"Can you swim?" the Swiss woman asked me. "Like a fish," I replied, as I stood frozen on the ladder, looking down at the bright yellow sea kayak below. "Then what does it matter if you fall in?” she asked, no doubt keen to keep the line moving so she could take her turn. It was the kind of brusque encouragement I needed, and I clasped the hand of my guide and stepped from the ladder of our escort boat into the bobbing kayak. Surprisingly, I managed not to tip us both into Pha