I had been walking out into the body of body of water , splashing or hence for 10 minutes , together with hence making my agency to the local hotpot to warm up. It was non-committal , the mutual frigidity was manageable , together with I could ever send on the bottom. Easy stuff.
This previous Sat , the hamlet I’m living inwards held a festival to convey the town together together with ane detail on the itinerary was an body of body of water swim. A existent , actual body of body of water swim that involved paddling together with things. I had 3 motives for deciding to create the body of body of water swim; it would brand practiced footage for the cinema I’m working on , I’ll experience similar a fraud if I chicken out , together with I’ve had 3 carve upwardly dreams that I’m genuinely a seal since I arrived here. Iceland is a weird place. It gets inwards your head.
Anyway , Sat morn rolled or hence together with I was nonetheless sleepy , but I had an early on breakfast together with looked outside. Little current of air , a lot of sunshine , a relatively cloud-free sky. One of my roommates – a far to a greater extent than athletic adult woman than I – had decided that she would create the swim likewise , together with our 3rd roommate made the concluding infinitesimal determination to tag along equally well. We were dancing or hence the living room , getting hydrated together with blasting some Tame Impala to larn us inwards the mood.
Fast frontwards an hr together with I’m scrambling downwards on these slippery rocks , wearing a pair of bikini bottoms together with my sports bra. The waves were coming inwards violently together with speedily , hence I had foregone my commons bikini top out of fright that I’d lose it along the way. I was wearing a pair of dark-brown woolen socks for 2 reasons; a sort lady named Valdís explained that this tin assist retain some warmth inwards your feet , together with I was paranoid almost panicking if my human foot touched something slimy.
I knew from experience that the get-go breath is the hardest. I slipped betwixt 2 jagged rocks together with roughshod into a bed of seaweed , together with the mutual frigidity of the H2O literally took my breath away. I was treading H2O together with trying to regulate my breathing together with trying to hap my arms moving. While my trunk adjusted I domestic dog paddled along , avoiding keeping my caput submerged , equally Líljá recommended. I timed my paddles amongst the waves that rolled inwards , but ended upwardly amongst mouthful after mouthful of salty seawater. The electrical flow was determined to force us dorsum to our starting seat , together with for a long fourth dimension it felt similar I was getting nowhere at all.
After 15 minutes , I could experience my legs again. I was paddling along , watching the H2O rising together with autumn or hence me , together with could consider tiny rocky islands at oculus bird inwards the bay. The H2O looked milky together with grayness inwards the low-cal , together with I could consider the high mountains rising out on the other side of the bay.
When my arms got tired , I rolled onto my dorsum together with kicked along inwards a half-hearted backstroke. The clouds were moving speedily overhead , together with I assumed the current of air had picked upwardly , but I was security together with sheltered inwards the bay. I would force my caput equally far dorsum equally it would become , hence that my finish was upside-down inwards the distance.
The finish was the café on the border of the bay , where at that topographic point was ane of those concrete driveway boat harbour things that rises out of the sea together with meets the road. As I approached , the waves battered me or hence , hitting me from behind , together with and hence hitting the surrounding cliffs together with pushing me dorsum out to sea again. There were submerged concrete blocks that I clamoured over , scratching my breadbasket together with my legs. I pulled myself out of the H2O , was thrown a bottle of H2O together with set my feet upwardly out of the sea hence they could warm up. I felt pretty exhausted from battling the electrical flow together with trying to remain warm (the human being who followed us inwards an emergency kayak afterwards confirmed that the H2O was 3 degrees Celcius). Those behind me emerged equally good , nosotros passed or hence the H2O together with they began walking upwardly to the café. Líljá turned toward the sea , stepped dorsum inwards , together with called out to me.
“Are you lot swimming back?”
I looked at the others , who were directly on the grass beside the harbour. They all shook their heads inwards unison , making a beeline for the auto that had merely pulled up.
“Are nosotros supposed to swim back?” I asked Líljá.
“I mean value this was the excogitation ,” she replied.
I waded dorsum out into the H2O , climbing over the concrete block that had bloodied upwardly my legs , together with started swimming dorsum to our starting point.
This fourth dimension when the H2O took my breath away , I didn’t larn it back. I waited for my trunk to conform to the H2O temperature , but I felt a perpetual mutual frigidity creeping upwardly from my feet. I wondered how long I’d been swimming for. I settled into a head-above-water freestyle , but every fourth dimension my hands broke the surface of the H2O they felt similar they were existence cutting open. Eventually , I alternated betwixt lying on my dorsum together with relying on the electrical flow to send me dorsum , together with an exhausted breaststroke , made to a greater extent than hard past times the fact that I could experience my legs trembling.
I reached the slimy , disconcerting bed of seaweed , climbed upwardly the pile of rocks to Saulaugar , who waited amongst a woolen jumper together with blanket. My legs were moisture together with bloody together with my peel was pinkish together with cold. “Careful ,” said Saulaugar , “your peel is rattling frail when it’s cold. This is why you lot are cut.”
I’m non practiced amongst speak of veins or peel at the best of times , but dehydrated from tabular array salt H2O together with shaking from mutual frigidity , I almost passed out. The words “fragile skin” spun or hence inwards my caput together with I held onto the auto for support.
She drove Líljá together with I to the hotpot hence that nosotros could warm upwardly amongst the others , who were already sitting , grin together with warm , sipping java together with eating chocolate sticks. I was trying to breathe commonly , but on every exhale my thighs would milkshake together with shake together with threaten to give out. I tried to measuring into the hotpot , but it felt to a greater extent than stepping into a teapot than a pool. Blue spots appeared on my hands together with feet , my tattoos were raised similar welts , together with thick cherry marks lined the within of my arms.
I sat , shivering , inwards the forty-degree hotpot , drinking loving cup after loving cup of java , wishing I could autumn asleep together with wake upwardly feeling warm. After an hr I had stopped shaking , together with the greenish bruises on my breadbasket , legs , hands together with arms began to rising inwards footling eggs.
“We’re going to become swimming likely on Mon after operate ,” Líljá said to me. I was pulling on my tracksuit pants inwards the alter room , contemplating having a nap earlier the afternoon together with feeling absolutely wrecked.
“I’ll text you lot hence that nosotros tin selection you lot upwardly together with you lot tin come?” asked Valdís.
“Yeah , sounds practiced ,” I replied.
Until adjacent time!
Until adjacent time!
