My First Time in the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean isn't so easy to get to as the Pacific. I lived in Maryland in 2011 and we didn't make it any closer than Annapolis. Getting to the ocean from our part of Maryland- roughly College Park area- is equivalent to getting to the Marin Headlands from Modesto. Hours, and more than a hundred miles. 

So it was almost 10 years later when I parked on a bluff in Wales overlooking the sea. Wind blew me around, almost knocking me off the bannister on which I was posing. There was hardly anyone there but there was a mermaid's purse, carefully laid out on the railing for passers by to see and appreciate. I made my way down the steps and along the stone beach. No swimmers at that time. It was VERY important to me to get into the water despite the windy conditions. I put my feet such that the waves could rush over them. The waves were like knives of ice. As I walked around, the sole of my foot was numb but from inside my foot I could feel I was walking on something squashy- the sole. 

Later- and I can barely believe this- I carefully looked up the water temperature for that area and that time of year and that day, and the water must have been 55 degrees. Today that is a reasonable swimming temperature for me- the temperature of SF Bay water in late winter and early spring. It still might not be the wisest to swim by myself in a foreign country with no one else on the beach and in unfamiliar water. But the way I was convinced it was nearly ice... 

Since that trip I have learned more about the culture of swimming in the UK. They absolutely love it. It's like a Polar Bear Swim (a festive quick dip on Christmas or New Year's Day) every time. They sometimes wear diving booties (probably for the foot numbing reason) but they try not to wear a wetsuit. And, they don't really get tan because the sun there is so weak. So, next time I am there I will try to find a swimming group and meet up with them. Depending on the month of the year I go, I may or may not be acclimated. Their warmest ocean temperatures just about overlap with our coolest.