The Life of a Belize Sea Kayak Guide 1 of 3
The Life of a Sea Kayak Guide - by Jack Wilde
I am lying in a hammock, stretched across the living room of the Guides' House, which is where they house us when we are not in the field. The NE trade wind is blowing off the Caribbean Sea, over an empty lot, across the dusty road, in the window and across my swinging body, cooling me in the moist, tropical heat of a sunny February afternoon in Belize.
Tomorrow I head out on my next trip, to a base camp on Glover's Reef, a stunningly beautiful atoll out beyond the Belize Barrier Reef. When I meet my guests at the dock they will have already spent an evening and a day in the country. They will have explored the Belize zoo after dark (when most wildlife is active), gone tubing down a creek which passes through the limestone hills in a series of caves (great fun, little effort) and perhaps gone horseback riding or toured a jungle river looking for enormous green iguanas that hang out on overhanging branches. By now they will know each other by name, and by relationship. While I know the details of each trip participant, such as who can't eat shellfish, who is taking what medications, and even the height and weight of each individual, I don't know which face matches the names I have read and researched. By researched, I mean that whatever special medical conditions people may have, whatever meds they are on, I have looked it all up on the Internet so that I can tell the one on anti-malarial pills that he may find himself unusually sensitive to sunlight, and the one who is taking blood pressure medications that this drug means she will have to drink lots of water.
Sometimes I get some unusual cases. I once had a young lady on a trip with all of her internal organs reversed, left to right (not a problem). I had a fellow once who had to be on a ventilator all night, for which we had to run the generator (not always reliable). Fortunately he assured me that if the generator conks out I won't find a body in the tent in the morning; he just won't get a good sleep. But now all the background information has been dealt with and it is time to learn some names and make them at ease on the long ride in an open boat.
I am lying in a hammock, stretched across the living room of the Guides' House, which is where they house us when we are not in the field. The NE trade wind is blowing off the Caribbean Sea, over an empty lot, across the dusty road, in the window and across my swinging body, cooling me in the moist, tropical heat of a sunny February afternoon in Belize.
Tomorrow I head out on my next trip, to a base camp on Glover's Reef, a stunningly beautiful atoll out beyond the Belize Barrier Reef. When I meet my guests at the dock they will have already spent an evening and a day in the country. They will have explored the Belize zoo after dark (when most wildlife is active), gone tubing down a creek which passes through the limestone hills in a series of caves (great fun, little effort) and perhaps gone horseback riding or toured a jungle river looking for enormous green iguanas that hang out on overhanging branches. By now they will know each other by name, and by relationship. While I know the details of each trip participant, such as who can't eat shellfish, who is taking what medications, and even the height and weight of each individual, I don't know which face matches the names I have read and researched. By researched, I mean that whatever special medical conditions people may have, whatever meds they are on, I have looked it all up on the Internet so that I can tell the one on anti-malarial pills that he may find himself unusually sensitive to sunlight, and the one who is taking blood pressure medications that this drug means she will have to drink lots of water.
Sometimes I get some unusual cases. I once had a young lady on a trip with all of her internal organs reversed, left to right (not a problem). I had a fellow once who had to be on a ventilator all night, for which we had to run the generator (not always reliable). Fortunately he assured me that if the generator conks out I won't find a body in the tent in the morning; he just won't get a good sleep. But now all the background information has been dealt with and it is time to learn some names and make them at ease on the long ride in an open boat.
to be continued....
posted by Island Expeditions Belize & Yucatan Adventures @ 3:42 PM
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