SEAFARING
BY RACHEL & ELLI
The sea is the reason we moved out of the city and began this whole adventure. It was a calling of sorts. The call of the sea.
Even though I grew up in the mountains, I have always felt drawn to the sea. That’s not to say I’m not scared of it. I have shed many tears because of it. Icelanders as a whole are deeply connected to the sea, but they also fear it. There is some seriously complicated generational trauma there and it isn’t really seen as a place for recreation. Everyone here has lost something or someone to the ocean.
Learning to surf here as an adult learner came with its challenges. Through the process I’ve learned to lean into the things that both frighten and excite me. To push against the boundaries the mind sets and allow for the body to be a little freer to explore this life. The decision to go on a multi day kayaking trip brought up those familiar feelings. There is a certain vulnerability that comes with sitting alone in a small boat on the multitude that is the Atlantic ocean. There is something there that you just don’t experience while traveling on land.
I grew up in the Rocky Mountains and as a family we take a backpacking trip through those mountains every couple of years. I absolutely love it but this year, as we were climbing toward a potential campsite (and, if we were lucky, a lake full of fish), I found myself thinking about just that, the difference between traveling under your own power on land or on the sea.
Even though we were traveling in Grizzly bear country and you kind of knew that at any moment you could be pushed to the lowest wrung of the food chain, it doesn’t come with that constant looming sense of vulnerability that the ocean brings. The sense that you are only so much in control and that nature is the only real power out here. That any wrong movement or any shift in the weather could bring about your sudden demise. It puts you in your place quickly and sometimes that’s exactly what we need.
And as a side note, when you are traveling by a large ocean going kayak, you have a surprising amount of luggage space. You don’t need to concern yourself as much about every single kilogram you bring along. Everything doesn’t have to be freeze dried and carefully weighed. You don’t have to sacrifice your bottle of wine for your pillow. And despite my previous statements about experiencing my vulnerability and place in the natural world, I still love a bit of luxury.
