Paddling into Paradise

I have long thought about how to explore the nature of Lapland in summer and I could not dream of a better way. The canoe offers me everything I have come here for: peace, tranquility, freedom, immensity, adventure. Before boarding for my little journey, my guide Theo gives me the last indications. He takes the time to explain me the good gestures and the good reflexes. I feel ready. I am excited like a child who is about to realize one of his dreams. Adventure is calling me! I am leaving the shore.

My excitement is gradually turning into a peaceful joy. Quietude is taking control of my canoe. I can feel a complete harmony with the nature that surrounds me. Time is stretching, landscapes are getting thinner and longer. I am unable to say what time it is, and I actually don’t even want to know. Only the slow “clap”, “clap”, “clap” of my paddle in the water gives the pace. As I am looking up, I can see a dozen of swans flying over me in a V shape. The sky looks immutable too.

The canoe is slipping on the water in a graceful movement. The sceneries around me become even more pure. Everything is reflecting in the lake as in a mirror : the horizon, the small islands, the shores, the trees, the rocks, the sky, the eternal sun, the cotton clouds. And me, paddling in the middle of this paradise.