Travel Rogue

July 09, 2005

Day 1: Embrace the Chop

The wet exit is complete and we get to paddling! Instinct makes me drag my paddle in the water to execute a turn. Mick offers a quick pointer, the sweep turn, that makes a huge difference. This simple move turns the kayak without a significant reduction in momentum. Wendy, the third of our guides, who earns the affectionate nickname, "Kiwi," rides with the middle of the pack. Beautifully tanned with a New Zealand accent and an easy smile, her laidback attitude sets just the right mood. I'm not wasting energy trying to plow through the water, rather I'm enjoying a smooth steady pace and my mind stops churning. After about an hour, we head back in for a quick lunch. Brenda, Mick and Kiwi lay out a feast of chips, trail mix, cheese warmed by the sun, pita and oh, yum, a tube of liverwurst. Personally, I love liverwurst...and discovered that a smear of the brown stuff topped with sharp cheddar and stuffed in a pita is spectacular! Lots of good yummy protein that came in handy later when during the second bit of the day we hit the chop. It's painful at first. The waves smack against the kayak and gauging by the horizon, I'm not getting anywhere. But then, something inside clicks and I get it. It's not about getting anywhere, it's about kayaking. I set aside my own pace, and go with the chop. Dig the paddle in and push off the wave, leveraging its momentum instead of my own. And that's when everything changes. The burn in my deltoids disappears, the knot of tension in my gut disappears, the frustration in my mind disappears. Instead of looking at the horizon, I'm being hypnotized by the waves, by the sun glinting off each peak, and by the pull of the water on each stroke of the paddle. Somehow, my body has figured out how to resonate on its own.

Posted by carolyn at July 9, 2005 05:17 PM

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