A K A Day

 A K A Day 2024

May has arrived and sees us take on our annual challenge in memory of Robert Rowan who was tragically taken from our midst at a very young age due to a heart condition. The challenge is to walk, run, bike or whichever way you please move yourself for 1 km or more a day during the month of May. We have again opted for the 5K a day challenge. This is our fourth year but the first in a climate where it might rain on us! It is not a sponsored event, we simply pay to take part and the money raised is being used to screen young people for heart conditions they never knew existed.  Our first two years were done in Peru, last year saw us start in Colombia  and finish in Peru and this year we hope to do 5K in four different countries. Watch this space.

Today the weather forecast in Vierzon, central France is for a Yellow storm warning and rain all day until midnight. After breakfast it was fair so we decided to set off in the hope of getting our 5K done before we got a soaking.

We are parked in a motorhome service area alongside a canal and it was quite a picturesque walk.




As we walked along the canal I spotted something sitting on a clump of vegetation in the canal. At first I thought it was a beaver then a clump of wood. On getting closer we could see that it was in fact an animal of some description. It looked like a beaver face but had a ratlike tail. It was pretty big though, definitley beaver sized.
Some research back in the Kayak reveals it to be a Coypu or Ragondin as they are known here in France. It is a non-native species introduced from South America. You can read more about it here if you are sufficiently interested.

Happily we completed our 5 km and got back to base without getting wet and although it is looking pretty ominous the rain is still holding off... wait cancel that there are drips on the window and a patter on the roof. Now I know why we bought a Kayak. Time now to get some work done.






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