Loch Insh Day 3

Loch Insh Day 3 As the week goes on it becomes more difficult to get up! However, an early start again to make sure we are all ready before the children are up! The loch and hills were shrouded in mist and it looked lovely and peaceful! I went and took some photos down by the loch and it was lovely! The children were woken up at 7.30 and had 50 minutes to get dressed and read for breakfast! We did the juice so that we would be ready to get going as soon as we were back from breakfast! I think we climbed the steps up and down to the boathouse 5 or 6 times which equated to about 700-800 steps! This doesn't even include the effort for doing all the activities! All in all it has been a very ACTIVE few days! Breakfast was a little slicker today as the children knew the routine and knew what they had to do! It was encouraging to see them again having a heart breakfast! Today's activities were skiing and Canadian canoeing! The group canoeing in the morning had great conditions for this! The loch was very calm and there was little wind! The groups got kitted out in their waterproofs and added a helmet, life jacket and paddle to get them ready for the off! The instructors went over the safety issues and then gave them training for using the paddle correctly and how the three people in each canoe would have to work together to be able to canoe successfully! They then got into their canoes and were off to get used to the feeling of being in a canoe. Once everyone was happy they were off! They set off down the loch and the aim was to circumnavigate the island at the bottom of the loch! This is the island with the osprey's nest! I had intended to take a bike to meet them at the bridge to film them their but as the morning went on the wind got up and they decided not to head down the river as they would have to canoe back up against the flow which is difficult in the wind. So, I hitched a ride in the speed boat and we set off to see how they were getting on! Just as we arrived at where they were they were sitting watching the osprey circling it's nest with a fish in it's talons! Amazingly enough the osprey was being dived by the local crows who obviously had their eye on the fish! We left them to it and sped back the the boat house on the speed boat? They were having a great time and were really enjoying it. The other two groups were on the ski slope! They started off by TRYING to get their ski boots on which is not the easiest thing to do - especially if you have not been skiing before! They then got their helmet and gloves before being given a pair of skis. They then hit the slope! They worked through a range of warm up activities and activites to go over the basics of skiing! However, soon they had to take the plunge and go a little bit up the hill and give it a try! We were amazed how each group, including the afternoon groups, took to this and were prepared to persevere and give it a go! As time went on they got higher and higher up the slope and some were showing excellent skills and were confidently 'flying' down the slope! Some gave it a good go and then decided they had had enough and watched the others and encouraged them to go higher, faster and be more daring! There were a few tumbles, but nothing drastic and they kept going back for more! By the end some were trying to see if they could go fast enough to travel the complete length of the slope and hit the padded fence at the end! The afternoon was swapped over and the groups did the other activity. The canoeists had more tricky conditions to deal with and they were not going to head for the island. One group made it to the lagoons and really took part in some extreme canoeing and had to navigate through narrow, shallow channels! The second group headed up the loch and by the time they got up their they knew they would be coming back down stream which would be a lot easier! Of course some 'fell' in - although this was more deliberate than accidental! The two groups who did not get to the shop yesterda got today and made sure they could spend as much of their £10 as they could! Who said we were not doing Maths this week! We are now heading off for tea! We have an activity tonight but are not quite sure what it entails! We will reveal all tomorrow! We will get the end of the disco and then they will be presented with their certificates! Look out tomorrow for photos from today! More updates tomorrow! PS It was great to get our last pupil with us today who had been off ill! He arrived this morning and managed to do a little skiing before canoeing in the afternoon!!