Into the Woods

My little wood sprite!

We went camping over the weekend at Aloutte Lake. Yes, roughing it up for real: no electricity, and sleeping in tents in the forest.

Camping has been one of my favourite things of all time and I had been looking forward to this trip for a whole year. I had taken the children twice before but the last time was five years ago and they hardly remember anything.

We had to set up our own tents. Ours was a Coleman three-bedroom, six-sleeper, which has lasted us years. So if you.'re looking to buy, Coleman is the go-to brand for camping equipment. We used Coleman propane grills to cook and gas lanterns for light. Outhouses served as commodes and public baths a few hundred meters away with freezing cold water were available for wash ups and showers. Our faces stung when we washed with ice cold water and they turned raw and red on the second day. We couldn't feel our hands and tongues and it felt like electricity was shooting into our teeth when we brushed. We built a fire with real firewood and kept it running all day for heat until we went to bed.

I banned all electronic toys so we were left with our imagination and the forest as backdrop to entertain ourselves, so we went on long hikes during the day and gathered around the fire roasting hotdogs and marshmallows and telling stories after sunset. At night, when the entire camp was cloaked in total darkness and only the dancing flames from the bonfire cast magical shadows on the trees and the forest floor, we were transported to a different world--something akin to Hans Christian Andersen's. Bidi mastered the art of chopping wood the primitive way--with a trusty ax. He loved it, by the way--controlled violence was how he described it.

Belli, Pippi, and Mouse loved roasting marshmallows and hotdogs over the fire and I was in heaven because one of our camp mates brought longganisa for breakfast, which is all I need to be a happy camper even in the most primitive of settings--have longganisa, will camp!

Although it was freezing, the scenery was breathtaking so we had the time of our lives. On the ride home I asked the kids, which trip they enjoyed more, the cruise to Alaska or camping in Aloutte Lake. They said camping, unanimously. I had hoped to hear that.