Friday: Guides, guests, and the hungry sea.
These trips run on the passion of the people who work on them. My dear friend and SwimVacation guide Simon would definitely be more comfortable at home with his family. Yet he puts up with tiny airplane seats, forced marches through hot, unfamiliar towns, cramped hotel rooms, and sometimes sleeping outside. Why does Simon do this?
My partner in SwimVacation, Heather, also puts up with the same myriad of discomforts. And she puts in untold hours comforting guests, sending birthday wishes, editing photos, and hundreds of other things big and small to make this thing work.
This week’s (and next week’s) yacht crew was new to us. Captain Seyfir, Phyllis, Bayza, Mustafa, Ali, and Örzot are a family, and they work ridiculously long hours to keep us safe, comfortable, and well fed. It’s a huge undertaking. The Sea is a beast that consumes boats, money, people, dreams. To work with it the way this family does is awe-inspiring.
Our Captain moved the boat early, and later we’d understand why. We anchored at a tiny chain of islands in the harbor outside of Kas, ate breakfast, and jumped in for a swim. The water felt different here. Maybe a degree cooler. Definitely clearer. We swam between the rocky islands and saw a crevasse with a 60 foot drop. If you’re afraid of heights, you’d be freaked out. The rest of the swim was equally mesmerizing, with dramatic undersea cliffs and a fun swim-through. By the time we rounded the last island, the bay was filling up with dayboats, and we realized how lucky we were to have this place to ourselves for a bit.
Simon did a swim through and lost his wedding ring. He went back in and actually found it. Whew and WOW!
Naps ensued. Not little 15 minute snoozes. I’m talking long, sustained naps, with drooling and snoring. Our last swim of the week was along a mainland shore outside Kas, a fun last jump off the boat, another degree cooler, another little island to swim around.
We have tea and cakes around 4:00 every day on these trips. You’d think it would ruin your dinner, but It doesn’t. Go ahead, have some cake. Simon and I dreamed up a cocktail that used up the rest of our liquor supply. Let’s just say it had 7 distinct liquids in it, that changed for the second round. Smoky grilled eggplant in yogurt sauce filled our bellies, and Heather’s slideshow filled our souls.
This group of guests put their shoulders into this trip. I think they’re coming back better.
Hopper
After a week of insisting she wouldn't, then several minutes insisting she couldn't, Samantha made the leap from the top step of our ladder. Courage!