If kayaking warm tropical waters appeals to you, don’t miss the Comox Valley Paddlers Club first meeting of the season.
On Thursday, Oct. 6 Leah Blok, a lead guide with ROW Sea Kayak Adventures, will speak on paddling in Baja and Cuba. Baja’s Loreto Bay in the Sea of Cortez hosts blue whales and fin whales and Cuba is a relatively new destination for kayakers.
Blok used to believe she could talk to whales. Years later, she still believes it, but realizes that the whales probably do not understand her.
Growing up near Vancouver, Blok spent hours of her life in and beside the ocean and with that came a great love and respect for water. Her dad took her on her first kayak expedition to Clayoquot Sound at 16 years old. Big crossings, big bears, big swells and one naked man with a spear…and she was hooked.
Subsequent expeditions include the east coast of the Baja Peninsula and an 86-day trip south from Skagway Alaska, one third of which was solo.
She believes her greatest role as a guide is not to make a perfect pineapple upside down cake (although important), but to give people an opportunity to fall in love with the natural world, in places they otherwise would never go.
Sea Kayak Adventures was founded in Baja, Calif. over 20 years ago and National Geographic Adventure Magazine named them one of the “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth.”
In 2013, the company joined the World Cetacean Alliance’s Responsible Whale Watch Partnership in an effort to raise the standards of whale watching worldwide. In addition, they operate under Leave No Trace™ ethics so you can enjoy the wildlife and landscape without harming the natural habitat.
The presentation begins at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Lion’s Den, 1729 Comox Ave., behind the Pearl Ellis Art Gallery. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Non-members are welcome to attend with a donation at the door to BC Marine Trails.
For more information about the evening contact cvpaddleshow@gmail.com or visit our website comoxvalleypaddlers.ca or our Facebook page.
