Phew! What a wild ride! Last week I flew to Seattle and joined the team on a sea kayaking expedition through the San Juan Islands. I describe the trip as incredible, challenging, and so much fun.
The views were beautiful. Every island we camped on had their own individual characteristics of beauty. The water splashed over the rocks on the coasts. The water rose in waves over the beaches. The sunsets created that natural golden light through the trees.
The first two days of sea kayaking involved practicing “wet exits” out of the kayak. That entailed capsizing your boat allowing yourself to go underwater into the cold, cold water and getting yourself out of the kayak, then climbing back into it. Two days worth of that! Quite challenging and used quite a bit of energy and strength–two things I struggle with. The rest of the trip my hands were shot with pain. I couldn’t sleep for two days because of the throbbing pain in my hands. I’m still in pain, but at least I can grip things now.
The rest of the trip was beautiful. We paddled between several of the islands and crossed many large passes that larger boats go through. The crossings required lots of planning around the tides, the currents, the many boats cruising through, and the ferry schedule. It required a lot of detailed work. And because of the careful planning, we had safe crossings throughout the trip.
My favorite day was paddling through the islands on our last day watching the sunrise over the water and behind the mountains. The peacefulness of it overtook my spiritual senses. I would do it all over again.
Radha Vyas 