Trek

10 am ~ It’s foggier and much cooler than a couple days ago. The ocean looks foreboding and I have my doubts about going in. I trek in my sweats ..circling the Music Academy and Koi ponds several times before heading back to Butterfly Beach. About a 40 minute loop. Still not sure I’m going in though. After a set of prāṇāyāmā and yoga exercises (30 minutes) I feel looser and the air feels considerably warmer. I look out and see a girl swimming in a flesh-colored thong bikini. I have to look twice ..maybe three times ..to make sure she’s wearing anything at all. Then Steve walks over and tells me the water is as warm as it looks. That’s it. I’m going in. I backstroke until one set of leg muscles start cramping then flip over and swim freestyle until another set starts to cramp (20 minutes). I’m done. Back out on Cabrillo the fog is burning off and it feels toasty. I swing by Blockbuster .. pick up ‘Whip it’ and head home feeling positively high.

trek

I arrive at Butterfly at 8:50 am. The sky is clear and about 10 degrees warmer than where I live, which means it’s already hot down here. I strip to shorts and follow my new loop. At 9:30 I’m back on the beach doing yoga exercises. The fog has replaced blue sky. There’s a group of swimmers calling themselves ‘the ducks’. They swim out to the buoy and back. I remind my self not to even think it. I paddle on my back ..kicking from my ankles to get better propulsion. I flip over and do some freestyle swimming  ..reminding myself that a little is enough. Used to be easy. Now it seems I’m working harder to keep my head above water. Not sure why. Perhaps it’s because I’m not able to rely on my ankles as much, which means I slow down and stall. I have to switch to greater leg motion for freestyle.

trek

I arrive at Butterfly at 9:40 am. The fog is thick and getting thicker. I find a new trekking route that goes by the Music Academy ..score! After completing one loop ..I’m back on the beach practicing prāṇāyāmā at 10:00 am. A sailboat moored offshore disappears although I can still hear the halyard clinking the mast. Conditions are calm with a nice waist-high break. I walk out confidently and dive into an oncoming swell. I come out the backside and slip on my fins in one swell foop (it was taking me several tries before). The weight of the water doesn’t feel nearly as heavy on my fins as it has on prior days. I glide on my back kicking from my ankles .. I get better propulsion that way. Afterward I’m walking down the aisles at Trader Joes. The thin atmosphere on Earth is easy compared with the water. Almost feels like I’m walking on the moon.

 walking on the moon