The biggest rapid of my life! Until now... ;)

River Sarine, Chateau D'Oex (CH)

May 2021

May 2021: the Dora grows, the grass at the base is greener and greener, the Totem Adventure tribe is loaded for the new season. Thanks to Marc's green thumb, the base has never looked so beautiful. To give it the finishing touch, Ivan has also "decided" to paint the wheelbarrow and tools bright red (all calculated, right, Ivan? At this point at the end of the season, the frames to be painted will all be yours!). It snowed a lot this winter, it's going to be a crazy season as far as water is concerned and the canoe and dinghy trips will be more adrenaline than ever before. We decide, however, to give Dora a little more time to wake up, she who will soon be the scene of strong emotions.

On the penultimate weekend in May, we decide to go to Switzerland for a couple of days: the boss is there for a river safety course and the idea is to join him to paddle all together in a place to be discovered. We set off on a Saturday, at 6.30am we're all at the base ready to go (all or almost all of us? Totem's official painter took a few extra minutes but the boss must not know).

With the canoes and equipment loaded, we officially set off for the colazio... for Chateau d'Oex! We arrive at our destination by lunchtime, the desire to go on the river is great but hunger gets the better of all of us: we eat, set up the tents and then off to the water!

Now I reveal myself, I am Camilla, and this descent on the Sarina together with everyone else will be one of the most intense of my life in the river. It is a fascinating river, full of high and narrow canyons: a true jewel of nature!

The formation for the descent is as follows: David, Alex, Marc, Ivan, Vale and Cami in the canoe, Miguelon, Fede and Lisa in the dinghy. I am still a beginner in a canoe, this is the first time I have tackled a river with these characteristics. David, who never misses a thing, sees me as white as a mozzarella at the embarkation and so reassures me. In the river you have to go with the smilealways!

I get into the canoe with still some trepidation, but the ugliest thoughts disappear in the blink of an eye: I can't wait to go into the river with my friends! At first the stretch seems quite easy, then I gradually notice that it is a continuous crescendo in terms of difficulty. Having passed the first canyon, we enter the second and last of our stretch.

The fateful moment quickly arrives, that of the Rapida with a capital R: a tricky 'S', you have to be careful throughout the rapid to give the canoe the right direction. I put the paddle in the water, paddle as I know how, it feels like flying!

The rapid ends and I don't know what to think, I navigate between excitement and disbelief. I have never faced anything like this, this my first time among the 'big rapids' I will always remember it! The guys were great and super caring, whatever happened they would be super ready to intervene and as a result I felt safe from start to finish.

I relax my nerves, now comes the easy part of the river!!! I don't have time to think that "Pluf!", I find myself upside down. While underwater I take my time, I must uncork (in canoeing jargon this means removing the splash guard from the cockpit of the canoe) but first I decide to get in touch with the element that until then had always made me very afraid: water. Because the first thing to look for when swimming in a river is the tranquillity. Then you know you can count on your fellow adventurers: in my case I have the Totem guys by my side, I can't ask for better!

Back in the canoe, Alex gives me the final tips to tackle the last (very last) rapids with the right spirit. Upon disembarking, I can't hold back the tears for

emotion. Faith was great too, she drove the dinghy almost the whole way! And the Vale managed to survive despite me deflecting all the lines!!!

The alpha males then went for another canoe trip, we girls took it easy and stayed on land to explore the meanders of Canton Vaud. After a very comfortable night in a tent (right Lisa and Fede??) and a very luxurious home-made breakfast (Miguel was hearty-eyed!) Sunday morning we returned to the river, this time I chose to go by dinghy to have a chance to really get a feel for the paradise I paddled in yesterday and will paddle in today. The descent, as usual, is thrilling!

In the afternoon we load everything up to return to Italy. Work beckons! But most importantly... will Tiger have survived a night without us? Spoiler: he survived and was also happy to spend a few hours in peace 😀