Saturday a group of us rented kayaks and canoes from a little shack on the Charles River. We began just beyond the Elliot bridge and went down to the lagoon by the Esplanade, where we had a picnic lunch and relaxed for a while. Then we went through the little channel there back in to the river, circled around the Longfellow Bridge, and headed back. All in all it was about 10 miles. Great fun, and totally exhausting.
They say it was 95 degrees on Saturday… the hottest day in nearly 3 years in Boston. Humidity was at least 65%. So being on the water, with a strong breeze was just what I needed to keep me nice and cool. I also had a big bottle of water, which was especially helpful on the trek back upstream. Unfortunately I got rather sunburnt, despite slathering myself in SPF 30 sunscreen before we hit the water and after our lunch. Damned genetics! Why was I cursed with this perfectly fair, freckled skin! Why, oh why can’t I spend five continuous hours in the sun, light reflecting back off the water, with no ill effects? It isn’t right! It simply isn’t fair!
Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures, because being my first time in a kayak I was — quite reasonably, I think — absolutely convinced that I was going to capsize it and probably drown. But if I didn’t drown I would have been pretty upset had my camera been ruined by the water, and I decided to play it safe and bring absolutely nothing along with me. Also my swimsuit had no pockets. But Fredrik did take pictures, confident from his kayaking days in the army, so everyone bug him and tell him to put his photos up!
We’re definitely doing this again. I have a feeling this will be the Summer of the Kayak, following the Summer of the Fiat, the Summer of the Bike, and last year’s ill-fated (and photoless) Summer of the Skateboard. It will go something like this:
NAT’s cellphone rings
NAT
Hey dude!Pause, while NAT listens to the other end of the conversation.
NAT
You’re gonna hit Pamplona? Great idea! I’m going to kayak over, I’ll meet you there in two or three hours. Order me a media noche!Fin.
Update: Fredrik put up the photos.