Tales of a Not So Graceful Paddle Boarder...
I am now 25 years old with a Masters degree (graduation pictures still to come), no job, still making plans and trying to work out the kinks in life...How am I doing that you might ask? Well logically by not worrying about it and soaking up the sun in the Florida Keys of course. (If that sounds irresponsible, forgive me, but there is plenty of time for a mundane, same old routine day after day, never-have-enough-time-to-travel job later on in life...)
I arrived here in the Conch Republic last week sometime (the days all run together when all you do is enjoy the sunshine) after a ridiculous amount of delays courtesy of my least favorite airline. Take it from me - avoid United at all costs! Anyways, I finally made it to paradise and was collected by my Aunt Jo. After over 24 hours of travel (48 hours if you count the extra night I spent in Oklahoma - I mean seriously I made it back from Australia quicker than I made it down here...), I was thankful to be able to unpack and SHOWER! Of all the times that I have traveled and this time around I was caught with an overnight delay and no change of clothes and no toothbrush. Who knows what I was thinking.
Since my arrival my days have been filled with soaking up the sunshine, while getting lost in a good book, exploring the shops while enjoying the Flying Monkey drinks (among others) on Duval Street, running (kinda), riding bikes with my sweet cousin, Rheya, enjoying delicious, fresh lobster and fish dinners, and...paddleboarding.
My aunt and I set out for a short, offshore excursion on one of my first days here, me in the kayak (which I have done before but in a different kind of kayak in the freezing cold waters of Patagonia alongside sea lions) and her and Barkley (the dog) on the paddleboard. I was relatively comfortable in the kayak (at times I'm a bit uncomfortable in the water, this never keeps me from trying things in the water but I can't say that I'm 100% confident when in water) and excited to be out on such a pretty day. We paddled along, out of the canal where their house is located, and out into the shallow, crystal clear water. I prefer the open water to the canal because it is clear and shallow enough to see the sandy bottom as opposed to the canal, which has a greenish/blueish/clearish water depending on the day but is much deeper. Not to mention my aunt has told me of her suspicion that some people living on house boats in the canal probably don't dispose of their waste properly...ewww. It doesn't gross her out quite as much as it does me because as she figures everything is diluted so many parts per million or billion who knows but still...eww. As far as I'm concerned I'll save my swimming for outside of the canal... We continued on to a gravel bar where we parked our kayak and paddle board and went for a walk. The water was shallow and there were fish and sea urchins everywhere. On the way back, we switched and I paddle boarded the first time in my life. As far as standing on it, it was not as difficult to keep my balance as I expected. All went smoothly...
So smoothly that a couple of days later I decided that I would try paddle boarding again. This time however I would be exploring the crystal waters in search of marine life solo. The kayak and paddle board are kept on a drying rack of sorts out back and a bit awkward to try and move around on your own...or at least they are for me...anyways I managed to slam them both to ground before my Uncle Scott heard my maneuvering and asked if I would like any help. I lathered myself in sunscreen, lowered the paddle board into the canal, and descended the steps. The tricky part, more so in my mind than in actuality, was moving my feet from the ladder to the paddleboard without losing my balance on the paddleboard. I decided just to move both feet really quickly in a hop of sorts and to stay low on the paddle board until I gained my balance...I'm sure if you were watching me I looked very experienced (sarcasm)...once in the water and paddle in hand I needed to turn the board around. No big deal. Just paddle on one side of the board as fast as you can! This is what I did but I soon realized that the canal was not quite wide enough for my U turn...so naturally I ran into the railing of the deck at the neighbor's place across the canal. If anyone was watching my not so graceful maneuvering they were probably also laughing. Once I bounced off the neighbors deck and was situated in the right direction, I was good to go! Off I went to explore and once out in the open water I was thrilled to see several small sharks and two sting rays. The nurse sharks are calm, seemingly stationary creatures and I floated right over the top of them and they just stayed where they were. I did this a few times and then decided I was going to pet one. I moved my paddleboard around (I had practiced paddling out in the open water to master the all important paddleboarding skills of backing up and turning around) until I was hovering above the little nurse shark, I sat down on the board and slowly reached into the water and ran my hand down it's back and tail...needless to say it wasn't stationary anymore and it swam away from me as quickly as it could. It made my day to see the rays and the sharks. I returned home and managed to exit the water with the paddleboard relatively easily.
Today, I was eager to paddleboard again, certain that I would be able to get out of the canal this time without running into the neighbor's deck thanks to my paddling practice yesterday. I was right. As gracefully as possible, I lowered the paddleboard into the water and myself down the ladder and did my quick hop over to the paddleboard, gained my balance, and used my paddle to back up and turn my board around. I felt very accomplished in this small feat. Rightfully so, I have never been athletic and have always felt a bit clumsy when trying new activities so I felt like I had won a small victory just by getting the board to face the right direction. Once out of the canal, I spent a couple of hours paddling around, mesmerized by the scenery. Today I saw several small sharks again and, to my delight, a sea turtle! As I headed back into the canal on my way home for the day, I was still feeling a sense of accomplishment in my paddleboarding independence and excited to share my sea turtle news. About halfway into the canal, there were two young boys about 9 or 10 playing in a boat that was tied behind one of the houses. They had been fishing, had a tiny fish in there hands, and (I guess hacking up a fish is fun for young boys but it never would have been my choice of activity as a little girl) yelled at me to help them inspect whether what they saw inside the fish was a piece of metal or the fish's skeleton. Confident that I could stop my board and turn it toward their boat, I paddled backwards to brake and then headed towards their boat. I then proceeded to show just how graceful I am on a paddleboard. My board came to a stop just fine next to their boat but when I reached for their boat to steady myself, my paddleboard had a different plan and slipped out from under my feet and sailed in the opposite direction while I belly flopped in front of my audience into the poopy canal (it's not really this disgusting of course but ever since my aunt shared her views this is what I think of it as). I told you, not so graceful paddleboarder. The boys had forgotten about their tiny little fish and were gawking at me as I swam across the canal to retrieve my runaway paddleboard. One asked kindly if I was okay while the other inquired whether or not my paddleboard had an anchor. I informed him that it did not. Beached whale style, I climbed back on my board, steadied myself, told the boys that they were most likely viewing the fish's skeleton, not a piece of metal inside of it (as if I knew), said hello to their mother who had appeared after all of the commotion, and paddled in the direction of home. Perhaps I'll have a more graceful ride sans belly flop next time!
I arrived here in the Conch Republic last week sometime (the days all run together when all you do is enjoy the sunshine) after a ridiculous amount of delays courtesy of my least favorite airline. Take it from me - avoid United at all costs! Anyways, I finally made it to paradise and was collected by my Aunt Jo. After over 24 hours of travel (48 hours if you count the extra night I spent in Oklahoma - I mean seriously I made it back from Australia quicker than I made it down here...), I was thankful to be able to unpack and SHOWER! Of all the times that I have traveled and this time around I was caught with an overnight delay and no change of clothes and no toothbrush. Who knows what I was thinking.
Since my arrival my days have been filled with soaking up the sunshine, while getting lost in a good book, exploring the shops while enjoying the Flying Monkey drinks (among others) on Duval Street, running (kinda), riding bikes with my sweet cousin, Rheya, enjoying delicious, fresh lobster and fish dinners, and...paddleboarding.
My aunt and I set out for a short, offshore excursion on one of my first days here, me in the kayak (which I have done before but in a different kind of kayak in the freezing cold waters of Patagonia alongside sea lions) and her and Barkley (the dog) on the paddleboard. I was relatively comfortable in the kayak (at times I'm a bit uncomfortable in the water, this never keeps me from trying things in the water but I can't say that I'm 100% confident when in water) and excited to be out on such a pretty day. We paddled along, out of the canal where their house is located, and out into the shallow, crystal clear water. I prefer the open water to the canal because it is clear and shallow enough to see the sandy bottom as opposed to the canal, which has a greenish/blueish/clearish water depending on the day but is much deeper. Not to mention my aunt has told me of her suspicion that some people living on house boats in the canal probably don't dispose of their waste properly...ewww. It doesn't gross her out quite as much as it does me because as she figures everything is diluted so many parts per million or billion who knows but still...eww. As far as I'm concerned I'll save my swimming for outside of the canal... We continued on to a gravel bar where we parked our kayak and paddle board and went for a walk. The water was shallow and there were fish and sea urchins everywhere. On the way back, we switched and I paddle boarded the first time in my life. As far as standing on it, it was not as difficult to keep my balance as I expected. All went smoothly...
So smoothly that a couple of days later I decided that I would try paddle boarding again. This time however I would be exploring the crystal waters in search of marine life solo. The kayak and paddle board are kept on a drying rack of sorts out back and a bit awkward to try and move around on your own...or at least they are for me...anyways I managed to slam them both to ground before my Uncle Scott heard my maneuvering and asked if I would like any help. I lathered myself in sunscreen, lowered the paddle board into the canal, and descended the steps. The tricky part, more so in my mind than in actuality, was moving my feet from the ladder to the paddleboard without losing my balance on the paddleboard. I decided just to move both feet really quickly in a hop of sorts and to stay low on the paddle board until I gained my balance...I'm sure if you were watching me I looked very experienced (sarcasm)...once in the water and paddle in hand I needed to turn the board around. No big deal. Just paddle on one side of the board as fast as you can! This is what I did but I soon realized that the canal was not quite wide enough for my U turn...so naturally I ran into the railing of the deck at the neighbor's place across the canal. If anyone was watching my not so graceful maneuvering they were probably also laughing. Once I bounced off the neighbors deck and was situated in the right direction, I was good to go! Off I went to explore and once out in the open water I was thrilled to see several small sharks and two sting rays. The nurse sharks are calm, seemingly stationary creatures and I floated right over the top of them and they just stayed where they were. I did this a few times and then decided I was going to pet one. I moved my paddleboard around (I had practiced paddling out in the open water to master the all important paddleboarding skills of backing up and turning around) until I was hovering above the little nurse shark, I sat down on the board and slowly reached into the water and ran my hand down it's back and tail...needless to say it wasn't stationary anymore and it swam away from me as quickly as it could. It made my day to see the rays and the sharks. I returned home and managed to exit the water with the paddleboard relatively easily.
Today, I was eager to paddleboard again, certain that I would be able to get out of the canal this time without running into the neighbor's deck thanks to my paddling practice yesterday. I was right. As gracefully as possible, I lowered the paddleboard into the water and myself down the ladder and did my quick hop over to the paddleboard, gained my balance, and used my paddle to back up and turn my board around. I felt very accomplished in this small feat. Rightfully so, I have never been athletic and have always felt a bit clumsy when trying new activities so I felt like I had won a small victory just by getting the board to face the right direction. Once out of the canal, I spent a couple of hours paddling around, mesmerized by the scenery. Today I saw several small sharks again and, to my delight, a sea turtle! As I headed back into the canal on my way home for the day, I was still feeling a sense of accomplishment in my paddleboarding independence and excited to share my sea turtle news. About halfway into the canal, there were two young boys about 9 or 10 playing in a boat that was tied behind one of the houses. They had been fishing, had a tiny fish in there hands, and (I guess hacking up a fish is fun for young boys but it never would have been my choice of activity as a little girl) yelled at me to help them inspect whether what they saw inside the fish was a piece of metal or the fish's skeleton. Confident that I could stop my board and turn it toward their boat, I paddled backwards to brake and then headed towards their boat. I then proceeded to show just how graceful I am on a paddleboard. My board came to a stop just fine next to their boat but when I reached for their boat to steady myself, my paddleboard had a different plan and slipped out from under my feet and sailed in the opposite direction while I belly flopped in front of my audience into the poopy canal (it's not really this disgusting of course but ever since my aunt shared her views this is what I think of it as). I told you, not so graceful paddleboarder. The boys had forgotten about their tiny little fish and were gawking at me as I swam across the canal to retrieve my runaway paddleboard. One asked kindly if I was okay while the other inquired whether or not my paddleboard had an anchor. I informed him that it did not. Beached whale style, I climbed back on my board, steadied myself, told the boys that they were most likely viewing the fish's skeleton, not a piece of metal inside of it (as if I knew), said hello to their mother who had appeared after all of the commotion, and paddled in the direction of home. Perhaps I'll have a more graceful ride sans belly flop next time!
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