First, one point of clarification: Earlier in the week I said something along the lines of “Marianne bobbed around behind the boat”. I’d like to officially apologize to our intrepid Marianne if this sounded remotely casual or like she was taking it easy! Marianne generally has a slower pace than many (but not all) other swimmers, but let it be known that this lady works her tail off in the water. Marianne gives it her all whether she swims near or far, but most importantly, she gets what she needs from every water experience. This is the goal on SwimVacation, and this is the secret sauce to coming back better. As long as Marianne and everyone is getting what they need in the water, this guide is 100% fulfilled. So I would like to rephrase - Marianne has been Scouting many bays for us. Yesterday, for example, she fully scouted the bay of Kokkinonisi on Alonnisos. When we got back on board from our swim, she issued me a full scouting report. Thank you, Scout Marianne!

So there’s the the bobbing vs scouting portion of today’s blog. Now, let’s back up to the Booping. So I also mentioned earlier in the week that in many of the beautiful secluded bays we have been swimming, we have been sharing space with the beautiful and relatively benign barrel jellyfish, Rhizostoma pulmo. This large and elegant creature does in fact have stinging tentacles, but you'd have to work at getting your hand into the heart of it to get a proper sting. So these beauties have been bobbing (actually) around some of our bays and today we all had a lovely swim along side them. They vary in color from purple to brown, and the brown variety resemble fried eggs (to me, but I’ve been eating a lot). The dome of this jelly has no tentacles at all, and just looks so enticing, so a few of our bravest swimmers wanted to experience what a jellyfish lid feels like. Hence, the booping. A gentle boop here and there. Boop, “Oh! It feels firm!” Boop, “So smooth!” Harmless for both booper and jelly, and a little more learned to demystify a species which is often very misunderstood.

*Big, beautiful and benign, the barrel jellies guided us through Kokkinonisi Bay on our first swim of the day.*

Small fish seek protection beneath the sheltering tentacled skirt of the barrel jellyfish.

So that’s the title of today’s blog explained. As for the swimming we did today, I can’t even, with this place. The morning swim in Kokkinonisi Bay was gorgeous with a circumnav of a small island, goats that came to check us out as we did swim throughs and generally bobbed around (yes, bobbing), into a second little bay alongside some ruins that looked old and full of stories we will never know. A few caves. Just beautiful.

*We are addicted to underwater swim throughs. It’s officially a problem.*

Then we moved on to the island of Georgios which is part of Skopelos. We scouted it out from the boat and made a plan for swim-exploring along its uninhabited shores.

It. Was. Off. The. Hook. As the kids say. A high test, dramatic swim, that began with a white stone beach leading to a full of 50 foot sea tunnel in the rocks. The Aegean glowed electric blue beneath us as we passed through again and again. More swim throughs into secret rooms and pools with beams of light shining down turning our swimmers into angels in the Aegean...then we charged south along the utterly majestic east coast of the island, with sheer cliffs that rise hundreds of feet above us, then plunge and drop into the depths below us. To swim inches from a wall like this is unlike anything you’ve ever done. We cruised along about a mile and finished in a deep, fjord-like bay in the southern shore. White stones, deep caves, dramatic cliff faces, crystal clear sea water infused with fresh water streaming from vents….it was positively breathtaking. We were all wrung out by the time we crawled back onto the yacht which had followed alongside us.

*A rare wildlife sighting of a spotted moray eel right out in the open!*

This was easily a top 5 swim in my very charmed swimming life. That’s all I can say.

We moved along into Skopelos town - a charming seaside town with stunning views, little cobblestone streets lined with shops and cafes and cocktails. We picked up a few pretty things and visited a lovely bar called The Hidden Door where a few of us sat in front of a looping projected silent movie and enjoyed a cocktail, beautifully prepared and poetically described by our handsome young host. We meandered back to the boat at about 11pm and I dropped into my nest, asleep before my head hit the pillow.

What. A. Day.

So now it’s the morning of our final full day and we are off to a slow start, Simon and I just finished support crewing our departure from the dock as we make our way to our swim. Before we left, Richie went into town on the hunt for pastry. Hunter bring back big prey, we eat. And eat. And eat.

These islands have given us much to eat and drink and swim and boop and bob about. One more day to take it all in.

Kali mare from someplace special.

Love,

Heather

Booping, and Bobbing vs Scouting.

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