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After leaving Lithuania on Monday, the Danube Aurimas entered the second longest river in Europe on Tuesday. On the third day of swimming in a conversation with 15 minutes He shared what the biggest challenges had already been and what was to come. But even when it comes to difficulties, he emphasizes, everything is fine! Aurimas, who also earned the title of Lithuania’s Columbus Traveler of the Year last year, has embarked on ordinary travel.
He landed with a kayak. through the Nemunas from their origins in Belarusis living in Bali on the island he climbed a volcanoHe rides his bike in 200 days killed 13.7 thousand. km in Europe, visited 14 countries and lived unique adventures – I even spent the night on the Troll tongue in Norway.
However, this time he has taken on an even bigger challenge: he admits even himself. “It just came to our attention then. Somehow it will be different here. Long river, many countries. It will be completely different, on the difficult side, Aurimas said as she sailed down the Danube.” There will be more challenges, an extraordinary journey, I already felt it. as soon as I got on a kayak. “
Even a conversation with 15 minutes It didn’t go completely easy. “I am trapped here bee… – halfway through the conversation, the kayak was pronounced even during the interview, Aurimas rowed. – wait, I’m here bee I’ll work … “
This time, Aurim had to make his way through a dam built by beavers, but not only natural but also man-made obstacles stand in his way on the river. And most unexpectedly, there was no river water at all for a few kilometers.
Across the Danube: on foot with a kayak on wheels
“It is not easy, it is not easy,” Aurimas admitted when asked how the first days of swimming are going. So far, the journey is slow: due to dry water and dams, about 30-40 km have been covered in three days, although later navigation should be easier.
Photo from personal archive / Aurimas Valujavičius in Germany
Aurima is now hampered by artificial dams and natural barriers on the declining river. “Swim and tramp – jump to the bottom, pull a kayak. Swim, and burn again at the bottom, pull again. It’s even more tiring than the dams themselves,” Aurimas said.
In some places, the water in the riverbed is not left at all. On Wednesday, Aurimas even towed a 3.5km kayak on wheels because there was nothing to swim with. “There was no water at all: you can drive a car, the grass grows in the furrow,” he recalled. It is true that such drying is not an anomaly. Locals told Aurim that this image was normal for them, it happens almost every year.
Due to the dry river, the traveler calls the traveler the most difficult of the trip. Such important consequences should not occur in the future.
It turned out that the other day I drove a kayak on wheels instead of paddling all day, Aurimas said of the difficult start to the trip.
“There were many obstacles, in fact, they were very exhausting,” admitted the traveler, who is already used to extreme travel. But even tired after the first few days, Aurimas was happy that everything went well: the weather was excellent, the Internet connection worked. The eternal optimist even looked positively at the rain forecast in the coming days; perhaps then it will be easier to paddle and the water level in the Danube will rise. Now small islands and rocks also make it easy to paddle.
“It turned out that I spent most of the day riding a kayak on wheels instead of rowing,” Aurimas told me about the difficult start to the journey.
VIDEO: We start rowing The first obstacles
With a “dowry” across the Danube
A great challenge at the beginning of the journey, and the endless thresholds, dams and dams lined the river. The water penetrates through them, but in a kayak to penetrate in some way, without possibility. So Aurima has to pull the kayak onto the shore every time, stretch it over the obstacle on land, and only then swim again.
“Usually, you even have to remove half of the items from the kayak, because otherwise you couldn’t do it,” Aurimas said. The kayak only weighs around 40 kg, the same amount: articles and equipment that the traveler carries, so far food and water represent a lot of weight.
Photo from personal archive / Aurimas Valujavičius in Germany
The total weight is at least 100 kg, probably even a little more. “It just came to our attention then punch outAurimas laughed. – There really is a case. It takes me about 40 minutes to unload things, get out and get back in the water. “
The weight seems heavy, but the entire blanket is carefully planned. “There is not much we need” 15 minutes He said when asked if there was a desire to leave some things somewhere. Now just try to eat a lot to make food backpacks lighter.
The thresholds, the dams will not end, but with the expansion of the Danube, and the dams will become bigger, more powerful, some of them will even have locks, making it possible to overcome them without going up to the shore.
The Nemunas is a game of laughter
A couple of years ago, Aurimas surprised even experienced kayakers by swimming through the Nemunas from the start in Belarus. Now, he says, swimming was easy enough.
“The Nemunas is child’s play compared to the Danube,” he laughed. – There are almost no obstacles in the Nemunas, they rarely even have to reach land, and here, every 50 meters. Nemunas has only two dams (Kaunas HPP and Grodno), and here at least 59 “.
“There are many problems,” Aurimas admitted. – If someone wants to relocate the Danube, I would recommend doing it in pairs. Everything would be easier “.
What the traveler would like most now is to have fewer obstacles, more to row. “Now I press more, I don’t feel my palms much,” he opened. Although he immediately emphasized with his usual optimism: “But everything is fine!”
Aim for a record
What would seem like a lifetime journey to Aurim is just “Plan B”. The adventure enthusiast, who takes non-traditional trips every year, planned to be in the United States now and start sailing even further. He was going to cross the Missouri River, nearly 4,000. km. However, plans for the coronavirus pandemic had to be abandoned, and then Aurim had the idea to cross at least the second longest river in Europe.
Aurimas carefully records his route during the trip and will even confirm his whereabouts with the signatures of those around him. All this to officially register the Lithuanian registry. A traveler planning to swim 2,800 km would improve the Lithuanian kayak record.
The first witness was the bridge builder who worked right at the source of the Danube. He approached the Lithuanian and asked: “To the Black Sea?” Aurimas is not the first to navigate the second longest river in Europe from its source to its mouth. The Danube is crossed by kayakers and even swimmers who crossed the river without any vehicle. However, no Lithuanian has yet done so.
Photo from personal archive / Aurimas Valujavičius in Germany
During the trip, Aurimas, happy to communicate with his compatriots, considered that perhaps this year he will not have a goal to spend in the store every night. At the moment, he is still sleeping in nature, but if someone offered him a bed, he could stay.
“There are already Lithuanians who write: they want to meet, they promise both a bed and electricity. Electricity can also be a challenge on the trip. So far so good, I have panels with solar panels. And when the weather is bad, we’ll see. I did not set out to make videos every day, because many factors do not depend on me, “Aurimas explained.
Although Aurima seems to be increasingly successful in her travels. Behind his head, how to transport the kayak to Germany, even thinking about renting a vehicle, he received a message from Luke, who was driving a truck, on Facebook, who offered to take the traveler and his kayak to the source of the Danube.
“Many still ask, ‘What will happen when you turn around?’ I say: “I am not going to turn around,” said Aurimas confidently. “There is not even a plan to turn around, because in part everything would disappear, both literally and figuratively.”
Aurima can be followed on social media:
FB: facebook.com/TravelAVAV/
Instagram: instagram.com/aurimas.keliautojas/
Youtube: youtube.com/c/AurimasValujavicius
Travel Sponsors:
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