Night Kayaking

My flatmate Laurie works part time at a sea kayaking outfit in Sausalito, just north of the Golden Gate bridge. For anyone who knows Cape Town, this is the equivalent of Hout Bay. I went along on a night kayaking trip on the bay with her and her friend Sarah and a group of paying customers. They didn't go far, and at first I thought it would be rather lame, but then the sun went down, all the lights on the bridges came on and the stars came out - its was a dark night and both Jupiter and Venus were brilliant in a starry sky. Then Sarah discovered the sky wasn't the only thing that was all sparkly - the water was filled with bioluminescence, which you could see clearly when you moved your hand fast through the water, like tiny agitated sparks.

Sarah and Laurie and I went for a beer afterwards in Sausalito, and then Lauries got a ride back and I didn't - not that I minded, in fact, because after a tequilla to keep me warm I had the surreal experience of riding back over the Golden Gate Bridge at midnight in the mist.