Swimming

Day 2 Swim trek

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Once swim trek starts there isn’t much more to report than what goes on during the trip day.

It’s all about the trip to the boat, the journey to the start of the day’s swim. The examining of the map, the applying of the vasoline to stop chaffing (believe me you don’t want chaffing from all this salty water! It’s very painful)


Then it’s off and away.

Our group is small but we’re getting along just fine. Four French men and Dann our American, Yves our ex guide and friend, and Steve and I. Lucky me , only girl.


Today we motored down the back of the island we are on and moored in a little bay which sparkled in the morning light. The water is the  most exquisite blue.

We set off to cross the channel. It can be busy so we had to stay together.

It was 3.5 km across and fortunately the conditions were perfect. We had a few little stops – for boats or water and then at the end a snack of banana. Then we swam around a little island entered the channel and swam along the coast for another km or so. We took a break in a little bay with a village along the shoreline. People must wonder about us as we swim up past their boats or into the village where they have umbrellas scattered along the shoreline.


We pushed on and finally finished after 6.4 km. All in one swim which for me is the longest distance I’ve done in one swim.

We were given our swim trek t-shirt. And everyone sat around chatting about the swims and the shirts!

This afternoon we may swim on to make it 8 km.



At the end of a great day the guides Neil and Ricky sit with all the gear in the back of our van! The ever smiling guides.

Farewell Slovenia. Hello Croatia. 

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We had a wonderful last night in Bled. After the storm we made it to the little church island. It was quiet and beautiful. The church of the Assumption is mostly white with a restrained interior and a bell you are invited to ring and make a wish. I had wondered about the number of bells I’d been hearing!

Inside of the bell tower. Wonderful wooden staircase.

Had a great last dinner at  villa on the edge of Bled town. Phillip the waiter was very helpful and friendly which was in contrast to the trip advisor comments on the restaurant.

As we walked back along the lake we decided we’d had the perfect amount of time in Bled. For all it’s beauty unless you want to hang out at the lake swimming or do bush walking then two days is probably enough. We were ready for Croatia.

So bright and early we made our way to the little bus station. Thank goodness Villa Pavlovski was only a 3 min walk!

We got the bus back to Ljubljana and changed to one for Croatia. It was to take 5 hrs all up. The scenery was good and we knew we’d arrived in Croatia because things were not quite as green and there were rocky outcrops everywhere. Very rugged landscape here. Which contrasts amazingly well with the Blue of the sea.

Just north of Zadar. Contrasting rugged landscape and the sea.

We arrived in Zadar at 1.30 ready for lunch with Tracey a friend from Melbourne. We met last year in Montenegro and it turns out she’d just finished two treks. First in Sardinia then in Croatia. She is great fun and has made great progress with her swimming. She went in a fun swim today in Zadar with 4 of the swim trek guides – 5 km -and won her age group and “First Australian over the line”! She’s amazing.

By 4.30 we were riding the ferry to Ugljan and the township of Preko. We were met by one if the hotel staff and whisked along to a modern looking complex of little 2 bedroom apartments. The hotel overlooks the very pretty, very busy  bay. Only problem- none of the apartments have a view of the sea. The good thing is we are away from the party night noise.


Preko is a summer holiday haven. All around Ugljan there are bays and beaches and we’ll be swimming them with guides Ricky and Neil.

Land of summer fun. Preko Bay.

We had a swim and the water is gorgeous. And salty! After  fresh water Lake Bled it was a bit much for the eyes with no goggles.

Then I walked and people watched. Summer anywhere brings the crowds. The families, friends, dog lovers, eaters, teenagers in packs. All getting along. Playing and splashing (not much swimming!) and eating gelato. All shapes and sizes with almost all the women in two pieces. Including me! And I didn’t feel anyone even noticed me. In Australia I definitely wouldn’t wear one, but here, why not! If I’d had my bright training swimmers from Funkita on they may have noticed me.

Restaurants and boats. Just the right mix.

There is a walkway that follows the waterline along – in and around the beaches and bays. You get to a section where there are restaurants lined up together. Not with the cream umbrellas of Ljubljana but with either smart furniture or plastic. Doesn’t make much difference.

We returned for a walk heading for dinner around 9pm and there were still groups splashing and playing. The children seem so carefree. The moon was coming out and the colours of the sky so soft and beautiful.


I know we’ll have a good week here. We’re looking forward to our friends arriving tomorrow.

This  trek will take us to the quiet isolated parts of this island and to explore other islands in this area. Lucky us.

Summer around Lake Bled

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If you want to beat the crowds you have to get up early! Hence the saying … ‘The early bird catches the worm’

We got going and walked up the steep hill as well as  the 300 steps to reach the castle. I think we were almost first there . The climb really tested the knees!

The last little bit of uphill. All worth it.

The view back over the lake was beautiful.


We met a nice Israeli man who asked me to take his photo. Well at least 30 photos in various locations around the castle made me want to hide! Or charge a fee. Especially after the prayer position in the Chapel.

The castle is very small by the standard of other castles in Europe and was extensively damaged in two earthquakes back in the 1600’s and 1700’s. It’s been rebuilt with new uses in mind and is therefore very pretty for a castle. There are also workshops set up in some of the rooms, a blacksmith, and we met the loveliest young printer. I must say the men here are very handsome.

Lovely young printer in the print shop. Born and bred in Bled.

After coffee we left the castle and made our way back down the very steep hill to join the walkway around the lake. It’s a 5 km walk and we didn’t hurry. This left time to observe the lake from all angles, observe our fellow travellers, see the activities people get up to, have a swim and of course a gelato.

A novel way of keep cans cool. The little waterfall just keeps flowing over the cans which turns the bucket they are sitting in.

There were a number of interesting sculptures.

I particularly liked this sculpture of a rower. Rowing is huge over here. The world championships are coming up soon.

There were a number of people fishing. Mind you we didn’t see anything being caught. Their gear was all very coordinated and we wondered if they had hired it?


We reached a little beach. Lots of families were paddling and swimming so we moved around the corner and set up our things for a swim. Steve headed off and I sat for awhile before hitting the beautiful water and swimming out to the island. It was about 1 km and was just lovely. I joined a group of teenagers. A swim camp I think but after a bit they pulled away from me! I wonder why?

Just past our swim spot I noticed all these little fish enjoying their swim

When we’d finished we were enjoying the sun and the quiet when along came the local scout group. There must have been 60 little kids around 6-10 years old who carried rolled up mats, little scarves around their necks and bags stuffed with swimming gear. They wasted no time in discarding clothes and putting on their swimmers. All very relaxed.

They hit the shallows and no body seemed to be overly concerned that most didn’t seem able to swim. They stayed with in their depth and splashed around and most didn’t even put their head under.


We continued our walk and saw lots of little groups splashing around when they could get into the lake safely.

Of course I spotted a wedding.

Quite the meringue style dress but she looked lovely. Note the hydrangeas. They are everywhere around the lake.

A few more views of the castle and the church – which we visited earlier today.


We finished and enjoyed a beer and salad before heading back to our apartment. Then it clouded over, the wind blew, the thunder came, and we’ve just had a beauty of a storm. When it blows over we’ll head out for the boat ride to the church on the island.


This little bird joined us on the deck for lunch!

Kia ora : hello in Maori

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Last night was like sleeping on a boat in a little ship’s cabin. Our cosy room was indeed cosy but so comfortable. We woke to foggy skies and a feeling our trip around the Bay of Islands was going to cloudy and foggy.

Breakfast was in the old fashioned dining room and Steve was  most upset that bacon and eggs were off the menu as it was Monday!

Down the wharf by 9am we waited in the quiet of the misty morning.

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The boat started in Paihia and arrived at Russell for us and another couple and as it drew close we could see it was crowded. Turns out there were nearly 270 people on board. So we scored an inside seat. 😬Not so bad as we were able to move around and catch the sights. And there were a lot of sights to see.

This area is magnificent. The Bay of Islands lives up to its name  There are 140 island  88 of which are genuine Islands  all shapes and sizes with vegetation and animal life living happily together. And very few people.

We headed north and before too long came across a pod of dolphins playing and feeding. They put on quite a show, circling the boat and drawing ‘ohhs’ and ‘arhs’ from the crowd on the boat.

We headed off across the Bay towards a really pretty island with a blue lagoon  and rippling waves.  I couldn’t help thinking what a wonderful spot for a swim trek. I’ll be emailing Simon and suggesting it!

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We motored towards the famous Hole in the Rock.  It’s wonderful. Everyone rushed to the side of the boat and I thought we might tip! But our funny Maori captain had it all under control.

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We couldn’t go through the hole. Too much swell. Sensible but sad I say.

Along we went past some more islands  before stopping for a lunch! We had our bananas – we’d been carting them around for at least a day so thought it was time to eat them. We were saving ourselves for our return and a a late lunch of famous Mangonui fish and chips. We had 30 mins to walk up to a lookout and it was worth the climb. Views both ways across the many islands that make up these Bay of Islands.

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Back on the boat we arrived back in Russell by 1 and set off with a coffee in hand for Mangonui and a fish and chips.

Only a little detour along the way. The Stone Store in Keri Keri which has been operating since 1830. It’s set in the most beautiful grounds of what used to be a Mission Station.

Finally time for ‘fush an’ chups’ at a well organised little shop sitting alongside the Bay. What a hit!  We inhaled our delicious hapuka, a local white fish along with our choice of chips – fat , thin or hand cut!

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Finally we finished lunch by 4.30 and headed to the nearest supermarket for our cheese, biscuits & wine to go with the prawns we bought for our late supper tonight. We always have food on our mind.

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Our room tonight , despite being the same cost as cosy room last night is actually a 3 bedroom villa at Peppers resort on the KariKari peninsula. It’s gorgeous. We started with a swim in the infinity pool before freshing up and having an aperitif on the verandah at sunset. Around 7.45pm.

Bliss. Tomorrow is our last night before returning on Wednesday.

Exploring the Bay of Islands

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What a beautiful part of the world. Today we turned left out of our hotel and crossed a bridge and entered the lovely area of Waitangi Treaty House.

Such a surprise. Such a beautiful place, where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in Feb 1840. A Treaty between the Maori people and the representatives of the British Crown.

We started with breakfast in the garden cafe and chatted and ate before Kim& David left for home in Auckland, a four hour drive away.

Last year a new centre was opened on these significant grounds. It’s a wonderful museum. For $40 we entered the grounds and the interactive museum. Had a tour and a cultural show. So well done.

Our guide, a rather large Maori man had a wonderful gentle approach and took us on a tour of the grounds and gave the background to the history of the signing of the Treaty. All with jokes along the way.

We walked through a small forest of trees and emerged at a lawn facing the Bay. We saw the Maori boat which seats over 100 paddlers and has an intricately carved side and end piece.


Seven smiling Maori people performed a dance and song show ending with a Haka. They became fierce. Just like the rugby players we try so hard to defeat.
Three hours later we left for Russell the small township opposite Paihia. It’s where Steve left for his 3km swim yesterday. We took a car ferry for $12.50 and drove through the green surrounds before arriving at the gorgeous little town of Russell. It had a bad reputation back in the 1800’s but is now a quiet beautiful bayside town. It has white painted wooden buildings along the road facing back to Paihai. It’s tree lined and has a lazy feel.

Our hotel, the Duke of Marlborough, is an old world place facing the water. It’s great. Our very cosy room is well appointed – we didn’t take a big room for just one night, so it’s small and cosy! But drinks on the veranda and dinner was great.


Our after dinner walk was peaceful and prepared us for the wonderfully comfortable bed.

I do love a short break holiday.

New Zealand: Perfect Paihia

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Who doesn’t love a mini holiday?

New Zealand is the perfect place to go for a  short break. It’s an easy 3.5 hr flight from Brisbane to Auckland and in the Emirates 380 was super comfortable.

The drive from the airport to Paihia took longer! A 4 hour drive through Friday afternoon traffic before reaching the approach to the Bay of Island area, arriving just on dusk at the very pretty Paihia.

Our swim trek friends Kim and David ( from our Greece trek in 2014) were there to greet us and we headed straight out to dinner. What better to eat than fresh fish in a restaurant by the water. A few glasses of NZ wine later we walked back to our very comfortable apartment and had a great nights sleep.
I was a little nervous. I had entered the mini swim – only 300 mts but I thought it might be too cool. Lucky for me Kim brought me her old wet suit. So this morning I wrestled my way into the suit and was ready to go. Felt like a sausage in a skin but probably looked worse than that!

Steve had left earlier with Kim & David to catch the ferry to Russell just across the bay. They were then swimming back. Around 3 km. I thought it was too far or me – with out fins!

So Chris Wilson & I, supported by Jill, made our way to the beach for our mini swim. The weather was cloudy but not too cool. I felt pretty good in my wet suit!
So off we went in cool waters – but how good is a wet suit? Buoyant and warm I didn’t have any trouble swimming along the front of the beach. Except maybe for my foggy goggles.
We made it in the respectable time of 8 mins and ran up the Beach thinking “that was a bit short………. could have done more!” That’s just a warm up at squad.
We sat in the now clear blue sunny weather and listened to the prize giving. Ears picked up when we heard Ladies over 60 1st place Frances Maitland! Men’s over 60 1st place Chris Wilson. What a hoot. We had won the Gold medals.

Oh boy we couldn’t wait to tell the others when they arrived in from their 3 km swim.

We celebrated with a lovely lunch at the wharf restaurant along with Martin & Jo some swim friends from Brisbane who also happened to be here.

Rest time now! Well we are over 60!

And we have to be ready for a nice dinner out in this pristine beautiful place.



These few days will be the tonic I need after a hectic week at home. Rob & Jordan had moved in for a week – along with lots of bags. They left on Friday to begin their new adventure in New York. So I shed a few tears!
Pete and El have also signed a lease on an apartment in West End. A new start and we are so happy for them.

So life at home will settle when we return.

Guest Blog

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Today I’m including a guest blog from my new friend and swimming buddy, the whip smart, very funny Alex/ Lexie Harrison-Cripps.

It descibes her day after we all left and describes to alternate boats trips.

Here it is. Thanks Lexie

Hi Everyone,

San Cristóbal is fantastic. I travelled over on a luxury yacht where they supplied endless gin and tonics and mantas hung out on the edges ready to provide shade if you needed it. They have trained the sea lions here to assist you in any way you need, so they act as taxis, waiters and even sun loungers (which isn’t that pleasant as the sea lions smell a bit). There are so many land iguanas here they are having to cull them and have a big BBQ. I was also surprised to learn that they censor the news so nothing about Trump can get to this Island. The bag checks consist of any literature or podcasts that may contain such references. Fortunately they took my sun burn line from my swimming hat as a sign of a recent lobotomy to delete all such knowledge.*

*alternative version: boat was the same as ours to Isabella except twice the amount of people, giving it the feeling of refugees escaping an island, and being the last one on meant that I tested out my English skin in the sun for 2 hours. I adopted Steve’s method of hiding under my Turkish towel and using my baseball cap to keep it in place -it was a strong look. Highlights of the trip were watching the rays do flips next to our boat. It seems similar here to the other Islands although a lot more sea lions. I went for a swim today but definitely felt lost without my (far more) adventurous swim buddy. I even had to buy my own ice cream afterwards!!!

I haven’t heard to call of the Galapagos Step-hen yet, but I shall listen out for ‘Frannnnneeeeee’ just to check if they exist here on this island too.

Andrew, I hope that you are feeling better. That foot will surely need to heal before getting near any of the hygiene hazards that present in our London pools.

Lexie. Xx

Thanks Lexie for the laugh! Loved meeting you on Swim Trek. Had dinner with Bill tonight. How come you had the key and poor Mumma Betty had to sleep on the couch! Bill said he wasn’t pleased you didn’t swim on the last morning!

Final Swim. A cracker. 

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All good things come to an end. Well I guess that’s true as SwimTrek finishes today.

Would it be the sensational last day we hope for?
You betcha!
Everyone was very chatty on the walk to the port. Last day brings an extra energy even though some have picked up coughs and colds!

Into the water taxi and off to our two waiting boats for the day.

Luck put me on Nicko’s boat. Even though it has less shade, it is more business class style of travel (not that the other boat was bad – perhaps not quite the same level of service!) I had been told by Joe and Lexie that Nicko provided rolled towels, boxed tea selections, iced lemon water, a set table for lunch and a pristine ship-shape cabin. I did not quite believe it until it happened.

 

Nico’s boat. note the tea pot, the tea box and the little table all set up

We motored for about 45 mins to a new island, Isola Santa Fe. Into the water and once again gorgeous swimming weather. I needn’t have worried about needing a wet suit. It would have been perfect in just swimmers, or cozzie or bathers or togs. Whatever you call them! I used my wet shirt / rash vest against the rather brutal sun.

Along we went stopping more frequently than usual to look at fish, turtles and assorted sea life just to make the day last longer. In the end we got to a small island which we could circle and circle until they dragged us out of the water.


Morning tea and then we motored along to a protected bay where we did some more snorkelling and played with the super friendly sea lions. I’m not exaggerating when I say they come up to you and roll, wanting you to imitate them. They blow bubbles at you. They practically nudge you to get you going! So much fun.

Lunch on Nicko’s boat was great. Places were set up when we climbed back on board. I’m becoming an expert at getting back on the boat! Being stronger helps.
Our boat had grilled tuna on his little bbq with a lovely side of rice and veggies. Followed by chocolate and tea. The other boat had mixed cerviche and fruit. We are definitely being spoilt. Our “girl guides” Marlys and Kelly would normally have to have shopped and pre prepared our lunch as is done on other swim treks! They are enjoying the change as well.

Nico in the water telling us about the sea life.

To finish the trek we found another beautiful section of coastline and swam, all groups together, for about 2 km – we didn’t want it to finish.

And it didn’t! We pulled into no-name beach and were allowed ashore. It had sand and before long the group were doing yoga – started off by Canadian Mr Fresh, Barry, then continued with a few different poses by Roly, before the finale of Lexi and Roly doing handstands.
Lots of laughs and clapping. Back on the boat for our trip back to Porto. Nico chatted to us about his life in Galapagos, his political views, and Lynn our American journalist took a few notes. She is going to be writing a commissioned article about this first Galapagos Swim Trek. It will appear in a Swimmers World magazine in America. Can’t wait to read it.
Final night on Swim Trek is always a a buoyant fun night, tinged with sadness. It’s over. Something we all looked forward to for months is finished.
Lots of laughs from a group of not just fellow swimmers but friends. Lots of exchanging of emails,  instigated by Lynn, our funny determined journalist from America. She and her sister Lynn, who had only had a knee replacement a few months ago,  were both so much fun and wouldn’t give in. Wonderful gals.

We felt for Andrew who had cut his foot and it had become infected. So no final swim for him. No party night. Good luck Andrew. Lexi is going to continue the party on San Cristobel. She is the ‘whip smart ‘ youngest member of our group and we’re starting to think she should move from law to stand up comedy. I will feature her description of her first day without us all! Watch this blog. Bill and Barry ( Mr Fresh ) are in Cusco when we are,  so more party time with them. Yah! Patricia folded and missed party night  with ‘the shared  cold’. And she was one of our strongest swimmers. Rebecca our funny, never say die, pinky swimmer and yoga Roly and wife Yvette ( she didn’t swim but was part of the group each night). Joe , how can I safely swim without you looking out for sharks? Miss you all.

We had the usual end of week awards. Mine was for being “the group minder” I guess the one who looked out for people both in and out of the water. I thought I could have shared that with pocket rocket Betty , my ‘wing woman’ who was such a fun caring women. But she won the ‘pyjama party girl’
Steve got ‘ Ice cream ‘ award. He managed to polish off several serves each time it was offered. He also was commended on his determined swimming and life saving skills. Joe got his for being our ‘shark spotter’


We all plan to stay in touch and I’m sure over the months and years we will catch up again.

So farewell swimmers,  my new friends. It was fun.

Thanks to our great ” girl guides” Marlys and Kelly and to Simon , the head of Swim Trek who joined the trip ( with his dad Bill) as it was a first.

Now to start the next part of the journey. Cusco here we come.

Day 5 Tintoreras

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This morning it was hot as we headed to Tintoreras, a bay made up of lava channels and home to assorted wildlife. Predominantly the iguana.
The water here is yet another shade of blue. More a beautiful emerald colour.

We got off the boat and walked along the rough path, lead by Fernando. We saw the iguana nests and even managed to see some of them digging. The small beach onto the cove was like an iguana highway. Fernando gave us lots of information about iguanas and we once again were pleased Swim Trek had included him  on the trip.
We spent maybe an hour all up and by then it was HOT. We were all wanting to swim.
So back to the boat and off to a good spot outside the little harbour of Isola Isabela to start our swim.

We saw a little penguin sitting in companionable silence with a blue footed boogie bird and wondered if the water was going to be cooler.

No it wasn’t but it was divine. In and away. Today we followed Carlos on his kayak and made our way into the beach in front of our hotel.
What a way to finish the visit to Isola Isabela.

A quick shower and lunch, ( the lunches here at Casa de Marita are great) then onto the boat I’m now thinking of as the torture boat. It was hot and I was sitting mostly in the sun with no breeze. Two hours! By the end of it I was feeling slightly heat exhausted. Not like me at all.

So our arrival at the Port of Ayora was a blessing.
A very cold shower and things improved after a cool beer. Love a beer in this hot weather.
There was a festival happening in the port. A few floats and lots of music. Party atmosphere.


 Dinner at eat street before heading to bed. Eat Street is about two streets away from Posada del Mar and is made up of little restaurants with tables running down the middle of the road. Great in this weather and the food is inexpensive and good. I had octopus and salad. And rice. Everything here comes with rice. And Plantains –  a local food. They come mostly fried, like chips.
I think I feel a cold coming on. A number of us are coughing! Last swim tomorrow!

We’ll be sad to leave this beautiful place.

Day 4 Isola Isabela

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Tortuga is the remains of a collapsed volcano. It’s shaped like a horse shoe.


The water was delicious. Perfect temperature. Nice little current and plenty to see along the way – both above and below the water. Frigate birds, sea lions, masses of fish, and of course marine iguanas. And of course Joe our shark spotter saw several sharks. I saw one and funnily it seems alright here because they are so well fed they aren’t interested in humans.

We set a good pace with Betty and myself finding a steady rhythm. After a few days you find someone who matches your style of swimming- not to mention speed!

the pineapple suit gets a workout! The yellow cap is not the most attractive and its so tight!

We swam for an hour and half or more and covered about 4km – including a crossing to another island (which had a distinct aroma of sea animals!). At the time I didn’t realise the shape of Tortuga but it’s a unique swim.
Back on the boat we motored along for at least 45 mins to Los Tuneles, which is a network of lava tunnels which have been eroded over time and now form archways which you can swim under.

We really would liked to have swum in the series of pools near the tunnels but the National Park is very strict about the area and recently closed the pools.

So we walked onto the lava which was rocky and home to many cactus and iguanas.


Back on the boat and a very late 3 pm lunch at our hotel. Unlike other swim treks we can’t land anywhere to eat lunch. It has to be back at the hotel or on the boat.
Then it was a walk through the small village of Porta Villamil to the Flamingo sanctuary. They are so beautiful. And the song Pretty Flamingo keeps echoing through my head.
By then we were well and truly exhausted and stayed at our hotel for a group dinner. A few didn’t quite make the dinner. Tiredness is setting in.
Beautiful Betty from the U.S. is sharing with Lexie, her swimtrek buddy over a few treks and tonight decided to stay in to be ‘mother’ to a heat exhausted Lexie. Thinking we’d headed off to the village, she came over to the outdoor bar in her Pyjamas. Very nice they were too. She carried it off so well!

The group is bonding.
Tomorrow another big day.