Paul and I enjoyed South Bohemia so much that we returned to the region to do some canoeing. Little did we know what a popular choice that was. We rented a canoe from an agency and went to a little campsite where we would begin our 4 day paddle on the Vlata.
Well the little campsite that is the only one in town turned out to be home to thousands of Czech's who had 2 days of national vacation and canoeing the Vlata is an annual event for many families and groups of friends.
Day 1
We found but some miracle our canoe that we had rented amongst the thousands getting there canoes on the water after a long night of drinking and singing till dawn. We were off--part of the crowd, experiencing the culture and having a great time. The weirs--these are dam like things that usually have a ramp on the side for canoes to shoot down. We approached the first with apprehension, should we go for it? We did and came out dry. Whee--this is awesome!
The secound wier we approached and got in the canoe line to go over. We neglected out of our elation at completing the first to get out and scout the chute. We followed the canoes--they all seemed to be hugging the left side of the chute just next to the big dam. There was a straight 5-6 ft drop on the right side. Well we made down the chute, for a second all was well--then we hit the water "eddy" line from the big dam. I saw Paul leaning--suddenly the boat filled with water and we went over--into the rapids below the dam. There was a large rock at the bottom of the dam that had a boat wrapped "tacoed" around it. Paul and the canoe made it around one side of it and me the other. We bounced from one large boulder to another in the water--the current was strong and the banks were made of sloping cement. I saw Paul grab the canoe and I scrambled up on the bank and started going along side to catch up. Finally about 1/4 mile downstream we caught up with each other--we were both fine and all of our gear was still in the canoe which was also fine. We went back to the crash site to look for Paul's paddle. We found it and watched as yet anouther boat tacoed around the big boulder. We heard it crack. People and things were floating all over in the river. It was so crazy less than 50% of the canoes at times were making it through.
Well after awhile we had to leave the excitement and get back to our boat. We discovered that our waterproof containers were not so waterproof. We had to empty out all of our stuff and let it dry.
Well the next days followed the pattern of trying to dry out our gear, seeing castles in the distance, paddling past riverside beer gardens and incredible forests, looking for 2 square yards upon which to set our tent up on at the campsite and listening to lots of Czech drinking songs. On the third night it rained. Not just a little but a torrential downpour. Paul and I slept outside the camp sinks on a slab of cement as the tent was next to a new lake. So went our Czech holiday adventure--it was great.
