The day started, once again, with a visit to Aqva Park. We were standing in front of the turnstiles, champing at the bit, as the doors opened at 10:00.
I wasted no time in making for a couple of the slides we didn’t get to yesterday. With names like Ekstremalus and Adrenalinas, you don’t have to speak fluent Lithuanian to get an idea of what you’re in for. Indeed, both rides were categorised labai ekstremelus, which means ‘very extreme’.
In the spirit of ‘some things just have to be done’, I walked up the six flights of steps to Ekstremalus and started to clamber into the tunnel with some trepidation, caused chiefly by knowing that I can’t swim a stroke.
Well, the ride was truly exhilarating and recalled my experience on the Jumeriah Sceirah at Wild Wadi in Dubai a couple of years ago. That ride takes you down a 33 m descent at 80 kmh, whereas the Ekstremalus is 140 m at 50 kmh. Which is better depends on whether you prefer your terror fleeting and intense or more protracted, but less severe.
In either case, the moment quickly arrives, as you’re rocketing down the chute, that you wonder whether you wouldn’t have been better off giving in to the pangs of cowardice that accosted you moments earlier. Too late, though. Total surrender to your fate is the immediate and only way forward, since there’s absolutely nothing you can do to slow down, steer or alter your descent in any way.
As I accelerated along the chute, the water that was aiding my descent began to build up around my face under the force of my passage, so I had to shut my eyes, hold my breath and simply brace for impact at the bottom.
Sooner, rather than later, that impact comes. The woman manning the entrance to the slide had told me to cup my hands over my nuts on the way down. When I hit the water at the end of the slide, I had raised my left hand slightly for some reason, and the wisdom of her advice became abundantly clear.
The splash from hitting the end of the run was like a mild kick in the wedding tackle, in my case exclusively to the left testicle. Thank heavens for small mercies. Note to self for future reference: do not slam one’s crown jewels into water at 50 kmh.
I recovered quickly, though, and was soon persuading Sarah to go on the slide, too. This, she duly did, making me very proud.
Sarah then went off for a massage (lucky cow), while I stayed in the water to look after the children. After close to an hour, Lukie decided that now was the perfect moment to let rip in his swimming trunks. A murky, tell-tale ochre was seen to ooze from the elasticated leg of his trunks.
Picture me now, lifting him up, as trickles and streaks of what is quite unmistakably shite run down my forearms towards my elbows. Needless to say, the three of us beat a hasty retreat to the changing rooms.
The day was ticking away and we needed to be on our way, so we quickly checked out and headed for Kaunas. Our sat-nav was all but useless, unaware of the existence of any roads south of Vilnius. It would have had us drive via Poland, arriving at 17:00.
We made good time, getting to Kaunas at about 14:15. We checked into our hotel and then immediately headed out for lunch at Morkų Šėlsmas.
I can’t recommend Morkų Šėlsmas enough. Situated just off the massive, pedestrianised avenue of Laisvės Alėja, Morkų Šėlsmas serves up delicious vegan food in a society more renowned for eating pigs’ ears than carrot-based dishes (morka means ‘carrot’) and vegetable curry. The food was delicious and we were positively dilatory about eating it. I think this meal ranks amongst Sarah’s favourites of the whole trip.
With our bellies full, we ventured back onto Laisvės Alėja and continued to wander around the new town area. It was quite muggy and the sky was gradually turning grey.
Dinner was at Senieji Rūsiai on Vilniaus gatvé, where we had to retreat from the terrace to the cellar when it finally began to rain. This is the first rain we’ve seen in over a week; since Tartu, in fact.
Tomorrow, we’ll head into the old town and explore that area. Hopefully, it will be drier by then.