#165 - Crossing Nicaragua: 16 Days of Human-Powered Adventure with Caleb McIntyre

WEBVTT

00:00:01.817 --> 00:00:05.877
Welcome to Paddling the Blue. With each episode, we talk with guests from the

00:00:05.877 --> 00:00:09.557
Great Lakes and around the globe who are doing cool things related to sea kayaking.

00:00:09.757 --> 00:00:14.337
I'm your host, my name is John Chase, and let's get started paddling the blue.

00:00:14.617 --> 00:00:17.437
Welcome to today's episode of the Paddling the Blue podcast.

00:00:17.997 --> 00:00:21.697
Caleb McIntyre joins today's episode to recount his life-changing experience

00:00:21.697 --> 00:00:23.797
crossing Nicaragua, mostly by paddle.

00:00:24.177 --> 00:00:27.937
The trip was an opportunity for Caleb to return to a place he'd experienced

00:00:27.937 --> 00:00:30.097
before and fell in love with previously.

00:00:30.337 --> 00:00:33.777
And the trip really provided the chance to get deep into the country and for

00:00:33.777 --> 00:00:37.237
his group to truly immerse themselves in the landscape and in the people.

00:00:37.397 --> 00:00:40.977
I really think you're going to enjoy Caleb's enthusiasm and his ability to help

00:00:40.977 --> 00:00:42.617
you experience the trip along with him.

00:00:42.897 --> 00:00:46.857
Before we get to today's conversation with Caleb, James Stevenson and Simon

00:00:46.857 --> 00:00:50.757
Osborne at OnlineSeaKeyaking.com continue to produce great content to help you

00:00:50.757 --> 00:00:52.517
evolve as a paddler and as a coach.

00:00:52.677 --> 00:00:56.217
And you'll find everything from basic strokes and safety to paddling in tides,

00:00:56.377 --> 00:01:01.637
surfing, coaching, documentaries, expedition skills, and incident management, and more.

00:01:01.977 --> 00:01:05.297
So if you're not already a subscriber to OnlineSeaKyaking.com,

00:01:05.457 --> 00:01:07.277
here is your opportunity to get started.

00:01:08.277 --> 00:01:13.477
Visit OnlineSeaKyaking.com, use the coupon code PTBPODCAST at checkout,

00:01:13.657 --> 00:01:17.737
and you'll get 10% off just for being a member of the Paddling the Blue community.

00:01:17.997 --> 00:01:20.637
And while you're there, be sure to visit the community section where you'll

00:01:20.637 --> 00:01:21.737
find an interview with me.

00:01:22.037 --> 00:01:24.757
And thanks to Simon and Daniel for hosting me on their meetup.

00:01:25.397 --> 00:01:27.657
And for those of us who also enjoy paddling whitewater boats,

00:01:27.877 --> 00:01:29.997
be sure to check out onlinewhitewater.com.

00:01:30.017 --> 00:01:34.837
They're offering the same discount to listeners with the coupon code PTBpodcast at checkout.

00:01:35.526 --> 00:01:39.366
And I would love to help you put those skills to work. I offer a wide range

00:01:39.366 --> 00:01:42.666
of programs in the Great Lakes and beyond, from paddling skill development,

00:01:42.966 --> 00:01:48.406
instructor certifications, workshops, CPR and wilderness first aid, guided trips, and more.

00:01:48.646 --> 00:01:52.966
Just visit paddlingtheblue.com and click the Courses and Trips link at the top

00:01:52.966 --> 00:01:54.826
of the page, and I hope to see you on the water.

00:01:55.366 --> 00:02:00.566
Enjoy today's interview with Caleb McIntyre. Hey, Caleb, welcome to Paddling the Blue.

00:02:01.166 --> 00:02:04.206
Hey, John, thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

00:02:04.206 --> 00:02:07.686
So we've had a chance to talk a couple of times in the past and get connected.

00:02:07.826 --> 00:02:12.006
But I recently saw that you did a pretty cool trip through Central America.

00:02:12.266 --> 00:02:14.746
So I wanted to talk a little bit about that. But before we do that,

00:02:14.826 --> 00:02:17.226
let's talk about how did you get your start as a paddler?

00:02:17.786 --> 00:02:21.586
Thanks, John. I grew up being spoiled in the Pacific Northwest.

00:02:21.606 --> 00:02:26.526
I grew up on Vancouver Island where I saw people with kayaks and canoes.

00:02:26.626 --> 00:02:30.686
And I was involved in youth programs like scouts and I joined cadets.

00:02:30.686 --> 00:02:36.246
But I'll admit it probably wasn't until I was in my early twenties that I took

00:02:36.246 --> 00:02:37.866
sea kayaking seriously. I.

00:02:38.460 --> 00:02:42.480
Like many other people who grew up here, I had this perception that sea kayaking

00:02:42.480 --> 00:02:46.760
was for, quote, old people, that it was something that you did when your knees

00:02:46.760 --> 00:02:50.080
started giving out and you couldn't do more extreme sports, which,

00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:51.880
of course, I was drawn to as a young person.

00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:56.080
But I think that perception was quickly shattered as soon as I had the opportunity

00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:01.200
to do some proper expedition sea kayaking, particularly on the open west coast

00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:05.280
of Vancouver Island, where the conditions can be pretty serious, pretty high stakes.

00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.440
I had the chance to get my role, get into surfing, rock gardening,

00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:15.920
and then eventually realized that as a young person, sea kayaking could be an

00:03:15.920 --> 00:03:18.340
avenue for me to get employment in the outdoors.

00:03:18.820 --> 00:03:23.840
And so I eventually pursued certifications in sea kayaking here in British Columbia.

00:03:23.940 --> 00:03:29.120
And I worked as a guide and mostly as an instructor for outdoor development

00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:30.860
programs like Outward Bound.

00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:33.900
And sea kayaking really was an avenue for

00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:36.760
my own personal development as an instructor as as an

00:03:36.760 --> 00:03:39.920
as an educator but it's also been something that

00:03:39.920 --> 00:03:42.760
has remained a real influence in my in my

00:03:42.760 --> 00:03:48.260
personal life and my own hobbies so it's it's still with me very much so from

00:03:48.260 --> 00:03:52.200
an early age yeah that's a pretty terrible place to grow up isn't it it's rough

00:03:52.200 --> 00:03:57.820
man for sea kayaking yeah you know you know it so now tell us a little bit about

00:03:57.820 --> 00:04:00.880
the guiding experience and uh and Particularly, let's start with the training.

00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:03.740
You mentioned you had done some certification for guiding. What does that look

00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:05.300
like out in the Pacific Northwest?

00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:11.440
Well, I'm sure it shares a lot in common with best practices that the sea kayak

00:04:11.440 --> 00:04:15.040
industry has in the United States and in other parts of the world,

00:04:15.040 --> 00:04:16.560
in Europe and Japan and others.

00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:24.600
Ultimately, in British Columbia, sea kayaking remains largely industry managed.

00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:30.540
There's no federal regulations in Canada around sea kayaking,

00:04:30.700 --> 00:04:37.060
but there was a risk of that being so after some accidents happened,

00:04:37.260 --> 00:04:41.760
I believe in the late 90s or early 2000s, don't quote me, but ultimately it

00:04:41.760 --> 00:04:45.920
was the first time that there was a fatality involved in sea kayaking.

00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:50.400
And I think at that time, the Canadian government authorities were wondering, what is this activity?

00:04:50.640 --> 00:04:54.360
You know, we've got tourists coming around the world to go sea kayaking in our

00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:57.140
waters. And there is a risk to life. What's going on here?

00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:01.940
And at that time, the Sea Guides Alliance of British Columbia was formed.

00:05:02.080 --> 00:05:06.480
All of the industry partners and guides identified that, you know,

00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:10.400
yes, we need to set high standards for instruction, for guiding people.

00:05:11.130 --> 00:05:14.750
Qualifications for those professionals. And if we self-regulate,

00:05:14.970 --> 00:05:18.290
we'll hopefully prevent any future fatalities.

00:05:18.550 --> 00:05:26.870
We'll raise a high bar and we'll create a sustainable profession that become globally renowned.

00:05:27.030 --> 00:05:30.710
And I think that's still the goal of the Seacock Guides Alliance of BC.

00:05:30.970 --> 00:05:37.550
And as a young person, I found the qualification process arduous and expensive.

00:05:37.690 --> 00:05:40.430
It felt like I had to jump through a lot of hoops to

00:05:40.430 --> 00:05:43.590
prove myself now that i'm you know a more

00:05:43.590 --> 00:05:47.230
seasoned guide i i absolutely grateful that

00:05:47.230 --> 00:05:50.110
i had to jump through all of those hoops and prove

00:05:50.110 --> 00:05:52.970
myself through multiple courses and and tests

00:05:52.970 --> 00:05:56.190
and i think as you age you and you've

00:05:56.190 --> 00:05:59.630
gone through some some some close calls you

00:05:59.630 --> 00:06:02.330
look back on your training and you're really grateful for it

00:06:02.330 --> 00:06:05.250
all and you're grateful for the scenarios that

00:06:05.250 --> 00:06:08.390
you had to play out in a controlled environment because when

00:06:08.390 --> 00:06:14.610
when real you know as they say you know crap hits the fan it's all all you have

00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:19.030
is your training to fall back on and so i yeah i'm really grateful for it and

00:06:19.030 --> 00:06:24.150
it was something that i did like i said earlier just mostly to get employment

00:06:24.150 --> 00:06:28.190
in the outdoors i didn't necessarily have a strong passion for paddling initially.

00:06:29.252 --> 00:06:35.672
I think for me, sea kayaking has always just been about a vehicle for exploration.

00:06:36.032 --> 00:06:41.612
You know, the skills have generally been secondary to the why,

00:06:41.932 --> 00:06:43.872
you know, to the reason I go outdoors.

00:06:45.092 --> 00:06:50.272
And I think of my own passion for human power travel, being in my own body,

00:06:50.392 --> 00:06:53.612
getting out of my head a little bit. Sea kayaking is perfect for that.

00:06:54.012 --> 00:06:57.192
It's just such an efficient way to move. Absolutely. So that's,

00:06:57.192 --> 00:07:01.492
that's why I, that's why I, that's why I still do it, even though I'm not a guide anymore.

00:07:01.672 --> 00:07:04.812
You know, it's, it's one of my favorite ways to move through, through this planet.

00:07:05.132 --> 00:07:10.552
Yeah. I mean, you're right. It's the skills help you be able to enjoy that environment

00:07:10.552 --> 00:07:14.192
better because you aren't necessarily worried about and thinking about doing

00:07:14.192 --> 00:07:16.472
all the things that you're doing to, to be there.

00:07:16.812 --> 00:07:19.892
You have, you have the skills, knowledge, and abilities to be able to support

00:07:19.892 --> 00:07:23.492
yourself in that environment. Therefore, you can immerse yourself in that environment even more.

00:07:24.072 --> 00:07:29.472
So well said. Absolutely. Like we can't undervalue the skills because if you

00:07:29.472 --> 00:07:32.632
don't have them, you're not going anywhere. Or if you are, you're going to get

00:07:32.632 --> 00:07:34.952
in trouble. And we've all seen that before, right? Sure.

00:07:35.552 --> 00:07:38.572
Yeah, the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia has got a pretty well-developed

00:07:38.572 --> 00:07:41.072
program in this. So congratulations on going through that.

00:07:41.472 --> 00:07:45.932
Out of curiosity, how do you think the decision-making, the leadership pieces,

00:07:46.112 --> 00:07:49.372
the risk management pieces that they taught and you've experienced through that,

00:07:49.512 --> 00:07:51.972
how has that helped you outside of paddling?

00:07:52.612 --> 00:07:54.212
It's a really good question.

00:07:56.112 --> 00:08:00.172
There's a lot in common, you know, and when you go through guide training or

00:08:00.172 --> 00:08:04.332
you go through first aid training and you're trained for those high consequence

00:08:04.332 --> 00:08:06.492
scenarios where there's risk to life in limb,

00:08:08.132 --> 00:08:12.272
If you've even gone through that training and you haven't done the scenario-based

00:08:12.272 --> 00:08:18.532
stuff where you're thrown into a situation where there's simulated risk,

00:08:19.692 --> 00:08:24.792
where there aren't actually lives at stake, but there very well could be,

00:08:24.932 --> 00:08:31.272
you're really tested and you'd be put into a stressful scenario and you get

00:08:31.272 --> 00:08:34.452
a chance to see how you'd actually respond.

00:08:36.012 --> 00:08:39.472
And there are many times in life outside

00:08:39.472 --> 00:08:42.872
of our work in the outdoors where we're

00:08:42.872 --> 00:08:45.852
faced with very real situations where we

00:08:45.852 --> 00:08:48.612
have to keep that level head or we have to kind

00:08:48.612 --> 00:08:51.792
of remove ourselves from everybody else's stress we have

00:08:51.792 --> 00:08:54.872
to put those voices of doubt

00:08:54.872 --> 00:08:58.972
aside shut them off and fall

00:08:58.972 --> 00:09:01.832
back on our training and i and i think there's also

00:09:01.832 --> 00:09:05.692
there's an element there around self-care and self-mastery

00:09:05.692 --> 00:09:09.672
and they you know in a first date scenario they say like you know assess the

00:09:09.672 --> 00:09:13.992
scene you got to take care of yourself as a first dater and as a guide if you

00:09:13.992 --> 00:09:19.092
don't have mastery over your own vessel over your own gear over your own paddle

00:09:19.092 --> 00:09:22.832
you're not going to be able to be much use and so i.

00:09:24.121 --> 00:09:27.101
I appreciate that if you're going to pursue outdoor leadership,

00:09:27.401 --> 00:09:31.661
yeah, it's an honor and a pleasure to be able to get paid to take people outside.

00:09:31.961 --> 00:09:38.081
But that comes with a responsibility to be the best paddler you can be,

00:09:38.181 --> 00:09:39.541
the best leader that you can be.

00:09:40.101 --> 00:09:43.481
And like I said, to be on top of your stress game,

00:09:43.621 --> 00:09:49.361
you know, and really pay attention to how you react to other people's stress,

00:09:49.361 --> 00:09:52.441
how you allow other people's energy to

00:09:52.441 --> 00:09:55.781
impact your own and to be ideally that

00:09:55.781 --> 00:09:58.541
steady rock for yourself but for your

00:09:58.541 --> 00:10:02.841
team for your clients whoever it might be and if i that find that for myself

00:10:02.841 --> 00:10:08.501
even as a parent now you know recognizing how much my energy the way i respond

00:10:08.501 --> 00:10:15.021
to stress to situations will influence my my toddler my son and i am grateful

00:10:15.021 --> 00:10:18.321
that in my life as an outdoor a professional,

00:10:18.701 --> 00:10:23.921
I've had to learn to keep a level head, you know, and be aware of my emotions,

00:10:24.021 --> 00:10:30.821
be aware of my reactions and to be that source of stability and that source of calm.

00:10:31.821 --> 00:10:36.741
And ultimately that belief that I could get myself and I can get this team to

00:10:36.741 --> 00:10:38.761
this situation and out the other side.

00:10:39.501 --> 00:10:44.001
Yeah. Yeah. So you were able to put those skills to work recently.

00:10:44.001 --> 00:10:48.541
So you had the opportunity to join a trip through Central America.

00:10:49.101 --> 00:10:51.861
And so tell us a little bit about that trip.

00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:56.439
Central America is a beautiful place.

00:10:56.979 --> 00:11:03.319
It's, you know, geographically, it's that zone ultimately between Mexico and Colombia.

00:11:03.619 --> 00:11:12.239
And it's warm, it's beautiful, and it's largely underdeveloped economically.

00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:15.219
But culturally, it's so rich.

00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:22.279
And i had the pleasure of traveling there kind of on a bit of a solo you know soul searching,

00:11:22.839 --> 00:11:28.079
adventure that some of us are lucky to do when we're in our early 20s and it

00:11:28.079 --> 00:11:32.859
was a very pivotal pivotal moment for me in terms of my personal development

00:11:32.859 --> 00:11:38.199
and my connection to community i could go on about that trip but ultimately

00:11:38.199 --> 00:11:42.759
10 years exactly down the line i was sitting at my desk at track kayaks,

00:11:42.959 --> 00:11:47.139
reflecting on how much I miss solo adventures, how much I miss just doing things

00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:48.819
for myself since becoming a dad.

00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:52.679
It's so much of my personal time if outside of work is just put towards family.

00:11:52.839 --> 00:11:55.639
I very, very rarely have a chance to ask, you know, what does Caleb want to

00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:59.319
do this weekend? Or where does Caleb want to paddle this month?

00:11:59.479 --> 00:12:02.599
You know, I don't really get much time for that right now in my life.

00:12:02.659 --> 00:12:06.799
And so when I got a call, first it was started with an email from...

00:12:07.638 --> 00:12:12.518
From Jimmy, the owner of Rat Race Adventures, which is a very unique outdoor

00:12:12.518 --> 00:12:13.978
adventure company out of the UK.

00:12:14.498 --> 00:12:18.618
Their tagline, I think, is Extraordinary Adventures for Ordinary People.

00:12:18.778 --> 00:12:21.778
And that might sound kind of gimmicky, but if you take a look at the trips that

00:12:21.778 --> 00:12:24.338
these folks run, they are extreme.

00:12:24.718 --> 00:12:32.078
They are ultra-marathon races, circumnavigations, huge distances over very short

00:12:32.078 --> 00:12:36.218
periods of time for people who do not want a typical vacation.

00:12:36.738 --> 00:12:39.758
And this is you know as a guide myself i thought wow it's amazing

00:12:39.758 --> 00:12:42.378
that companies like this actually exist and you know that there's a

00:12:42.378 --> 00:12:45.138
clientele that is looking for this level of

00:12:45.138 --> 00:12:47.778
challenge you know these are not people who just want to sit on

00:12:47.778 --> 00:12:50.558
a beach during spring break these are people who want to run

00:12:50.558 --> 00:12:53.438
across countries and up and down mountains and all that

00:12:53.438 --> 00:12:57.198
kind of stuff anyway jim reached out because as

00:12:57.198 --> 00:12:59.918
he is being the owner of a company like rat race he's always

00:12:59.918 --> 00:13:03.618
looking for new destinations to run trips and

00:13:03.618 --> 00:13:06.738
at the time he needed a kayak a

00:13:06.738 --> 00:13:11.118
seaworthy kayak he could take to micronesia which is a tiny little collection

00:13:11.118 --> 00:13:16.798
of islands that form a country he's going to explore an ancient nearly sunken

00:13:16.798 --> 00:13:21.218
city and anyway long story short he had a great time loved the kayak we had

00:13:21.218 --> 00:13:26.178
a great call after and and the conversation evolved to where i hoped it would go.

00:13:27.058 --> 00:13:30.298
And and jim said you know i've actually got an idea for a

00:13:30.298 --> 00:13:33.178
fleet of these kayaks there's a trip that i want to run

00:13:33.178 --> 00:13:35.998
in nicaragua and of course having been

00:13:35.998 --> 00:13:39.218
to the country before having a lot of romanticism around this

00:13:39.218 --> 00:13:45.878
around the place immediately my spidey senses kind of kicked in and i just kind

00:13:45.878 --> 00:13:49.698
of had this feeling of like i i need to be there i need to go on this trip you

00:13:49.698 --> 00:13:53.478
know it's one thing to be able to hook up a fellow paddler with some pretty

00:13:53.478 --> 00:13:56.038
sweet kayaks for an epic trip it's another thing,

00:13:56.709 --> 00:14:01.669
to be actually be able to participate in that. And I didn't ask.

00:14:01.869 --> 00:14:04.149
I was hopeful, but I didn't ask.

00:14:04.369 --> 00:14:09.549
But I came into work about three weeks out, maybe four weeks out from the intended

00:14:09.549 --> 00:14:12.249
start of the Nicaragua adventure.

00:14:12.949 --> 00:14:16.689
And Jim said, you know, Caleb, why don't you come down? Why don't you join us?

00:14:16.749 --> 00:14:21.009
And you can help bring some of the kayaks for the fleet, bring some down from Canada.

00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:25.929
And i admit i i was scared

00:14:25.929 --> 00:14:29.449
because an opportunity like this this kind of offer might

00:14:29.449 --> 00:14:33.409
be once in a lifetime but it's not so easy now you know i've got a family at

00:14:33.409 --> 00:14:36.809
home i've i have a full-time job pretty strong responsibilities at track so

00:14:36.809 --> 00:14:41.409
for me to consider leaving two and a half weeks leave my my partner alone with

00:14:41.409 --> 00:14:47.569
our baby and leave my post at track hq i was nervous but to be honest with you, John.

00:14:47.729 --> 00:14:50.789
I just went ahead and bought my plane tickets before I ever asked permission.

00:14:50.989 --> 00:14:54.069
I just, I just knew it was almost on a spiritual level.

00:14:54.189 --> 00:14:59.469
I was like, okay, it's exactly 10 years since I went to this country on an admittedly

00:14:59.469 --> 00:15:01.069
transformational personal experience.

00:15:01.309 --> 00:15:07.109
I'm being invited to return and to cross the country by human power under my

00:15:07.109 --> 00:15:11.949
own steam with a group of probably absolutely amazing humans.

00:15:12.309 --> 00:15:15.049
I can't say no. And if anybody said no,

00:15:15.109 --> 00:15:17.869
I'd tell them to screw off because this is this is an

00:15:17.869 --> 00:15:20.749
absolute gift from the universe so i bought

00:15:20.749 --> 00:15:23.409
my tickets i got lucky i got good a good price on them

00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:26.389
even last minute i told my partner honey i

00:15:26.389 --> 00:15:32.469
got this trip it's a work trip in nicaragua i think i gotta go i have to go

00:15:32.469 --> 00:15:36.649
looked at me i yeah i said i have to go and she knew the story and she said

00:15:36.649 --> 00:15:41.729
i guess you gotta go and and nolan the founder of track i i showed him the itinerary

00:15:41.729 --> 00:15:44.989
i told him what the offer was that i said nolan i got to go.

00:15:45.329 --> 00:15:48.089
And he said, I think so. I think you got to go.

00:15:48.249 --> 00:15:52.269
And it was a full on everybody supporting me. So I feel incredibly grateful

00:15:52.269 --> 00:15:56.769
for that at this phase of my life to have the opportunity and excuse to rekindle

00:15:56.769 --> 00:15:58.849
my own sense of adventure after having to.

00:15:59.329 --> 00:16:02.029
Put that on pause since becoming a dad.

00:16:02.169 --> 00:16:04.569
I don't know about you, John, if you have kids or anybody else listening,

00:16:04.769 --> 00:16:09.269
but once you have kids, your relationship with adventure and the outdoors does change.

00:16:09.789 --> 00:16:13.989
Certainly. Become a little bit more aware of your fragility and you become more

00:16:13.989 --> 00:16:17.749
aware of those who rely on you and your, so your risk tolerance changes.

00:16:18.249 --> 00:16:22.129
And I didn't necessarily like that. You know, I felt like I'd lived 31 years

00:16:22.129 --> 00:16:25.129
to get a risk tolerance that I felt really comfortable with.

00:16:25.129 --> 00:16:29.449
And then all of a sudden I had a baby and I'm don't feel as confident to do

00:16:29.449 --> 00:16:33.689
the things that I've spent all of these years in learning how to do,

00:16:33.809 --> 00:16:37.549
you know, whether it's sailing or whitewater or backcountry skiing,

00:16:37.629 --> 00:16:41.329
you know, all of these, all these, these risk management decisions,

00:16:41.549 --> 00:16:43.929
they, the factors change, but yeah.

00:16:44.566 --> 00:16:47.826
I felt really empowered to go on this trip and I knew that I'd have a really

00:16:47.826 --> 00:16:49.986
strong team. I wasn't going to be going alone.

00:16:50.126 --> 00:16:52.686
There was going to be a lot of expertise and it was familiar territory.

00:16:52.726 --> 00:16:58.166
It was a country I knew, a language I speak enough of to survive and an adventure

00:16:58.166 --> 00:17:03.746
that I knew I would be retelling myself and others for many years to come.

00:17:04.446 --> 00:17:08.226
Very cool. And it was, but it was a bit of a quick pack job to be honest with

00:17:08.226 --> 00:17:13.006
you, you know, and I wasn't just bringing one kayak. I had to bring three kayaks

00:17:13.006 --> 00:17:17.226
with me in a bag, plus all the paddling gear I needed for Nicaragua.

00:17:17.846 --> 00:17:23.386
And if, and anyone who's listening, if you've ever been to particularly Central America,

00:17:23.546 --> 00:17:28.526
but a lot of Latin American countries aren't known for their incredible selection

00:17:28.526 --> 00:17:32.906
of high protein, nutrient rich snacks, you know?

00:17:33.026 --> 00:17:36.266
So like a lot of the things that we rely on as outdoor professionals,

00:17:36.626 --> 00:17:39.926
like dehydrated meals and granola bars and protein balls

00:17:39.926 --> 00:17:42.806
and all of these types of these types of snacks and

00:17:42.806 --> 00:17:45.666
foods like you just can't find them down there

00:17:45.666 --> 00:17:50.246
so i in anticipation for that i probably took an additional 20 to 30 pounds

00:17:50.246 --> 00:17:54.926
worth of snacks to be honest with you i didn't mess around because i just knew

00:17:54.926 --> 00:17:59.186
the high new based on the route plan just how much paddling we were doing and

00:17:59.186 --> 00:18:02.606
not just paddling there was there was a cycling component as well which was

00:18:02.606 --> 00:18:05.626
it was pretty intense but the paddling was by far the most,

00:18:05.966 --> 00:18:08.206
the biggest wild card in this country.

00:18:08.206 --> 00:18:14.366
As far as we knew, the route that we are intending to do had never been attempted by kayak before.

00:18:14.766 --> 00:18:19.546
I'm sure that, you know, hundreds of years ago before the Spanish arrived and

00:18:19.546 --> 00:18:24.726
conquered the region ruthlessly, that indigenous people would have crossed those

00:18:24.726 --> 00:18:28.866
great lakes of Nicaragua, no problem, and traded on the various islands.

00:18:29.126 --> 00:18:34.286
But since that Spanish conquest, there hasn't been any record of people attempting

00:18:34.286 --> 00:18:39.086
to paddle across those great lakes and you you can kind of understand why when you get there.

00:18:40.506 --> 00:18:45.906
They are very similar to your own backyard, John, the Great Lakes of North America.

00:18:46.246 --> 00:18:49.586
Large bodies of water. You don't really see the other shore.

00:18:50.086 --> 00:18:54.306
Lots of fetch from the trade winds, which are not far away, you know,

00:18:54.406 --> 00:18:55.686
from ripping across the Caribbean.

00:18:56.066 --> 00:19:01.586
And so pretty much every day you'd expect to see sheep in the pasture every day on those lakes.

00:19:01.746 --> 00:19:07.406
It's white cappy and tight swell, you know, tight periods like you guys are

00:19:07.406 --> 00:19:10.446
used to on the Great Lakes. So that was, as a West Coast boy,

00:19:10.566 --> 00:19:14.326
that was not something I was used to, not something I was anticipating.

00:19:15.526 --> 00:19:21.946
And it was definitely concerning, I'll say, upon getting our eyes on the water for the first time.

00:19:22.446 --> 00:19:26.006
There's a lot of question marks of like, if this whole trip was in vain,

00:19:26.286 --> 00:19:28.666
it's like if it was, it was all completely impossible.

00:19:28.666 --> 00:19:31.386
People i'd love to hear i'd love to talk

00:19:31.386 --> 00:19:34.306
about the trip in detail here in just a moment but tell me before

00:19:34.306 --> 00:19:37.566
we get into that dispel some of the myths of nicaragua and

00:19:37.566 --> 00:19:40.466
what people should really know about the country such a

00:19:40.466 --> 00:19:43.906
good question john well like many countries

00:19:43.906 --> 00:19:49.546
in latin america there's a history of colonization a history of independence

00:19:49.546 --> 00:19:56.646
and revolution and struggle a political struggle between the influences of colonial

00:19:56.646 --> 00:20:00.686
powers including the united states and more socialist movements,

00:20:01.106 --> 00:20:03.246
communist movements that have swept through the region.

00:20:04.206 --> 00:20:08.966
In short, it's a history of violence and upheaval and civil war.

00:20:09.386 --> 00:20:14.786
And I think of incredible resilience of the people and of their culture and

00:20:14.786 --> 00:20:16.006
their care for each other.

00:20:16.286 --> 00:20:22.746
So I think people have this idea that these countries are scary and war-torn and dangerous and...

00:20:23.852 --> 00:20:26.952
And impoverished. And some of those things are true.

00:20:27.712 --> 00:20:32.172
These people are poor. Many of them will never leave the villages they were

00:20:32.172 --> 00:20:34.792
born and raised in. But it's far from dangerous.

00:20:35.412 --> 00:20:40.192
Kind people, generous people, they have everything they need in terms of their

00:20:40.192 --> 00:20:42.552
community and their access to food and shelter.

00:20:42.752 --> 00:20:45.752
I mean, you don't see homeless people like you do in North America.

00:20:45.872 --> 00:20:49.592
They take care of each other down there. And there's challenges with corruption

00:20:49.592 --> 00:20:51.792
within the government. and that

00:20:51.792 --> 00:20:54.732
is something that the locals kind of keep hush-hush amongst travelers.

00:20:55.632 --> 00:20:59.072
But as a foreigner in Nicaragua, I always felt safe.

00:20:59.552 --> 00:21:03.812
I always felt welcomed and appreciated for the value I was bringing to the country.

00:21:04.052 --> 00:21:08.312
And even when we were passing through regions that really never see gringos,

00:21:08.612 --> 00:21:10.272
the response was always a smile.

00:21:10.632 --> 00:21:14.672
You know, I think people in Nicaragua are grateful that people from around the

00:21:14.672 --> 00:21:17.192
world want to see their beautiful country and want to spend

00:21:17.232 --> 00:21:20.372
their money there and help rejuvenate that country as

00:21:20.372 --> 00:21:23.732
it still recovers from from eras of civil war and

00:21:23.732 --> 00:21:26.312
we saw evidence of that when we were there you know

00:21:26.312 --> 00:21:29.932
we were hiking we hiked the highest peak in nicaragua while we were there that

00:21:29.932 --> 00:21:34.052
was part of our itinerary and if you stepped off the beaten track of that trail

00:21:34.052 --> 00:21:38.152
you would encounter if you weren't careful you would encounter landmines from

00:21:38.152 --> 00:21:43.032
from the civil war era between the contras and and and the more socialist groups

00:21:43.032 --> 00:21:46.252
but the country has by and large been very cleaned up.

00:21:46.452 --> 00:21:52.092
And one thing that's special about Nicaragua is there is not drug cartel activity

00:21:52.092 --> 00:21:56.332
like you would expect in places like Mexico and El Salvador,

00:21:56.872 --> 00:21:58.492
for whatever reason, the government there.

00:21:58.612 --> 00:22:03.232
And I think the people as well have been very resistant to those types of influences and.

00:22:03.912 --> 00:22:06.872
Generally i consider it a very welcoming

00:22:06.872 --> 00:22:10.072
and appealing place to travel and cheap very

00:22:10.072 --> 00:22:12.972
inexpensive so there's a there's a lot of benefits

00:22:12.972 --> 00:22:18.192
there but of course it is a little more rugged and i think you know if you are

00:22:18.192 --> 00:22:22.732
used to staying in hotels you know three and four star hotels you were you'll

00:22:22.732 --> 00:22:26.132
probably be a little bit disappointed on what's in terms of what's available

00:22:26.132 --> 00:22:32.272
for comfort accommodations and food is going to be simple it's going to be typical local,

00:22:32.772 --> 00:22:37.132
fresh, healthy food that is similar to what locals eat.

00:22:37.272 --> 00:22:39.852
You know, you're not going to find a lot of cheeseburgers and fried chicken

00:22:39.852 --> 00:22:42.532
in Nicaragua, but I'll tell you what, you're going to eat well,

00:22:42.692 --> 00:22:43.332
you're going to eat healthy.

00:22:43.712 --> 00:22:47.032
It's going to be a lot of fresh fruit and you're not going to have a hard time

00:22:47.032 --> 00:22:48.592
finding a Coca-Cola if that's important.

00:22:49.232 --> 00:22:52.452
Well, it sounds like a great way to travel for sure. And from the pictures,

00:22:52.592 --> 00:22:56.092
and we'll include links to the blog that you wrote about the trip.

00:22:56.172 --> 00:22:58.812
The pictures were spectacular and the story as well.

00:22:58.912 --> 00:23:02.942
So let's talk a little about that uh you've had a few literal landmines

00:23:02.942 --> 00:23:06.682
along the way as you'd mentioned but i know that you show up at the at the airport

00:23:06.682 --> 00:23:10.942
a bunch of kayaks and bags you get all that stuff on the plane hump it all off

00:23:10.942 --> 00:23:14.202
the plane and have to go through uh through customs and everything so tell us

00:23:14.202 --> 00:23:17.902
what that process is like with a with a bunch of boats and bags going through

00:23:17.902 --> 00:23:22.882
customs and the figurative landmine that you might have faced there oh man i'm.

00:23:23.528 --> 00:23:28.428
I will admit it was a lot easier than I thought it would be to take three 16-foot

00:23:28.428 --> 00:23:30.368
kayaks and put them on a plane.

00:23:30.948 --> 00:23:33.488
I thought it was going to be a nightmare.

00:23:34.328 --> 00:23:40.908
And luckily, I did have to pay for extra baggage, and I did pay overweight fees on a couple of bags.

00:23:41.588 --> 00:23:45.908
And that cost some money, but a lot less than it would have cost for me to rent

00:23:45.908 --> 00:23:47.188
these boats or import them.

00:23:47.348 --> 00:23:50.968
So I've talked to people who talk about, oh, it's cost so much.

00:23:50.968 --> 00:23:56.468
And I think it's going to cost you a couple hundred dollars at most to pay for

00:23:56.468 --> 00:24:00.488
an extra large oversized bag, depending on how you move a folding kayak.

00:24:00.808 --> 00:24:05.168
100% worth it. I'm not going to complain about the baggage fees because of what

00:24:05.168 --> 00:24:07.388
it empowers on the other side.

00:24:07.968 --> 00:24:12.788
That being said, when you fly into a country like Nicaragua with a totalitarian

00:24:12.788 --> 00:24:16.828
government, you need to be prepared for some questions to be asked.

00:24:16.828 --> 00:24:21.748
And sometimes you need to be prepared to pay some fees and duties.

00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.040
When local entrepreneurs in Nicaragua want to import product,

00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:30.820
if they fly it in from wherever, they have to have all of that product inspected

00:24:30.820 --> 00:24:35.320
at the airport, and they often are required to pay a tax on what they import.

00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:39.680
Now, when I showed up in Nicaragua, I showed up with three kayaks,

00:24:39.760 --> 00:24:41.840
and two of them were virtually brand new.

00:24:42.040 --> 00:24:45.440
They were for the fleet for rat race. One of them was my personal kayak,

00:24:45.560 --> 00:24:48.040
so it would have been a little beat up. It still had some silt on it or some

00:24:48.040 --> 00:24:49.480
sand from previous week.

00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:53.220
But the other two were virtually brand new and and and i

00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:56.660
don't know if you know what it what's what a track kayak looks like on the bag

00:24:56.660 --> 00:25:01.460
but it's you know it's carbon fiber and aluminum tubing and frames and hydraulics

00:25:01.460 --> 00:25:07.460
and you know like taken apart it i imagine that the inspector with the you know

00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:10.660
the machine was like i don't know what that is but we definitely need to look.

00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:14.020
So they flagged it they took all three cocks they opened them up

00:25:14.020 --> 00:25:17.120
and the you know in the in the limited spanish that we were able to communicate

00:25:17.120 --> 00:25:19.920
there was a question like what is this yeah like an erector so

00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:23.040
i pull i pulled out a picture of the

00:25:23.040 --> 00:25:25.920
of the track website and and like walked them through it

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:29.160
and they like i could they could see i could see the the wheels

00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:32.140
turning in their brains like really it's a

00:25:32.140 --> 00:25:34.840
kayak okay man if you

00:25:34.840 --> 00:25:38.080
say so and they said this one's yours clearly because

00:25:38.080 --> 00:25:41.060
they could tell it had been used but these two these are staying

00:25:41.060 --> 00:25:44.620
with us and immediately i was like oh no

00:25:44.620 --> 00:25:47.600
here we go because i have 16 days

00:25:47.600 --> 00:25:50.640
in nicaragua to complete this whole trip with a

00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.740
bunch of other people and we need these boats

00:25:53.740 --> 00:25:56.680
like we cannot afford even a couple of hours

00:25:56.680 --> 00:26:01.580
of wasted time waiting you know waiting to get a hold of some some baggage that's

00:26:01.580 --> 00:26:05.080
been confiscated so as soon as this happened it was a bit of a red flag like

00:26:05.080 --> 00:26:08.280
you said a bit of a landmine and a concern because there was track kayaks that

00:26:08.280 --> 00:26:12.480
were going to be arriving from panama from the united kingdom them and they

00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:16.080
were all going to be flying into the same airport and potentially all getting flagged.

00:26:16.822 --> 00:26:20.162
So luckily we had someone on our team, and I think this is a good learning for

00:26:20.162 --> 00:26:25.462
anyone who wants to do unique expeditions abroad, particularly involving things

00:26:25.462 --> 00:26:29.722
like kayaks, is we had a member of our team who was fluent in Spanish. He was from Panama.

00:26:30.022 --> 00:26:33.602
He had been familiar with these types of procedures. And to be honest with you,

00:26:33.722 --> 00:26:37.982
we found our way to the giant warehouse where our kayaks were being held.

00:26:38.142 --> 00:26:41.742
Along with lots of other products that was to be imported into the country.

00:26:41.742 --> 00:26:44.582
And we sweet talked our way in there and we

00:26:44.582 --> 00:26:47.802
had a nice letter and we told the director of

00:26:47.802 --> 00:26:50.822
customs what our plans were and we were going to explore their

00:26:50.822 --> 00:26:54.302
beautiful country by human power and it was going to be an international sensation

00:26:54.302 --> 00:26:57.722
and apparently that worked

00:26:57.722 --> 00:27:00.642
and they very quickly you know kind of accelerated the

00:27:00.642 --> 00:27:03.382
process they didn't charge us anything they gave

00:27:03.382 --> 00:27:06.042
us special paperwork that said that these kayaks were

00:27:06.042 --> 00:27:08.842
being temporarily imported and after that we

00:27:08.842 --> 00:27:11.762
were actually able to streamline the importation of all the other track kayaks

00:27:11.762 --> 00:27:14.982
to come after so that was great very grateful

00:27:14.982 --> 00:27:18.322
we had that talent on our team and at

00:27:18.322 --> 00:27:21.302
least a silver-tongued devil from panama able to

00:27:21.302 --> 00:27:24.122
kind of make it work and that was you know

00:27:24.122 --> 00:27:26.822
big celebration but it did set us back to be honest a few of

00:27:26.822 --> 00:27:29.902
us were waiting back while everybody else was kind of getting in position

00:27:29.902 --> 00:27:32.802
for the start of the human-powered element that could

00:27:32.802 --> 00:27:35.602
have gone a lot worse but kind of you know ultimately set

00:27:35.602 --> 00:27:39.022
us up and from there it was

00:27:39.022 --> 00:27:42.222
you know our goal was to reach the highest point nicaragua human

00:27:42.222 --> 00:27:47.182
power to the west coast the pacific coast and then human power ourselves all

00:27:47.182 --> 00:27:52.122
the way to the caribbean coast in 16 days and that turned out to be possible

00:27:52.122 --> 00:27:57.202
but super daunting ultimately this is a paddling podcast so i'll briefly skip

00:27:57.202 --> 00:28:00.002
over the the biking component but the ultimate.

00:28:01.086 --> 00:28:04.006
Kind of takeaway is that regardless of whether you're moving

00:28:04.006 --> 00:28:07.806
by kayak or bicycle the human powered method

00:28:07.806 --> 00:28:10.606
of travel is you know an exquisite way to move it's just the right

00:28:10.606 --> 00:28:13.646
pace you just get to absorb everything sure seeing the

00:28:13.646 --> 00:28:16.486
country from the water was incredible seeing it from

00:28:16.486 --> 00:28:20.526
a bicycle from two wheels was also wonderful it

00:28:20.526 --> 00:28:23.386
was probably the best days of cycling i've ever had i do

00:28:23.386 --> 00:28:26.226
love biking it's my next it's my i think

00:28:26.226 --> 00:28:28.866
it ties with paddling in terms of my favorite made a

00:28:28.866 --> 00:28:32.866
move through this planet but i i do highly recommend bike

00:28:32.866 --> 00:28:35.726
travel in a place like nicaragua you're gonna you're

00:28:35.726 --> 00:28:38.486
gonna be able to use off-road routes you can be able to stay off

00:28:38.486 --> 00:28:41.466
the pavement and you'll be able to use the benefits

00:28:41.466 --> 00:28:47.746
of you know modern map apps to plan a route that really keeps you off the beaten

00:28:47.746 --> 00:28:50.966
track and gives you a really unique perspective on a country like nicaragua

00:28:50.966 --> 00:28:55.466
and you can you know realistically you know we crossed you know from our day

00:28:55.466 --> 00:29:00.506
where we we left from the Pacific coast and across the watershed, uh, into the,

00:29:00.746 --> 00:29:02.726
into the, you know, watershed that flows east into the Caribbean.

00:29:02.726 --> 00:29:04.486
That only took us one day of riding.

00:29:04.706 --> 00:29:09.426
So it's, you know, it's a relatively small country that you can cross on two

00:29:09.426 --> 00:29:10.966
wheels very efficiently.

00:29:11.226 --> 00:29:13.786
So what kind of distance did you cover over the 16 days?

00:29:14.246 --> 00:29:19.866
The 16 days in total was about, about 600 kilometers.

00:29:20.166 --> 00:29:23.626
Okay. 200 kilometers were on the river about

00:29:23.626 --> 00:29:27.026
another 200 kilometers on the lake

00:29:27.026 --> 00:29:30.066
and about another just over another 200 that

00:29:30.066 --> 00:29:32.806
were that were peddled okay so walk us

00:29:32.806 --> 00:29:36.226
walk us through and like you said let's talk the paddling pieces walk us through

00:29:36.226 --> 00:29:39.386
some of the highlights we won't be able to go day by day through all 16 days

00:29:39.386 --> 00:29:42.286
but take us through some of the highlights that you really experience on that

00:29:42.286 --> 00:29:48.626
trip absolutely well as i mentioned nicaragua has a couple of very large lakes

00:29:48.626 --> 00:29:52.006
that are effectively great lakes in the Central America context.

00:29:52.886 --> 00:29:56.646
And they are fierce. Like I mentioned, potential for lots of fetch,

00:29:56.746 --> 00:30:00.026
very strong waves and wind. And...

00:30:00.591 --> 00:30:04.271
I think there was a lot of potential that, as I mentioned, that this trip would

00:30:04.271 --> 00:30:05.591
have been completely impossible.

00:30:05.971 --> 00:30:11.651
We were prepared to have to wake up long before sunrise to be able to have somewhat calm conditions.

00:30:11.911 --> 00:30:17.171
And the crossings involved in the itinerary were minimum 20-kilometer crossings

00:30:17.171 --> 00:30:23.211
in some cases, with the potential for crossings up to 30 kilometers or more without any land.

00:30:23.551 --> 00:30:28.751
And I, even as a sea kayak professional, had never considered a crossing that long.

00:30:28.751 --> 00:30:31.531
Just had never had any reason to consider that

00:30:31.531 --> 00:30:34.591
kind of crossing and there was every reason

00:30:34.591 --> 00:30:37.271
to say that this trip would have been a would have been a

00:30:37.271 --> 00:30:42.671
failure so what was it was necessary to make sure that we could finish even

00:30:42.671 --> 00:30:45.411
if we weren't going to be able to do every aspect of the trip human powered

00:30:45.411 --> 00:30:50.791
was for us to have pretty much a local on call with a with a safety boat which

00:30:50.791 --> 00:30:55.251
is pretty much an open-top fishing boat that was available on call in case we needed to bail out.

00:30:56.131 --> 00:31:01.851
I'd say the highlight of the trip for me was being able to see the country of

00:31:01.851 --> 00:31:06.331
Nicaragua from the cockpit of a kayak at that pace.

00:31:06.711 --> 00:31:10.751
When you're off the road, you kind of end up seeing the backyard view,

00:31:10.911 --> 00:31:14.191
right? You see where people do their laundry on the lakeshore.

00:31:14.351 --> 00:31:16.431
You see where kids are playing after school.

00:31:16.631 --> 00:31:20.971
You see the fishermen cleaning their nets, you know, in the afternoon after

00:31:20.971 --> 00:31:23.691
the morning's catch. And you see...

00:31:24.690 --> 00:31:27.910
A real version of a country that is

00:31:27.910 --> 00:31:30.950
very different than what is going to be on the tourist path

00:31:30.950 --> 00:31:35.070
you know that most gringos are going to witness you're

00:31:35.070 --> 00:31:37.870
going to get waved at by a lot of people who have never seen a

00:31:37.870 --> 00:31:41.370
kayak before you're going to watch you know

00:31:41.370 --> 00:31:44.290
grown men just drop their tools

00:31:44.290 --> 00:31:48.110
and stop and stare at you because they've just never seen

00:31:48.110 --> 00:31:50.790
this form of movement before so we were a bit of

00:31:50.790 --> 00:31:54.790
a spectacle and sometimes I was a bit uncomfortable with that you know it was

00:31:54.790 --> 00:31:58.850
it's kind of funny to think like here we are a bunch of gringos we're flying

00:31:58.850 --> 00:32:02.010
halfway across the world in some cases for two and a half weeks to go witness

00:32:02.010 --> 00:32:07.950
this country and and move in a way that people have been traveling on in this

00:32:07.950 --> 00:32:09.750
landscape for thousands of years.

00:32:10.737 --> 00:32:14.597
I think especially when it came to being on the Rio San Juan,

00:32:14.757 --> 00:32:19.977
jumping ahead the lake was special in that we were blessed with incredibly good

00:32:19.977 --> 00:32:21.017
weather for the crossings.

00:32:21.197 --> 00:32:25.817
And in fact, one of the guides, the locals that we'd hired to be available on

00:32:25.817 --> 00:32:27.417
standby that, God forbid,

00:32:27.717 --> 00:32:31.957
a squall picked up while we were in the middle of a 30-kilometer crossing,

00:32:32.157 --> 00:32:37.317
they asked us, which saints did we pray to, being a very Catholic country?

00:32:37.317 --> 00:32:42.237
Because the conditions that we had while we were in Nicaragua,

00:32:42.677 --> 00:32:46.177
especially for the lake portion, were unseasonably calm.

00:32:46.637 --> 00:32:51.377
There's every reason that there is going to be way too rough out there for us

00:32:51.377 --> 00:32:52.237
to make these crossings.

00:32:52.437 --> 00:32:55.677
And one thing I'll mention is that I am a professional sea kayaker,

00:32:55.837 --> 00:33:02.017
but several of the participants that joined me on this trip from the UK were,

00:33:02.017 --> 00:33:06.097
they were very fit, but they weren't experienced sea kayakers.

00:33:06.097 --> 00:33:10.357
They didn't have, you know, years of, of paddling experience to have us,

00:33:10.397 --> 00:33:11.897
you know, excellent forward stroke.

00:33:12.097 --> 00:33:16.177
I mean, none of them knew how to roll a kayak, nevermind, you know,

00:33:16.257 --> 00:33:19.117
had practiced a re-entry or a cowboy scramble.

00:33:19.377 --> 00:33:25.777
So, you know, we had very fit paddlers who were very keen and very ready to charge, but no.

00:33:26.419 --> 00:33:29.639
Some very some variables to consider you know were they

00:33:29.639 --> 00:33:32.779
going to be able to handle really rough waters

00:33:32.779 --> 00:33:35.799
and so we had a go or no go decision

00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:38.479
at one point if you look at the map you'll see you'll see

00:33:38.479 --> 00:33:41.339
that to cross to the island of

00:33:41.339 --> 00:33:44.679
ometepe which is a gorgeous volcanic island

00:33:44.679 --> 00:33:47.499
in the middle of of lake nicaragua the largest

00:33:47.499 --> 00:33:50.379
of the great lakes it's very unique island it looks like something out

00:33:50.379 --> 00:33:53.059
of a video game map it's two volcanoes joined at

00:33:53.059 --> 00:33:55.859
the hip one's very young uh you

00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:58.599
almost still smoking the other ones ancients covered in

00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:01.599
jungle and it's one of the most important

00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:04.439
places i've ever been to in my life having been there twice now

00:34:04.439 --> 00:34:07.859
but the crossing to this island was going to be arguably

00:34:07.859 --> 00:34:11.619
the most daunting and probably the most significant and

00:34:11.619 --> 00:34:14.439
there was a go no go moment where we'd already

00:34:14.439 --> 00:34:18.319
paddled nearly 30 kilometers that day all beams

00:34:18.319 --> 00:34:21.399
seized the whole way lots of weather cocking you know our left

00:34:21.399 --> 00:34:25.719
arms were sore from dealing with these trade winds and our

00:34:25.719 --> 00:34:28.679
our team was really deliberating like do we

00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:31.759
do we decide to make this committed crossing.

00:34:31.759 --> 00:34:35.679
Which could be four to five hours of non-stop paddling into

00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:38.699
the wind and if we don't make it we have

00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:42.199
to maybe bail out into an open top

00:34:42.199 --> 00:34:45.079
fishing boat with our collapsible kayaks it was not

00:34:45.079 --> 00:34:51.339
an outcome that any of us wanted but also we came this far with the intention

00:34:51.339 --> 00:34:55.379
of making this crossing none of us wanted to give up either you know myself

00:34:55.379 --> 00:34:59.459
especially you know i i had it in my mind that no matter what i was going to

00:34:59.459 --> 00:35:04.239
make this crossing but you know as with paddling you got to do what's best for the pod.

00:35:05.354 --> 00:35:08.574
So we left the beach actually anticipating that we might call it,

00:35:08.734 --> 00:35:12.514
you know, that we might give up and pack up our boats and take a shuttle to Ometepe.

00:35:12.794 --> 00:35:15.894
But as we left the shore, something miraculous happened.

00:35:16.314 --> 00:35:20.734
And this is, I think, where the guides asked us, you know, what saints did we pray to?

00:35:21.194 --> 00:35:25.714
Because it's almost, just as we'd kind of given up on the prospect of making

00:35:25.714 --> 00:35:27.214
this 20-kilometer crossing,

00:35:27.923 --> 00:35:33.043
the winds just kind of dissipated. And all of a sudden, the waves started chilling

00:35:33.043 --> 00:35:36.203
out like faster than I could have anticipated. It was something divine.

00:35:36.923 --> 00:35:41.223
And I'm talking like two hours later, we're in the middle of the crossing,

00:35:41.923 --> 00:35:43.903
probably 10 kilometers offshore.

00:35:44.203 --> 00:35:49.823
And it's glass, John. I don't even know if I could properly explain it because

00:35:49.823 --> 00:35:53.483
it doesn't really make sense like in the way that water behaves.

00:35:53.763 --> 00:35:56.943
Like it usually would take a lot longer for a sea state to calm down.

00:35:57.923 --> 00:36:03.183
But it's almost as if some supernatural forces were at play and really wanted

00:36:03.183 --> 00:36:06.343
us to make this inaugural crossing to Ometepe.

00:36:06.603 --> 00:36:11.803
By the time we got there, the sun was maybe 15 minutes from going below the

00:36:11.803 --> 00:36:17.243
horizon. There was this epic glow, sun setting over volcanoes.

00:36:18.323 --> 00:36:22.783
And we landed on a beach that some locals were playing at, a bunch of kids going

00:36:22.783 --> 00:36:24.163
for a swim with their parents.

00:36:24.843 --> 00:36:28.583
I remember I came up, I was one of the last people to bring my kayak up on shore

00:36:28.583 --> 00:36:30.803
because I wanted to get a roll in to cool down.

00:36:30.983 --> 00:36:36.883
I popped my skirt and a buddy passed me an ice cold beer, Nicaraguan beer.

00:36:37.083 --> 00:36:41.283
And I usually don't drink. And it was one of the most refreshing things I'd ever had in my life.

00:36:41.403 --> 00:36:46.263
And I remember feeling like, wow, that was at that time the longest day of flat

00:36:46.263 --> 00:36:50.743
water paddling I'd ever had and the longest crossing that I had ever done.

00:36:50.743 --> 00:36:57.023
And it was to return to arguably one of the most significant places of my own youth.

00:36:57.183 --> 00:36:59.603
So it was a huge, almost like a rewrite of passage.

00:36:59.843 --> 00:37:05.043
And there's pictures of us, you know, cheersing to that moment with the mainland

00:37:05.043 --> 00:37:06.623
of Nicaragua in the background.

00:37:06.723 --> 00:37:09.883
And I think that'll be forever the most memorable moment of the trip.

00:37:10.063 --> 00:37:15.223
But of course, despite that being a big accomplishment, it was one of just many

00:37:15.223 --> 00:37:17.503
more 20 plus kilometer crossings.

00:37:17.503 --> 00:37:20.703
And eventually we would have to leave the safety of that island,

00:37:20.883 --> 00:37:25.363
you know, it's protected shores of Omotepe and make our way across the rest of that inland sea.

00:37:26.086 --> 00:37:29.066
And there was a big question mark. If you look at the map, you know,

00:37:29.106 --> 00:37:30.526
it's the route map that is linked.

00:37:30.646 --> 00:37:35.006
You'll see there's a big question mark kind of in the very smack bang in the middle of the lake.

00:37:35.846 --> 00:37:40.846
If you zoom in with a satellite image, you'll see it was effectively a rock,

00:37:41.006 --> 00:37:43.986
a glorified rock called Isla de Zanate,

00:37:44.246 --> 00:37:48.746
which is a place where colonies of birds would hang out, but it's not known

00:37:48.746 --> 00:37:51.206
as a place for humans to spend any time.

00:37:51.206 --> 00:37:55.526
We know that fishermen would often anchor their boats in the lee of the island

00:37:55.526 --> 00:38:03.086
to hide out from storms, but there had never been a place that any local had spent time on on foot.

00:38:04.562 --> 00:38:09.522
Was a potential stopover point. It would be a 30-kilometer non-stop as the coral

00:38:09.522 --> 00:38:14.002
fly crossing from Omotepe to potentially find this rocky outcrop,

00:38:14.142 --> 00:38:16.942
which according to satellite images had some trees on it.

00:38:17.442 --> 00:38:21.842
But it would be a big wild card. It would be in the middle of the lake,

00:38:22.322 --> 00:38:24.562
a 30-kilometer crossing minimum in either direction.

00:38:24.782 --> 00:38:28.502
And even if we could land on this piece of karst in this volcanic landscape,

00:38:28.762 --> 00:38:33.002
we might slice our boats up and there might not be enough trees on shore for

00:38:33.002 --> 00:38:34.422
us to set up hammocks to sleep.

00:38:34.562 --> 00:38:39.262
So we might just end up marooning ourselves on a rock in the middle of an inland

00:38:39.262 --> 00:38:41.342
sea with no means of escape.

00:38:42.142 --> 00:38:47.182
And the forecast, despite it having been unseasonably calm for the two days

00:38:47.182 --> 00:38:52.482
prior, was expected to return to 20 knot winds plus.

00:38:52.702 --> 00:38:57.782
So we would have been potentially locked on this. Well, that sounds like a definite reason to go there.

00:38:57.782 --> 00:39:00.782
It was definitely a reason to go there i mean

00:39:00.782 --> 00:39:03.862
if i was there with maybe a couple of buddies seasoned

00:39:03.862 --> 00:39:07.002
paddlers and we were like okay we're gonna do this we're

00:39:07.002 --> 00:39:10.122
gonna absolutely do this we're gonna free the first people to paddle into

00:39:10.122 --> 00:39:12.842
nothing because we couldn't see this rock from umatepe you

00:39:12.842 --> 00:39:15.582
know 30 kilometers away a rock that is

00:39:15.582 --> 00:39:18.322
maybe 20 feet off the ground you know like we would

00:39:18.322 --> 00:39:21.022
have been we'd probably been several hours before we got

00:39:21.022 --> 00:39:23.962
a glimpse of it if we were able to hold our course and there's no charts

00:39:23.962 --> 00:39:26.822
for this region you know we're largely relying on on our

00:39:26.822 --> 00:39:29.702
phones and gps honestly john it

00:39:29.702 --> 00:39:33.022
was the time in the trip where we had to give up on

00:39:33.022 --> 00:39:37.082
our goal of doing the whole thing by human power and i admit that on this podcast

00:39:37.082 --> 00:39:41.562
as much as the mission was to complete the entire coast to coast of nicaraco

00:39:41.562 --> 00:39:47.482
by human power with the time we had available it just wouldn't have been feasible

00:39:47.482 --> 00:39:51.102
you know it might have been possible but there's also a chance that it could

00:39:51.102 --> 00:39:52.202
be life-threatening and.

00:39:52.949 --> 00:39:56.009
Or it would have meant that we couldn't complete the trip at all.

00:39:56.249 --> 00:39:59.609
You know, we might have hurt ourselves or hurt our equipment to the point where we couldn't complete.

00:39:59.729 --> 00:40:04.029
And so all of us collectively said, as much as we love the human powered element

00:40:04.029 --> 00:40:06.989
of this trip, and we're going to continue to honor that everywhere else that

00:40:06.989 --> 00:40:11.829
we can, we're going to give up that superficial objective for the grander mission

00:40:11.829 --> 00:40:14.449
of getting from one side of the country to the other.

00:40:14.889 --> 00:40:18.849
And so we took what is a more conservative approach. We made the mainland,

00:40:19.049 --> 00:40:20.649
we returned to the mainland of Nicaragua.

00:40:20.649 --> 00:40:25.529
It was only a 22-kilometer crossing of nonstop open water, which we were kind

00:40:25.529 --> 00:40:29.049
of, the wind was at our backs, the storm was kind of growing as we crossed,

00:40:29.129 --> 00:40:32.509
and we did get across before things got too spicy, which I'm grateful for.

00:40:32.869 --> 00:40:36.609
And luckily, because we had packable kayaks, a fleet of 10 kayaks,

00:40:36.689 --> 00:40:40.209
we could pack them back down into bags, throw them into a fishing boat,

00:40:40.749 --> 00:40:47.569
all of us, and get back across this lake into the protected islets of the Solentenami archipelago.

00:40:47.569 --> 00:40:50.369
So this was kind of our refuge where we waited

00:40:50.369 --> 00:40:55.409
out the storm that was to follow and this is a very rarely visited corner of

00:40:55.409 --> 00:41:00.549
nicaragua that i admit if if i could go back i would spend more time there if

00:41:00.549 --> 00:41:04.209
i could go back with a with a kayak that i could bring in a bag i'd probably

00:41:04.209 --> 00:41:05.369
skip everything else i'd already

00:41:05.369 --> 00:41:09.649
done just go straight to that archipelago because it's it's something.

00:41:10.529 --> 00:41:13.169
Really special rather than nicaragua there's very few people who

00:41:13.169 --> 00:41:16.869
live there it's only accessible by these little boats and

00:41:16.869 --> 00:41:19.789
the bird life was something that i the only

00:41:19.789 --> 00:41:22.529
like i'd only seen that kind of biodiversity and that

00:41:22.529 --> 00:41:25.369
intensity and density of life particularly bird life

00:41:25.369 --> 00:41:28.369
in the amazon and what was the name of that archipelago again

00:41:28.369 --> 00:41:33.549
that archipelago is called solente solente salente and it's in the kind of the

00:41:33.549 --> 00:41:37.809
bottom right hand corner of the largest lake in nicaragua and like i said a

00:41:37.809 --> 00:41:42.949
place that very few nicaraguans go never mind tourists a real gem within central

00:41:42.949 --> 00:41:45.929
america And if you're a bird lover and you're a wildlife lover,

00:41:45.929 --> 00:41:49.969
I think it's a place that can't be missed within Nicaragua.

00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:56.500
And that was kind of our last stop on the Big Lake and a chance for a rest day. We had some injuries.

00:41:56.780 --> 00:41:59.280
You know, there's always foot injuries, it feels like, with paddling trips.

00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:04.520
And there was some big bugs. We had some mystery spider bites on people's hands that were festering.

00:42:04.820 --> 00:42:08.460
You know, some pretty gross stuff. We're grateful we had a medic on the trip.

00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:12.560
I can imagine that if we didn't have a medic, the trip would have taken a lot

00:42:12.560 --> 00:42:16.260
longer as we waited for people to recover from various infections and things.

00:42:16.260 --> 00:42:23.260
But everybody was a huge trooper and we were able to get off the lake on our target time,

00:42:24.020 --> 00:42:29.200
that's as we got closer and closer to the caribbean as we've made our way further east,

00:42:29.860 --> 00:42:36.180
nicaragua becomes more and more remote you see fewer and fewer if any tourists

00:42:36.180 --> 00:42:40.880
we were definitely the only gringos we saw in this in this in this corner of

00:42:40.880 --> 00:42:44.980
nicaragua and it's also an area where you kind of have to follow the rules a

00:42:44.980 --> 00:42:45.920
little bit more carefully.

00:42:46.900 --> 00:42:49.580
And I mean that because when you get to this corner of Nicaragua,

00:42:49.760 --> 00:42:51.600
you get pretty close to the Costa Rican border.

00:42:52.640 --> 00:42:56.920
And the river that we were planning to paddle out to the Caribbean,

00:42:57.200 --> 00:42:58.420
which is called the Rio San Juan.

00:42:58.620 --> 00:43:02.500
There's lots of Rio San Juans around the world, but this is the one in Nicaragua.

00:43:02.740 --> 00:43:10.380
It flows out of Lago, Nicaragua, into the Caribbean over 200 kilometers of jungle.

00:43:10.880 --> 00:43:13.080
And I was really looking forward to this Cause I don't know about you,

00:43:13.160 --> 00:43:18.560
John, but as much as I love sea kayaking, I, I secretly love river paddling even more.

00:43:19.160 --> 00:43:23.400
Maybe it's cause I'm lazy and I just like a little current, but I love watching

00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:28.420
the world pass by at that pace and having that linear path to follow.

00:43:28.600 --> 00:43:32.360
It's kind of like a, it's like a trail, but it's water. And I was so looking forward to it.

00:43:32.900 --> 00:43:35.300
Well, you know, I mean, crossings, crossings can be exciting,

00:43:35.340 --> 00:43:38.160
but they really do keep all the interesting stuff at the shore.

00:43:38.897 --> 00:43:42.577
Yeah. I mean, I like finishing a crossing, you know, it's a,

00:43:42.617 --> 00:43:45.857
it's a real type two fun, but rivers, you never really want them to end.

00:43:46.017 --> 00:43:48.437
Like you just wish it could keep going on forever. Cause there's just,

00:43:48.697 --> 00:43:50.057
it's just a treat around every corner.

00:43:50.537 --> 00:43:55.857
Though I, this is, you know, if there's any part of the story that I find most

00:43:55.857 --> 00:43:58.637
interesting, it's probably the river because I'm a Canadian,

00:43:58.637 --> 00:44:04.157
I'm a spoiled, you know, rural, rural boy who grew up with clean water around me.

00:44:04.157 --> 00:44:09.617
And, you know, you go to a place like Nicaragua that doesn't have the infrastructure

00:44:09.617 --> 00:44:15.437
to afford its citizens waste management systems and sewage treatment and, you know,

00:44:15.577 --> 00:44:19.957
freshwater filtration and all of the things that we take for granted in North

00:44:19.957 --> 00:44:22.317
America and Europe and in the Western world in general.

00:44:22.317 --> 00:44:26.217
When you go to Nicaragua, you really get a wake-up call because that river,

00:44:26.457 --> 00:44:31.517
the Rio San Juan, effectively serves as the sewage management system for pretty

00:44:31.517 --> 00:44:37.317
much the entire eastern seaboard or the entire eastern part of the watershed for Nicaragua.

00:44:38.017 --> 00:44:40.977
You know, everything that flows into the lakes and into the rivers,

00:44:40.977 --> 00:44:43.377
it eventually all goes into the Rio San Juan.

00:44:43.377 --> 00:44:47.597
So as we got closer and closer to the headwaters and the kind of last urban

00:44:47.597 --> 00:44:50.897
center in Nicaragua, before you head up to the Caribbean and San Carlos,

00:44:51.157 --> 00:44:56.617
the water changed color and it got murky and brown and it started to smell different.

00:44:56.977 --> 00:45:01.757
And I stopped going for swims and I stopped rolling my kayak to cool down.

00:45:01.757 --> 00:45:08.017
And I also stopped swimming to go for a pee because the river is infested with

00:45:08.017 --> 00:45:12.637
crocodiles of all shapes and sizes. And I had never seen the crocodiles.

00:45:13.037 --> 00:45:15.937
I've seen alligators, but I'd never seen crocodiles. And they are truly,

00:45:15.937 --> 00:45:18.337
I think, what dinosaurs are inspired by.

00:45:19.137 --> 00:45:23.117
And as soon as I saw them on the shoreline and I saw how big they could be,

00:45:23.737 --> 00:45:27.917
I didn't really want to be dangling my feet in the water to take a break.

00:45:28.637 --> 00:45:33.517
It definitely changed our relationship with the landscape and became just a little bit more...

00:45:34.351 --> 00:45:37.031
Austere you know it was dirty water that had the potential to

00:45:37.031 --> 00:45:40.091
get you sick the shoreline was murky and

00:45:40.091 --> 00:45:43.051
mucky and deep there weren't sandbars to land your kayaks

00:45:43.051 --> 00:45:45.931
on there weren't eddies to hide in and take

00:45:45.931 --> 00:45:48.971
refuge in it was just a non-stop moving conveyor belt

00:45:48.971 --> 00:45:52.131
for the most part with with a lot of risks involved

00:45:52.131 --> 00:45:55.951
and so it changed it was a different kind of paddling trip than i'd been that

00:45:55.951 --> 00:45:59.931
i'd done it kind of combined you know a passion for paddling with a bit of a

00:45:59.931 --> 00:46:04.611
reality check in terms of the way that countries like nicaragua function but

00:46:04.611 --> 00:46:08.151
it was also a really beautiful way to see the way that people live in this part

00:46:08.151 --> 00:46:10.871
of the world completely unreliant,

00:46:11.571 --> 00:46:17.411
on modern civilization despite the dirty water and the things trying to eat

00:46:17.411 --> 00:46:20.371
you let's let's talk a little bit about some of those people experiences you

00:46:20.371 --> 00:46:24.851
must have had some fantastic people experiences along that river oh man i i

00:46:24.851 --> 00:46:29.171
a river is a river right you know you start at one end and you get to the other and.

00:46:30.201 --> 00:46:33.721
You know, most of us thinking you don't really need a guide for a river.

00:46:34.261 --> 00:46:37.521
I think this trip proved to me that that's not necessarily true.

00:46:37.681 --> 00:46:41.561
I think if in the future, if I ever had the opportunity to paddle down a river

00:46:41.561 --> 00:46:44.521
with someone who knows it, I always would do it.

00:46:44.681 --> 00:46:49.461
Because every river has its way of flowing throughout the seasons,

00:46:49.621 --> 00:46:50.541
depending on the water level.

00:46:51.341 --> 00:46:54.941
And if you have someone who knows a river like the back of their hand,

00:46:55.041 --> 00:46:58.121
like one of the local guides that we did Mateo spoke

00:46:58.121 --> 00:47:01.561
no English but he knew that river like

00:47:01.561 --> 00:47:04.721
it was his you know it's like it's his like it's

00:47:04.721 --> 00:47:07.621
his personal way to work every day because it is it's the way he travels

00:47:07.621 --> 00:47:12.001
and he helped us find the the

00:47:12.001 --> 00:47:15.441
fastest ways to move it's a pretty large river and at times doesn't flow as

00:47:15.441 --> 00:47:19.001
fast as you'd like it to sometimes you're facing pretty strong headwinds that

00:47:19.001 --> 00:47:24.981
can nullify the power of the current so Mateo helped us identify the strongest

00:47:24.981 --> 00:47:28.121
current within the river And that was hugely helpful,

00:47:28.441 --> 00:47:32.061
especially when we were facing headwinds that felt like they were stronger than the current.

00:47:32.581 --> 00:47:36.421
You know, Mateo was able to help identify the parts of the river that were moving fastest.

00:47:36.661 --> 00:47:40.261
And that really helped us meet our kilometer objectives because we had a limited

00:47:40.261 --> 00:47:41.501
time to complete that river.

00:47:42.292 --> 00:47:46.652
So Mateo was clutch, and sometimes his niece was there with us.

00:47:47.172 --> 00:47:53.512
And keep in mind they're in like a small little riverboat, and she's chopping up fresh fruit.

00:47:53.752 --> 00:47:56.472
That was really nice. but the it's the people

00:47:56.472 --> 00:47:59.272
on the shoreline that i think were most interesting as i mentioned these

00:47:59.272 --> 00:48:03.072
people are are thriving despite any kind

00:48:03.072 --> 00:48:06.412
of connection to modern civilization they are

00:48:06.412 --> 00:48:09.792
clearing jungle by hand often having

00:48:09.792 --> 00:48:12.732
controlled burns moving all of that burnt lumber

00:48:12.732 --> 00:48:16.812
out of the way constructing their own homes by

00:48:16.812 --> 00:48:20.172
hand they are planting coconuts and

00:48:20.172 --> 00:48:23.272
bananas and whatever else they can they are you know

00:48:23.272 --> 00:48:26.752
bringing cattle down on barges and and

00:48:26.752 --> 00:48:29.612
farming pigs and cows and goats

00:48:29.612 --> 00:48:32.712
and whatever else they can and they're raising their kids

00:48:32.712 --> 00:48:35.732
effectively in the jungle you know that's why as a

00:48:35.732 --> 00:48:38.652
new dad i had always kind of tugged at my heart because i

00:48:38.652 --> 00:48:41.512
end up really missing my son it was my first time ever being away

00:48:41.512 --> 00:48:45.652
from my family but often we would paddle by little

00:48:45.652 --> 00:48:48.412
tiny villages or even just one shack you'd see

00:48:48.412 --> 00:48:51.612
it on on the shore and a kid would come running out

00:48:51.612 --> 00:48:54.312
and would would run along the shoreline for

00:48:54.312 --> 00:48:57.652
as long as they possibly could trying to keep up with us you know yelling and

00:48:57.652 --> 00:49:00.932
screaming and laughing because of course they'd never seen a bunch of gringos

00:49:00.932 --> 00:49:06.572
float by their house in these colorful kayaks and the most common response from

00:49:06.572 --> 00:49:09.992
the adults they would just all of them would just stop whatever they're doing

00:49:09.992 --> 00:49:12.272
and stare because again we were a bit of a spectacle and.

00:49:13.331 --> 00:49:21.031
It was really for me humbling. You know, we, we get so fussy about everything

00:49:21.031 --> 00:49:22.251
has to be so, you know, perfect.

00:49:22.471 --> 00:49:26.471
And we're often worried about, you know, our, our kids safety,

00:49:26.751 --> 00:49:31.051
you know, walking on sidewalks and, and, you know, hold my hand across the street kind of thing.

00:49:31.231 --> 00:49:35.531
And meanwhile, I'm watching, watching these kids, like, you know,

00:49:35.611 --> 00:49:39.491
little toddlers play on the edge of a, of a raging river full of crocodiles.

00:49:39.651 --> 00:49:41.931
And they're just, you know, waving at us from the shoreline.

00:49:41.931 --> 00:49:44.811
And, you know, I think about, you know, if that was a kid in North America,

00:49:44.931 --> 00:49:47.771
their mom would be screaming at them, going to pick them up and,

00:49:47.811 --> 00:49:49.251
you know, keep them away.

00:49:49.451 --> 00:49:52.591
You know, but there it's just a different relationship with nature,

00:49:52.751 --> 00:49:55.271
a different relationship with risk, you know, and...

00:49:56.128 --> 00:50:00.528
And I wonder too, I wonder how much better off young people are growing up in

00:50:00.528 --> 00:50:04.768
a wild environment like that where they, yeah, it's dangerous and it's raw and

00:50:04.768 --> 00:50:06.928
the consequences are real.

00:50:07.068 --> 00:50:11.248
But, you know, kids learn how to thrive as humans, you know,

00:50:11.348 --> 00:50:14.468
and how to be confident in their natural environment.

00:50:14.728 --> 00:50:18.748
So that was really inspiring for me just to see how comfortable a lot of these

00:50:18.748 --> 00:50:23.108
little kids are in a place that we consider wild and a place that we consider

00:50:23.108 --> 00:50:25.248
a place we travel for an experience.

00:50:25.248 --> 00:50:28.448
This is just their backyard you know and what's

00:50:28.448 --> 00:50:31.348
what's again unique about this river is it forms the

00:50:31.348 --> 00:50:34.708
border between nicaragua and costa rica which you know these are not countries

00:50:34.708 --> 00:50:38.708
that friendly or friendly countries but there is smuggling activity that happens

00:50:38.708 --> 00:50:43.048
you know whether it's humans trying to make their way north or there is gold

00:50:43.048 --> 00:50:48.088
that is prevalent within this jungle and within this this river area and so

00:50:48.088 --> 00:50:50.448
we've been told that there is smuggling activity that happens,

00:50:50.928 --> 00:50:54.148
and for that reason the the river is patrolled so

00:50:54.148 --> 00:50:56.988
every hour or two as we're paddling down the river

00:50:56.988 --> 00:51:00.628
our guide would out of nowhere sometimes quickly

00:51:00.628 --> 00:51:03.648
you know pull off the side of the river and we have to really be paying attention

00:51:03.648 --> 00:51:08.288
that we didn't miss our turn because we'd all have to get off the you know pretty

00:51:08.288 --> 00:51:11.648
much we have to pull off to the side of the river again very few eddies so we're

00:51:11.648 --> 00:51:16.848
like paddling hard and just hanging on to a dock or a piece of ropes that's

00:51:16.848 --> 00:51:20.348
thrown out for us and And all of us would raft up, we'd wait on the shore,

00:51:20.568 --> 00:51:23.088
we'd effectively share our paperwork.

00:51:24.028 --> 00:51:26.348
With members of the Nicaraguan army.

00:51:27.228 --> 00:51:30.408
And they would review it, they'd see the manifest of who we were,

00:51:30.588 --> 00:51:34.588
our nationalities, what our purpose of our trip was, they'd verify it.

00:51:34.968 --> 00:51:37.828
And eventually, in five or ten minutes, they'd send us on our way.

00:51:38.028 --> 00:51:43.788
And luckily, we never had any issues with these kind of military checkpoints.

00:51:44.605 --> 00:51:47.105
You know, we, we'd always made sure to put our cameras away.

00:51:47.325 --> 00:51:49.325
We, you know, turn our GoPros off and stash them.

00:51:49.625 --> 00:51:52.625
At one point, our first military checkpoint, I thought it was pretty cool.

00:51:52.885 --> 00:51:57.165
And I remember I had my GoPro on the deck of my kayak and I was filming and

00:51:57.165 --> 00:52:02.625
a young man in fatigues and an AK 47 pointed at me and yelling at me in Spanish.

00:52:02.785 --> 00:52:05.105
And they said, Caleb, put your, take your GoPro off. You know,

00:52:05.765 --> 00:52:07.425
they, they don't, they don't want to be on camera.

00:52:08.005 --> 00:52:11.565
I totally respected that. So that's a good thing. Good thing to know is,

00:52:11.665 --> 00:52:16.205
you know, ultimately this is a controlled waterway. You can't just go down as

00:52:16.205 --> 00:52:18.025
a tourist without, you know, having.

00:52:19.120 --> 00:52:23.320
You have to ultimately have permission and you need to go through these checkpoints

00:52:23.320 --> 00:52:27.780
and you need to stop at every one and they need to see that you've passed the other ones in between.

00:52:28.060 --> 00:52:32.800
So I, I will say that if I had just been a random gringo who thought I could

00:52:32.800 --> 00:52:34.700
float down this river by myself,

00:52:34.700 --> 00:52:38.220
I probably would have gotten in a lot of trouble because I wouldn't have known

00:52:38.220 --> 00:52:43.220
where to pull off what the little tributaries to go paddle up to go out of the military checkpoint.

00:52:43.240 --> 00:52:46.940
And, and I don't know, I imagine if we had skipped one, what would have been

00:52:46.940 --> 00:52:51.620
the consequences? You know, would they come chasing after us with their AK-47s

00:52:51.620 --> 00:52:54.040
and arrest us and take our kayaks? I don't know.

00:52:54.240 --> 00:52:56.440
But generally, we were, you know, respected.

00:52:56.960 --> 00:53:02.880
And, you know, we'd done our paperwork ahead of time. And we were able to move very smoothly.

00:53:03.160 --> 00:53:07.600
And at one point, the river actually, the Rio San Juan divides in two.

00:53:07.880 --> 00:53:11.200
You know, most rivers, they just have more tributaries adding to them.

00:53:11.300 --> 00:53:12.540
And they just get bigger and bigger and bigger.

00:53:13.060 --> 00:53:16.720
This river is unique in that it actually splits into two. and one half flows

00:53:16.720 --> 00:53:21.680
into Costa Rica and the other half continues up northward and continues to form

00:53:21.680 --> 00:53:24.500
the border of Nicaragua. So you don't want to miss that turn.

00:53:25.680 --> 00:53:29.060
You've got your last turn off to stay in Nicaragua. And at that point,

00:53:29.200 --> 00:53:32.480
it was kind of the final stretch. And we started to smell the Caribbean Sea.

00:53:32.680 --> 00:53:36.200
It almost felt like I could hear it before I could, but it was just so close

00:53:36.200 --> 00:53:38.880
and started to flatten out and slow down a little bit.

00:53:39.220 --> 00:53:45.060
And I'll admit, I was tired at this point. I was sunburned, John.

00:53:45.220 --> 00:53:49.620
Like, I was super sunburned. I am used to paddling in the Pacific Northwest,

00:53:49.880 --> 00:53:53.280
and sure, we have long, beautiful days in the summertime, but I've never really

00:53:53.280 --> 00:53:56.940
messed around with, you know, sunscreen on anything but my face.

00:53:57.300 --> 00:54:02.200
But in Nicaragua, your hands, you know, if they're not covered,

00:54:02.240 --> 00:54:04.540
if you're not wearing gloves on your hands, like...

00:54:05.041 --> 00:54:08.161
Your hands just get mangled from paddling. The tops of my hands,

00:54:08.201 --> 00:54:11.501
I looked like a leopard. They were so burned and bubbled and peeling.

00:54:11.741 --> 00:54:16.721
And the inside of my hands, luckily I was blister-free because I was using a

00:54:16.721 --> 00:54:17.901
Greenland paddle the whole time.

00:54:18.001 --> 00:54:21.841
But a lot of my colleagues had multiple gnarly blisters and your hands are all

00:54:21.841 --> 00:54:28.681
pruney from this, you know, just warm, wet, you know, it's an interesting place

00:54:28.681 --> 00:54:30.181
to be paddling all day, every day.

00:54:30.801 --> 00:54:34.581
That's a big lesson. If I was to return to the tropics to paddle,

00:54:34.581 --> 00:54:39.281
i would always wear gloves not like neoprene paddling gloves just like maybe

00:54:39.281 --> 00:54:43.201
like cycling gloves or just something just to keep the sun off off the top of

00:54:43.201 --> 00:54:47.501
your hands because they just get mangled so i was i admit by the time we were

00:54:47.501 --> 00:54:50.961
smelling the caribbean and we were finding our,

00:54:51.501 --> 00:54:54.461
way through the lagoons that are the kind

00:54:54.461 --> 00:54:57.321
of this it's like a maze to find your way out of the river

00:54:57.321 --> 00:54:59.961
by the time we we saw the caribbean on the

00:54:59.961 --> 00:55:03.101
horizon i was ready to go home i was missing my family I you

00:55:03.101 --> 00:55:05.781
know I'd done the hardest longest crossings of my

00:55:05.781 --> 00:55:09.021
life I'd I'd paddled down arguably one

00:55:09.021 --> 00:55:11.901
of the grossest water bodies ever and yet so beautiful at

00:55:11.901 --> 00:55:15.821
the same time and all of my colleagues they saw you know the first sandbar they

00:55:15.821 --> 00:55:19.101
could they pulled their kayaks up and got out popped their skirts and gave each

00:55:19.101 --> 00:55:23.101
other hugs and celebrated but I I'll admit John I I wasn't really done until

00:55:23.101 --> 00:55:28.721
I paddled the Caribbean proper and so I I followed the the river out into the

00:55:28.721 --> 00:55:31.321
sea maybe a bit naively supposedly.

00:55:32.561 --> 00:55:37.341
And of course, if you've ever paddled a river out to sea, you know, it can get pretty rippy.

00:55:37.621 --> 00:55:41.921
It can, you know, the currents can converge. You got all this current from the

00:55:41.921 --> 00:55:43.581
river flowing out to sea.

00:55:43.781 --> 00:55:49.021
You've got all of these, the rip currents from the waves and the Caribbean at

00:55:49.021 --> 00:55:52.021
this time of year is not a calm body of water.

00:55:52.161 --> 00:55:57.281
It is ruthless and aggressive and shallow and, you know, nasty waves.

00:55:57.441 --> 00:56:02.721
And I went out there thinking, here, here I am. I'm going to have this romantic end of the trip moment.

00:56:03.361 --> 00:56:07.361
And I got out there and my kayak just starts drifting sideways and I'm getting

00:56:07.361 --> 00:56:11.821
literally sucked out to sea, you know, and I'm thinking, this is the last thing

00:56:11.821 --> 00:56:14.021
I want. I just paddled for 15 days straight.

00:56:14.461 --> 00:56:18.161
All I want to do is be done. And I, here I am trying to be a hero and I'm getting

00:56:18.161 --> 00:56:22.461
sucked out to sea and, and nobody out, no one's going to follow me out here.

00:56:22.581 --> 00:56:25.921
So I, I was, I was smart and I ended up just charging back to shore,

00:56:26.141 --> 00:56:30.361
digging in deep. I surfed a wave into shore and I popped the skirt and I said, okay, we're done.

00:56:30.981 --> 00:56:33.461
We did this thing. We went coast to coast and...

00:56:34.649 --> 00:56:38.529
Yeah, I remember kind of recording a voice message for my family at the time,

00:56:38.669 --> 00:56:40.329
just letting them know how grateful I was.

00:56:40.529 --> 00:56:46.389
Because, you know, again, once you become a parent, your relationship with the outdoors changes,

00:56:47.049 --> 00:56:52.869
and the value of the time away from your family to just be in your own body,

00:56:52.969 --> 00:56:57.729
to just be your own self, to kind of rekindle that sense of childish adventure

00:56:57.729 --> 00:57:01.929
that is what often gets us into the outdoors and gets us into paddling in the first place.

00:57:01.929 --> 00:57:07.169
I just, I'd missed it, man. And, and at the same time, I had the,

00:57:07.329 --> 00:57:11.109
it was the first time in my life that I actually got to feel what it feels like

00:57:11.109 --> 00:57:13.749
to really miss my family. You know, I'd never been away.

00:57:14.269 --> 00:57:18.069
I'd never had a family to miss, you know, and I'd never been away from my family

00:57:18.069 --> 00:57:19.609
long enough to really miss them.

00:57:20.029 --> 00:57:23.009
You know, to that every time I saw a little kid, I thought of my son,

00:57:23.109 --> 00:57:26.869
you know, and that was a blessing, I think, for myself as an adventurer to realize

00:57:26.869 --> 00:57:29.589
that, yes, I am a paddler.

00:57:29.729 --> 00:57:34.909
Yes, I am an adventurer. Yes, I need to continue to do these things that make me feel alive.

00:57:36.126 --> 00:57:39.066
And I have so much more to live for.

00:57:39.326 --> 00:57:44.766
I have a family back home that misses me and loves me. And I can hold both of

00:57:44.766 --> 00:57:46.906
those truths in my mind at the same time.

00:57:47.186 --> 00:57:51.346
And I don't know. I'd like to say that I would have got there to that realization

00:57:51.346 --> 00:57:53.166
without a trip like this.

00:57:53.606 --> 00:57:57.826
But I don't know for sure. And I'm back at it again.

00:57:57.986 --> 00:58:04.406
I'm back home working full time, nine to five, doing the dad life grind, which is beautiful.

00:58:05.086 --> 00:58:08.046
But i'm really grateful that i can reflect back on

00:58:08.046 --> 00:58:11.226
a on a trip not so long ago you know within

00:58:11.226 --> 00:58:14.286
the last couple of months still and will always

00:58:14.286 --> 00:58:18.026
just kind of forever be just in the back of my mind that's

00:58:18.026 --> 00:58:21.066
reminding me that i am yes i am a dad

00:58:21.066 --> 00:58:24.306
yes i am a professional yes i am in this

00:58:24.306 --> 00:58:27.366
phase of life but i am also still that kid

00:58:27.366 --> 00:58:30.346
who went to nicaragua when he was 20 and

00:58:30.346 --> 00:58:33.386
had a transformational experience i am still the outdoor

00:58:33.386 --> 00:58:36.346
educator and the guide and the paddler i am

00:58:36.346 --> 00:58:40.326
still an adventurer who likes to push myself and to take risks and to do hard

00:58:40.326 --> 00:58:44.926
things i still got it you know i still have the fitness and the capability and

00:58:44.926 --> 00:58:50.786
the risk management and yeah so i'm i'm really more than anything grateful for

00:58:50.786 --> 00:58:55.766
that opportunity to just kind of step back into time and to you know i I think for myself,

00:58:56.006 --> 00:59:00.566
I, as a paddler, this hooked me on, on a different kind of paddling because

00:59:00.566 --> 00:59:03.066
I, as I alluded to, I'm blessed.

00:59:03.206 --> 00:59:06.686
I live in a part of the world that is a Mecca for sea kayaking.

00:59:06.846 --> 00:59:09.566
And I could live my whole life here and never see at all.

00:59:10.434 --> 00:59:14.014
But to be honest, now that I've had a taste for the travel paddling,

00:59:14.374 --> 00:59:17.654
you know, having the opportunity to just put a kayak on a plane,

00:59:18.174 --> 00:59:22.214
have it, pick it up on the other side and, and, and say, take me to the beach,

00:59:22.394 --> 00:59:28.774
you know, and to be able to travel that way, I'm kind of hooked and I can't

00:59:28.774 --> 00:59:30.994
wait to see what comes up next.

00:59:30.994 --> 00:59:36.234
I'm working with friends and colleagues to ideate the next place to travel to paddle.

00:59:36.454 --> 00:59:41.314
And it might not always be a Latin American country like Nicaragua.

00:59:41.494 --> 00:59:45.894
I dream of doing similar trips in Europe, in the UK, Scandinavia.

00:59:46.454 --> 00:59:47.914
Honestly, parts of Asia.

00:59:48.114 --> 00:59:54.414
I'd like to see places that are normally tourist traps and get off that tourist

00:59:54.414 --> 00:59:59.654
trap path by using a portable kayak. So it's kind of changed the way I perceive

00:59:59.654 --> 01:00:01.654
travel and it's changed the way I perceive paddling.

01:00:02.134 --> 01:00:05.114
I think it's just that for me, I'm just kind of scraping the surface now.

01:00:05.334 --> 01:00:09.734
I've realized like there's a lot that can be seen from the deck of a kayak.

01:00:10.254 --> 01:00:13.514
Sure. And with the boats you've got, you can get to a lot of different places.

01:00:13.694 --> 01:00:17.974
So that's fantastic and love hearing about the trip and the experience.

01:00:17.974 --> 01:00:21.234
What an amazing journey that sounds like it was for you.

01:00:21.494 --> 01:00:25.354
And great that you have that wonderful, grateful feeling for all the things

01:00:25.354 --> 01:00:28.514
that you do have and for the family that is supporting you.

01:00:28.654 --> 01:00:31.534
So you mentioned the boats. I've mentioned that a couple of times.

01:00:31.834 --> 01:00:36.114
And so very capable craft. And you've kind of proven that of the capability

01:00:36.114 --> 01:00:39.894
of the craft. You've been able to use that same craft in a sea kayak environment

01:00:39.894 --> 01:00:42.454
or open water environment, and then in river environment.

01:00:42.754 --> 01:00:47.034
Tell us just a little bit about the TRAC kayak and its design.

01:00:47.554 --> 01:00:52.894
Well, TRAC is a folding skin on frame kayak, 16 feet long.

01:00:53.074 --> 01:00:58.574
It's got hard chines, V-shaped hull, designed kind of on that traditional Greenland kayak.

01:00:59.298 --> 01:01:02.958
Ultimately borrows from the origins of kayaking skin on frame,

01:01:03.218 --> 01:01:08.278
except instead of using bones and antlers and driftwood and animal hides for,

01:01:08.498 --> 01:01:11.918
you know, we're using aircraft grade aluminum for the frame, carbon fiber ribs.

01:01:12.518 --> 01:01:18.218
Polyurethane skin that's heat welded together and radio frequency welded and hydraulic jacks.

01:01:18.458 --> 01:01:21.558
Which create the tension for you to be able to insert two

01:01:21.558 --> 01:01:24.318
halves of the kayak into the skin and then

01:01:24.318 --> 01:01:27.138
use those jacks to create the tension and also adjust the

01:01:27.138 --> 01:01:30.158
rocker so the track is the only kayak in the world that

01:01:30.158 --> 01:01:32.978
can adapt to different conditions depending on where

01:01:32.978 --> 01:01:35.858
you want to use it or what conditions you find around the

01:01:35.858 --> 01:01:38.758
corner so it makes it a very versatile boat very capable boat

01:01:38.758 --> 01:01:41.798
a lot of people think that it doesn't have

01:01:41.798 --> 01:01:44.578
storage and that's not true it actually does have

01:01:44.578 --> 01:01:47.638
a considerable amount of storage we use

01:01:47.638 --> 01:01:50.558
ultimately flotation bags that double

01:01:50.558 --> 01:01:53.578
as gear bags so you can use the gear flotation bags

01:01:53.578 --> 01:01:56.858
to store up to 60 liters worth the gear forward

01:01:56.858 --> 01:01:59.618
and aft and usually i carry a couple other

01:01:59.618 --> 01:02:02.358
smaller dry bags behind my seat maybe one on

01:02:02.358 --> 01:02:06.238
the deck so it has the same storage capabilities as

01:02:06.238 --> 01:02:09.258
a typical hard shell sea kayak it's just going to be loaded slightly

01:02:09.258 --> 01:02:12.398
differently and it has a payload of 350 pounds

01:02:12.398 --> 01:02:15.398
so it's certainly capable for for most multi-day expeditions

01:02:15.398 --> 01:02:18.418
that people are doing similar to fiberglass boats

01:02:18.418 --> 01:02:21.478
in most cases so on that on those crossings you

01:02:21.478 --> 01:02:24.378
can i don't know how to describe it but you can you basically lower

01:02:24.378 --> 01:02:27.078
the rocker track out a little bit better and then when you get on the

01:02:27.078 --> 01:02:30.898
river jack that thing up and then when you get out to that that end and you

01:02:30.898 --> 01:02:34.378
have to surf in crank it up a little bit more and have a little bit of fun absolutely

01:02:34.378 --> 01:02:38.498
you know you nailed it i mean i it's it's one boat to rule all the conditions

01:02:38.498 --> 01:02:42.958
and i think the trip unintentionally gave us a taste of a little bit of everything

01:02:42.958 --> 01:02:47.058
you know from flat water to moving water to some serious surf conditions and.

01:02:47.866 --> 01:02:50.566
You know, some people say, oh, it doesn't have a skeg, doesn't have a rudder.

01:02:50.866 --> 01:02:53.666
You know, I think there's lots of debates on that. Don't need to talk.

01:02:53.726 --> 01:02:55.146
You have a whole podcast about that.

01:02:55.326 --> 01:02:58.366
The main thing to say is that, you know, in the circumstances where you would

01:02:58.366 --> 01:03:02.386
normally drop a skeg on a boat in those, in, in, when it comes to the track,

01:03:02.506 --> 01:03:05.426
you just lower the rocker all the way down to get more, more stern in the water.

01:03:05.606 --> 01:03:11.186
And being that it's a, you know, deep V-shaped boat that tends to do the trick

01:03:11.186 --> 01:03:14.026
in terms of, you know, keeping your stern planted and following seas.

01:03:14.026 --> 01:03:17.586
You could also experiment with the opposite when you're going into conditions

01:03:17.586 --> 01:03:19.126
or you're facing steeper seas.

01:03:19.406 --> 01:03:22.226
Just jacking up the rocker slightly can give you a lot more confidence,

01:03:22.446 --> 01:03:25.246
a lot more maneuverability when the wind and waves are throwing you around.

01:03:25.506 --> 01:03:29.766
And I will say like the rocker potential in a track kayak is massive.

01:03:29.946 --> 01:03:33.786
Like if you want to jack the rocker all the way up, you've got a serious banana

01:03:33.786 --> 01:03:37.306
boat, a serious playboat that I've seen people paddle in class three in.

01:03:37.486 --> 01:03:42.466
Very capable for surfing. And it's a very easy kayak to roll.

01:03:42.466 --> 01:03:45.386
It's not a tricky a lot of the packable boats

01:03:45.386 --> 01:03:48.386
are impossible to roll that like the track is a sea kayak first

01:03:48.386 --> 01:03:51.806
and foremost that just happens to be packable i

01:03:51.806 --> 01:03:55.606
like to say that you can transport it on the roof if that's what you prefer

01:03:55.606 --> 01:03:59.526
you don't have to put it into a bag but it is sized for air travel so the idea

01:03:59.526 --> 01:04:04.186
with the bag is that it meets standard airport travel dimensions but it's also

01:04:04.186 --> 01:04:07.886
you know it fits in the back of a smart car i think about people who own track

01:04:07.886 --> 01:04:10.906
kayaks in dense places like Hong Kong and they, you know,

01:04:11.026 --> 01:04:15.026
they store all of their paddling gear in a, in a tiny closet with the track.

01:04:15.186 --> 01:04:16.986
So it's a lot of different applications.

01:04:17.933 --> 01:04:22.153
It might not be for everybody. You might not have a need for a packable boat.

01:04:22.313 --> 01:04:26.153
But if you have a dream of paddling abroad or even just taking a kayak with

01:04:26.153 --> 01:04:27.633
you on vacation in your van,

01:04:27.953 --> 01:04:31.533
or you live in a tight little space and you don't want to have to be reliant

01:04:31.533 --> 01:04:36.913
on kayak rentals or you use public transit, like the track is everything you

01:04:36.913 --> 01:04:40.133
would want and dream from a regular sea kayak, a hard shell performance sea kayak,

01:04:40.313 --> 01:04:43.653
and a little bit more because that adjustable rocker is arguably a lot of fun.

01:04:43.893 --> 01:04:47.313
Cool. I will say it's not a gimmick. Like once you get to try it,

01:04:47.433 --> 01:04:49.613
you kind of wish every boat had it.

01:04:50.273 --> 01:04:53.513
Awesome. Well, we'll put links in the show notes so people can check out track

01:04:53.513 --> 01:04:56.753
kayaks as well. So Caleb, how can people reach you if they've got questions?

01:04:57.073 --> 01:05:00.693
Oh, man, I love some questions. I've been meeting with people recently about the trip.

01:05:00.853 --> 01:05:04.093
There's other people who are thinking about kind of repeating aspects of the

01:05:04.093 --> 01:05:06.393
trip in Nicaragua and other countries like it.

01:05:06.493 --> 01:05:11.513
So if you'd like some tips and tricks about dealing with customs,

01:05:11.753 --> 01:05:15.633
best practices for packing a track kayak, or any packable boat for that matter,

01:05:15.633 --> 01:05:18.673
what to expect in terms of amenities and gear

01:05:18.673 --> 01:05:21.593
and stuff like that you know feel free to reach out to me i'm

01:05:21.593 --> 01:05:24.673
on instagram at caleb.mcintyre you can

01:05:24.673 --> 01:05:27.813
also i'm usually the person at track hq who answers

01:05:27.813 --> 01:05:30.713
the info at email so if you just email info at

01:05:30.713 --> 01:05:33.893
track kayaks.com or caleb at track kayaks.com i'd love

01:05:33.893 --> 01:05:36.933
to have a chat with you i i'm happy to set up like a one-on-one video

01:05:36.933 --> 01:05:39.933
call i like to make myself available just because

01:05:39.933 --> 01:05:42.853
there's a lot of us who are dreaming now of going further

01:05:42.853 --> 01:05:46.033
with kayaking but it's still a relatively novel

01:05:46.033 --> 01:05:50.653
sport or niche within this sport so please reach out i'd love to chat with you

01:05:50.653 --> 01:05:55.493
and and share some some dreams of paddling elsewhere excellent well like said

01:05:55.493 --> 01:05:58.553
we'll put we'll put links in the show notes so folks can uh can reach out to

01:05:58.553 --> 01:06:01.913
you and make that connection uh caleb one last question that i have for you

01:06:01.913 --> 01:06:05.133
and that is who else would you like to hear as a future guest on paddling the blue,

01:06:05.853 --> 01:06:11.013
Oh, man, I think you really need to interview Jim Mee from Rat Race Adventures,

01:06:11.353 --> 01:06:16.393
the owner of the company that, you know, he's the person who ideated this trip across Nicaragua.

01:06:16.633 --> 01:06:18.393
He just wanted to see if it was possible.

01:06:19.653 --> 01:06:23.453
But Jim's been doing trips like this all over the world. And I think you need

01:06:23.453 --> 01:06:27.973
to ask him about his kayak trip in Micronesia to the ancient city of Nandmapur.

01:06:28.053 --> 01:06:29.893
I think I'm saying that right, but I might not be.

01:06:30.053 --> 01:06:33.613
It's known as historically as the Venice of the Pacific.

01:06:33.613 --> 01:06:36.233
Uh it's ultimately a civilization that no

01:06:36.233 --> 01:06:38.953
longer exists anymore but they got to see it and this is a

01:06:38.953 --> 01:06:42.173
place that very few people even know exists never

01:06:42.173 --> 01:06:47.033
mind take the journey to see and i'd love i want to hear his story about exploring

01:06:47.033 --> 01:06:51.753
it from from the kayak so reach out to jim me from rat race adventures awesome

01:06:51.753 --> 01:06:55.053
we'll do that caleb thank you very much for the opportunity to hear about your

01:06:55.053 --> 01:06:59.413
trip with uh with rat race to nicaragua and the experience that you had and

01:06:59.413 --> 01:07:00.713
i appreciate your time. Thank you.

01:07:01.113 --> 01:07:03.453
Thank you, John. Happy paddling. Thank you, too.

01:07:04.637 --> 01:07:08.157
If you want to be a stronger and more efficient paddler, Power to the Paddle

01:07:08.157 --> 01:07:11.817
is packed with fitness guidance and complete descriptions, along with photos

01:07:11.817 --> 01:07:16.217
of more than 50 exercises to improve your abilities and enjoy your time on the water.

01:07:16.397 --> 01:07:20.237
The concept and exercises in this book have helped me become a better paddler,

01:07:20.317 --> 01:07:21.877
and they can make a difference for you too.

01:07:22.157 --> 01:07:25.837
The exercises in the book can help you reduce tension in your shoulders and

01:07:25.837 --> 01:07:29.717
low back, use the power of your torso to create leverage and use less energy

01:07:29.717 --> 01:07:33.617
with each stroke, use force generated from your lower body to make your paddling

01:07:33.617 --> 01:07:34.477
strokes more efficient,

01:07:34.897 --> 01:07:38.397
Have the endurance to handle long days in the boat, drive through the toughest

01:07:38.397 --> 01:07:41.817
waves or white water, protect your body against common paddling injuries,

01:07:41.977 --> 01:07:44.257
and while you're at it, you might even lose a few pounds.

01:07:44.417 --> 01:07:49.557
And who wouldn't mind that? So visit paddlingexercises.com to get the book and companion DVD.

01:07:50.437 --> 01:07:54.417
You can really hear Caleb's enthusiasm for paddling and for experiencing the

01:07:54.417 --> 01:07:55.757
environment and the people around him.

01:07:55.917 --> 01:07:59.417
He's a great storyteller who has a knack for taking us along with him on the trip.

01:07:59.677 --> 01:08:02.597
At times, the water may have been pretty gross and things were trying to eat

01:08:02.597 --> 01:08:07.277
him, but still the trip of a lifetime and he knows what's really important in life.

01:08:07.597 --> 01:08:13.837
Visit the show notes for this episode at www.paddlingtheblue.com slash 165 where

01:08:13.837 --> 01:08:19.197
you'll find Caleb's story with photos and other links to learn more about rat race and track kayaks.

01:08:19.397 --> 01:08:23.537
And as a reminder, you can find programming and trips for me at paddlingtheblue.com.

01:08:23.677 --> 01:08:27.597
Click that trips and courses link at the top of the page and I hope to see you on the water.

01:08:27.897 --> 01:08:32.537
And if you're not already a subscriber to onlineseekayaking.com or onlinewetwater.com

01:08:32.537 --> 01:08:37.017
remember you can always use that coupon code PTBpodcast to check out and you'll

01:08:37.017 --> 01:08:39.977
get 10% off just for being a member of the Paddling the Blue community

01:08:40.417 --> 01:08:45.537
thanks as always for listening and I look forward to bringing you the next episode of Paddling the Blue.

01:08:46.894 --> 01:08:50.134
Thank you for listening to Paddling the Blue. You can subscribe to Paddling

01:08:50.134 --> 01:08:54.314
the Blue on Apple Music, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

01:08:54.554 --> 01:08:57.454
Please take the time to leave us a five-star review on Apple Music.

01:08:57.634 --> 01:08:59.314
We truly appreciate the support.

01:08:59.514 --> 01:09:02.754
And you can find the show notes for this episode and other episodes,

01:09:03.074 --> 01:09:08.514
along with replays of past episodes, contact information, and more at paddlingtheblue.com.

01:09:08.694 --> 01:09:11.814
Until next time, I hope you get out and paddle the blue.