. i haven't had anything hot n substantial for 8 meals already. so craving for good n hot food. shall go for dinner n a drink now. n maybe get some good rest tonight :)