Day 5/6

Larry is a seaweed harvester. In other words, he collects seaweed, dries it, and sells it. He is careful to harvest sustainably and to not deplete the seaweeds or harm the ocean ecosystems. So, since he knows the coast so well, he took us kayaking in some sea caves off the Fort Bragg coast. We were kayaking in “Tupperware-sit-on-top-of-kayaks”—big kayaks that Larry uses in his harvesting. They were both doubles; Medjula and I were in one and Georgie and Larry in another. After a hilariously (paddle on your left Medjula, your left!) drenching start we were off. We went to three caves, all of which were amazing. When we paddled into a cave all I could see was a dark hole. But I could hear! You I hear the sound of the surf crashing on the rocks and feel the surge picking us up and letting us down. Then we turn the corner and are out into the sunlight. Medjula and I had so much fun in the surge that we went back and forth in different passages. By the end, we still didn’t have our timing right with the surge, but we didn’t get soaked like we did at first.

By the time we got back to the beach we were hot, what with wearing wetsuits and all. So we decided to go for a swim. Medjula and I were the only people in the water, seeing as it was frigid. But it didn’t feel cold to us because of the wetsuits. It was only after we got out that we realized how cold we were.

The next day we drove the whole day past non-descript scenery (oh look, a McDonalds, oh look, another McDonalds). In the early evening we met Medjula’s mum in Tracy. We left Medjula with her mum and continued driving. The car felt empty after Medjula left. We all miss her. They headed back to their home in San Francisco. We stayed in a generic motel.