Swimming in the Caribbean Sea

It’s common to see people setting their towels on the sea wall and going for a swim, especially towards the end of the day. I thought about doing it myself, but was only accustomed to swimming laps in a pool. On my walk along the water yesterday, a man stopped to say hello before setting out for his swim.

It’s completely different, he told me, because of the movement of the water. You’ll be a far better swimmer if you swim in the sea, he advised. Typically, he swims two kilometers, and he pointed out where he swam out past the yachts to the deep blue water and up the coast and back again. “There’s nothing like it, swimming among the creatures,” he told me. “Once a young sea turtle thought I was its mother, and swam beside me all the way from out here to Harbour Village. The feeling is just indescribable.”

There he goes.

The next day, I decided to go for a much less ambitious swim. When I arrived at the place called the “sea pool” (where the swim team practices) I was glad to see someone else in the water. Just as I arrived, there were two talkative girls who had just entered the water with their mother.

“Hi,” the older girl greeted me with a big smile. “Hi, how are you doing?” I chimed back. “I’m cold! The water’s cold…” sharing her opinion. I welcomed the opportunity to cool off from the heat and said how much I liked it. The younger one enthusiastically swam up to us and announced that her sister had swam in the Special Olympics, jumping into the conversation. “Today’s practice day, I have to do a practice swim for the meet tomorrow”. She was one of the local kids on the Bonaire Barracudas swim and water polo Team.

I introduced myself to this friendly family, and tried to remember their names. I told them I was nervous about swimming in unfamiliar water since I wasn’t as strong as the kids and asked about the currents in the area. “The current won’t take you out,” their mother assured, “there’s hardly any current at all. When there is, runs along the shore either this way or that way.” indicating the two side shore directions. Rachel, the younger girl was eager to share her local knowledge. “Right now, it’s going this way”, pointing North. “So it will be easier to swim in that direction, and harder to swim back.”

“How do I know if I can make it back?” I joked. “You can do it, of course you do it!” she claimed. She started out with the current, and I headed in the same direction after her, happy to have swim buddies around while I did my workout.  It was like swimming in an aquarium, with every stroke seeing bright fish, small fish, schools of fish, corals and urchins. I stopped for a moment and popped my head up, finding Rachel right beside me.

“That’s incredible! How can you focus on your stroke when you are looking at so many fish?” I asked. “You just focus so you can go farther and see more fish!” Clearly, she was having a lot of fun with me. As I was swimming, she kept tapping me on the shoulder pointing out the marine life that was not to be missed. I caught on to give the thumbs up or she would keep tapping me with grand enthusiasm. I sprinted away until I had to stop to rest, and she was right there with me. “Float on your back when you need to rest.” she coached me, along with some other pointers. I enjoyed the swimming lesson more than she knew.

Back again at our starting point suddenly, there were lots of kids in the water, a formal practice was underway now. “Are you practicing with us?” the coach asked Rachel. “Yes!” she called back, as I made my way to the sandy entrance to the sea pool.

It was more than getting some exercise, more than going out for a swim and cooling off from the heat of the day. It was an opportunity to connect with others and have some fun. I spent all morning cleaning my apartment and working on a job application and by the days end, I just wanted to get out to see some friendly faces. It’s easily done her on Bonaire.

This weekend is the second International swim meet for this young and powerful swim team. I Rachel and all them the best of luck!

Bonaire Barracudas Swim and Water Polo Team

http://bonairebarracudas.org/