#52 Learn to Swim

I have a certificate from a primary school swimming lesson that says 'Helen swam 5 metres, with aids'. Hmmmm. I think this means arm bands but I'm not sure it's what certificates would say these days.

I didn't really take to swimming like a duck to water. In fact it wasn't until my family moved to Cornwall when I was 10 that I got the hang of it. Dad knew about this huge rock pool that was deep and incredibly salty, but not actually very big, so ideal for learning to float and gain confidence. We didn't have a town swimming pool in those days but a local hotel had a small one which never got busy so I learnt to swim greater distances there. Nowadays I quite like swimming as a form of exercise and also enjoy going to a class called Deep Water Running which involves wearing webbed gloves and a float belt and then, yes that's right, running through the water. Sometimes our instructor makes us use these long floaty things that look like psychedelic wotsits. I'm often not very good at the peculiar exercises we do with these things but my efforts cause considerable mirth which is no bad thing.

The book asks if I can...
Float? Well, yes I suppose so. I once did a flotation session at a local spa. That was lush. Super salty.
Doggy paddle? I believe I have moved past doggy paddle and now swim in a slightly more sophisticated fashion.
Crawl? Yes, but not 'properly' where you mostly have your face in the water and all that jazz. Kind of a Hellie-variant I guess.
Breaststroke? Well, this is de rigueur for most swimmers isn't it?
Butterfly? Er, no. This is that mental one where you bob in and out of the water like a demented jack-in-a-box isn't it? Yeah, that looks like it has huge potential for lung fulls of water and messed up shoulders. No thanks.
Backstroke? Yep. Don't tend to bother but it's quite a nice way to ring the changes.
Diving? Hmm, no - I've never even attempted diving so far as I can recall. I once had fun watching the husband and my brothers trying to out-do each on the diving skills in France. That was as close as I've ever come. There's simply nothing about diving headfast into anything other than bed that even remotely appeals.
Snorkelling? I am very fortunate that I learnt to snorkel in the Caribbean. The husband taught me when we were in Panama not all that long ago. We were staying on the Bocas Del Toro islands and kayaked out to Hospital Point where there is a coral reef. We parked up on a teeny beach and after a short lesson and much squealing and false starts on my part I finally got round to putting my head under the water.



I'm so glad I did too. I genuinely could not believe how much was going on under the water. Looking down from above you might be lucky to see the odd fish or two but the second you put yourself in their environment you see that the place is literally teeming with life. Especially on a coral reef. And the noise! The crackling sound of fish munching was incredible. I did freak out at one point when I felt something swim up my shorts and as I was over coral reef and didn't want to put my feet down in case I damaged the fragile environment, I swam like billy-o for the beach much to the husband's amusement. I didn't discover what it was but it stang me on my shin and I still have the scar to prove it :( Snorkelling might not seem like a big deal to a lot of people but it was a challenge for me so I think I have earned my star for this one.