Bucket List - Swim in the sea
Friday, November 27, 2009 at 5:43PM 
The Bucket List is a list of things I want to do/feel I should do before I die. I've done some of them already, and I'm telling one of those stories here. To see the whole list, click here.
I am lucky because I grew up near the sea.
Some people never get to see it.
The sea around South Africa isn't one of those nice oceans that are still and transparent. There's a reason that surfing is a big deal over there. The waves are high, and the currents are strong. If you don't know what you're doing, you're toast.
It was my brother who taught me how to swim in it.
He told me about the undertow, the dip in the sand before you get to the shelf and how, if you get out to the shelf (where the water can be deceptively shallow till a wave comes), you have to watch and time the waves so you can body surf them into shore.
He taught me how to keep an eye out to make sure I wasn't floating out too far, and especially to stay between the two red flags that the lifeguards put up to demarcate the safe swimming area.
I preferred swimming out to catch the swells before the wave broke, feeling that upward lift and downward sink in my stomach as the water whooshed under me.
I always felt safe swimming in the sea with my brother.
Now that I live so far away from my family, it's one of my happiest memories of time spent with him.
Wherever I travel, if we go near the beach, I have to dip my toe in the sea, even if we're having dinner and we're all dressed up. Maybe it's OCD, maybe it's homesickness, maybe there's just something special about the sea... but I do it every time.
Reader Comments (3)
Okay, fess up... Did you actually dip a toe in the ocean at Santa Monica? After the used rubber sighting or perhaps before the blue prophylactic sighting? LOL! Inquiring minds want to know...
@Liz
It was when we were doing it that I saw the floating condom... and yes, I RAN AWAY! I think the wave did wet my food though, so it counts!
Oh, in case anyone else hasn't read the post Liz is talking about, it's here:
http://www.ittybittycrazy.com/imported-data/2009/7/23/flavors-of-america-the-abcd-of-santa-monica.html