Sea Kayaking School #4

The week before the Feast of the Assumption, and before heading off to the Kornati Islands, I held my fourth Sea Kayaking School.

This year, however, we decided to do things a little differently. Instead of choosing a purely coastal location, we combined river and sea kayaking and based the school around the Neretva River Delta.

The Neretva Delta is a fascinating place for kayaking. It offers a completely different experience from the open sea, with its network of waterways, channels, wetlands and hidden corners, while still giving us the opportunity to explore what sea kayaks can really do once we reach the coast.

Seven wonderful days spent with a wonderful group of people. Some participants were already familiar faces from previous adventures, while others were people I was meeting for the first time. Before long, it felt like we had been paddling together for years.

We enjoyed everything the area had to offer – from calm, almost glassy water to more challenging conditions and waves in the Pelješac (Mali Ston) Channel. It was a great combination of relaxed paddling, exploration and a few moments that reminded us why we actually go to sea kayaking school in the first place.

The first two Sea Kayaking Schools were held on Lastovo, one of my favourite places for sea kayaking. Last year we moved to Molat, and this year we went somewhere completely different: the Neretva Delta.

Where will we go next year?

I honestly don’t know yet.

There is only one thing I know for sure: there needs to be a taxi service.

Yes, the taxi situation deserves its own paragraph.

Everything about the Neretva Delta was fantastic – except for one rather important detail. There is apparently no taxi service in Metković, Opuzen or Ploče!

In the middle of the summer season, with a group of kayakers who occasionally needed to get from one place to another, this turned into a small logistical adventure of its own. Eventually, I ended up arranging transfers with a transport company from Neum, so they could pick us up in Opuzen, take us wherever we needed to go, and later bring us back to Opuzen – usually after we had paddled our kayaks there.

So, perhaps next year’s school will be somewhere with beautiful islands, crystal-clear water, great paddling conditions…

…and a taxi.

Until then, I’ll remember the Neretva Delta for the great paddling, the variety of conditions, the beautiful landscapes, and, most of all, the people who made those seven days special.

Four schools down. Many more adventures to come.