“I explore; not just the islands, but my potential, my limits, my ability to go further than I had imagined”
Caroline Taylor joins the SwimQuest Mathraki Relax & Explore week and tells us about her trip:
I am a swimmer, or perhaps I should say I am someone who swims. I hit the pool two or three times a week, take to the open water around the Scilly Isles and the Dorset coast and have been known to jump into a lake in the name of triathlon. So when a friend asked me to join her on the Swimquest Relax and Explore week on the remote Greek island, Mathraki, I could hardly refuse.
As the departure date for the trip approaches, I start to feel an irrational sense of nerves and wonder what on earth I have signed up for. I check the name of the trip (Relax and Explore) and then look at how much swimming we will be doing every day (around 4km) and ask myself whether the two are really compatible. Can it be relaxing when you have to swim that much? At other times I remind myself that I have reached the age where I want to keep challenging myself and it will be fun.
As it turns out, I needn’t have worried about a thing. From the moment we meet our fellow swimmers, waiting to board the ferry from Corfu to Mathraki, there is a sense of ease, fun and “we’re all in this together”.
Jo and Sarah, our swim guides, make it clear from the outset that we only have to swim as much or as far as we want, that they will adapt the swims to our various abilities and that they will be watching us from the boats all the time we are in the water. Both exude professionalism and are encouraging and genuinely caring people who just want to share their love of open water swimming.
Our accommodation, the only hotel on Mathraki, which makes it seem even more like an adventure on our own island, is not luxurious but definitely a notch or two above basic. The room is clean and comfortable, with a terrace that affords fabulous views across the water to Corfu and the Greek and Albanian mainland beyond. Our hosts George and Maria are a delightful young couple who look after and feed us very well.
Sunrise swimming with Corfu in the distance
Following dinner and a good, much needed, long sleep (following an unbelievably early start the day before), we meet on the beach, all of ten metres from the hotel, for an acclimatisation swim. Our guides video us and invite us to take on board any advice they have for improving our technique. The more seasoned swimmers amongst us don’t really need it, while others benefit hugely from this mini coaching session and make huge strides as the week progresses.
Then we are off, on our first sea swim of the week.
The “Big Blue”
The two safety boats with our swim guides on board stop somewhere that feels like the middle of the ocean. It is a beautiful spot. The sky is wide and high. The sea is turquoise and relatively calm. The nearest point of land is around 2 kilometres away. Our guide calmly tells us that we will be swimming to that point. Two kilometres! All of a sudden that seems like a long way and I ask myself whether I really did sign up for this. But I wanted a challenge and this is it. So, when prompted, I slide in a rather ungainly fashion over the edge of the boat and into the slightly chilly water. I check my sighting and then kick off.
Swimmers make the gentle crossing to Trachia Island
All of a sudden I feel free. There is nothing like swimming in the sea. The sense of being at one with my surroundings is life-enhancing. Almost immediately I find a rhythm and relax into the swim. The water is deep but crystal clear and I pass over beds of seaweed, rocky chasms and small shoals of fish. I start to warm up and feel secure in the knowledge that there are other swimmers near me and two swim guides who are spotting us at all times, our safety their utmost priority. I reach the destination more quickly than anticipated and join my fellow swimmers on the shore. We congratulate each other, as we have all made it. There is no sense of competition or concern about who was first home. We are all swimming for the joy of it. We talk about how we felt, what we saw (one of us saw a turtle, probably the spot of the week) and that we want to do it all again. Which, of course, we can.
Back on dry land at the hotel, there is time to rest before a simple but delicious meal which we share on the terrace overlooking “our” bay. The conversation turns to why we have come on this trip, and what we are hoping to get out of the week. We are all different, have diverse skills and backgrounds and varying abilities in the water – but we all love swimming in the sea. This is what binds us and what makes the week so much fun.
The next few days pass all too quickly, with a variety of swims along the coast, from one island to another, into caves and into the Big Blue. Each one is distinct, adapted to the sea and wind conditions, and each one is glorious. I definitely relax as I swim, and I explore; not just the islands, but my potential, my limits, my ability to go further than I had imagined. And now I want to do it all again next year.
If like Caroline you fancy a swimming holiday in Greece then our Mathraki trip is the one for you! This tour is ideal for anyone looking to lose themselves in a more relaxed way of life for a week, based on a remote island off the North West coast of Corfu. Now on sale HERE.
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At SwimQuest we’re proud to embrace all forms of open water swimming. Whether you have just discovered the joy of dipping in for the first time, or are training for a huge challenge, we’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to blog for us, please email alice@swimquest.uk.com with your idea.
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