The 120 Kilometres We Didn’t Paddle

Danilo is three years old. He already has some camping experience, since he has been
sleeping in tents since he was a baby, but he had no paddling experience at all,
especially not on a multi day trip.

But there is a first time for everything.

I had never travelled to the Baltic countries before. I guess I never had a good enough
reason. This time, the reason was more than good enough. Probably the most important
one so far.

I wanted to build that deep and unbreakable connection with my son.
A lot of people questioned the idea. They told me he was too young and that he wouldn’t
remember any of it. But I believed it was worth doing.

Because I would remember it, even if he didn’t. And I believe he will.

And who could guarantee me that we would get another chance? Or that there would
ever be a better moment?

I have to admit that I was a little nervous about how everything would go. The support
from the people closest to me gave me the confidence to do it.

We didn’t do anything sensational. Let’s be clear about that. But we did something a
little unusual, at least for a small place like Montenegro.

So what did we actually do in Lithuania?

We spent twelve unforgettable days there, eight of them on the water, paddling through
Aukstaitija National Park and along the Zeimena River.

We camped beside the water, cooked, picked blueberries and enjoyed being outside.
Somewhere along the way, our relationship became deeper than it had ever been
before.

We were more than father and son. We were friends, roommates and partners in the
packraft, sharing an adventure that I know I’ll never forget.

Everything went surprisingly smoothly from the moment we left Vilnius until the journey
home.

The hardest moments were probably moving all our bags and equipment between
trains, stations and airports. But somehow even that became a good memory.

I still remember playing what felt like a game of chess with Danilo and all our bags at the
railway stations. Up the stairs, down the stairs, onto one train, off another, and then the
same thing all over again.

One of the things that impressed me most was how easily children adapt. They find a
way to communicate with other people despite language barriers, and they seem
completely comfortable in nature.

It was very different in the city.

We spent less than two days there and Danilo was constantly tired. He was bored and
everything distracted him. Out in nature there were no distractions. Everything was
somehow simple and the days found their own rhythm.

If I had to choose one moment from the whole trip, it would probably be Danilo sleeping
in the packraft.

He did it every day.

While he slept, I used the time to paddle and cover a little more distance. By the end of
the trip we had travelled somewhere around 80 to 90 kilometres.

The original plan was around 120 kilometres.

But the weather turned bad and Danilo simply didn’t want to continue. So I decided that
we would stop.

It was a great decision.

When you are travelling with a child, it doesn’t really matter how many kilometres you
cover or whether you reach the destination you had imagined.

What matters is that you enjoy it, that your child enjoys it, and that when it is over, he
wants to do something like it again.

Aukstaitija National Park was a great choice for this first adventure. It is green, full of
forests and water, spacious and very well maintained. The campsites were simple,
clean and in really beautiful places.

The people we met, and there were quite a few travelling by canoe, were friendly,
relaxed and smiling. Some even had guitars in their canoes.

One thing surprised me. Almost nobody seemed to carry much safety equipment. Life
jackets, first aid kits and similar things were not something we saw very often.

It seemed that most people were there for a day, maybe a little longer. At least among
the people we met, I don’t think many were travelling for more than two days.
We didn’t have much luck with fishing either.

Although, to be fair, I don’t think we tried very hard. There was simply too much else to
do.

Lithuania turned out to be exactly the right choice and a great introduction to the
adventures that are still ahead of us.

I hope there will be many.