Snippets from Lock Down – A Screen Shot of Sea Swimming.

“Snippets From Lock Down” is a series capturing short insights into how I spent my outdoors time, and some of the everyday adventures from my daily exercise. These are the moments of joy that shine through my lock down experience, like sun rays on a cloudy day. I hope you enjoy them too…

I’m so excited to write about the sea… 

It’s the second time I try to get in. The water numbing a line in my thighs like a tight elastic band, not so cold that needles pin my feet, but enough that the salty air makes me shiver. 

It wasn’t the cold that stopped me the first time, but the rocks. Tide half in half out the rocks lay hidden beneath the surface. Too deep to see but too shallow to swim over. My feet became my eyes as I tried to navigate my way, finding a safe course, like a ship in uncharted water. 

I lift my leg feeling the shape of the slippery rocks and plunging it down into the chasm on the far side, hoping for solid ground. The pebbles uneven against my feet and the tide grabbing me left and right making my arms sway like a tightrope walker.

 With each step I convince myself it’s getting easier. The water rising and pushing air from my lungs. I think I feel sand. Now completely unable to see my legs it all goes sludgy. Then Slippery, and then I feel myself imprisoned by rocks on all sides. “It’s not fun” I shout, and with water over my belly button, but not high enough to swim, I retreat. 

That’s how I’m here now, already cold from the wind chasing salty drops over my skin. It’s sandy here, compacted with mini contour lines that feel strange to walk across. The water stays the same depth as I walk further and further out. My feet explore tentatively, still hesitant after the number of rock stubbed toes before. The sea laps with a gentle purr, and a faint crash as it hits the rocks in the distance. 

I take a few more steps and push my arms in front of me, sinking into the salty water. It’s not cold enough to take my breath away. It feels refreshing, like a gentle breeze or a cold shower on a hot day. I look out to the horizon, a new perspective to the way the colours change, sandy here, light crisp blue, and a darkness out to sea.

It looks infinite, and in this very moment, I am connected to the infinite too.