I am pretty sure none of us knew what we were getting into as we arrived at the Wadden sea “ready” for our mud-walking tour. Our very prepared guide (even with his short shorts) looked at our shoes with skepticism and asked if we had others. No these were definitely the shoes we brought specifically for the experience. That was probably the first sign of problems to come.
The beginning of the tour was nothing..I even asked “where is the mud?”— little did I know that I was in for quite a treat. We squealed with laughter at the first steps of mud with a slight slip of the sneakers. Then the there was the rest of the trip: slipping and sliding in the mud, wading in water up to our torsos, and running in order to stay afloat in the mud. There was even a point where we were knee deep in mud, pushing our way through to continue on. My socks ended up slipping off my heels, causing the back of my shoes to rub over and over again against my heels. Probably a lesser fate than Jenny having to walk on the shells with no shoes at all. Therefore I have provided a list of tips for future mud walkers.
Here are a few tips to get the maximal enjoyment out of mud walking without worrying about shoes or blisters:
1. Get a cheap/old pair of high-tops or shoes that go above your ankle that you can throw away after.
2. Wear a pair of TALL socks…believe me…this is key.
3. Wear shorts that you don’t mind getting wet/dirty or wear a bathing suit bottom (or one piece would be ideal).
4. Basically wear things that you don’t mind throwing away afterwards.
5. Running while on the tour helps you from sinking in the mud.
6. Be prepared physically.
7. Laugh, take pictures, and have fun with it. You will have good stories later.
Looking back, I had a good time on the tour, but I left with really bad blisters that became infected. I think if I had known the above tips, I would have gotten so much more out of the adventure. The Wadden sea is an interesting ecosystem that I have never even imagined something like it before. I will definitely say that I felt very accomplished and hardcore after I finished.
The next day we went to the Seal Rehabilitation center. This was an amazing and great way to educate the public about the dangers affecting seals. I thought what they were doing was very informed and well done. They were very careful when they rescued a seal to make sure no diseases spread between them— they first put the seals in quarantine, dressed in full coveralls, and worked from least sick to most. I also thought the research they were doing with the seals was very innovative and helpful for the future of science and the seals. I really enjoyed the video presentation and presentations by the veterinarian and biologist. They were very well informed. It was interesting to hear about the viruses we had studied during the year in a tangible way. Of all the animals that are rehabilitated, I was amazed at how easy they said it was to send the seals back into the wild. Of course, they still do stages before release, but I thought that was very promising for the seals (especially compared to other animals I had seen conservation projects for where release was very difficult).
Time flies when you are having fun…I can’t believe the first week is just about done.
(P.S. I did not have available internet until now, so I am posting multiple blogs at once.)
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