I hope everyone had a Happy Christmas and Wonderful Holiday Season. Thinking about spending time with family and friends brings me back to the kayaking trip with my cousin, who is also my best friend. While in Spain we decided to rent a Sea Kayak and go exploring on the Mediterranean. We had no idea how heavy the kayak would be when we agreed to walking it down to the water ourselves. Also, fun fact, the water was a lot farther away from the campground, by foot, than we thought. So there we were…on the side of the road…carrying a kayak. Some men did stop and tried to help us cross the road which was nice; as it was a super heavy piece of athletic equipment we were struggling with. After we crossed the road we continued down a single footed beach path, in single file, together.
Joanna loves the ocean and the sea. If I could describe how much my cousin feels connected to water, I would say, it calls to her. Anytime we are around any body of water her face lights up and I know it is going to be an amazing day filled with adventure. She does this sweet thing every time we got to the ocean, and that is…staring out to the horizon. It is almost as if the water and her are speaking to one another. When we got to the shoreline she took her moment to be welcomed by the sea while I looked out taking a moment to breath in the air and look forward to our new adventure. I too feel a deep connection to water and welcomed it in my own way. After our moments passed, we put the kayak in the water, pushed off the shoreline, and hopped in. Joanna had convinced me of there being no sharks, or just little reef sharks she said. Later I would feel me out the Mediterranean Sea does in fact have all types of sharks swimming in its waters. I am glad I looked up the information after the experience.
I try to do as many things as I can when traveling so I don’t ever have to look back and think “I wish I did that.” Kayaking was one of these experiences. The water was as clear as looking through a pane of glass. The water was a beautiful blue with violet hues in the bobbing waves. We paddled out to the booies and watched a seagull balancing upon one of them. Looking back over our shoulders at the shoreline gave us inspiration to turn the kayak to find the city from the sea. After many minutes of spinning we finally saw the city scape which was impressive, but I longed to look out at the vast distance of the water instead. We sat for what felt like hours just rocking in our kayak with our feet up on the edges. That day was filled with many tranquil experiences until we had to walk the kayak back to the campsite. The overall experience was quite an adventure and we marveled at our strength throughout the day. In the evening we sat and rested our sore muscles while sipping a bottle of wine we purchased earlier. Thank you all for reading and I wish you all a relaxing weekend. May you take time to enjoy all the little moments this life has to offer!
-Karen Hilliard