I have to do laundry today after the Polar Bear Swim but I have no allergy free detergent to wash them with so will have to just use an alternative - maybe my travel sized Dr Bronners liquid soap solution will do the job with some Eucalyptus oil? Make do with what you have when travelling - will have to purchase a replacement bottle if I do use it to do my laundry with.
Woke up very late this morning - my alarm went off at 5 am and it woke me before I went back to sleep but my roomates didn't return until a little after this. They only slept for a few hours and woke up before I did and had to check out by 11 am this morning. I woke up from their noise and asked them what time it was - it was 9.30 am and the curtains were still drawn shut - it was daylight outside - another beautiful day. "Oh S***!" I yelled out with their response of "Happy New Year!" I had missed breakfast yet again.
Ok time to pack for the day and have a shower. This took me forever as I was waiting for my roommates to leave and they didn't until after 11 am. You could tell they had a big night - leaving 3 unopened cans of beer behind in the room and empty bottles of energy drinks, I asked them to donate the beers to the foodbank and not leave them behind in the room - I am not going to be responsible for their illegal drinking in the dorm room I'm in. I didn't want houeskeeping to think it was mine and that I was drinking illegally.
After they left I was almost ready for my next adventure - The annual Polar Bear Swim at 2.30pm - 3.30 pm today.
Registration usually starts at noon. Done @ around 12.30 am. You have to sign a waiver. It is 1 pm and there aren't as many people here as there is usually - are they waiting until the last minute? Push push shove shove. To be at the front of the line. Right, my strategy in and out as quick as possible - run for the change rooms and bus back to hostel to shower change into warm clothes and do laundry wash and dry immediately before going to join the YMCA again for the month of January 18.
TBC......
Another annual Polar Bear Swim done and dusted for 2018.
Saw my acquaintance Solly at the front of the line next to me as usual. We have both been doing it for years. I met her many years ago at a Polar Bear Swim. We both didn't do it last year. I think we were both in Sydney on New Years Day.
Before spotting Solly, I was sitting on a bench in the sun which was nice and warm when an older Chinese man started talking to me. He was a Polar Bear Swim first timer. A family came and asked if they could sit on the bench and I said sure and started talking to them - they asked if he was my husband - No I don't even know him , I advised them that he just started talking to me.
Post script : Occasionally I reread my previous blogs to correct spelling and obvious grammatical mistakes due to a new glass protection screen which is not very sensitive to touch typing causing countless letters to be left out of words or run together then there is the over entusiastic auto correct which thinks it can predict what you are about to write but nearly always gets it wrong eg I typed "nearly" and it changed it to "bearly".
Rereading this blog I realised that it sounds as if I didn't actually finished it. Yep there are a few things I left out. These are as follows :
Remember the random Chinese man that I mentioned earlier that a couple thought was my husband? (anyone who carries his lunch of eggs in a cardboard box is not really my type - maybe he thought it was the most practical way to carry his things to an event such as this).
I found out he just could not take photos hence no postings of decent photos of me taking part in this event. There is one photo I asked him to take of Solly and I together at the Polar Bear Swim however the focus was not exactly of us but any random people in the background as well. Refer Facebook and you will get the idea! I took photos of him as well however before I could take his photo at the event in front of the Polar Bear Swim sign he has to take all of his clothes off to make it look as authentic as possible. So why stop at that? I asked him to do the "Popeye" pose in front of the sign before taking some photos on his phone. I didn't copy these but these were the quality of photos I would have liked to have posted on my blog not the ones he took of me ..... I asked him to take a photo of me in front of the same sign what I received were photos of me amongst a crowd of random people again and someone's flag tip hence no photos of me at the Polar Bear swim except the one with Solly and randoms.
There was a lot of confusion at the event this year why were people given out last years left over buttons this year ie from Polar Bear Swim 1st January 2017? - the random Chinese guy managed to get hold of 2 of these buttons when he went to the registrations desk and gave me one which was a nice gesture however to me that was just cheating - why should I receive a button for a Polar Bear Swim I didn't actually do? - therefore it will stay pinned in my travel diary and not be placed in my special achievement pins, buttons and medals box which contain all my run swim ski pins buttons and medals for all the races I actually did complete!
Then there was the confusion in the start area. About 2 hours before the 2.30 pm Polar Bear Swim start, the general public are allowed onto the sand in the enclosed area where the Polar Bear Swim participants gather and do the swim to take photos or selfies. About half an hour before the swim starts an announcement is made for the general public whether they intend to do the swim or not to clear this enclosed area on the beach and a rope placed across the entrance at the top of the enclosed area for participants to line up behind to avoid anyone being trampled on. This year no announcement was made and everyone just crowded onto the sand in the enclosed start area instead of leaving it. More and more people crowed into the enclosed area until it was full. The starting tape was moved very close to the water's edge instead of a rope. This tape was only put up after I asked and was advised by a life guard that the enclosed area would be cleared closer to the start of the swim. Change of plans unforunately therefore Solly , I and the random Chinese man made our way to the enclosed area to join the thousands of other participants and non participants. We dumped out bags in front of the huge Polar Bear Swim sign so we would be able to identify and pick up our bags as soon as we finished and run straight to the change rooms. You tend to get a little disoriented after exiting the slightly cold water. Everyone else had the same idea and our belongings soon became lost amongst a sea of everyone elses. Maybe the Chinese man had the right idea carrying his belongings in a cardboard carton! The race starts and Solly and I are near the front of the starting tape. In and out collect your button, find your belongings and run in the opposite direction out of the enclosed area to the change rooms at the same time avoiding being trampled or crushed by all the other thousands of participants (and non participants) that were behind you that were still running towards the water! Chaos!
I survived another Polar Bear Swim being quick out but lost sight of Solly for a while and completely lost the random Chinese guy!
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