Thursday, July 16, 2009

To Kayak, or Not to Kayak?


Kayaking is a great way to see nature and get a glimpse of the coastline up close. But first, let me make a confession: I have never kayaked. Oh, I’ve admired kayakers from afar, for sure. I’m a veteran kayak-watcher. I even gave Sven a yellow sea kayak as an engagement present a dozen years ago. In his youth, my husband could do that fancy flip-over Eskimo-style roll where you’re dry one minute and dripping wet the next. He can also spot a top-quality paddle when he sees one. I said to myself Sven’s the type of person who needs a kayak to feel fully equipped for life on Cape Cod, at least that’s what I thought at the time. Since then I have assisted with the transport of his kayak to and fro, even helped him lift it out of the bay for an agonizing slow 50-yard dash to our old car – removal at Duck Harbor proved a lot harder than getting in at Power’s Landing! Our Volvo is rack-less now, which means the kayak doesn’t see water anymore, aside from the rain. Sven has gotten older, too. His kayak ended up stored beside the cottage and became a nesting place for a couple of wrens. All this to explain I am not to be considered an expert on kayaking. I do know, however, that a kayak is the perfect vehicle in which to explore the waterways of Cape Cod. Here is a Web site with information about local kayaking. I often tell guests about Jack’s boat rentals on Gull Pond and suggest kayaking through the sluiceway into Higgins Pond, but this Web site provides other tempting options as well. Betty and Al, longtime Cape vacationers, got the jump on me because they had made reservations prior to arrival and went kayaking in Orleans with Explore Cape Cod. On the water for more than four hours, they returned enchanted. Their naturalist guide was knowledgeable and friendly. “We highly recommend it,” they said. Our guests even saw seals. Explore Cape Cod has tandems and dawn excursions that look amazing. Now, if I could find someone to make breakfast for the guests ....