Saturday! A Saturday on SwimVacation.

As this is a special edition 10 day SwimVacation, Friday came and went without the typical last day last night traditions. And so today, Saturday, becomes the first day of extra time on a trip.

After 50 or so trips, I’m really familiar with the arc of a typical 6 day SwimVacation. I know when new swimmers will likely start to relax, I know roughly when even experienced swimmers will likely get tired and need a playful, rather than a long or rough swim. I know, generally, when a swimmer will hit their stride. I’ll admit to my cautious curiosity about how a 10 day trip would work - how the energy and enthusiasm of our guests might wax or wane, how my stamina and that of my crew would look after day 8. How to add enough variety, and how to pace the trip effectively.

I’ll say that today on our first full day 7, our guests showed no signs of slowing down. Perhaps it was the audacious double rainbow in a golden morning sky, alive with a delicate rain. Perhaps it was another fabulous dinner from Lou Lou last night. Perhaps it is the fact that the 5 women swimming with us this morning are seasoned and buoyed by their accomplishments thus far. To a woman, they are all more confident explorers than they were on day one. 

Alina and I discussed a swim plan on the bow. We agreed that they seem ready for a longer swim. So we plotted a course for a big swim around the inside of Anse Volbert, with a plan to meet Marianne and Zack at the boulder islet in the middle. This would give us over a mile of swimming before stopping to enjoy some pictures with all 8 swimming souls in one place at one time. It worked.

We skimmed along the beach, just inches from the sandy bottom as the super fine sand billowed and moved in the rollers. It can have a dizzying effect - when the bottom seems to move beneath you in one direction while you are moving in another. I learned to trust it and enjoy the ride a long time ago, but I know it takes some recalibration for swimmers who don’t do it very often. Add in the layer of stingrays snuffling about in the sand on their morning hunt for breakfast and it was a very dynamic stretch of swimming. We got to the beach at the opposite end of the bay and were greeted by two beach dogs. These pups clearly had wave experience as they both popped a wheelie over an incoming breaker. We stopped a few times to share observations about the number of opportunistic batfish alongside each stingray we saw, relative to the size of the ray. Data complied, but more research required.

When we reached the boulder field it was so great to see Zack and Marianne arriving from the other side. We all lolled around in the shallows and took photos and generally relaxed like we owned the joint, and after the last 6 days, it kind of feels like we do. I passed off one of my cameras to Alina and Tara who had a field day with it and got some good photos to boot. I hope I haven’t planned my own replacement….It was fun to give up the camera (one of them) for a bit and totally fun to watch everyone else have fun with it. Thank you for your photo contributions Zack, Alina, Tara and Myssie!

All told our morning swim experience was a two hour affair. We climbed aboard to Lisa’s offer of eggs and no one declined. Sails hoisted, we made our way back out to the wilds of the satellite islands off La Digue - still bouncy with wind and swell. We hit the western shore of Grande Soeur, frothy with a steady breaking wave. Dropped an anchor and jumped in for a short, wild swim. We didn’t swim much, but we did play on a float line zack arranged, and between the two amas of our catamaran. By the time we got out, Lisa had a fantastic lunch waiting for us.

Before leaving Big Sister, we decided to fly my new little drone. I’ve wanted to this whole time but we have been in no fly zones until today. My only chance, I sent her up. It’s not the aerial clip of my dreams, but we had fun creating it nonetheless, and my mermaids did not mind diving from the bow a few times for the birdseye camera.

A smooth sail back over to Praslin turned into cocktails and incredible little crab cakes and eventually another spectacular dinner - this time steak and potatoes and a creamy veg dish that was devoured in minutes. It turns out we’ve all worked up quite an appetite.

Tara had her feet in the water and caught the attention of a handful of big remoras who nibbled her toes and made her giggle. 

Richie and Lou Lou hung out in the cockpit with us gabbing until bedtime.

Conversation was easy and breezy and it was the kind of evening that happens when you belong in a place. We feel at home here. Really really at home.

So as it turns out, that’s what happens on day 7.

We belong.

Love,

Heather