Still Breathing – CTA
Published August 15, 2007 | 
The sea is the sea. It is not always calm or serene or tranquil azure blue. Nothing in real life is like the post card, not even the 5 star resorts. Paddling a sea kayak around the island of Puerto Rico is not all calm seas, cold beer and bikinis. In fact it’s just like paddling anywhere else on the sea, except occasionally a coconut floats by on the surface of a big wind swept wave.
It feels as if we’ve been paddling for days. (Mainly because we have. . .) We are tired and slipping a bit physically. We realized today we were eating almost no protein, a major mistake. We would rise to beat the wind and hit the water on granola. Yet, it’s felt a bit like a race recently. Each day there is no choice to get up with the sun and rush to beat the wind only to have it find us in just a couple hours. Then the rest of the day it’s a hard slog for every mile. Over the next couple days I will share more details. But for the moment let’s just say we are glad for a few days off the water while we wait to see what “Dean” decides to do.
My “body count” keeps growing. I am taking meds for an ear infection as well others as for my raw and swollen legs. My ribs were feeling better until the last two days through oncoming winds and riled waves. Now again I am in pain with every movement. Yet I had been feeling signs of getting better and I hope the next couple days off the water will help set things right. My poor legs are raw. 1000 mosquito bites, 100 ant bites, sunburn, and a general infection soaked in constant salt water all come together to make for an exciting mix. Up until today, the only time I felt good was on the water, but the winds have taken their toll and even today’s paddle from St. Isabel to here in Guayama was a struggling “heads down” push. We could only keep reminding ourselves that tomorrow we wouldn’t paddle! Taino is in generally good condition but is worn down as well. Yet to cheer us up we can look at the chart and see we have made real progress and are on schedule even with this temporary break.
The last couple times on the south coast we have been met by our other Kayak Angel Yvonne R. Le Guillou, who has met us with more food than we can eat, water, and treats. Between Carrie, Jose, and Yvonne we are so very well taken care of. Yvonne has been working hard to get my various cards back to her home and uploaded to my flickr account. I just handed her another 2 gig card to sort through. (Poor girl!) She met us today (after a time) and with the help of a friend hauled all our gear to her home which now looks like the “Chasing The Ana” warehouse and public grill. I will be hang out here, watching the storm and touring the area, while Taino runs up into the mountains to visit family. Over the next couple days I will have some time to post some thoughts on the “show so far”. Right now, I’m enjoying a glass of wine with ice and can’t wait to experience a real bed again. As for Taino. . . he went to bed hours ago!
Hmmm, all day long I kept hearing Ringo Starr singing in my head. . “It don’t come easy, you know it don’t come easy. . . .”
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