I haven't posted in such a long time! I have been going non-stop for the past few weeks trying to fit as much in as possible. Last Monday was the first day that I had absolutely nothing planned except to sit down and begin writing.....but I quickly discovered that I had no will power whatsoever. I wanted to do something which I hadn't done in a long time: sleep. So now, I am over two weeks behind schedule, but here I go.
It had been gorgeous weather all week, so I decided to go sea kayaking one Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I have no pictures because the instructors said to leave the camera at home (electronics and water don't mix---who knew?).
I couldn't convince anyone to come with me (the main opposition being fear of the ocean and fear of waking up early...I don't know which was worse). Nevertheless, I set out on my own to catch the 7:30am DART train to Dalkey. While waiting at the station, I noticed that the two girls sitting on an adjacent bench wear wearing North Face windbreakers, caps, and exercise pants. They seemed dressed for kayaking, but the idea quickly passed since there are many station stops and any number of reasons to be wearing exercise pants.
After the train pulled in, I boarded and looked for an open seat. Most seats were filled by only one person so I could have sat next to someone, but they all had that look about them that screamed "find an empty bench and leave me alone." Instead, I meandered the aisles for a bit until I found a backward seater that no one cared to use. I sleepily half-read my book, half-looked out the window as the train trekked on to its next stop. Slowly, I became conscious of familiar voices, and I listened closer. The two girls from the bench were right behind me! They had boarded the same train afterall.
"They may still be doing something else," I reasoned. I decided to see if they got off at Dalkey. Lo and behold, we were the only three people to exit at that stop! The stars must have been aligned for us to meet---what are the chances of that happening? I started talking to them and found out that this was their second kayak trip. We chatted as we walked to the beach. (I'm glad that we ran into eachother otherwise I would have gotten seriously lost on the walk, despite my feeble map quest directions.) By the time that we reached the kayak van, we were laughing and joking like old friends.
The instructors and other people in the class all thought that the three of us had known each other for years. Someone asked me, "Did you grow up in Mayo?" (a county in Ireland). Another person asked Ashlin, "Do you work at the museum too?" No one would believe that we had just met on the train half an hour earlier.
The afternoon was lovely---or at least I thought so. I found out later that Ashlin and Erin were super frightened by the water because it was apparently choppier than normal. They only told me this later because they knew it was my first time kayaking on the ocean and didn't want to scare me. I didn't think that it was that bad, but the instructors were in agreement with my Irish mates----they had considered rescheduling because they weren't sure if beginners could handle it. (Although it had been gorgeous all week, Irish weather is quite capricious and the skies were completely clouded.)
Kayaking on the open ocean was exhilarating. The sea breeze sprays a fine mist on your face, so crisp and light. Inhaling, it felt nice to exchange the city fume air with clean, fresh scents of the sea. The waves make you bob up and down like a toddler being dandled on his father's knees. Rocking back and forth, in tune with the water, you feel so at peace. But then you try to paddle. Paddling in the ocean takes some monumental effort until you learn how to do it properly.
Our kayaks were gigantic---super long and heavy so that you are less likely to capsize. However, this means that trying to steer and turn is like trying to parallel park a subaru jeep 4x4 in New York City. For some reason, despite the fact that we were in a massive body of water (i.e. the Irish Sea), we kept crashing into each other. We were literally the only people in the water for miles and miles of open horizon, and yet we clustered together like bees on honey. Part of the problem, however, was our lack of attention---we would be chatting away and paddling would become an afterthought. Before we knew it, we would be smashing our kayaks' noses. "This ocean ain't big enough for the three of us."
It definitely took some time to get used to, but once you get the hang of it, you could paddle for hours. I enjoyed the feel of it. After a while, your bum starts to get soar, but it's a great workout for your arms and shoulders. We kayaked along the coast until we reached the next town. Then we made the return route, and at the end, we even tried to play a little kayak polo with a tennis ball we found floating in the water. It's a unique way to catch a glimpse of Ireland's coast and get up close and personal with the ocean wildlife. Our instructors pointed out a few different kinds of birds and seals.
One poor fellow capsized twice within three minutes, but he was the only man overboard. I didn't realize what had happened, so as I was paddling by him at one point, I smiled saying, "Isn't this so lovely?" He simply chattered his teeth and gruffly replied with an angry look, "yeah. lovely." I felt so bad for him! Everyone else on the trip had a good time at least.
The instructors provided much welcomed hot tea, coffee, and biscuits after we returned to shore. The instructors' parting farewell to me was "Be careful of those Mayo girls!" as I walked back to the train station with Ashlin and Erin. I'm so glad that we met because it made the day so much more pleasant.
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