PADDLER 28
Chris started to make dinner . While he cooked , he shared things about his life – significant major challenges he has faced and how he chose to grow from them . I felt inspired , impressed , and humbled for life .
PADDLER 28
RECHARGE MENTALLY
After around an hour , we were ready to go out again . This part of the day became much easier , and I felt more comfortable . We still had big swells , but not as big as before and not coming from all directions . I also had time to recharge mentally during lunch . There are people on the beaches , but as soon as we kayak around the corners of the mountains , it ’ s only the four of us there , exploring the exposed side of the mountain . Since no car road leads to this side of the island , you can only kayak here to paddle around or carry your kayak over the mountains .
I observed my surroundings and got instant feedback and a reward for looking at the map this morning . Even though I did not have one on my deck , I could follow along where we were . I spoke to Oscar and learned a lot from him . What he looks at . He chooses his line by looking at where the waves go up , so he
Chris started to make dinner . While he cooked , he shared things about his life – significant major challenges he has faced and how he chose to grow from them . I felt inspired , impressed , and humbled for life .
can change his angle slightly to avoid that shallow place . We were reading the sea and kept our eyes open to avoid boomers . We also used the boomers for navigating and gathering information about how much energy there is in the swell coming from specific directions . We looked at the horizon to see how the waves looked out there . We keep noticing the wind ; is it changing ?
Some seagulls came to check us out . My face was burning in the sun . What a day ! We came to a beautiful long beach where we landed . Lukas and Chris were for sure happy to get out of the kayaks , and they had struggled a bit with getting tired and sleepy legs in the kayak . We lifted the kayaks a few vertical metres . After we had put the tents up , Oscar , as usual , asked , “ What time is it ?” I answered , “ Mate time .”
We sat down , had snacks and drank mate . Telling stories , many laughs , and enjoying each other ’ s company . As it does , it again hits me that It ’ s so random and crazy that we are here together . So different backgrounds from different parts of the world , different ages . And it all feels so meant to be . We had such a good connection in just two days . Then it was time to go and get water .
Every time Chris asks , “ What ? Don ’ t you treat the water before you drink it ? There is no place in America where I would drink the water without treating it .” We answer , “ In Scandinavia , you can drink almost all running water .” Wow , I realise how blessed we are here to have clean water in the streams and rivers .
Chris started to make dinner . While he cooked , he shared things about his life – significant major challenges he has faced and how he chose to grow from them . I felt inspired , impressed , and humbled for life . After dinner , in the evening , we sat down , looked
at the map , and spoke about our observations from the day . We were trying to figure the currents out . What patterns there are created by the tide ? From what we experienced today , there are a lot of back eddies along the coast . We thought about which times we had been moving related to high water and got a good idea of when to move to have the current to our benefit .
DAY 3 , LAYOVER DAY
This morning we had some decisions to make . Should we stay or should we go ? The conditions were okay for kayaking in the morning , but we decided to stay . The wind would pick up in the afternoon and not calm down for a few days . We were right in between a big low-pressure and a large high-pressure system . This next move would be exposed , with quite a long stretch without any pullouts . Also , the next campsite had no way out ; the mountain would trap us on a
beach . So not a place we want to be if the weather stays bad for longer . We decided not to commit . In this decision , Oscar had a significant role . He showed us that patience and always keeping the team safe is a skill that is good as an expedition leader .
We had the most chill day ever . We all realised we needed this . It had been a while since we last had a day where we had no plans and no must-do , and we could just be . I stretched and meditated in the morning with the ocean in the background . It ’ s so healing to listen to the waves . I imagined that I was a rock on the bottom of the ocean and that the waves were rocking me .
Later we were lying in the grass , drinking mate , and discussing group and risk management . And as usual , our conversation evolved , and suddenly , we had covered many different subjects and sat there for a few hours . Later we decided to walk over the ridge