The treats just keep on rolling. Dozing in my cabin one break, Lauren bursts through the door, ‘You wanna come for a swim’? Our Captain has allowed us a short dip while the guests are off. My bikini is on before you can say Geronimo and us girls giggle down the corridor.
I used to have a gigantic fear of open water and time after time I have been the only one stood watching over the edge as the fun loving people around me dive bomb into the water. The Halong Bay cruise in Vietnam, remaining the most memorable; all twenty nine of them standing along the edge holding hands before jumping ship, leaving me bashfully explaining to the muscly Texan guide how I have never and could never do that. Or the time that I was in Malaysia on holiday in Langkawi and we were on a boat tour; I had opted to stay on the boat when my friends had got out at the monkey lake (another one of my fears). The little boat driver couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to see the little critters and trying to make up for his lack of conversational ability, instead of waiting for the others to return, he turned on the engine and took us to deeper water before gesturing that I jump in. He made diving and paddling motions with his hands, pointing at me and the water as I stood shaking my head. He must have wondered why on earth I bothered setting foot out of the door that day.
This time, there wasn’t a second thought in my mind. Having watched the crystal clear water slosh about over the port holes of the cabin and seeing it lap against the side of our beautiful vessel day and night, I jumped straight in (bellyflopped in an unladylike fashion, as my Captain remarked). Never had my arms and legs felt so free, the pores of my skin breathing in every sliver of salt in this bath of wonder.
I used to have a gigantic fear of open water and time after time I have been the only one stood watching over the edge as the fun loving people around me dive bomb into the water. The Halong Bay cruise in Vietnam, remaining the most memorable; all twenty nine of them standing along the edge holding hands before jumping ship, leaving me bashfully explaining to the muscly Texan guide how I have never and could never do that. Or the time that I was in Malaysia on holiday in Langkawi and we were on a boat tour; I had opted to stay on the boat when my friends had got out at the monkey lake (another one of my fears). The little boat driver couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to see the little critters and trying to make up for his lack of conversational ability, instead of waiting for the others to return, he turned on the engine and took us to deeper water before gesturing that I jump in. He made diving and paddling motions with his hands, pointing at me and the water as I stood shaking my head. He must have wondered why on earth I bothered setting foot out of the door that day.
This time, there wasn’t a second thought in my mind. Having watched the crystal clear water slosh about over the port holes of the cabin and seeing it lap against the side of our beautiful vessel day and night, I jumped straight in (bellyflopped in an unladylike fashion, as my Captain remarked). Never had my arms and legs felt so free, the pores of my skin breathing in every sliver of salt in this bath of wonder.
I took a lap around the boat, all one hundred and seventy one feet of it. Being 'measurement dyslexic', I have never really been able to grasp the enormity of the superyachts around me, no longer need I be concerned, that swim showed me exactly how big our Felix is.
Once the view of the never ending water and the strong waves pushing against my every stroke would have sent my lungs tight, my breath short and my entire body into uncontrollable panic. This time, I had never felt more love towards each little drop of H2O that surrounded me. Only when I swam over the shadow of the bow did the word shark pop into my mind, but I pushed it directly out and continued back to the swim platform, a few little rolls around like a dolphin and it was time to get back to work.
Once the view of the never ending water and the strong waves pushing against my every stroke would have sent my lungs tight, my breath short and my entire body into uncontrollable panic. This time, I had never felt more love towards each little drop of H2O that surrounded me. Only when I swam over the shadow of the bow did the word shark pop into my mind, but I pushed it directly out and continued back to the swim platform, a few little rolls around like a dolphin and it was time to get back to work.