Last Saturday I bought a kayak. It was a two person kayak and it cost me €150.
A great price, considering all these extras:
- Two wooden oars
- A fully functioning rudder system
- 2 pairs of rooftop transportation brackets
- 2x storage brackets
The acquisition was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment purchase, but it carries a lot of potential for fun. I’m thinking adventurous day trips, and cool multi-day treks.
The day after the purchase, my partner B. and I set out to test the vehicle. We found a good route nearby via kanoweb.nl. We parked our car next to the church of Tienray, walked two hundered meters and entered the Grote Molenbeek. The stream would take us all the way to the river Maas via the villages of Meerlo and Wansum.
Along the way we were faced with some rocks, overhanging trees, and other obstacles, but we were also rewarded with opportunity to meet ducks at eye-level and we witnessed a muskrat elegantly enter the water.
Just before we entered the village of Meerlo, B. spotted some brambles that were hanging over the water.
Fat, juicy brambles.
Untouched, because no-one could reach them.
You would have to enter the water and swim to the other side to get them.
Or…
If you have a kayak...
...you can just float by and the heavenly brambles are virtually handed to you.
It made me reflect on the old adage that the best berries grow in the most difficult places.
The common interpretation goes that you need to work hard and persevere to get to these difficult places, but you will be rewarded with the best berries.
I now understand that the most difficult places are not always reached by hard work and perseverance, but that it sometimes simply requires a different perspective.
The kayak enabled us to go where we hadn’t been before, to see the lands through a new lens.
We saw eye to eye with ducks.
We saw a muskrat elegantly enter the water.
And we ate the sweetest berries.