Friday Mediterranean finale.

Almost 48 hours had passed since we last swam around an island, so our captain got up early and set sail to find us one.

Tavșanbükü Island is next to the boat yard where this gulet is hauled out every year, and makes for a perfect mile or so circumnavigation. The rock formations were the star of the show here, they looked like massive layer cakes. We spied a moray eel as goats watched us stroke along. At this point we are feeling very strong in the water, after having swum twice per day for the past 6. For heather, it’s been 18 days of “doubles”.

We can sense the sun sinking a little lower on the horizon every day, and fall will arrive soon, but for now the air is 82 and the water is 79. It feels like stealing a bit more out of summer. 

One more Island! This one is closer to the harbor at Bozburun, and all the boats are returning home, so our final swim brings us under more than a few stern lines. Heather takes swimmer portraits before each of our last swims, and she’s able to talk our deckhands Sinan and Karem into jumping off the boat for a session.

Zack and I made cocktails with the remainder of the booze, and our chef really pulled out the stops with a table full of greatest hits from the week. Heather played her slide show to ooohs and ahhhhs. 

Our captain and crew were stellar this week, it’s such a tough, demanding job and they made it look easy. Zack, on his first swim guide-only trip, was a rock star. My partner Heather is the heart of these trips, and brings it all together with her passion for the ocean and for our guests. 

Speaking of guests, this group gelled quickly and swam together in fairly tight formation: we were rarely spread more than 50 yards apart, and they were always eager to swim around the next bend or pause to check out an artifact or a fish. 

SwimVacation is like a family that is formed and splits up in the course of a week, and that can be tough on the soul. But we get to do it again in just 5 weeks with a new group. See you then. 

Hopper

PS by HP. Thank you to my partner Hopper for this big, crazy, wonderful idea that closes the gap between swimmers and their best, ocean selves. Like everyone else, I’m always going home better for it. XO

And one final video from the Med, a celebration of play to the background sounds of my boy, Finn Weafer. XO