Looking for beavers

The morning was ideal. We ate the snacks we had allocated for breakfast down by the bog swamps and cleansed ourselves with a quick dip in the bog water. Nothing we could have ever dreamed of doing. Much better than the imagination would have allowed for.

Imagine being picked up from a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, driven to a river bed in the middle of nowhere, given a canoe, 2 paddles and a map then a point downstream and a wave. Imagine sitting in a canoe, on a river, with a map that means nothing to you surrounded by wilderness at its most wild, a dog to keep you safe, and the person your whole life in that instant is relying on walking away from you with a great big smile and carefree wave. Yikes!

We started our day in a canoe. The only thing we understood was that if we continued to paddle downstream we would eventually find the bridge that we would recognise, meaning our farmhouse would be on the right. The map showed a wiggly blue line appearing to indicate water and the landmarks we would pass were a farmhouse, a run-down school, a bridge and a walking trail that we should stop to walk. 2 hours later we found that bridge. It was the most fantastic feeling we had ever had.

After pulling over the boat, unloading our stuff and preparing ourselves to walk the trail, an overexcited dog resembling part German Sheppard part husky attacked Megan. It was at this point that we realised that the words 'no' and 'sit' are not the same in Estonian. It was pushed down over and over again and hit repeatedly over the head with an oversized drink bottle but in the end it was easier to just bail and jump back into the canoe. 

Approximately 4 hours after we had started, 20minutes of which was spent negotiating the rapids backwards, we found the farmhouse. This meant we could pull over and stop. We unloaded once again, wished that we could shower, instead wiped down with wet-ones and then found our host. Did we want to go on a beaver safari tonight? Of course we did!

As we waited for dusk (i.e. 9pm) we got chatting to a friendly Estonian, who turned out to be one of the people we had seen furiously using chainsaws the day before. The group of them were staying at the farmhouse in order to do the entrance exam for a carpentry course at the local 'cultural college'. After gaining some tips on what Estonian chocolate we should eat, we said our farewells as we prepared for the safari.

All the signs were good. The beaver safari had so far had a 100% success rate during the summer so far, and our companions were two biologists from the Netherlands, who were carrying some heavy-duty binoculars. We jumped back into the canoe, and took the guide up on his kind suggestion that we let him do most of the paddling. For three hours we traversed the river, keeping our ears pricked for beaver-like sounds and looking keenly into the built-up burrows on the side of the riverbank. Unfortunately it wasn't to be, and no beavers were seen. The most exciting animals turned out to be the Scottish cows seen in a paddock on the riverbank.

The next day we got up early to catch the first bus back to civilisation, but not before being subjected to Jaanus' unique taste in music which ranged from Enya to Metallica. It was sad to say goodbye to all our mosquito room-mates, but our next adventure awaited us - Russia!