the Cove

Relaxing on the boat afterwards she could barely believe she’d done it.

Looking down she could see white bubble curls on the surface of the turquoise water and people in black wet suits with a luminous strip down the sides.

The cove they were in was idyllic really, the other busy boats had gone, it was just them and one other boat.

She could hear an array of bird calls, Turkish music and gas escaping from somewhere. She liked being down here in the open cabin, all the sun-seekers and regulars were up top basking in what was left of the suns rays.

Her mum had texted her earlier asking for more photos on facebook, she thought about putting a photo of the cove on then hesitated, save that for tomorrow, they’d see the DVD later.

For a new experience , forgetting the one earlier in the week, this one was awesome. Getting on the gear and learning how to breath etc…was great fun, breathing through the mouth only, keep your lips over the mouth piece to stop breathing in water, press to expel any, to equalise pop your ears and to get water out of your mask tip head back and blow through your nose. All good advice.

Going under the water felt surreal, like a really big bath there was no sound. With the guidance from her diver she was swimming feet first into a sea of fish she couldn’t see far but she did see an array of fish, lots of coral and a noted highlight was seeing a sea turtle in it’s natural habitat,.

kneeling on the sandy floor of the sea bed was so peaceful, and feeding the fish with bread was just surreal.

But the best bit was too imagine, even in the coldest place she’d ever been was the possibility of what was in the wide open sea, at one point she was there, right at the brink of it, nothing but blue, it reminded her of finding nemo where they have the same experience, anything could be beyond the reef.

And the question, can you hide from a shark?

paradise

She felt like getting on the boat was a challenge in itself, her trousers were too long and got soaked with sea salt, great, she would have to do more than just rinse them later.

Despite the choppiness of the boat she felt OK, it was only small so all movement was large and she felt the waves bounce as much as the boat.

The trip was a boat tour with a few coves, lunch and a lot of swimming involved , good job she loved swimming, regular water baby.

The first cove was beautiful , busy, a lot of people but the water was warm and not very deep, she just floated on her back holding onto a foam stick, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

Back on the boat on the boat they went round to the next bay, she’d forgotten the name of it but the minute she started swimming she remembered, cold water bay, still great swimming but bloody hell it was cold, she aimed for the sunny bits and enjoyed some warm moments.

The next bay was the best, aquarium bay, the views were stunning from the boat, even better from a swimming point of view.

The water was warm and looking down she could almost see the bottom, she wished she’d remembered her goggles to go fish hunting, her friend had a mask and was hunting already but she preferred to stay near to the boat just in case it left without them.

She enjoyed watching the other people from the boat jumping in and the kiddies being dropped or jumping from the edge of the gang plank, they looked like they were enjoying it.

On the way round to the next one she was starting to feel unwell, lunch was a nice distraction once they docked, chicken and salad, perfect.

The last bay, butterfly bay was to choppy even for her, she tried to swim but the waves were too big and after a mouthful of sea water she got back on the boat and had a lie down on the top deck, half in the shade, half in the sun, anything to help her not feel sick. The boat was rocking, bucking and jarring, when she was a kid she would have loved it, her realisation of turning into her mother was not appealing. The boat felt like it was doing a dance on the way home, a samba mixed with a salsa, it could have won strictly come dancing.

After getting back onto dry land a drink was definitely needed, she felt like she would have boat head for a few days. She did feel better though as her friend and her drank ice cocktails on the beach.

But the question is still unanswered, could you hide from a shark?

Blue lagoon

Sitting on the shingle beach on the blue lagoon she thought it was too ducking hot.

The occasional breeze made it bearable, she had too many clothes on from burning the day before and big globules of sweat were working their way down her back, it was definitely too hot.

So much for having a day of massage and swimming at the hotel, next time no massage with oil which unknown to her would make her burn to buggery.

She enjoyed people watching, her friend next to her was attempting to make her back browner, she was trying to get an all over tan, she only had small strap marks due to her bikini top, she how ever had a swim suit and her marks were big and thick like a complicated stick of rock. She had had enough of the sun already and had decided not to bother burning more , besides she fancied having a decent nights sleep, last night was painful.

The people she was watching on this beach were mostly wearing either something very skimpy or less, kids were wearing outfits of that stuff that was sun and waterproof, they were clearly British.

In that picturesque scenery she could contemplate life the universe and everything.

There were lots of people swimming nearby, mostly kids in water-wings and splashing a lot, very little actual swimming, and just to set the scene, para gliders at all different heights and different colours gliding down from the sky, like storks carrying babies on their backs.

She was enjoying a cold glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and sitting in the shade of a canteen on the beach, she wondered why there was a fish tank with fish in murky under the shade where people were eating.

She imagined if someone did say shark loudly it would be a massacre, the kids would be the first out and the shark or sharks would probably end up attacking and deflating the inflatable kids park around the corner, or getting trapped by a sadistic parent in the pedalows.

But the question is can you hide from a shark?