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Cycling Spree-Mountain biking is tough!!
Waking up to dogs barking or cars honking isn't exactly the ideal peaceful environment. As much as we all love Bangalore, the city is polluted and traffic has become a nuisance. Inventure Academy, being on the outskirts of the city provides quiet, and serenity. The yearly school trip was coming up and knowing IA, it was bound to be a very "different" experience. When I first heard that we were going to spend 5 days in Coorg at a nature resort, I wasn't too happy. I didn't feel like it was a trip I would actually enjoy.
But, as much as I hate to say it, I was proved wrong! INME, a camp for adventure seekers provided us with an opportunity to embrace Mother earth AND have loads of fun at the same time!
Grades 9,10 IG and 11 were all whisked away on a bus, in which we drove to Coorg. The journey was pleasant and we all were excited to see what the camp was all about. As the first classes to go for the trip, we still were uncertain of the activites the counsellers would plan for us. All we knew, was that we were going to stay at a beautiful estate deep in a forest of Coorg.
But, It wasn't till we arrived, early afternoon, that we realized how beautiful it actually was. The moss covered path ways and the old fashioned housing was lined with trees everywhere. The hilarious counsellers showed us around and we settled in quickly. Bustling with energy, we sat down for lunch which was surprisingly delicious. We felt at home immediatly, but it really wasn't "home" at all. It was a place full of lively new people who were gearing up to show us the wonders of camping.
We were split into two groups, each equally strong. As told, we knew there was going to be a competition between us and my group, the "Ninzies" were up for the fight. Our counsellers, Paddy and Nish, showed us on the first day, how to handle the ropes. Led into a forest, there were 2 ropes set up. One was to hang on, and the other was to walk on! We each had a partner whom we were supposed to hold on to and use as support as we crossed it. Giggling, most of us managed to reach the end!
Later on, after a special activity where we had to put together a shelf, we huddled outside and got ready to eat dinner. But, the evenings were always followed by extremly fun nights where we stayed up talking and laughing and enjoying our surroundings.
The following day we were awakened to Birds chirping and the extreme cold. Sleepily, we got ourselves dressed and headed down for a cup of coffee and our morning excercises. I must say, Morning stretches were never so entertaining. Singing, and dancing to INME's original songs and rhymes distracted us from the fact that it was 6:30 in the morning. We already felt fresh and alive.
My group was sent to a tall tree, after breakfast. A rope was suspended from the top and after being pulled up with a harness we were supposed to jump of the branch and hit a bottle. It looked tough from the bottom, but with support from our group most of us managed to hit it. After that, we were brought to a Big ladder made out of bamboo sticks. Now, we had no idea what we were supposed to do. When Paddy told us, we were amazed. It was called the "friendship ladder". The aim was to work together with your partner to pull eachother up and finaly reach the top stick. Proving to be difficult, I thought it was the best activity we had because it taught us how to work as a team, and also to trust the other person. Although, we did manage to throw in a couple laughs on the way up there, it was our sweat and perservence that made us get to the top.
The next two days were spent doing the other activity, Biking. We had to practice a lot for this because it was not only risky, but required immense patience to cycle up a steep and rocky mountain. There were many trails that we could follow and as a group we decided to embark on a fairly hard one, but also one that promised to take us somewhere amazing. So through a lot of grumbling, and also a lot of cheering (from the faster people), we made it to a stream lined by boulders. Cameras in hand, we walked down the stream, sitting on the rocks and took a couple of pictures that made it to everyones Facebook profiles.
Once we came back, we gathered around a bonfire and sang songs while we warmed ourselves up. Later on, we scared eachother with ghost stories. These were moments that would be unforgettable for us. Each and every activity brought us all together as classmates, and peers.
Knowing there was a surprise in store, we were up bright and early the next morning. Today was the day we were supposed to go camping high up on a mountain. Packing our bags and tents, we carried food, water and our clothes up a huge mountain to the top. There we set up our tents and made our own dinner from scratch, (which is now a very useful thing to know :]) Manging to create a delicious meal that everyone enjoyed. Sitting under the stars and just gazing at the wonderful nature around us, was really a sight I'll never forget in my life. With our flashlights, we went to bed, snuggled in our sleeping bags, feeling closer than ever to the the basic joys of life.
The sudden urge to use the bathroom woke us up. Tired and hungry we made our way down the mountain carrying our stove,gas cylinders, and utensils back down. We learned not to leave a trace, because we don't have the right to hurt animals and plants that reside in the area. We were told to leave the place as we found it.
After showering, (With cold water! We roughed it out quite a bit!) the counsellers directed us to the courtyard where we were challenged to see who could make the best catupult. Later, we met Gaurav, a chirpy and lively man who started INME as well as idiscoveri. The whole lot of us came together to make a Samba band. Each one of us had a beat to keep and once we played the instruments together we sounded great! Gaurav even told us, that we were the best group he has had. Exhilirated from the music, we decided to record ourselves the next morning.
On our Final day, we played games at the camp site. A different version of football had us playing the game with our hands and trying to score in mini goals. Also, we had to learn how to shoot with a rifle and we played a game called 360 degrees. Stunned, we lifted our team mate upside down while she was holding a mug filled with water. All of this contributed to the overall group points which would determine who had the most at the end.
Our bus ride home wasn't complete without disapointment and sadness to leave. Everyone, including Poornima Ma'am and Srini Sir who had just as fun as we did, if not more, did not want to leave the camp. Hugging our counsellers, who we had grown attached to, we boarded our bus. We missed everything the place had to offer, including the animals we had seen (there was one dog in particular), the nature trails we had trekked down, the cozy rooms we slept in through the serene night and of course the Memories we each created for ourselves. I know, that I would love to go back there and take part in INME's camp all over again!
BY DIVYA IJARI, GRADE 10
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