For Goodness SNAKES!

For Goodness SNAKES!

Waking up at 4am on July 4th, with hazy vision and the minimal light of daybreak, the luminescent nameplates over the window glowing “Mimi and Forrest” were barely visable. Where am I? What country? What village? A pension, hotel, house? How far do I swim today? What am I seeing? My name? Tree’s name? How? Huh? A dream? My brain and eyes begin focusing. I am in my bedroom, home. It feels good, and it feels even better to know it is ok to go back to sleep. The river is not waiting for us today.

The Mura/Drava swim is finished. An incredible journey that celebrated and fostered the human traits most revered by our creator. Fueled by curiosity, compassion and concern, individuals, village people, schoolchildren and the casual river rat came to the riverbank to offer emotional support, drink, food and whatever diverse specialty they possessed. Environmentalists offered their time on the river to help promote the issues endangering the surrounding ecosystems. A mission of positive human spirit accomplished with a message that continues to spread like the arms of a river.

While swimming for hours, I usually ponder what to write about in my blog. It is not difficult to find the subject, so the time is spent deciding on just the right wording. It is optimistic to believe there will be internet at our destination to actually write the blog, but it is still a part of my swimming routine. Now, at home on a computer, I have 20 days of blogs but know no one will actually sit down to read the whole thing. So, I will simply highlight parts of the swim. You can email with questions and I will answer them.

Goodness Snakes! Everyone always asks about seeing animals while I swim. Fish! I see fish…usually that is all. The day after landing in Koprivnica, Croatia, I encountered the dreaded SNAKE! It all happened so fast there was no time to adjust my stroke or have one. With my face in the water, the snake passed 5 inches under my body. It was swimming upstream and literally passed between my eyes, under my nose, between my breast, under my bellybutton and down my legs. I did not break my stroke and actually touched the end of its body as if scooting it along. We were equally surprised, but after three cups of coffee, my heart was surely beating the fastest. I wondered how it relayed the story to its friends.

Helena, with the Drava League, did a tremendous job establishing the itinerary for the swim. She coordinated all of the stopping points and the lodging through Croatia. The success of the swim was dependent on her hard work. She is an amazing woman as is her whole family. They are the rare breed of people you meet and feel you’ve known forever, who enrich the lives of the people they encounter without even trying. Their relationship to the community reminded me of the closeness of the Whistlestop community in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”.

Bernard Wieser and Klaus Michor were instrumental in securing our intinerary through Austria and sections of Slovenia. Bernard stayed with us behind the scenes until he was assured we were OK and in the hands of the next person. Thanks to Bernard and Stanka, out trip down the Mura was effective and fun! A multitude of people rode in rafts as I swam and Kelsey canoed the Mura through Austria, Slovenia and into Croatia. Stanka is another wonderfully dedicated and compassionate woman to whom Kelsey and I are gratefully indebted. It is my loss if I never make the opportunity to see her again.

Gernot and Judith with Kajak Austria were FUN! They challenged us with cold water, white water and dead water. Judith was the poor soul that accompanied us through a dam dead section. She was in a whitewater kajak so had to work extra hard.

The donations of my friends eased the financial burden of the mission. I will write each of you later with information of your section of the river. Lara Bar donated bars for Kelsey and me. We both ate them on the river when there was no place to stop and eat, and we ate them when there was nothing vegetarian to eat. Quintana Roo wetsuits kept me warm and alive. They also served as padding during the first couple days of the swim when we had whitewater and boulders to challenge us. Perhaps my hip would be broken if not for the padding of my wetsuit.

Tomorrow I will blog the story of the end of the swim…the land mines, the documentary and the people that David Reeder managed to bring together even in his death!

Be the change, mimi