Monday, December 04, 2006
Thanksgiving at Koh Lanta
Nov. 22. - Thanksgiving Day
What better way to spend Thanksgiving than kayaking in the Andaman Sea? 
The outfit we hired picked us up in the morning and dropped us off at the pier where we caught a speed boat out to a neighboring island. The boat ride was nice with calm water and great scenery. The speed boat partnered with a longtail boat that carried the kayaks to separate kayaking spots so that you were able to see a few distinct habitats.
Our first stop was at a lagoon where the sea kayaks were waiting. We all climbed on top of our sit-on-top kayaks and had about an hour long paddle. Many of the islands in this part of the Andaman Sea are like giant haystack rocks, but they are so large most are forested. We saw a bit of bird life, but it was a hot day and for the most part very little wildlife was out and about.
We took a break at another lagoon and then paddled to a large cave. The cave itself was not too special as far as cave formations go, but paddling into a cave was fun. Afte
r visiting the cave, we hopped into the speed boat and went to BuBu Island for our beachside Thanksgiving meal of Barracuda curry. This was, by far, the most atypical Thanksgiving meal any of us had ever had. There was one major drawback - NO STUFFING! We lazed about the island for about an hour or so and then hopped back in the speed boat.
We met the longtail boat carrying the kayaks in mangroves on the leeward side of Koh Lanta. There we paddled through a slough in the mangroves for about an hour. To the surprise of our guides, we ended up getting back to the final stop sooner than expected. Because we had three boats (Elizabeth and Carol Lee; Anna and Molly; Joey, Gioia and Nick) some natural competitive tendencies presented themselves. Ah, but the Germans (the fourth boat of two guys who were on the trip with us) out paddled us all in the end.
The kids really enjoyed being out on the water and being active. It turned out to be a very mellow paddle. Amazingly we were not too sore afterwards, although for me I think it was the preemptive ibuprofin I took.
What better way to spend Thanksgiving than kayaking in the Andaman Sea? 
The outfit we hired picked us up in the morning and dropped us off at the pier where we caught a speed boat out to a neighboring island. The boat ride was nice with calm water and great scenery. The speed boat partnered with a longtail boat that carried the kayaks to separate kayaking spots so that you were able to see a few distinct habitats.
Our first stop was at a lagoon where the sea kayaks were waiting. We all climbed on top of our sit-on-top kayaks and had about an hour long paddle. Many of the islands in this part of the Andaman Sea are like giant haystack rocks, but they are so large most are forested. We saw a bit of bird life, but it was a hot day and for the most part very little wildlife was out and about.
We took a break at another lagoon and then paddled to a large cave. The cave itself was not too special as far as cave formations go, but paddling into a cave was fun. Afte
r visiting the cave, we hopped into the speed boat and went to BuBu Island for our beachside Thanksgiving meal of Barracuda curry. This was, by far, the most atypical Thanksgiving meal any of us had ever had. There was one major drawback - NO STUFFING! We lazed about the island for about an hour or so and then hopped back in the speed boat.
We met the longtail boat carrying the kayaks in mangroves on the leeward side of Koh Lanta. There we paddled through a slough in the mangroves for about an hour. To the surprise of our guides, we ended up getting back to the final stop sooner than expected. Because we had three boats (Elizabeth and Carol Lee; Anna and Molly; Joey, Gioia and Nick) some natural competitive tendencies presented themselves. Ah, but the Germans (the fourth boat of two guys who were on the trip with us) out paddled us all in the end.The kids really enjoyed being out on the water and being active. It turned out to be a very mellow paddle. Amazingly we were not too sore afterwards, although for me I think it was the preemptive ibuprofin I took.
# posted by Joe Spatafora @ 6:03 AM 
