Surprise! Kayaking in December is warmer than biking in December...

Two days ago I sent a message to the Never Dry club WhatsApp group to ask if anyone wanted to go paddling this weekend. The guilt of not using my new boat yet was building up (busy weekends!), and there was no rain in the forecast. But with temperatures hovering right around freezing, I was secretly hoping no one would respond, so I'd have an excuse to stay in my cozy warm apartment.

But I wasn't the only one looking for someone to drag me outside in December! My water nerd/oudoorsy/Rotterdam friend Anaïs enthusiastically volunteered to join me in the maiden voyage of my new kayak. We met at my house around 11am and biked to the club house. Hanneke also stopped by to say hello on her way to the market. It took us a little while to get all our equipment together (winter kayaking: safety first!), but we were on the water just after noon. Other than some chilly hands and toes, we were quite comfortable in our boats. Anaïs made good use of my pogies, which I've never really used until today. I'm always pleasantly surprised by how warm it is in a kayak with a sprayskirt, even when it's freezing outside. 

Though it was cold, it was not raining and a light fog made it quite a scenic/peaceful paddle. We saw one other kayaker and a number of rowing shells. Today I learned that Anaïs is more afraid of rowers than aggressive swans. But she has also done rowing before, so maybe she knows something I don't... 

We had a mini photo shoot at this scenic windmill in a bend on the Rotte River

Our plan was to leave the lake and head for the Rotte River, from which we'd take a side channel to the Bergse Voorplas, a small lake. I had tried this once before with Elizabeth when I first moved to the Netherlands, but on that trip we started at the Rottemeren, and it was just a bit too far. But today Anaïs and I were chatting away and missed the turn, and we soon found ourselves a couple kilometers further in Terbrugge. When we realized our mistake, we hopped out of our boats at an inviting riverside cafe. Only once we were in the entrance taking off our stinky kayaking gear did we realize it was quite a fancy restaurant with long white table clothes. I nearly changed my mind at this, but Anaïs observed that it was quite empty inside, and that I shouldn't feel embarrassed all the time (true!). She went inside and a friendly waitress welcomed us in. We promptly sipped fancy hot cocoa and warmed up, all with a nice view of the river. 

Fancy hot chocolate at the fancy waterside restaurant.

Anaïs about to head into the cafe. Little did we known it would be a fancy place with white table clothes...

The trip back went quickly as we chatted away, and soon we were back at the warm clubhouse drinking hot tea while we waited for Anton to meet us. We brainstormed names for the new boat, and Anaïs encouraged me to consider a whale-related name (Purple Willy?) because "Cetus" has to do with whales, and because she thinks it's as heavy as a whale... The brainstorming continues...

What a lovely way to spend an afternoon in December!

Returning to the Kralingse Plas, where plenty of sailboats were braving the cold.

I just checked the blog history and confirmed that this is the FIRST TIME I've recorded a December kayaking trip. There have been 3 other December posts - one was a list of winter kayak rentals, and the other two were belated posts about trips in November and July! Luckily, I'm expecting to do some more December and January paddling this year, because in two weeks Henk and I are off to NEW ZEALAND! We've planned at least 3 kayaking trips while we're there, so hopefully I can stay motivated and post about them in February. 

Such a photogenic willow tree! Note the sinking sailboat on the left side of the photo...

Date: Saturday, December 2nd, 2017
Distance: 10.4 km  (6.5 miles)
Duration: 3 hours (including cafe stop)
Weather: 1 deg C! and misty, little wind