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YEP 6 Camp Mongolia Day 6

Day 6 – Blog Post by Sophia and Akira

With ‘Waka Waka’ blasting us out our comfy beds, our sixth day in Château-d’Oex begins.

After completing the two fairly exhausting days of the Mayo Clinic Testing, we were looking forward to a further MTB experience. The route was longer, speedier and did not demand “The African Way” of cycling.

Two full hours of river rafting kickstarted today’s adventure. Having been instructed by Martin and Nico (our Argentinian rafting expert) we made it down the rapids and bumpy parts of La Sarine safely. We stopped several times to jump into the 10-degrees water. However, thanks to our sophisticated wet-suits, we did not feel that cold, although we had ‘swimming pools’ in our shoes. At the lower part of the river, we could try steering the boat ourselves and commanding the others like our instructors did before. Our group ‘managed’ to lose one paddle and brake another in just ten minutes. Hence, we had to finish with just six people rowing instead of eight.

So after all that water surrounding us for hours, we fled into the forest for our picnic lunch break. Refreshing Oranginas and delicious sandwiches prepared us for the even wetter afternoon.

It was marked by 16 alien-like Young Explorers in purple-green-blue overalls and orange helmets. These extraterrestrials successfully fought their way through the canyon; floating, sliding, swimming, climbing, jumping and simply enjoying ourselves. It was a wholly new experience for most of us and we were all baffled by the natural beauty surrounding us. Even though we would have been able to go on for ages, one could see us walking (like penguins) towards our starting point.

Short after getting back to the hotel, we were ‘forced’ onto our bikes again, this time heading for our BBQ-dinner by the river. Highlights were: Martin the BBQ-master, lots of good food, watermelons, delightful games and interesting conversations. It is not surprising that the calm atmosphere kept us there too long, so we hurried back to start with editing the videos we had been shooting the past two days.

Moreover, we are happy to welcome three former Young Explorers: Alexandra from the Antarctica expedition, Florence from the one to India and last but not least Alexander the Pakistani. We are looking forward to learning about what they experienced on their selection camps and expeditions.

Can’t wait for tomorrow: horse riding and paragliding are on the program.

 

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