We book a canoe one day when the summer is at its best at Vimmerby camping. The day has been sunny and beautiful and now it is an early balmy August evening. The first comment reveals to us that we are talking about a beginner, a new beginner for real. “-Aha, this is a canoe, not a kayak.”
We bring paddles and life jackets with us and we have each loaded a bottle of water. That we sit in swimwear is not because we intend to swim, we realize that you do not swim from a canoe, mainly because as a beginner you should focus on staying on the water. But we have our swimwear on because we have heard that there is a risk that the paddles splash and not least because it is so warm and nice that we do not need clothes to keep warm.
It’s a bit nervous to step into the canoe from the bridge, it swings easily, but when our center of gravity ends up low and in the middle, it immediately becomes more stable. So now the nervousness turns into courage! We paddle calmly and safely out from the beach and aim across Lake Nossen, which is quiet and peaceful. Ready to take, invite the beginners for a nice ride. Along the beach there are a lot of summer cottages that we glide past at a discreet distance. We usually paddle in time, but maybe sometimes there are a few turns here and there. But what does it do? It’s not a competition! Sometimes we test the feeling of taking a little powerful grip and feel that we can increase the speed quite a bit on the small craft. After a while we reach the southern bays which are surrounded by forest but also some meadow and a small private boathouse with jetty.
We follow the eastern shore towards the canoe’s home port at the campsite. Tents and caravans loom between the trees as we pass the last summer cottages. It became a good route to follow the beaches around the lake. It has still not been a full hour because the lake is not large, which is nice for the beginner. Sometimes we could let the water propel us forward and sometimes let our paddles do the work. The setting sun leads us home, we probably think of a good dinner at the restaurant tonight as a reward for finally having dared to paddle a canoe! And that was not the last time.
