The Supping
Paddling with 20kg of baggage on each board made paddling slightly tougher than when it’s just you and your paddle. We realized there was a max speed we could go before burning out. It was reassuring how quickly we got used to paddling with the weight. Such a good feeling knowing that everything you need for the entire adventure is with you on the board. We worked out how to pack efficiently after a few days; with access to snacks and hydration tablets on the top of the bags, watermelon bungeed to the back along with a six pack of water, which warmed up pretty quickly. Most mornings we would set of when the sun came up, pack down the tent and load up our boards to paddle early before the heat of the day kicked in by mid afternoon. Paddling at this time of the morning was beyond beautiful; the sky was always on fire and the water was glassy flat, so clear and calm. It felt like you were paddling through thick, slick oil. The sun coming up over the mountains reflecting on the tiny ripples was just sublime. The only people we passed for a few hours most mornings were the fisherman reeling in their nets from the previous nights catch, waving as we passed by. We stopped for breakfast in a huge caves, tying our leashes to jagged rocks so not to drift away. We ate Greek yogurt, raisins, bananas and local Lefkada honey to fuel us for the rest of the day’s paddle. The handy thing about being on SUPs is that you can literally stop and leash up anywhere you fancy.
Most days we also ate lunch on our boards in the middle of the ocean. We were able to just float in the middle of the sea slicing chunks of watermelon and Edam cheese – fuelling our bodies for more paddling – perfection.
