Into the Sea

September 6, 2022

Another bright morning. Threats of inclemency have not materialized. Yesterday was gorgeous in that I ran about and saw the town as I would have done in days before this debility hit. I was tired, but never too tired, never out of breath. My first year I couldn’t make it to the pier without major problems. Reminder that for me the joy of traveling is to walk out of the hotel door into the street and just start discovering, meeting, engaging. Usually there are castles and museums, but a little beach town will do too. Was given free tea by Theresa in the Drop Inn. Opened the 101 Bar on the Pier with their first drink. In the afternoon the group went about town– to eat and drink– and again I went at some pace without losing the breath. The tide rises, the tide falls. Happy people on the pier listening to horrible music. Flashlights on the shore at night, I think looking for baby turtles to help them in their destinies. How they survive the crush of human bodies in the day, though, I don’t know. Warning about married life, and how it is well I missed it: every surface covered by some cast-off item, a book, a water bottle, so there must be major excavation even to sit down. 

Arrival of Jay and Martina, who have been fishing for redfish somewhere nearby.

Walked into the sea this morning, the first time I actually swam in the Atlantic since– I don’t recall. Strong and refreshing, but mostly strong, so that at times I scurried back toward shore, unsure that my strength would be enough. You don’t have to enter the sea. You stand and it engulfs you. Where I stood I could see waves that I knew to be far taller than I, until they were broken by the sand. The surfers and I rejoiced in the same waves.