Παρασκευή = Friday, μετάξι = Silk.

Παρασκευή = Friday

Today’s Greek Lesson:

Silk = Metaxi = μετάξι

I woke to the sound of crows. Actually, Susan later identified them as Jackdaws, which are in the crow family. A little noisy but still cool to wake up to. These crows were residents of Thilia Island, a small, lush promontory smack in the middle of the narrow channel separating Meganisi from Lefkada. A short motor put us in the bay of Thilia, and at about 0800 we slipped into a sea as smooth as silk.

Smooth strokes as we circumnavigated the island. Kevin called it “Glidey” and he was right. With not a ripple at the surface and so much buoyancy, one stroke felt like it propelled me forever. The repertoire of Greek textures passed beneath as we moved effortlessly - fields of sea grasses, stepped slices of rock, spikey sponges and white sand patches. The water gin clear, as it has been all week. More fish here than we’ve seen anywhere in Greece, and red sea stars every 10 yards or so. The island is steep and cliffy on the East side, yielding to cyprus trees above low slung beaches on the West. Great light surrounded us. Just a spectacular, calm, awesome swim.

Kevin nearly made me cry when he said “That was my favorite swim ever. Swimming finally made sense to me today.”

Swimming does make (more) sense in a place like this. 

It was so beautiful at Thilia we decided to hang around through lunch. Jane and Alina swam to shore and hiked around, finding a beautiful little restored church with open windows to peer in through.

I jumped in with my big camera housing and did some fun portraits with our swimmers. My models were game and joyful, the light was gorgeous and the sea grasses made an amazing scene setter. We researched and found that Thilia might be for sale for a little over three million Euro. We are, as a group, strongly considering a gofundme. 

Lunch was fantastic with cheese and other amazing greek mezzes. And cheese. Don’t forget about the cheese.

We motor sailed North to Skorpios Island. Formerly owned by the Onassus family, this was the place Jackie O was photographed while sunning herself starkers on the beach. Her beach. Poor lass. Today the island is owned by a Russian Oligarch who is building a huge high end resort on the island. In spite of all of this, we were not alone in anchoring just off shore, and we jumped in for a lovely final swim. A deep water crossing, a mini cave and a swim through two rock towers covered it all for our guests. I took a moment at the end of the swim to reflect on how far each of them has swum and come this week.

Roger came to us thinking he wouldn’t swim that much. He did every swim but 1, and his stamina easily tripled from Sunday to today. I forgot that he doesn’t think of himself as a swimmer. That’s all I know him as.

Susan came to us with an inspiring story of fortitude and persistence against the odds. She showed her metal after a nasty jellyfish sting, and through rough, tough seas on the Papanikolis swim. She might seem quiet, but this lady is all grit.

Cynthia dug deep and surprised herself on the rough water Thursday thrill swim. She didn’t surprise me, because I’ve seen her tackle tough swims on her last few trips with us. She is 4x the swimmer she was when I first met her. I can’t wait to see where she’ll turn up next.

Kevin let me push him this week. He came here not wanting to get near any rocks or caves, but trusted me to guide him through some cool passages and new swim experiences.  I even got him to face his fear and gently touch a sea urchin. What an honor and what a thrill to see him enjoying swimming in a new way.

Jane brings the fun, the joy. On every single swim. She plays, she romps, she smiles ear to ear. She’s one of the most game swimmers I’ve ever met. It’s hard not to have a good time when she’s beside you in the water. And she loves to dive from the bow.

We all laughed and cried a little through dinner and our end of the week slideshow. I love to show our guests what their week in the sea looked like through my lens. The camera doesn’t lie. You are at your most natural and beautiful selves when swimming.

Jane jumped in with Alina and I tonight for our late night skinny dip lap around the boat. The bioluminescence was fantastic and the stars above were great. We paddled out away from the boat a bit together, and as we were looking in the sky for Orion, we all 3 saw a shooting star. Can’t think of a better way to end this week.

Thank you, friends. This time we share is special and I will always hold it dear. Don’t forget who you are in the water. It’s the most YOU you can be.

Love,

Heather