Our awesome paddles

So what did we do during the day at Agonda? Well, most of the time we were good beach bums and spent the day tanning, reading and swimming, but a couple of days in we decided we were ready for an adventure and exercise. As in kayaking to the next beach over, Palolem.

After breakfast Marieke went to enquire about the kayaks, reporting back that they cost 250 R per hour, or $4 per hour CAD. I went to negotiate the rate, which apparently was only 200R for me (go figure), but became “what do you want to pay”, perhaps one of the most awkward questions ever. So soon we had one double kayak for 600R for 5 hours.  What a deal!  Until we saw the paddles that is….

I wish we had Marieke’s GoPro up and running for the launch. All I can picture is Marieke sitting in the front, me pushing the kayak out, flip flops and water bottles attached precariously to the back, with a HUGE wave coming directly at us. A few screams later, and we were right back on the shore. And the whole beach watching. Perfect. In actual fact, the wave was not all that large, but it was from the vantage point of sitting trapped in a kayak.

Having managed to get going, it was tough going against the current with our half broken paddles, but it was peaceful and beautiful. We got to Palolem in about an hour and a half, grabbed lunch, walked the beach, and headed back. We were making great time on the way back, or so it seemed. We took a break and were treated to a dolphin playing in the water just a few metres away. It was so peaceful, with the cliffs in the background, and only us and the dolphin.

Taking advantage of the waterproof GoPro

Fast forward five minutes and Agonda is not “just around the corner”, Marieke is trying not to puke off the side of the kayak due to the fumes being emitted from the fishing boat that seems to be crawling right in front of us, and I’m trying to paddle the kayak for the two of us, with half a paddle.  That was a long way back.  I think it was worth it, but Marieke might disagree.  Either way, we were both ready for happy hour that night.