The Pearl Kayaking/Stand Up Paddling (compartilhado)

Fun activity but poorly organised.

I loved being out in the water with all my friends, and nothing could have ruined that but honestly the staff during our trip nearly did. I’m a fairly experienced kayaker in seas, lakes, rivers and rapids and this is the first time I have been discriminated against because of my size. (I would say I’m small-mid fat, US size 16-18) The member of staff told me and my whole group that I should use a double kayak “because of my weight” but didn’t back this up with an explanation. Maybe the kayaks here are cheaper and less sea worthy than others I’ve used previously. I did it anyway to save embarrassment and time because the process of getting us on the water was very slow. As it happened, the girl who shared with me was much smaller and the weight distribution was completely wrong due to this being a double kayak. I felt unsafe the whole time but luckily, as mentioned I am experienced and a very strong swimmer. Then we had a great time all kayaking together and swimming together, but at the end another member of staff suggested we set up a photo for breast cancer awareness and told us to “form the shape of a ribbon with our kayaks”. She had no idea how to direct this and expected us to just know how to make the shape she envisioned with no help or leadership. We tried for about 10 minutes but all ended up very frustrated and cranky because we couldn’t get this task right. Then we had an equally slow process of getting out of our kayaks as we had getting in them. So to sum up- you will have fun with your friends, but prepared to be fat shamed if you dare to be out in public in a swimsuit and you are over a size 16.