About a month ago I signed up for this sea kayaking trip through the NOR Center in the middle of my "I'm in Italy so I want to see Italy but have no idea where to start" phase. It just happened to be on the same day of the opening day ceremony for the Blue Dragons, my all star soccer team. Although I was little sad I didn't get to see how they'd do just after 2 practices the text from Coach Scott saying they won 8-1 re-assured me that the 2 "C"oaches had it under control while I was out paddling around the various bays filled with the most amazing blue water.
There were 6 of us on the tour. 5 guys and me. 5 married men that all left their wives at home while they took a day trip. I apparently didn't get this memo but whatever, they were entertaining and all but one had lived in California so we had lots to talk about. I also found out about a few hikes and a karaoke bar in Arco Felice. (Side note, Italy has now been "blessed" with my karaoke skills. Yep. That was Friday night.)
After our 1.5 hour drive (with a stop for coffee) we made it to our launching point. We started off in Punta della Campanella on the Bay of Salerno. The water was perhaps the clearest and deepest sapphire blue I've seen my entire time in Italy. While we were close to the marina you could see rocks and vegetation through turquoise water and there was so little trash in the water I nearly forgot I was in Southern Italy. Heading out around the peninsula back towards the Bay of Naples Capri was straight ahead. This of course confused me to no end since I too can see Capri from my patio. After looking at a map though, I'm looking at the other side of it and yes, from my patio it's much further away than the 6km it was from us on the water.
The waves were a little different than kayaking in Elk Horn Slough or in Still Water Cove but nothing my t-rex arms couldn't deal with. Granted I was the one "enjoying the view" but honestly think that was due to my inefficient stroke. Plus, it was not a competition and I was really in awe of the rocks and their steep slope dropping right off into the ocean. We followed the coast line (some us more closely than others) and saw towers and other buildings left from WWII and a tad before. One guy commented that these buildings weren't old at all. I just reminded him that they were "old" by American standards but no, not by our new standard with all things being from a long, long time ago.
As we turned the final point that would put us back into the Bay of Naples, the wind really picked up. We continued on for a few minutes but then decided to head back to the beach area in one of the coves to eat lunch and hang out. Well, this was the point that my kayak decided it wanted to skip the bay all together and head back to our starting point. Ray, the guide laughed and suggested that my kayak needed a saddle since it was acting more like a horse, knowing the way back home. I had the same issue on the way out, but just figured my right arm was out muscling my left arm. Well, now that I was pulling right I figured it really was the doing of the current out muscling my weakly arms.
Our kayak gang stormed the pebbly beach with a sprinkling of older locals roasting in the sun. Once free of my lovely kayak skirt and life jacket I told Stanley we were going for a swim. The water felt perfect. Apparently it was a little cooler than it had been in the summer but really any warmer would have been gross feeling. The water was super salty. How salty? I kept spitting the salt taste out of my mouth even when I wasn't getting water in my mouth. So probably not quite Dead Sea salinity level but plenty enough for me. If the taste didn't give it away, my increased buoyancy sure did. I propelled myself around a little while before realizing that I should probably head back to the beach and coat my blinding white body (minus my arms) with more SF50.
While we all hung out and chatted an English speaking couple totally picked up that we weren't Italian. Not sure if that was due to our (lovely) matching tops with English writing or the fact that we were speaking English so I chatted with them for a bit. They were just visiting the area but were curious about Naples so I gave them a little info. The group then took a mini hike up the hillside to go see a rock mining area from WWII. (These were those not so old buildings.) We didn't have enough time to head all the way up the hill to the church, but on the drive out of town they pointed out where the trail head was. We all laughed that we won't remember how we got there, but thanks.
On the way back to the beach where we started the day I guess we went faster than planned because we had a little more time. Most of the group continued to dodge the boats in the marina as we headed out towards Positano. Well, more like just wrapping around a few more curves of the coast to possibly Nerano but that's a pure guess as I sit here with my map. We didn't actually see Positano based on our position, but we could see all the way to Praiano and were told it was another 2 hours by kayak to get there. No grazie, my arms had had more than enough at this point and my hands were having issues holding the oar but maybe next time?
Out of the sun, in dry clothes, arms already feeling achy I loaded back up to the back seat of the 9 passenger van. Although I fought hard to take in the windy road, olive trees, buildings, and views of the water I fell asleep for a while. By the time we arrived back to Carney Park I was questioning if I could turn my steering wheel enough to be able to drive home on my windy road.
I made it.
Just don't ask me to open any twist top containers or carry anything more than a coffee mug because it's not happening.
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