This week we have settled into some appropriately German efficiency.
We have found a rhythm on the upstream river Main and have consistently hit the distances we planned. Swapping positions in the canoe has become a systematic hourly regime, our drinks breaks have been short but regular and our camping set-up is as speedy as ever.
The ability to get things done quickly and effectively always develops once we’ve gotten used to each waterway.
With over a week on the Main now we’ve come to gain a feel for it and planning comes much more easily.
On each rest day we plan the week ahead which is always difficult if the days see us joining a new river. So with a couple of back to back weeks going upstream on the Main the rest day planning is far more structured.
On our Wassersport map we have kilometer markings as well as the river’s locks, canoe clubs and campsites.
The map is mirrored on the water by sign posts along the banks which tell you the distance (we are currently camping at kilometer 165.2) and from these we come to learn our average speed on the river (how far we managed to get in an hour).
With this in mind we can sit down on our rest day and run through the map finding a distance we know we will be able to cover and looking if there is a campsite or canoe club to stay at.
We factor in the time it takes us to get around the locks and we also look at our road map to see what towns we come across along the route. If there’s a town or sizeable village we may be able to stock up on food there, buy more stove gas or simply have a decent coffee break under a towering castle.
And so it is that at the start of this week we knew we would be aiming to do roughly 35km days on the bendy river that seems to go in every direction apart from toward Istanbul.
Our planning, of course, is never perfect and this week we fairly consistently had problems camping where we had hoped.
With campsites closed or boat clubs turning us away we were forced to do a few extra kilometers each day and wild camp on the banks.
This is hardly a problem since with solar chargers and the nerves of steel required to swim in the freezing morning river we have all a campsite could provide: electricity and a good bath. Each kilometer marker is well cleared so that it is visible to tankers and this same clearing provides a pretty perfect and discrete tent spot.
So it has been a monotonous yet rhythmic week.
We’ve settled into our upstream pace and things have been pretty successful. We’ve enjoyed a visit from James’ girlfriend and her friend, we’ve glimpsed the town of Lohr where the Grimm Brother’s fairytales were born and we’ve camped in some of the best wild spots of the expedition.
Just as not finding a campsite or the back seat that broke are things that were unplanned there are nice surprises too.
We rest today in Karlsdadt where last night we discovered it is the weekend of the local wine festival.
We drank heavily, sang German songs with a brass band and attended a 50th birthday party.
We can’t say we planned for it, but it wasn’t exactly awful.
TIBS News will have our latest in another exclusive weekly report, while more regular updates are available @CanoeingEurope on Twitter and at www.canoeingthecontinent.com as we try to continue successfully hitting the targets we make!
