Okee so sleeping underneath a tarp maybe isn’t really my thing. I didn’t sleep at all, I was totally awake. The whole bloody damn night I was listening to the strange sounds in the woods, truying to figure out if I may felt something in my hair. A mouse, a spider, a snake. Oh gosh and I needed a good night rest as the next day of this Rewild Wild Human trip would be adventurious again.
‘’Hey Lindsen, don’t talk to much tonight will you?’’ my friend who organised the trip said to me. He knows me longer than today. I gave him a smile. ‘’Ofcourse I won’t, you know me.’’ ‘’Yes ,I know you Chantal, that’s way I say..’’ he repeats. ,,So but you will save me when I see a snake and scream your name right?’’ He: ,,Nope, will be sleeping, sorry. But you have Mirjam next to you. She will save you.’’ I look at the girl that I just met today. She looks like she isn’t afraid of anything. She will definitely save me. Don’t count on men.. I should know that by now.
Although we never had met before in our life, it feels like she is my friend that I haven’t seen for a long time. We talk for hours underneath our tarp. About..guess what: men. Apparently it is also one of her favourite topics (I wonder will there be woman who doesn’t like to talk about them?) We giggled so much that the guys from the group ask us to be a little less noisy, because they couldn’t sleep. Arghh men.. I mean it’s their fault we have to talk about this special species on mother earth.
‘’So the guy who organises this trip is handsome, isn’t he,’’ Mirjam asks me. Don’t know if she thinks he is hot or that she is just curious what my opinion is. ,,Well yeah kinda,’’ I retort and try to avoid this specific topic. ,,How do you two know eachother?’’ she asks as my answer doesn’t satisfy her I can sense. ‘’Oh well, we just randomly met in a coffee bar in Rotterdam, worked together for NatuurlijkSportief and we just both love the great outdoors and photography.’’
Red wine
It’s all dark underneath our tarp but I can see her smile. ,,So that’s it? Nothing happened between the two of you.’’ I giggle again like I’m sixteen. ,,Nope not really.’’ If there would have been red wine be involved in this conversation I probably had told her the whole story. But we don’t have red wine and we need to sleep as the guys are asking for the second time if we can talk and giggle just a little less. ‘’Okee, okee, sorry!’’ We need to get up super early, so it’s best to go sleeping as well.
Firesticks In the morning it feels like I haven’t slept at all and then I realise I dreamed about someone with a knife. It’s probably because yesterday we learned how to make firesticks with a knife. Ow boy this guy can set up my heart on fire by even looking at me, no firesticks needed. And I’m sure there are lot’s of ladies who do think the same way when he is talking.
It’s also because he’s totally into giving the workshop and not paying any attention of the girls in front of him. It makes him even more attractive if you see what I mean. How many girls are going for a trip with his organisation just because of him? I can’t help wonder. I have went to a couple now and always I see the girls looking at him like.. ow god can chase this men to every top of the mountain. Whatever it takes me.
We did not only learned how to make fire, but also Guido of Buit Eetbare Natuur took us into the wild and teached us what plants we could eat. I went on a hike with him now a couple of times, but somehow I just can’t remember the names of the plants or even the ones that you can eat. But I like to learn more of it. At night we used the greens as toppings on our meal which we prepared at our self-made fire kitchen.
Also now in the morning we sit in front of the fire while I’m writing all of this in my favourite notebook. I just love love writing outdoors. Just with pen and paper. And having a fire so close to me while writing, the sound of the fire, the birds, the wind, the smell of morning oatmeal and the smell of coffee. Ow damn it’s just the best way of living in my opinion. I love it so much!
And love that the others just leave me alone a bit so I can write. I really need that me time. If I don’t put my stories on paper right away I will forget them and I love reading them years later or make articles about it to share with others to inspire them to go outside.
Of course it’s better to really experience the great outdoors, but as I’m a writer and analogue nature photographer and not a mountain guide this is my way of getting people more connected with mother nature. I’m the Mountain Writer, Rewild will literally take you to the mountains.
Compass
Today he will teach us how to read a compass. I did learned that many moons ago when I was at scouting. So I’m very curious of I will still know something. Probably not. ‘’Pall Nord’’ the mountain guy says. This will be our code word for the rest of the day. We learn a lot and we have a lot of fun.
At night we get the chance to see if we really can read a compass by now. ,,So you can do this route tomorrow morning very early and sleep here or you do the route now and make a campsite yourself into the woods somewhere.’’ Mirjam decides to do it right away. She looks really determined. I feel very tired and not sure if I have the energy to go out on a trip this late. But Mirjam gives me a grand smile: ‘’ahh common, it’s gonna be really really fun!’’
Go now and make sure no one will see you okee? Don’t use your headlight to much.
We get clear instructions: ,,Go now and make sure no one will see you okee? Don’t use your headlight to much. It’s a full moon tonight so you don’t need it anyway.'' Ow gosh I feel my stomach reaching out for help. In the woods with no lamp? Fack. But okee we are with the five of us as also a couple of guys are joining us. And before I know it we are on our way to.. to what?
So after more than an hour walking we find a great spot into the woods to build up our camp. Mirjam and I sleep underneath one tarp again. It feel like we are totally covered by lots of trees far away from our basecamp..
‘Hey isn’t that the mountainguide?’’ someone says? I look him straight in the eyes. What? ,,How did you found us, we didn’t used our lamps?’’ I say totally surprised.
A girls thing
,,Well we could hear you talking and laughing from miles.’’ He retorts. ,,Ow shit, really?’’ Mirjam smiles at me. ,,Oh well it’s a girls thing, right?’’ I smile. ,,Did he really found us because whe talked that lought?’’ I asked Mirjam. ‘’Dunno, it’s strange. We are in the middle of the woods…’’ We go to bed and again I can’t sleep at all.
When we wake up early in the morning we are all super surprised. We are in the woods, but really not into it. More at the corner and super close to our basecamp. ,,How is that possible? In the dark it really felt like we were totally hidden between the trees?’’ we all say.
Life lesson
We learned our lesson. The world totally looks different in the dark. Think this is not only in real life, but also when it does get dark in your head.. I also like being outdoors because of all the wise life lessons only mother nature can learn you by experience. It’s just.. ah well, guess you have to experience that by yourself.
xoxox
MW
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