PANJSHIR, Afghanistan -- On a recent sunny morning in northern Afghanistan, excited children and bemused policemen lined the banks of a fast-flowing river to watch a group of Europeans in multicolored kayaks navigate the white water. A drone-mounted camera also followed the kayakers progress, buzzing and hovering above them like a mosquito.The boys, who were on their way to school, squealed and raced along the rocks as they watched the unusual spectacle -- no kayakers had ever come to the peaceful Panjshir Valley, some 140 kilometers (95 miles) north of the Afghan capital, Kabul.But according to Callum Strong, a Scot who recently graduated with a geology degree from Edinburgh University, Panjshir River offers some of the best kayaking in the world.Together with three friends, he spends all his spare time and money travelling the globe in search of the best white water. Panjshir looked promising on the map -- that Afghanistan is grappling with a 15-year insurgency was not going to deter them.Its extreme geography that attracts extreme sportsmen, not the fact that the place is at war, he told The Associated Press as he dragged his kayak out of the water following an invigorating three-hour paddle down the Panjshir River.His three friends -- Brit Joe Rea-Dickins, Scot James Smith and Austrian Kristof Stursa -- are also recent graduates in their early 20s and amateur kayakers who met through their love of the sport. They funded the trip to Afghanistan themselves, flying to Kabul with their kayaks and then employing a local travel agent to help them transport their kit, organize permission from security services to travel and move safely through dangerous areas.Then they spent 10 days paddling the length of the Panjshir River and introducing the local community to the sport.Before I came here, I was worried as the only news you hear from Afghanistan is bad news, Strong said. But I believe most places you go in the world, most people are good -- and the river here looked very good, so we wanted to come.His friend Rea-Dickins was similarly enthusiastic, comparing Panjshir to the best places hes kayaked in northern Europe, India and Pakistan. In terms of white water, this is as good as anywhere in the world, he said.One of the joys of the sport, he said, is that it takes you to pretty interesting places, it gives you purpose, you can be in a beautiful environment for weeks, you go off beaten tracks and stay where you end up and you meet with local people.Panjshir is considered one of the safest regions of Afghanistan. The roads are closed to outsiders, who must register with security forces and explain the reason for their visit to gain access. Many people come to enjoy the peace, as well as the pristine environment and the famous produce, including yoghurt, honey and lamb kebabs. Panjshir is also famous for precious stones -- especially rubies and emeralds- and as a smuggling route for millions of dollars worth of lapis lazuli, a blue stone largely unique to Afghanistan, mostly destined for Pakistan and China.It is also the home of the so-called Lion of Panjshir, Ahmad Shah Massoud, a military leader who earned his moniker fighting Soviet forces and the Taliban and whose legendary status was cemented when he was killed by al-Qaida sympathizers on September 9, 2001 -- two days before the 9/11 attacks that sparked the U.S. invasion and the Afghan war.The countrys chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, is also from Panjshir. His face beams from massive billboards alongside the portraits of Massoud and local jihadi leaders. Panjshir is a province that takes its war heroes seriously.It could soon take kayaking seriously, too, if the efforts of the four enthusiasts find traction here.After a week of paddling, the four set up a kayaking workshop to teach interested locals. The Panjshir football team showed up to give it a try, arriving straight from training in their bright green-and-white kit.They are very good learners, a lot of the guys we have seen are very fit and strong. And they are used to swimming in this river, which is very powerful, Strong said. Strength and comfort in the water are both good starting points for learning how to stay afloat, and have fun, in a kayak.While it might be many years before the emergence of Afghan kayaking clubs, Strong and his group are hoping that their visit will lay the foundations for others to follow and discover the beauty and power of the Panjshir River.We have paddled the river so we can tell other people the river is good and that when we were here, the political situation and security was good, he said. If that prevails, then kayaking can grow here, and you might see more international teams come here to do this river.Mohammad Zahir, a member of the Panjshir football team, was most excited by the possibility that kayaking could take him abroad.I would love to reach the level of our friends who are here from other countries, so I could travel to other places for kayaking, he said. 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Somerset 95 (Barker 4-33) and 211 (Rogers 58, Patel 5-86) beat Warwickshire 123 (Westwood 34, Bess 6-28) and 152 (Clarke 55*, Wright 45, Leach 6-42) by 31 runsScorecard Jack Leach finished with 6 for 42 as Somerset completed a 31-run Specsavers County Championship victory over Warwickshire on the third morning at Taunton.Resuming on 131 for 8, needing a further 53 to win, the visitors battled for 14 overs before being bowled out for 152, Rikki Clarke ending unbeaten on 55.Lewis Gregory was the other wicket-taker as Somerset took 19 points to keep alive their hopes of a maiden Championship title. Warwickshire had to be content with three points and are not yet out of relegation danger with only one game remaining.The first half hour saw Clarke and Chris Wright carefully build on their ninth-wicket stand against the spin of Leach and Roelof van der Merwe.Clarke reached his half-century off 138 balls, with eight fours and a six, and the pair had reduced the deficit to 37, with the stand worth 86, when an inspired piece of captaincy by Chris Rogers brought the breakthrough.He introduced Gregory from the River End and, with his fourth delivery, the seamer had Wright caught behind for 45.I brought Lewis on because I felt the batsmen were getting into a rhythm against our spinners, Rogers said. I just had a bit of a feeling that a change of pace might cause problems.Such decisions often come down to luck and its nice when they go your way. It makes you look like you know what you are doing!When Clarke took a single off Leachs third ball of the 58th over, Somerset moved in for the kill, surrounding last man Josh Poysden with close fielders.The tail-ender got an inside edge and Marcus Trescothick ended the game with the 394th first class catch of his Somerset career, at leg-gully, breaking a club record set by Jack White, whose career ended in 1937.ddddddddddddThe wicket sparked jubilant celebrations on the pitch and the home side could celebrate an unlikely win after being bowled out for 95 on the first morning.It wasnt the sort of pitch I would want to spend my career batting on, Rogers added. Each ball behaved a bit differently and that creates questions in the minds of batsmen, which makes them tentative.But our spinners are bowling well and Id take the same sort of wicket in our final home game against Notts if it means winning the title!However, Warwickshires captain, Ian Bell, was more critical of the surface that Somerset had laid on.The pitch wasnt dangerous in any way so there was no cause for complaint, he said. The ECB want wickets that turn, but I dont think that sort of surface is great even for the development of spinners.It may bring them more wickets, but they will then find themselves bowling on slow low tracks if they step up to international level.As for Warwickshires prospects for the final throes of the season, Bell added: Its disappointing because we are now right in the mix at the wrong end of the table. The game summed up our Championship cricket this season because we were good in spells, but not consistent enough.We have a big final at Lords to look forward to so we cant afford to dwell on this defeat. But whatever happens we need to look at our four-day cricket because there have been problems stretching back to the end of last season. ' ' '