Up for breakfast. The usual, now my usual. Same in Crete as in Rhodes. Some yogurt with nuts, honey and fruit. Some fetta, tomato and cucumber with a hard boiled egg, dressed with olive oil and a little salt. A black coffee. A tea or some water if I’m still thirsty. Back upstairs to get changed for the first big swim.
We’re down at the pier before 10 ready to go out. It’s warm. It’s clear and Apollo is driving the boat. So all is well. After a ride of around 10 minutes we take off hats, shoes, etc. and get ready to go in. Today’s swim is only 3k with a drink break half way. We are swimming to Sweetwater Beach. I’m in. I’m speedy Gonzales with my fins on – a shot in the arm for my ego. But my carefully tested goggles are leaking. Leaking badly. Oh no! Disaster. This will really take away from the joy. I have to stop every few metres and fiddle faddle. After 10 minutes I realise I’ve put them on upside down! (haha). I laugh at myself as I set things straight and we’re on. Back into the swim. I asked to be put in a slower group today. So instead of being one of the slower of the faster group, I’m the leader of the slower group. Fine by me! I could relax and take my time viewing the fish and navigating the course, We swim along the cliffs, mostly just 10-20 metres from the shore. The water was perfect temperature – about 25 degrees I feel, and crystal clear.
I saw a lion fish quietly moseying around near the rocks. Though poisonous, I’m pleased I was not afraid. I saw different species than I had seen on my various swims in Rhodes. Long pointy fish of a midnight blue, some fish with green, gold and black. Beautiful!
The swimming is meditative and as well as looking, breathing, pulling and kicking, I’m thinking of this and that, him and her, and words, lines, lyrics flow out as I take in the view, the feelings. I remember silently singing, “Swimming in cerulean. Swimming in cerulean. I’m swimming in the blue. Shafts of silver sunshine cut into the blue. They reach as far down as they dare. Silver, beaming, striping with the blue. The Greek flag under water. Silver. Blue. Cerulean and white. Striping under water. I’m swimming in the blue.”
We came back to shore and I sat with my guitar on my balcony for a while, just practising my picking, before taking a swimmer’s appetite to lunch just before 2. We were back in the water around 3:30 for filming our stroke, so we can get feedback on stroke style. I kick too much and I can afford to have my hands enter the water wider, shoulder width, instead of each coming to the centre. Looking forward to trying that out tomorrow! Beautiful dinner and an after dinner Metaxa. I toast Rhodes, Monólithos, Crete and Greece herself. Tomorrow we swim 4k in the morning. Yikes. I’ve never tackled that distance in one go. We’re heading west from Loutro. Kali nichta!