Masuria, or drifting on the surface of the mind

Monika is a teacher at a special school in the town of Ełk in the Masuria region.

She is from here – the water and forests of the land of a thousand lakes are to her what the labyrinth of gardens at Schönbrünn Palace is to a resident of Vienna.

However, she found her rightful place on earth only… on a SUP board.

“Once a friend took me on a board, and I fell in love at first sight. In the board, of course,” Monica laughs.

We listen to her story about the evening calm – a flat as a table sheet of water that sometimes happens on windless days. Swimming on such days is like floating on clouds. We close our eyes and are almost there.

Unknown Masuria

The Ełk region receives far fewer tourists than the largest lakes in the center of Masuria. Throughout the year, she has virtually exclusive access to wild bodies of water near her hometown, such as Selmęt Wielki, Laśmiady and Szóstak. Or exclusive to the group she happens to be paddleboarding with.

Something that was supposed to be a hobby as a result of the pandemic became Monica’s new idea of life. Our heroine did not give up her job at the school, but after hours she began guiding the growing number of SUP enthusiasts in Poland around her favorite spots. Thriving social media groups proved to be the key to entering the new environment.

Monika Wojsław

SUPs, an exercise in mindfulness

There is only seemingly little happening on the board. SUP board, or Stand up paddle, is an exercise in balance, working on many muscles simultaneously. And above all, moments of unbroken contact with oneself, so rare in our modern times.

“I sometimes joke that the board is like a mobile, floating couch,” says Monika. Paddleboarding in groups triggers interactions, a lot of people open up, start telling stories whose details they once buried deep in their memories.

All around, the Masurian nature shifts like the sky in a telescope: thickets of calamus, piers coming straight out of the forest, coves with tiny grassy beaches. And the colors of the water, different at every time of day.

Monika Wojsław

SUPs - how to get started?

The routes that Monica takes eager visitors on vary in length and degree. You can spend one morning or afternoon on the board, or you can bring a tent and sail for 2-3 days, stopping at wild camping sites. You can swim on a calm lake, or go on one of the surrounding rivers – the best-known Krutynia, or the more desolate Rospuda, located in the neighboring Suwałki region.

It sometimes takes some time to come to proficiency, to feel the movements and balance, to hold the paddles correctly. Above all, however, it is the willingness that counts. There are no exclusions in this sport.

“Once we made a sail out of a hammock and spontaneously tried windsurfing on SUPs for a moment,” Monica smiles. She also taught classes for children with disabilities, bridging the professional worlds in which she functions.

Monika Wojsław

Man and water

In the winter of 2022, Monica’s Instagram post featured photos of her sliding her board on frozen lake surfaces. It was more a day for good photos and visual interest than swimming conditions, but the experience of SUP itself remains similar in its premise.

There is man and there is water. There is unity and a sense of found peace of mind.