How a Father and His Children Travel Through the Mountains With a White-Red-White Flag

47-year-old Aliaksandr Bahachou and his wife are raising three children.

Belarusian Aliaksandr Bahachou is 47 years old. Together with his wife, he is raising three children. In recent years, the family has been living in Croatia and often travels in the mountains with their children. And a month and a half ago, the family developed a tradition: they take the white-red-white flag with them to the tops - in support of the protests in Belarus. Aliaksandr told rebenok.by how he and his children got carried away with this hobby and whether they are interested in politics.

The eldest son of Aliaksandr is already an adult and lives in another country, so his father climbs the top of Croatia with his 8-year-old son Emil and 9-year-old daughter Dyjana. Their mother Natallia does not participate in the ascents: "She climbed the mountains with us a couple of times, but she didn't like it, so she doesn't go to the mountains with us anymore."

The father emphasizes that he is engaged in mountain jogging with children. Previously, every weekend the family competed in competitions until they were canceled due to the pandemic. Now, dad and children continue climbing to keep themselves in great shape.

A month and a half ago, the father began to take a white-red-white flag with him to support the protests in Belarus. Aliaksandr's mother remained in his homeland. Since August, he has not ceased to be worried about the difficult situation in his native country. Even children are worried.

- From the very beginning, the son and daughter asked what was happening in Belarus and how it would all end. And I honestly answered all their questions. When I invited them to climb the mountains with the white-red-white flag, they fully supported me.

It was not possible to find such a flag on sale in Croatia. Therefore, Aliaksandr made it out of a white sheet, which, together with his son, he painted with red paint on one of the highest points in Croatia.

The son runs in the mountains from the age of 5, and the daughter - from the age of 7

The interest in mountain travel began when a man noticed a propensity for long races in his 4-year-old son. The boy began to take part in running competitions, first ordinary, and then in the mountains. And already at the age of 5, he ran 10 kilometers along Mount Marjan in just 1 hour and 4 minutes. Soon, the 7-year-old daughter of Aliaksandr took up mountain running. The father supported the children's hobbies.

Now the family lives at the foot of the mountains in Croatia and devotes a lot of time to a joint hobby. Aliaksandr regularly arranges hikes on the nearest peaks: part of the way the father and the children walk on foot, from time to time, they compete in running. And, as the man laughs, usually he runs the last and asks the children to wait for him.

The family goes on such mini-trips once or twice a week, not only on weekends but even on weekdays after school.

- It all depends on whether the children are tired after school and what the weather is outside the window. In rain and fog, we are not afraid to go to the mountains. The main thing is that there is no wind; otherwise, we can simply be blown away, and we will fly over the mountains like balloons, - Aliaksandr laughs.

The walk usually takes about 3-4 hours. During this time, the father and the children walk (partially run) 10-12 km. The father emphasizes that he tries not to climb too high with the children. Ensures that the height difference is no more than 1200 meters.

Only once during the competition did her daughter Dyjana climb to the highest point in Croatia with a height of 1,831 meters, running 16 km with her father. She was only 7 years old then, but she steadfastly withstood such an ascent, says dad.

Son Emil also has something to be proud of: the boy has 23 cups for victories in various athletics disciplines and more than 150 medals, most of which are awards for first place. The child's successes were repeatedly written by the media of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Emil often spoke before the pandemic.

Aliaksandr says that he and his wife are trying to diversify their children: "I am responsible for their physical and cultural development, as well as for lessons other than English and German, and Natallia is responsible for languages and music education." The son is involved in athletics, the daughter is in swimming, and together they attend rugby classes. Children combine all this with lessons in a regular school and a music school.

As for mountain running, apparently, this hobby is for a long time. As the father says, there are still enough places in Croatia where he really wants to visit with his children.

- Now, we will explore our peaks. And then, when the borders are opened, perhaps we will go to other countries.