why I like canoes better than kayaks (avec prelude)

Prelude
Many things have transpired since my last post. In a nutshell, I had a week of vacation and Aaron and I went camping, then my best friend Liz showed up in town and we hung out, and then I went away on a work retreat. And now I'm home again.

Aaron and I went camping on Galiano Island, and we enjoyed nature. We spent time in the sun, on the beach and kayaking. We played in tidal pools. We saw deer, even baby deer, and they looked so wonderful when they bounded away! We saw phosphorescent micro-organisms in the ocean at night. We also heard some seals who suffered from night terrors and sleep apnea. Or at least that's what it sounded like.

Our camping trip was also pest-free except for the occasional wasp. Galiano Island does not have any bears at all, and apparently their raccoons and skunks are not interested in garbage or dirty dishes left out overnight. I got one mosquito bite in three evenings of sitting by the campfire in a tank top. Honestly, it was kinda creepy to be that unmolested by nature.

Visiting with Liz and her mom was also fun. Aaron got to spend more time with them than I did, because they were still in Vancouver the whole time I was away on the work retreat.

Finally, I spent three days and two nights in a cottage with my colleagues. It was pretty chill. My favourite part was canoeing. I have been both canoeing and kayaking in the past two weeks.

Here is why I like canoeing better than kayaking:

- The whole means of steering is far more tangible in a canoe. Foot pedals that turn a rudder simply do not have the same effect as a well-wielded paddle. I imagine the difference to be much like driving a standard as opposed to an automatic. You gain a more tangible control over things when you cut out the "middle man" machinery. You can't turn a kayak on a dime without resorting to canoe tricks (which are more difficult with a super-long buttless kayak paddle).

- I like the point of view better in a canoe. You are higher up, which means you have a better angle for looking down into the water, and the scenery in general looks better in my opinion.

- The seating arrangement is more comfortable. In a kayak your legs are stuck straight out in front of you and resting on foot rests. I like the properly seated or kneeling positions better, and you have more options to find a comfortable position without knocking your knees on the bloody kayak.

- I prefer taking powerful individual paddle strokes rather than trying to be a smoothly fluttering kayak whirly-bird. Again, it just feels more tangible somehow.

- When canoeing, you can switch the side you're paddling on and give some of your muscles a rest while still moving forward. When kayaking, the only rest your muscles get is when you stop.

- Finally, I simply feel more at home in a canoe. I have developed a full complement of canoe habits over the course of my lifetime, and I feel like a canoe is somewhat like a natural extension of my body. Not so much with kayaks.