We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. -- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Primeval silence. Green water so still that the reflections of the world above -- tangles of mangrove roots, immense banana leaves -- are perfect replications of the steamy rainforest we’re paddling through. Howler monkeys climb through the trees, iguanas suddenly slither away in the brush, herons turn their elegant faces toward us and effortlessly lift off. We glide by a Mayan boy in a dugout canoe who must wonder who these people are in these pointy, inflatable little boats, the blue-and-white of the Lindblad tour company logo unlike anything else in this Central-American world. "Hola," we murmur. We wave and smile. He waves and smiles. We are the kayakers.

I'm just back from an expedition down the Caribbean coast of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, kayaking through the rivers of the ancient Mayan world. Part of the allure of this increasingly popular sport is the illusion it creates that you are seeing exactly what the first people who figured out boats saw, and seeing it in exactly the same way, from the same perspective. Sitting close to the surface of the water, using two-sided oars, the motion is gentle and the exercise easy. Since there is no noise except the gentle splashing of the paddles, there are more opportunities to see wildlife. But the real magic is that there are no footprints of the modern world -- no discarded plastic bottles, no power lines, no engine drone, no diesel stench. This is the real deal: the natural world in all its intensity and variety.

Whether you're in the tropics weaving around mangrove roots or in the arctic weaving around ice floes, kayaking is thrilling. Astonishingly, that same feeling can be had close to home. Kayaking on the Delaware River or at the Jersey shore or in the Pine Barrens fulfills the same fantasy.

Unlike most breathtaking -- literally and figuratively -- activities on the water, kayaking is safe and non-strenuous. I'm not even a decent swimmer, so I'm always a little nervous on the water. My first kayaking was on the Delaware. A friend decided that since I was about to go off to Alaska for some serious kayaking in very deep, very cold glacial water, it might be sensible if I'd at least tried it first. So off we went last May. I put on a life vest, climbed into a very lightweight one-person kayak made of fiberglass. (There are also bigger kayaks for people who weigh more, and also tandem kayaks for two people.) We pushed off from a little wooden platform and slid into the water. The Delaware is quite wide but fairly shallow up near Lambertville (a great place to wind up for a meal and a drink), but there are a few places where there is white water (Well, it's only a ripple, but still ). In order to keep the kayak from turning over (don't even talk to me about "Eskimo rolls"), you have to point its nose into the wave/ripple/whatever. As I did this -- it turns out that despite my shrieking, it's a snap -- my friend is hollering from his kayak behind me, "Atta girl!" But most of the time, we just paddled away: trees and water and sunshine and quiet.

The most difficult kayaking I ever did (so far) was on Sanibel Island in Florida, with my daughter. Weaving through dark and very narrow channels in a mangrove forest, with sensational birds and mysterious shadows, there was absolutely no maneuvering room: We crashed into banks, bashed into overhanging branches, accused each other of ineptitude ("Omigod! Watch it! Watch it!") and felt as if we'd paddled into the heart of darkness. It was fabulous.

For braver types who like their water sports more exciting, there is sea kayaking and white-water kayaking, but I'll take calm water every time. This is partly because I don't like being scared, and partly because danger necessarily focuses your attention on what you're doing (and how well you're doing it), shifting the pleasure away from your surroundings.

Kayaking is not only thrilling, it's cheap--single kayaks rent for about $26 a day, although a few hours is probably a good beginning excursion; kayaking is also a great upper-body workout and it's ecologically pristine.

A Nubian guide I once followed through the Sinai desert told me a wonderful and simple thing which I have thought of many times in many places since: Sit down and hold your breath and listen to the silence. What I heard then and heard again kayaking was the magnificent sound of my not being there. The world is very old and very amazing.

A sampling of places to contact if you want a kayaking adventure -- nearby, faraway and way faraway: Pine Barrens Canoe and Kayak Rentals, Chatsworth, N.J.,800-732-0793, www.pinebarrenscanoe.com. Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association, Barnegat Bay, N.J., some overnight trips, www.jsska.org. Bucks County River Country, guided tours, rentals and paddling instruction for beginners; 215-297-5000, www.rivercountry.net. Tarpon Bay Recreation, Sanibel, Fla., guided environmental kayaking, 239-472-8900, www.ohwy.com/fl/t/tarbayre.htm. Lindblad Expeditions, exotic voyages all over the world, including a Mayan trip, 800-397-3348, www.expeditions.com.