I've Got Your Back, Ma'am!

(click on any photo to enlarge it)

This is me. Smiling while using a water pump. Typical male. Not too attractive unless you flipped your kayak in the Arctic ocean. Need to go there to find love.

Trust me. I know. I've seen many women turn their backs at me. Like when I try to initiate a conversation. I hate seeing those backs.

Except on a kayak. There, seeing people's backs means differently: I am in control. I am steering the boat. The recipe is simple: Go on many Arctic and Antarctic kayaking expeditions. Become a pretty good kayaker. Have the guide pull you aside and whisper: "would you mind sharing a kayak with that person? It's their first time in these conditions."

So this post is dedicated to all the backs of women I watched while kayaking the frozen waters of the Arctic and Antarctica. It'll allow you, the readers, to see how it looks from the back seat, and then what you miss by not seating in first row - I've coupled those views together.

During my first Antarctic trip, I saw this back for many hours. Ally was actually a good kayaker and we always sought out the narrowest paths among the icebergs. In such cases, it actually looks scarier when you're in the back seat, and you tend to say "let me know where to turn! Let me know when to turn!" Especially when it snows (on you and on the seals) while you paddle:

But, then again, this is what Ally saw by being in the front seat:

Sometimes, though, it's better to step outside the boat to look at your companion's back. I took this picture in Bowron Lake Park in British Columbia, where I decided that some perspective to this woman canoeing was not only necessary, but beautiful as well:

A bit later, back in the canoe, it was clear why one prefers to have a perspective on these lakes!

The following is a very special female companion. That's my daughter, honing her kayaking skills when she was only 12. Well, "kayaking" is a bit of a strong term. Those of you who have sharp eyes can see the bubbles at the front of the advancing kayak, yet she was not paddling! Someone actually paddled AND shot this photo at the same time! Who could that be?

Thank you. Thank you. But it was still worth the view. When you see this - Why would you want to paddle and not just watch in awe?

These guys, in the Water of British Columbia's Inner Passage, jump pretty high, don't you think?

Admittedly, though, sometimes the real position to be at is in front of a lovely woman, especially as soon as she feels the solid earth underneath her feet again. Want a proof? Here -

Let me watch your back.

Hey, what was Carolyne thinking here? That she could get away from me by jumping off the boat? And even if so, why was she so smiling? And why on earth did she have her camera wrapped around her hand?

(She didn't get away. We got her back into the kayak. And then she flipped it, making me pump the water out. Now you're making the connection?!)

We can't end this post without one more lovely photo of a back, energetically paddling the waters round the Antarctic Peninsula, and of the view that brings up this energy. Here they come:

View my post Arctic Black and White with a Story to see some additional photos.