Too quick of an update.....

The Isel river was beautifully cold and painful but the start took place with a castle in the background. One of these days I shall come to Europe to see the sights outside of the water. I did not view the castle up closely but did managed to get a real close look or rather FEEL of a boulder conveniently placed in my path. I really thought it was at least cracked but thank goodness after a few days in ice water, all is well. There is not even a bruise large enough to call a sourvenir. Somewhere about the time my hip was smashed, my foot received some damage that went unnoticed until I finished for the day, and it cooled off. It had an egg sized lump that was also relieved by a few days in the ice water. Ice water is great stuff...effective for preventing and significantly reducing inflammation.

OK enough whinning about me...The LIFE Projekt was phenonmenal. To see a rebirthing of a section of the river was moving. I had to wait up river a few hundred meters until the new arm was opened. Kelsey and I enjoyed fresh apple struedel with Marion until he received the call to swim. While waiting a heard a HUGE BOOM and wondered if Bush had misfired, but it was just the dynamite from the Projekt. The call came and I swam into the channel...the first! It was a little scary but heartwarming too. Kelsey was yelling for me to wait because a bulldozer was still moving rocks but the current said...GO,GO, GO. We were met by concerned politicians, townspeople and school children. After an hour, it was time for us to leave for our next stop. Thomas and Richard, director and photographer of a documentary on the projekt followed us for a while and later met us for a beer and dinner. Thomas did a documentary on windsurfing the Berring Strait so we had a lot to talk about in addition to the LIFE Projekt and Drava-Mura-Danube mission.

A fireman, Wolfgang, accompanied me from the Life Projekt to our stopping point. It was fun. The water was wild until we came within 6km of the dam and then it stopped. It was like we entered the Twilight Zone. We went under a bridge and on the other side the water did not move without a strong arm pull. At the end, we had champaign and flowers from supporters.

Judith from Kajak AT kajaked with us one day. It was hard work for her in a whitewater kajak on dead water. The rain was not too fun for her or Kelsey but ice cream at the AnnaBruke Gasthof afterwards made it all OK. We totally enjoyed her company and sense of humor. Her English is great. I asked if she was as funny in German and she said, "Probably not". I find that hard to believe. Judith is some kajaker. If anzone knows some tough places in the US for her to tackle, let me know.

Yesterdaz we went through HELL at a DAM. It took over two hours to get around the blasted thing. Readers Digest condensed version...out on the right...no the left...up a path...onto a road, up a hill, through a gate, through a hedge, over a gate, over a fence, down a steep hill, through a gravel lot, through a large meadow, back through the gravel lot, down a road, along a retaining wall with bushes and snakes, backwards on the retaining wall, up a steep road, down a gravel path, across a gravel lot, down a gravel hill, through the woods with stinging nettles and ANTS down an embankment slipping and slidding on rocks...down a rock wall into the water...then back to the gravel lot to help the guy that wanted to go with us with his raft. Remember, Kelsez was hauling the kajak, well over a hundred pounds by herself most of the way. We also had to help this guy with his stuff. It was nice to have his company but he can go home and rest his muscles...we have to do it again the next day and the next and the next...We had ice cream for dinner.

Today I met Borut after not seeing him for a couple of years. It was great to see him and exchange stories of the Danube and the Amazon swim. He is so personable, funny and supportive. We ate dinner with Katja and her family. Her cousin, Primesh is meeting us tomorrow and is going to swim with me...he says he must wear fins. Borut is kajaking with Kelsey. Before the swim, I am speaking to a group of school children. We will finsih in Maribor tomorrow. A power company is accompanying us for a few kilometers tomorrow too. So much is going on...I wish we had room for a laptop so I knew there would be access to the internet.

I have so much I want to say about my experiences with the river and its waters. My perpective is unique and never as people suspect. My mind has ruminated on this subject for days and when it is put into words, I want them to effectively express my thoughts.

Keep in touch, mimi