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Though it had been well over a decade since I last slipped into a kayak, I couldn’t wait to test out my sea legs once again. When Rebecca and I first started planning our girls’ getaway trip to Vancouver Island’s Oceanside region of Parksville and Qualicum, I was very excited to see that an afternoon kayak trip with Adventuress Wilderness Adventures for Women was first-up on our itinerary.

After a quick lunch in Nanaimo, we arrived at Wall Beach in Nanoose Bay for a PFD fitting. I also made sure to slather my skin with plenty of sunscreen (sun + sun reflected off water = double trouble) and ensured maximum fashionability with my brand new aquasox.

After zipping up our lifejackets, we quickly slapped on our new hats and were ready for our crash lesson in kayaking. While both Rebecca and I had been before, it’s smart to take some time to review safety rules, procedures and to agree to stay in a group.

Guiding kayak tours of the region for close to 10 years, Jan Kretz is an adventuress who knows what she’s doing. She’s got a fun attitude and a deep love for the ocean – something that was apparent to me from the moment we met her.

I was also quite impressed by her pink and purple kayak (not to mention slightly jealous)!

Soon enough we were ready to head out into the big, blue sea. Though the wind was blowing and the waves were rolling, we pressed onward from Wall Beach to Craig Bay with ferocity in our paddling. After all, we wouldn’t be adventuresses if we let a little bit of wind stop us, now would we?

As we reached the calm waters of Craig Bay, I couldn’t help by take a moment to smell the salty sea air and soak in the beauty that was around us. A bright sun, eagles soaring overhead, the towering mountains that form the spine of Vancouver Island and more geese than you can imagine…

Believe me when I say that there is nothing strenuous or stressful about laying your paddle across your kayak and letting the gentle waves lap and bob your solo vessel in the water for a few moments. Any worries were weightless, completely carried away in the sea.

Before long, the clock ticked down and it was time to head back to Wall Beach. Lucky for us, the wind was still blowing and allowed us to essentially “surf” our kayaks back to the shore. And as we all paddled in somewhat reflective silence, I can’t help but think we were all pondering how fortunate we were to be experiencing some place so beautiful by way of an adventure so unique.

UPDATE: Be sure to read Rebecca’s re-cap of our kayak adventure here.

Adventuress Wilderness Adventures for Women operates throughout most of the year with the summer months naturally being the busiest. Based out of Nanoose Bay, just 10 minutes south of Parksville, Jan offers half-day, full-day, weekend and multi-day trips geared to all skill levels of paddling. For more information and to book a paddle date with your best girlfriends, you can visit the Adventuress website, e-mail Jan directly or call toll free at 1-866-955-6702.

I have always gone through spurts when it comes to reading, putting books away for months at a time and burning through a handful for many months more. After finally reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert earlier this year, my hungerlust for books was reignited, and I’ve decided that I will read a minimum of 10 books between now and December 31, 2009.

I found both Star and Star Struck by Pamela Anderson (no judgment) in the bargain bin and got through each in record time. You know how sinfully delightful it feels to peel through a tabloid? Yeah, they’re like that. Last weekend I grabbed Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Ever since reading A Farewell To Arms a decade ago, he has undoubtedly been my favourite author.

I cracked open The Old Man And The Sea tonight and found myself restlessly bursting with pleasure over what I read. Only 35 pages in, I know this old man. I can see him, I feel the rough fabric of his well-worn shirt, smell the faint sea salt on his sun-leathered skin and see the stories in his face. I have sat in the boat with him and understand what he thinks and what he feels and how his experiences have configured the man that is sitting in the tiny skiff amongst the lapping waves.

I read this paragraph three times in a row because I was simply astounded at how I felt reading it.

“He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.”

Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man And The Sea, 1952 Simon & Schuster

Photo: D.B. Blas on Flickr

Hemingway never, ever fails to pull me into his stories from word-one – even if the story is about nothing at all. His words truly make me want to jump up and down, run laps and make gleefully giddy sounds. The vividly descriptive words employed by Hemingway should make any and every writer jealous.

Ernest Hemingway’s talent is incomparable and I am so grateful to have discovered his works.

As the first few waves of frigid, salty Pacific Ocean water crashed over my braided head, the only thing I could think was that surfing was better than sex. Really. It’s been close to a decade since I last set foot on a surfboard, and even then I was no good. This time I wanted to do it right and signed up for an afternoon session with Tofino’s legendary Bruhwiler Surf School [website]. While there are a handful of schools on Vancouver Island’s West Coast, it seems to me that the Bruhwiler crew teach simply for the reason that they want to share their passion and way of life with others.

It’s all about the love of the wave.

We arrived at the shop a bit early in time to sign in, and were happy to hear that our wetsuits were already loaded onto the truck for us – one of the many advantages of sending in your body specs by e-mail prior to arriving.

Raph Bruhwiler and Dave the Moustache Man (who gets props for wiping the snot off my face) were our instructors for the day, and I can truly say that both did a stellar job. After a quick 15 (or so) minutes of chat on the sand – including important safety rules and basic theory – we grabbed our boards and headed out. In the words of Johnny Castle: “the best place to learn really is in the water.”

Snaking is definitely not allowed. Catching a “double up” is also not recommended.

Jenny and I hoped to ride another day without instructors, but due to less-than-favourable weather (more about that in the next post), we were forced out of our campsite earlier than we’d hoped.

To say that I can’t wait to head out again would be the understatement of 2008. The boys of Bruhwiler were phenomenal teachers and the encouraging vibe in our small group gave me the get-up-and-go that I needed. After about half an hour in the waves, I was actually standing up on nearly every other wave that I caught, and the feeling was simply euphoric. Like I said, better than sex.

I’d like to catch one of Bruhwiler Surf School’s two-day Roxy surf camps next summer with some girlfriends (and I think they know who they are). To find more information on the sport, the instructors, rates and camps, visit Bruhwiler Surf School’s site by clicking their logo in my sidebar.

To view all the photos from our ultimate surfing experience, click on over to my Flickr.

I love baths. I’ve always loved baths. I love taking baths in this particular tub. I’ve always loved taking baths in this particular tub. Lately, however, it has become something of a night routine, rather than simply a weekly ritual.

As I start to run the water, I begin to spin one of two CDs Phaedra made for me, comprised of ocean waves, classical or tribal music and whale calls. They provide ample relaxation for me and through-and-through tranquilization for Benji and Casey. In fact, one would think I’d have shot them with a dart gun. Not so.

The best part of the bath is the visitors I receive. Like clockwork, Benji perches his tiny paws on the edge of the tub and strives as hard as he can to peer over just to see what’s up. Once he’s satisfied that the situation is under control, he proceeds to “nest” into my bathrobe and keep it warm for me as I bathe. I like to think he’s guarding me.

All rest and no play makes Casey a dull boy. Despite the fact that it’s rest time for all three of us, he’s still somewhat insistent on having me throw his football (I’d be chastised for referring to it as simply a soccer ball) for him. Needless to say, he’s dropped it in the tub once or twice before giving me the chance to grab it.

Nag Champa is a must. The smell is divine.

Aside from knowing the right sounds to tune into, Phaedra has also concocted an amazing mixture of epsom salts, dried lavender from the lady’s yard and essential oils such as ylang ylang, bergamot and orange. What can I say? She knows baths!

By the time I’m finished, I have lavender clinging to me and all throughout my hair. I like it. Oh and my toenails are pink.

And now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to pull on my legwarmers and hop into bed with B, C and V(ogue).

In August, I made mention of a fast-growing oil slick in the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island. The protected waterway, which is banned even to kayakers and other recreational activities, was home to a toxic spill that spanned more than 14 kilometres after an overturned barge dumped a gross amount of diesel fuel.

The damage caused by the spill was, undoubtedly, devastating, but just as tragic was the lack of action taken by the Provincial Government to have the spill immediately cleaned up.

Photo courtesy of makeupanid on Flickr

Only now, nearly four months after the spill, is a submersible being lowered into the waters of Robson Bight to evaluate the scope of the destruction. Victoria-based A-Channel news reported on current activities in the Bight:

A manned submersible aboard the Aurora Explorer freight vessel is lowered into the water above five targets that have been identified as possible wreckage. Pilot Jeff Heaton will descend 370 metres and document what’s left of the logging equipment with a high-definition camera…and hopefully provide answers.

Jim Borrowman, a volunteer Warden of the reserve believes the best possible scenario is the fuel truck at the bottom of the ocean is empty now, with no diesel left in it to do any more damage. On the other hand, points out Dorthea Hangaard of the Living Oceans Society, if there is still a substantial amount of fuel involved, it could also be sucked out without lifting the equipment to the surface.

Hopefully this will initiate a more thorough and formal investigation into what actually happened in the killer whale sanctuary. I will keep you updated if and when more information becomes available.

A-Channel News Story

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Looking for a way to get into the Christmas spirit and do something charitable?

Play Santa for the animals!

Photo courtesy of ChromaticRat on Flickr

“Shelter animals are prone to depression from loneliness and boredom. Toys very much help stimulate the mind and provide moments of joy and comfort,” said Rhonda Sherwood, volunteer co-ordinator for the Vancouver shelter.

Sherwood acknowledges that while toys may seem like a luxury for shelter animals, they offer necessary enrichment, without which behavioural problems could develop.”

The wish list is a full one, with a need for balls, squeaky toys, Frisbees, blankets, towels, food, treats and whatever else may encourage healthy growth in needy animals.

If you’d like to help out and donate, please visit the Vancouver shelter this Sunday, December 16, 2007 between noon and 4:00 p.m. The shelter is located at 1205 East 7th Avenue. [Map]

Please be reminded that shelters around British Columbia house and care for injured, neglected, lost or abandoned animals 365 days a year, so feel free to help out whenever you can.

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And on a light end-note, my hunt for a new and fantastic mascara has come to an end. I’ve long been a user of Maybelline’s Full N’ Soft mascara, but it has of late been M.I.A. from the shelves at my local Shopper’s Drug Mart.

Last night I bit the bullet and shelled out for a pricier mascara, and after using it for the first time this morning, I’ve got to say that Smashbox’s Focal Point mascara is well worth the dough. Formulated with a special blend of waxes and polymers, it coats each lash individually, not as clumps. Yay!

Were I to believe in past lives, I think that in a past life, I may have been a creature of the sea. I’d like to think a mermaid, but most likely a whale.

Photo courtesy of fox kiyo on Flickr

Last night, some troublesome Indian take-out gave me an even more troublesome tummyache, and the thought alone of a soothing, warm bath gave me a bit of relief. As I laid there in the bathtub, cocooned in the stillness and warmth, I felt sublime. There is something so unique about water on the whole that I find enigmatic.

It’s tepid and soothing when your muscles ache, it’s cool and refreshing when your mouth is dry. Water is nourishing to the very core of the body. It pacifies in ways that are physical, emotional and even spiritual. Have you ever leaned so far back during a bath that your ears were submersed and all you can hear is your own silence and heartbeat?

It wears many masks and its power should not be overlooked. In the blink of an eye, it can destroy with its rogue waves as easily as it can orchestrate serenity with the tiniest trickle in nature.

I have lived all my life near an ocean and I know in my heart that I could never leave the coast. It is interconnected with me. I do not see water as an indistinct substance. It’s as unique as I am and as you are and is something that I am quite sure will always mystify me.

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Unrelated, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascot (or should I say, mascots?) has been revealed today. I am not a supporter of the Olympic games coming to our Province, but for those of you who are, Rebecca‘s always on top with ample coverage of all comings and goings in our city. Head on over to her site to stay in tune with what’s happening on that front.

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And speaking of J-Bo’s wife, tomorrow is girls’ night à la Metrotown. We have a few finishing touches to put on Saturday’s impending celebration, including finding Becky that perfect little black dress and a clutch for yours truly. Why is it clutches are so damn hard to find?

The one part of the evening I’m most looking forward to? Sitting on the fat man in red’s lap and having my photo taken with Missus B. Stay tuned for a seasonal (yet slightly scandalous) photo or two tomorrow night!