California Rocks

California rocks are amazing. You live, and you feel alive, and you love what's going on in your life, and then one day you climb a bunch of rocks bordering a creek, and you feel like life has started afresh, all over again.

The journey starts when a new friend you've just met invites you out kayaking. Bang in the middle of nowhere. Kayaking? Really?? It's possible in this city??? You have got to be kidding me!!!

It's an awesome experience. It's just you, the kayak, the paddle, the lifejacket, the calm, quiet canals, the warm sun, the cool breeze, the salty water, the friendly people all around, and your own muscles, working away hard, stretching and relaxing, pulling and pushing, until you feel your biceps have doubled in size. It's exercise that requires a lot of focus, and quite a bit of energy, but you do have the option of taking a break in between, to relax, gearing up for the next bout of exercise. It's even better if you row a two-person kayak: you and your partner can row alternately, so that one person works while the other rests, or you can row and rest together (gives an opportunity for some very nice conversation).

The canals follow their own protocols as well. Canal traffic after all, is not very different from road traffic; there can be a lot of it, or there may be very little, everyone needs to use the waterways, there are big boats and there are small kayaks, and it's entirely possible to hit someone and sustain a bad amount of damage. So you need to have some rules to follow. As with road traffic, you stick to one side of the canal; if you approach a bigger vessel, you slow down; and if you cause damage, you gotta pay for it. Of course, you don't get to drive if you don't have a licence, in this case you can't enter the water unless you know how to swim.

The joy of the trip is heightened when you round it off with lunch at a Greek cafe. Not to mention an exhilarating motorbike ride at seventy miles per hour on the freeway.

A couple of days later, you go out for lunch again. This time, the surprise sprung on you is Peruvian food. Again, it comes up out of nowhere, a snug little spot tucked away in a place you'd never have expected to find unless you specifically searched for it. This place is so good, I'm surprised it is still such a quiet place, but I guess until it is discovered, the people who know of it have the pleasure of knowing as well that they are of the lucky few to savor it.

You have to marvel at how life can give you new stuff to enjoy, and think about. I had never imagined before that I would one day taste and plough through genuine Peruvian fare (and I know it's genuine, because my friend has been to Peru and had it straight from the llama's master's table). It's delightful as a cuisine, filling yet lightweight, tasty yet nutritious. They are especially fond of seafood, and have some lovely dishes (my personal recommendation - the ceviche. Delicate parts of fish soaked raw in citrus juices, served with sides of puffed corn and edible seaweeds. Finger licking good). Equally amazing are the juices they make. I've forgotten the names, but they were prepared home style at the restaurant that we visited, and so were absolutely delectable. (When did I become such a foodie?)

The fun doesn't stop there. Next steps, you go for what seems to be an ordinary hike in a pretty little place, nestled snugly in a valley with a creek running right through the hills. It's quite ordinary; you walk along at a nice easy pace, enjoy the creek bubbling along, the birds singing, the leaves rustling. Then your friend pushes you off the beaten trail, onto a smaller one leading into the gorge cut by the creek between the rocks. Soon, there is no trail altogether, and the rocks are all you have. So what do you do? You start moving along the rocks, just above the water, using the cracks and holes in the rocks as handholds and footholds. One false step, and plosh into the cold water you go, so you had better know how to swim, and more so how to deal with cold. Or do everyone a favour, and imagine that it's a lake brimming with lava and brimstone, and just don't fall into it. (Big evil grin)

Before we started, I thought I was a goner, that I was going to plop into the water sometime soon. Amazingly (or perhaps not so), it turned out to be easy, and more importantly, fun. We jumped rocks crossing the creek quite a few times, always looking for ways to proceed further. After a point, there were no more rocks to scale, so we thought of following up the creek to the point where it joins the trail. Follow it we did, but we never found the trail, and had to turn back at sundown, crossing all the terrain we had covered, and then the rocks, in the darkness. I almost did fall into the water at one point, but was rescued by my friend. In my defence, that part was really tricky, and it was dark.

Overall, the whole sequence was something exciting, something brilliant, something new, fresh, invigorating. Somehow, it feels like it would be even more exciting in a subsequent attempt, for now we can proceed further, perhaps in a different direction.

(Dedicated to my friend, el hombre fuerte, to whom I owe the pleasure of these experiences)