St. James - my personal epiphany.

I'm ashamed to say, that in over 30 years of living in Cape Town, (each one a gift wrapped jewel, for I can think of no better city in which to live) I have never swum in the St. James tidal pool. My grateful thanks to the family we met in Hermanus who suggested this as a good place to swim for those like me, who love the sea but are nowadays rightly frightened by the omnipresent Great White sharks. We headed off, perhaps a little too late on Monday morning as there was already quite a turnout at 9 am, but we were immediately hooked. The pool is large enough to get some decent laps done, the water is a refreshing 18' I would guess, bracing but not freezing, and clear and clean. There is the bonus of swimming along the wall and feeling the ebb and flow of the tide and having the occasional wave break over you to give a real sea swimming experience without the fear of coming face to face with Jaws. (Tiny little lie, I remain ever afraid!)

Come Tuesday, and we were vroeg uit die vere as we say here (up early, literally, out of the feathers) and on the edge of the pool as the sun rose. The cleaners were already at work, and the beach and subway were spotless.  I took a deep breath and headed out to the wall with the sunrise reflecting in my path. It was surreal, and the swim a truly heavenly experience. Mr Suzy Q, not quite as keen a swimmer as I am, donned his holiday snorkel and goggles and surveyed the ocean bed, searching for lost treasure. He was rewarded with R2, and a flask of hot tea.

 I love swimming, specially in beautiful places like this, with the view of the mountains, the feel and smell of the ocean and the quaint brightly painted changing huts reflected in the pool. There is a wonderful camaraderie amongst swimmers (well, definitely not in my local gym where it is all so serious and I have been the victim of serious lane rage!) and we got chatting to the local early morning crowd. By day three we are one of the gang, and yes, it is definitely worth setting the alarm for 5.30 am to get there before the crowds and experience the sunrise. I foresee this will become difficult in winter, but we'll keep going as long as we can, as it really is the most divine way to start the day.

Our "new' democracy is now 17 years old, and whilst I decry the corruption and lack of constructive progress (do we really need to rename old roads at great expense when the man in the township needs running water and decent healthcare and schooling?) I did marvel at the fact that we were able to share this wonderful, natural free facility with people of all hues, who would previously have been denied access to the beach and pool. 


Fortunately those dark days are now long behind us, and I wish we could all move on...