On Sat Aug 14 we went on an all day kayaking trip on Kachemak Bay. We first had to meet our guides, Rick and Dorle, who live and operate their kayaking trips at Cozy Cove on Little Tutka Bay. This required a 30 min water taxi ride over pretty choppy water.
We started out the taxi ride sitting outside, enjoying the scenery, but were soon eagerly scooting inside due to the BUMPS and SPRAY! (Thanks to Becky for all the great photos of Fred and I).
Once at cozy cove, we were suited up for kayaking – rain gear, rubber boots, life vests, and spray skirts (which will hook around the kayak opening to keep water out). This was a far cry from the shorts and sandals that I had imagined when we decided on kayaking……………
After suiting up, we were off…..
Our friend Becky rode in the Kayak with the guide, Rick. She had the advantage of his paddling skills, but had to listen to all his bad jokes – a fair exchange.
We kayaked all around the edge of the shoreline looking for marine life. We saw lots of Sea Stars – in SO many different forms and colors.
We also saw Sea Anemones……………
and interesting plants and and algae. We also saw several sea Otters, but could not get close enough for a picture.
The Sea Gulls were present in numbers – and THEY did not mind posing for the camera.
The cove had a number of small cabins and houses which are lived in full time. This is the “Church of the Cove”. The preacher lives in a small cabin nearby.
After paddling around for the morning, it was time to gather some ingredients for lunch - kelp and sea “vegetables”???
When it was time for lunch, we stopped at a gravel beach and Dorle put some water on to boil, added some seasonings, some yellow rice and cooked salmon from home and proceeded to cut up the sea vegetables that we had collected. These were tossed in at the last.
The result? A surprisingly tasty fish soup which Rick served up, complemented by Dorle’s fresh home baked bread. Did I mention that Dorle had grown up in Germany, raised in a bakery………..
After lunch, we were off and paddling and exploring again. Rick thought about going into this little arm of the bay, but was afraid that we would be stranded by the tides coming in. In this spot, the water flows out at low tide and rushes in as the tide goes up. The tides here can change 20 or more feet in just a few hours. As Rick said, they “live and work and play by the tides”.
Another factor at play was the WIND – which had picked up to 25-30 miles/hr. To get back to Cozy Cove, we would have to paddle against the current, and against the wind in choppy water around this cove. Do-able, but with great effort. So……thank goodness for bail-out plans. Rick called Dave, our water taxi guy, and asked him to pick us up on this side of the cove instead. I, for one, was relieved not to have to paddle that hard. Besides, my shoulders could already feel the unaccustomed effort…….
A great day………and a great way to appreciate the principal means of transportation of the early peoples in the Kenai area.
That looks like fun! of course looking at a Kayak gives me the Heebie-Jeebies. My last kayaking excursion rattled a kidney stone loose! yuk!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to try the fish soup with the "sea vegetables." I grew up in the Puget Sound region of Washington State so I'm always up for any kind of seafood!
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing your readers along on your kayaking trip! I'm glad you didn't have to paddle back in the wind and the current. Makes me tired just thinking about it!