evagabourel

I can remember going down to the river by the Wooden Bridge or the Hawkesworth Bridge in my younger years to watch the start of the Ruta Maya Canoe Race.  Sometimes we watched it from our back yard by the “benk side” (beside the riverbank) when we lived on George Price Avenue.

It was always exciting to watch the canoes race by and all the people paddling as fast as they could. I can’t remember quite when it hit me that I would like to participate in this race but it had to be well in my 20’s because I was not much into sports or physical activity in my teenage years.  

In 2015 I bought a canoe because I got a good deal on a hardly used one.  At the time, my friend Miguel was paddling to promote one of the charities I worked with so I had him use the canoe since I hadn’t set a time yet to go myself… I just knew that I eventually would. 

In 2016, at work, I worked on a project to commemorate Women’s Day and I asked my female coworkers to share some items on their Bucket List.  I of course had to think of mine and one of the things on my list was “to do the Ruta Maya”. 

My goal was to do it in 2017 and I even went one time to the river with my friend Miguel, who was showing me how to hold the paddle and how to stroke the water just right.  We agreed to practice more and I was excited about the plan to paddle in the 2017 La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge.  Then I injured my wrist playing football at work.  It was fractured in two places and ruined all my plans.  I set my mind up to do it in 2018 instead.  This time, Miguel no longer had my canoe and he already had his team for the next challenge so I knew I had to find my own team.  

The rest pretty much kind of worked itself out…I guess Gobie mentioned to someone at Shell Service Station that I was interested in doing the La Ruta Maya and that I would be putting a team together because one of the attendants, Ostin, approached me about it one day.  He said he heard I was planning to do the race and asked if I already had a team because he and his brother “Mataran”, who had both done it before, would be interested. I told him “ok sure!” We said we’d talk about it some more during the year.

The name for my canoe was chosen from about October 2017…I just knew that I wanted to call it Bucket List and so I designed my logo in October 2017.

Late 2017, we made plans to start practicing in December but with Christmas and holiday plans it didn’t work out so we said we’d leave it for the new year.  Because of mine and Ostin’s schedule we agreed that we would practice on Friday mornings at 5:30 a.m. and I’d go in late to work, and then on Sundays at any time as we all had the day off. We practiced in January once to the Ferry and several times to the Iguana Creek Bridge.

In February it rained a lot and the river was extremely flooded so we missed a lot of practice but we did go to Chaa Creek once (upstream) and made it to Banana Bank three times before the Big Race.  Each practice, our time improved which was a positive sign that we were doing good. 

My workout for the race included my daily half hour at the gym at work (weight training), lunchtime football, and paddling. I went running with Ostin once and I did some stationery bike, elliptical and skipping at home occasionally.  I didn’t do any particular diets but I tried to eat more fruits and vegetables in the month leading up to the race. I also took B-Complex, and a multivitamin supplement. The week before the race I consumed more carbs and fiber and I mostly avoided alcohol.

The week of the race, I was very nervous and I didn’t sleep too well for a couple of nights.  I didn’t take any time off work and I kept my gym and football routines. I wanted to be as fit as I could be for the big race!

Finally, March 9th arrived.  I got dressed in my leggings and my customized “Bucket List” compression shirt…long sleeved because I absolutely hate sun burns, and a cap to protect my face.  I had my nails done earlier that week and I wore my Hello Kitty earrings for the race. I’m a mixture of tomboyish and girly for sure. 

The guys and I went down to the Hawkesworth Bridge at about 6:15 a.m. so that we could warm up before the race started.  I was fearful about the start for two things.  One, it always took me a while to warm up during practice; and two,I had not practiced with many other canoes in the water beside us so I was afraid of flipping right at the start.  

Thankfully, the guys decided we would handle the start smartly, so we managed to have a slow but steady start without flipping over.  Since I had practiced the first leg of the race several times, I was sure we would be able to finish but I was so afraid of flipping, especially in front of my coworkers who would be watching at the Iguana Creek Bridge.  

When we finally made it to the Iguana Creek Bridge, with no incidents, I was feeling strong and motivated. I didn’t look to see who were there cheering me on at the bridge but I heard several voices, shouting my name and it motivated me even more to paddle harder.  But of course I got distracted and Anthony had to remind me to “rhythm up”. 

Probably about a half hour after the bridge, our good luck gave out and we turned over.  We were tailing team Horsing Around (David, Alex and Ken Smith) and I watched them navigate around a big rapid around a curve (by the Z-Curve) and instead of following them, our canoe went right into the rapid current.  We took on a lot of water and I of course panicked.  I kept trying to paddle but I could feel us sinking and Anthony was yelling at me to steady the boat and I remember asking “what do I do?”, but it was too late and we flipped. The water was very deep and fast moving and we lost our water and gatorade and snacks.  We tried to get back in the boat but it was too deep so we had to paddle ahead to a big log in the river.  We again tried to get into the canoe and overturned.  Finally the Coast Guard boat came to help us get back into our canoe. In the mayhem we lost one of our new paddles.  Thankfully we had the foresight to take a spare one which luckily was still tied to the canoe.  I ended up using it and it was longer than what I was used to so it was another challenge but I adjusted.  We lost about 25 minutes in time but we still finished the day in good time at Banana Bank. 

I was tired, but since it was the leg we had practiced several times before, it felt familiar and I had a lot of energy left.  I was anxious and nervous about day two which they said was the longest day of the race.

I went home to spend the night and met the guys at Banana Bank early the next morning.  It was hard to eat food so early in the morning but I forced myself to eat a bowl of oats and a banana.  I also drank a lot of water before the race and I took B-Complex, Potassium and Doceplex.   

The second day was indeed the longest and we had a slow start but we did not flip and that was the most important thing to me.  I kept asking God to help us stay afloat because I really wanted us to make up some time on the second day.  We managed to pass several canoes and there was this one boat that kept riding our wave and would not let up. It was annoying. It was frustrating. I don’t think we ever stopped paddling that day except for a few minutes when we individually took breaks to have a power bar or some fruit. 

If you are wondering why I haven’t mentioned anything about bathroom breaks its because we didn’t have any…you had to pee yourself as gross as that sounds.  Anthony kept scolding Ostin and me when we were not paddling right, but his brother took the brunt of his scolding.  My arms were hurting but my back was fine and so was my willpower.  Ostin kept having cramps in his back and he was doing something to relieve himself which felt like he was applying brakes to the canoe but he did not give up and we again made it in good time to Double Head Cabbage. It felt like forever but we made it.  I heard a lot of people calling my name along the riverbank but I was not able to make out faces as I had to maintain my focus on paddling.  I could also hear people cheering for our pink canoe and telling us to “keep it up ladies”.  It could be because we were all wearing pink or red jerseys with Hello Kitty on them, ha ha!

This time, I spent the night in Bermudian Landing at The Nature Resort.  The cabaña was clean and cozy and all I did was shower, had a packet of re-hydration salt, drink lots of water, had some food, rub my sore muscles and slept until it was time for a massage at about 7 p.m. After the massage, I went back to sleep and woke up early to have some oatmeal, nuts, and coffee before starting on the third leg of the race.  Ostin and Anthony camped out, while I enjoyed the luxury of a bed, but that was their choice as they had declined our offer of a room. 

Surprisingly, I woke up with plenty of energy and no sign of sore muscles.  Gobie picked me up and brought ShaSha and Yobani for some moral support.  We met the guys at the starting point of the race and as all the paddlers do, we got into our canoe to start warming up.  We had a really good start and we were in the leading pack for a while until the top teams eventually left us in the proverbial dust.  However, we managed to make really good timing despite Ostin’s cramps and my lack of experience.  Anthony was always in our ears, telling us to keep paddling and to go faster.  This was the toughest day for me and I thought we would never reach the finish line.  There were a lot of curves and black water and I thought for sure the guys were mistaken and surely this was the longest day.  I heard myself complaining a lot but I never stopped paddling and thankfully we managed to stay afloat the whole time.  I got some good encouragement from other experienced paddlers including Mr. Guydis who said he hoped I would decide to paddle again next year because apparently I had a lot of potential.  The highlight of this day for me was being able to pass a group of young boys from Scotiabank even though they had a little help from the Coast Guards who allowed them to ride the wave of their motorboat.  

When we finally made it to the finish line, nobody was happier or more tired than me.  I greeted my friends who were there to see me at the finish line and immediately headed over to my room for my routine of re-hydrating, showering, massaging and sleeping. Having been able to finish the third day made me know that I would be able to complete the race and I was excited for the final leg.  

I promised myself to push myself on the last day so that we could improve our timing.  The important thing was to finish the race and scratch it off my bucket list but it would be great to place at least 3rd in the category.  I was hoping for the same good start as we had the day before but it was not to be. However, we did not turn over and that was good enough for us.  The fourth day was the fastest in terms of pace and because we wanted to place well we all pushed ourselves, but so did everyone else.  Somewhere along the route, we hit a tree truck hard with our canoe and I was so worried that the canoe would break and end my dream of finishing the race.  Thankfully, it was okay.  We were taking a lot of water in the canoe because of some damage on the front, despite the fact that the guys had put some tape on it before the race.  Navigating along the canal was the longest and hardest part because there were no waves to help, it was just us and our paddles.  

Finally we were able to see the finish line and I felt like I was paddling with my whole life when Anthony told me to paddle harder ha ha! I told him it was all I had and we made it to the sound of loud cheers from our supporters.  It was a wonderful, amazing feeling to reach the finish line without falling over but more importantly to accomplish my goal.  I was grateful to the guys for paddling with me.  We were interviewed as we got out of the water and we took lots of photos.  Surprisingly, I was not tired at all and I felt like I could go another day.  Adrenaline does that for you I guess.  That or maybe my muscles were already conditioned after 4 days of paddling. Again, friends and family were there to greet me at the finish line and I’m ever so grateful for their support.  I got my participation medal and that was my cue to head home for a nice long shower and a hot date with my bed.  Would I do it again? Out loud, I say No, but inside I think, maybe 😉

Overall, it was a great experience. I’m beyond grateful that Anthony and Ostin took the time to teach me to paddle and to agree do the race with an inexperienced girl even if it meant I would slow them down immensely.  This experience taught me the important of team work and about appreciating everyone’s role on the team.  It taught me the importance of practice and discipline.  It taught me to push myself beyond my limits both physically and mentally.  It taught me to appreciate the sport even more and to have mad respect for anyone who decides to paddle, and even more so for those who do it year after year.  Just watching the paddlers fleetingly from the river banks, tells nothing of how physically taxing paddling is.  How much heart and soul go into the sport.  I also had no idea how beautiful the view would be along the entire route…the water, the jungle, the wildlife…Belize is a beautiful country and I’m happy I got to experience an aspect I would have probably never gotten a chance to see if it were not for the La Ruta Maya race.  I how I wish I could have take pictures but there was never a chance for that, Anthony would not let me stop paddling!

When the race was over, my friends Mary and Elena also told me that their daughters Nuelle and Syrhia, were so excited to see me paddling and said that they too wanted to paddle when they get older.  That I somehow inspired these little girls might just be the most rewarding thing out of this whole experience…go after all the things you dream of my darlings! You are your only limit…unleash your beast and do all the things you are passionate about without a worry about your age or about being a girl.