An Afternoon off Land

Last Saturday, the people who went kayaking took complete advantage of the beautiful weather. On this amazingly sunny day, our friendly instructors introduced themselves and explained the basics of kayaking. We learned how to sit correctly in a kayak and how to paddle efficiently. We surely didn’t go unnoticed as we were a large group practicing paddling in the air. Hey, we were simply following the instructor! The beach turned out to be the perfect classroom. We didn’t spend too much time on the steady ground though, we put our gear on and jumped in our kayaks.

Paddles in hand, we traveled across the water. While we were working out our upper bodies, we enjoyed the beautiful view of the mountains. They were hard to miss and the contrast with the city’s skyscrapers was noticeable. We couldn’t afford to get too distracted though, for fear of losing our balance and tipping in the water, or of running into the various sail boats and surf boards zigzagging around us, or even of getting trapped in the crabs’ nets thrown from the dock.

Eventually, we took a break to rest which was dearly needed. The instructors gave us directions to make a “shaft”, which constitutes of basically placing our kayaks side by side. This arrangement is very solid and is usually used during long journeys on the water when the travelers want to eat, sleep, change clothes, and change places. And the last one we did... four brave people actually changed places! They successfully crawled across all of the kayaks. Thumbs up to them!

On our way back, we spotted a seal, or was it an otter? And we had a water fight. What’s water good for if we can’t play with it! It would be an understatement to say that we got out of the kayaks soaking wet, but it was so worth it. People were really satisfied with this activity. At least one other kayak trip should be organized for the people who missed the first one and also for people who simply didn’t get enough of it.

9/10

Stephanie