After a few days, I felt I established a deep contact with them. I tend to think that it was the deep nature of our trip that actually allowed us to sync with these places and these cultures so well. There is something magical about paddling through the sunset in a place where only fishermen go sailing and later share a few words with them in the native language commenting on the wind, the currents, the fisheries and ultimately life together. I guess there is something inherent to the act of paddling that makes other people willing to get in touch with you. Probably it’s because it’s so simple, or because the act of paddling puts you in such an exposed position – you can count only on yourself to get back to the shore or to make it to the next landing spot – that people tend to look at you with more compassion and more openness.
After a few weeks in Ceará all I can say is that we had the pleasure to live for while outside our usual comfort zone, certainly outside of our social class context as Lévi-Strauss wrote, and feeling immersed in an unfamiliar environment just made our days so much more interesting as only good travels can do. And as only a “slow”, rudimentary, uncomplicated approach to life and to stand up paddling can do.
Of course I will continue enjoying my surf sessions at home or somewhere else, but I know now that we I will be in search for a true life experience I will pack my inflatable touring board at leave all my world behind to go paddling with the anonymous fishermen of the world. SUP
