On her seventh SwimQuest trip, Monica NEEDS takes on her first skins 10K, rediscovers her strength, and soaks up the joy of swimming, friendship, and feta on this magical Greek island

This was a return trip to the beautiful island of Mathraki with SwimQuest for me. I came two years ago when the amazing Cassie Patten was running a technique camp and absolutely loved her, the trip, the guides, the hotel and this remote island , oh and my technique improved too 😊. This time, with some coaching, my  passion for longer swims has increased, so this week on Mathraki was right up my street. I checked the speed required and I was just on it- time to book.

“This was my seventh SwimQuest adventure, and I have genuinely loved every single one. What keeps me coming back? It’s the ethos that runs through every trip and is core to the SwimQuest approach. No matter if you’re traveling solo or with friends, you are made to feel completely welcome and included.

The guides are fantastic, the accommodation and locations are second to none, and there is a wonderful mix of stunning swims, encouragement, camaraderie, and, of course, delicious food. Every trip creates  new  experiences, friendships and memories and is  a reminder of why I love open water swimming  and its communities so much.

It’s hard to pick a favourite moment from such a brilliant week, there were crossings and coastal swims all with their own moments each time, and the nearly 10km circumnavigation of Mathraki was a real moment/4.5 hours with the odd mental demon to deal with, but I am going to go for the caves and circumnavigation of Diaplo Islet. It was the morning of the last day, so we had already swam around 27km or so in 4 days, which is a fair bit of swimming. We jump in and explore the caves for a bit, admire the rock formations and goats, watch fish and barnacle things (don’t ask- or maybe do ask Chris!) as we swim around, then we set off for the swim- around 3km or so. It’s a beautiful swim, with lots to look at as we swim,  and I am feeling good. I relax and focus on lengthening my stroke and feel like I am moving through the water well. Then about ¾ of the way round we find the current, pushing towards us obviously!! I dig in and find that I am still moving well through the water and enjoying the challenge as well as the rock formations around me. I get back to the boat and realise that I loved the whole swim and there is still one more to come this afternoon-bring it on.

So as well as swimming these trips are always about people and place. So there are fellow guests, the guides and the local team  and each trip is different. On this trip I knew one of the other quests and both guides before we arrived. I met Sylvia on the Relax and Explore in Croatia last year, along with Jenny, one of our guides on this trip too. Sylvia and I found out our pace was similar when she toe tapped me for a couple of kms in Croatia back into the bay and have met up a few times for some swims in the sea near Littlehampton which has been great. There were five other guests, all of whom were great fun and two of whom were SwimQuest guides on holiday 😊- feeling slightly intimidated? Maybe! Were they all lovely and were we all encouraging of each other- of course. Did we have great conversation – indeed we did. Are we planning a trip to meet up again- oh yes we are.

 Jenny and Norm are our guides for the week and they are both awesome, as is Norm’s lovely wife, Lorraine. Norm is an absolute humble legend, with so much accrued wisdom, which he quietly shares with each of us as we go along, helping us to improve our technique, get through some of the challenges and generally being a brick as is Lorraine- so great to have both of them with us. Jenny is so generous with her training and fuelling tips and encouraging us all to believe that we are stronger than we might think we are- let me give an example. Having made the circumnavigation of the island we get back to be informed we are back in the water for video filming at 5.30- best way to deal with the lactic acid and really see what your technique looks like. Then the next morning we have a 3km crossing as a recovery swim, turns out there is a lovely current so we all swim further to make sure we make the beach – and did we do it, of course we did. So are we stronger than we think- yes we are.

And what can I say about George, Maria, and the amazing team from Corfu Paradise (Mathraki) hotel where we are staying. Such a family and nothing is too much trouble. George plans the trips with Jenny and Norm, making sure the weather and currents all work to give us the best experience and keeping us safe,  and even providing a bit of Greek dancing on the boat with a bit of encouragement. Maria, Nora, and the team provide amazing home-cooked food all week, and we have an honesty bar. Maria has even remembered I like affogatos- and makes me one each afternoon after the second swim of the day. The accommodation is simple and the beach is so beautiful, particularly at sunrise, when no one  is up yet.

So, what are my reflections after a couple of weeks at home:

• I swam a long way and loved it. It was my first “skins” 10km swim, my longer swims have been in a wetsuit before this.
• I have been reminded and have reminded myself that I can do more than I think.
• People as well as location make a trip, guests, guides and locals
• Mathraki is a beautiful, slightly remote island and I love it there.
• Long swim weeks are superb.
• There will be more trips with SwimQuest and there will be more swimming challenges in the next year for me – just need to decide what they are.
• If you love longer swims in warm water and are up for a challenge, this is the week for you. Go for it but get a bit of training in before so you can enjoy all the swims.

___

Inspired? Check out our Mathraki trips here.