The water, my biggest love and fun

                                                       

            When my daughter was Small  she always  has had something most "favorite" . I am the same.  From everything that I love the water is in the 1st place. Any other thing comes and goes, but the water, the Sun and the music are forever.   Most often, the first two go together, isn't that why we go to the seaside, but when I add music to me is heaven.

            Everything started from the pool of the Sofia Mineral Bath, where I learned to swim as a child. In these years of perpetual restrictions, rather than teach us to swim, we filled our heads with ban. I had not to jump, to disband and cry and many other "not", which soon led me to the pool in Central Park. We were allowed to do everything there, and it was full with cheerful children and youth. We couldn't stretch arm or leg without hitting someone.

            Soon this experience was replaced with the real pleasure, meeting with the sea. The spaciousness and freedom, this is for me the sea. I went as a student every summer and I sat in the water, while my body turned blue from the cold.

            Have you ever jump at night in the dark sea from the bridge, when there is plankton? A little hard to get away from the bridge, to dip to the obscurity of the water and sank to the bottom.  I usually have closed my eyes for a few seconds. The remuneration was the explosion from brilliant sparks of plankton around my body. My hands and feet phosphorescent left glowing green tracks in the water around. The sky was covered with shiny stars. At times it was hard to tell where the horizon ends and from where begins the brilliance of plankton.           

             One decade later I got married. Fortunately there were three friendly couples to share our love towards the sea. All were honeymooners, of which we were the most "fresh” at the wedding journey .

 For starters we have chosen to camp on the wildest place  of the Black Sea coast, in the sand by the water. If a person wants to feel the sea that is the right place. There we needed just a few bottles of drinking water and everything else comes from the Almighty. The bathroom, gymnastics and even the fish for lunch and dinner. We ware our clothes one by one and swam until they got clean. It was not difficult, because the faction synthetic clothes had emerged more recently in our country.

            We stretched tents under a large tree, which not only kept us shade, shelter, but gave a chorus of birds. They hoped to astound us with its magnificent morning performances, but alas we have catching these, after their second breakfast.

            While we might have had enough of solitude and pleasures of the Lonely Sea, we decided to go to the North, where were the good resorts. As expected for this age our decision came in late afternoon.

            We drove until we couldn't see anything anymore. In those years the Bulgarian coast had plenty of wild places. We went in a side road and chose a spot on the lawn next to the fountain. We were tired and we fixed our tents fast, than crowed inside in the dark and fell asleep instantly, drugged by the murmur of the fountain... Woke up when the Sun's heat became unbearable. With toothbrushes in the hands, in a swimsuit we went out of our tents and. .. We were in the village central square, next to a fountain with a large tub for watering horses.  About squatting in a few old men from the village.  Their patience was rewarded. The four of us were with the swimsuit that wasn't stale very fabric, unusual for the Bulgarian villages of the ' 60s. I think it was a mutual astonishment. We packed up and headed to the village pub for breakfast. Our place here was not appropriate after this performance, on top of everything our husbands were released beards and an innkeeper doesn't like us. We went all the way to the city for food.

            It was the age of  scuba diving. We wore snorkels and fins, which are used in shifts, turned to a very lonely place, waiting to see more fish. Instead, as we were approaching the shore, we saw frightened faces of several naked "mermaids", who were withdrawn on a nude beach. We slowly approached to the coast and to confused them enough, even more slowly stood up.  Before they begin to quarrel, they saw that we were women and calmed down.      

            Can you imagine, in the 1960s, women in Bulgarian did not demonstrated continuously “soft parts” of their bodies, they were counting on other benefactors who are a little above their necks.

           If we go by the human history, we will face plenty of nudity. Conditions and spiritual development gradually began to cover the bodies with clothes, but luckily the hormones are invincible. In each, historical society we can see the requisite of enough clothing with seductive effect.

              By the way, don't you think comical to see the 21st century smart business woman participant of high public forum with "neckline to navel?" Not create norms, but I think you should know where and when you shouldn't or can't be flying naked flesh.

             In fact, what is technically  “not", who sets the standards? Do you remember these bikinis, which had only 4 very small triangles? All wear them, and now are in vogue again, only the rear triangle is replaced with tiny strip.      

           If you are looking at the life of the male half of the higher human society, that with big money, I'm sure you will see some very old millionaire in a company of Swanks beauty with” innocent” eyes of an Angel and juicy body, dressed in Ralf Loren style. So, this technique always does a good job with many individuals on our land.

             Back to the young years, where similar thoughts not hovered in my head. We had a wonderful week full of adventures on the  beaches of Bulgarian Seaside - Sunny beach and Nessebar.     

              Everything was going according to plan, to our clothes laundered  over at sea, are added those provided for dancing and restaurants. Was the time of wide skirts with petticoats and lace, flowing topped haircuts and high heels. In this heat we had not missed even socks, to make sure that we are not completely gone wild the single stay beaches and to be in tune with the surrounding.

            Though wild talked more in us. One of the husbands in the company bet that will jump with his beautiful wedding suit from the pier of resort Sunny Beach. Was prepared to sink into deeper water, but instead the bottom turned out to be only on 3 ft. He lost balance from a failed jump, unfurled a helpless hands and sat down in the water. Laughter without end, and the fun continued into the restaurant. We had to "exploit" the earned money. By our friend’s suit dripped water which puzzled waiter and surrounding, but once they found out the reason is all. The protagonist of the event receives a beer gift of the House. The next day, to the astonishment of the people, my friend had to rinse the wedding suit in a great fountain of the locker room.

            All three couples were newlyweds fresh not only in their careers, but also in what is called the family budget. We thought the money serve only for the pleasures and survival ...We learned quickly how to live and then came a more balanced era in our live. Things changed with the years. In the beginning we used to go on holiday homes, later on campsites with large and comfortable tents and finally with the caravans. We visited a lot of places, but our favorite place was the campsite in the village of Arapiâ.

            Imagine a hill on the pick of the peninsula. On one side the high rocky coast, good for a nude-beaches. The other - sandy beach, which was in  a small enclosed Bay. There was our constant presence.

            I don't know any other thing on earth that can deliver so many different pleasures as the sea. Love connects people, we were like kids from high school on vacation, but without teachers. It wasn't difficult, we knew each other from the years of the University, or research institutes where most of us worked. We have had long absences, enough for 25 days at sea and another 10 days for skiing. Well, we were not well paid, then a professor-head of department  and one policeman took the same salary, not to mention those below. Our money was right for the life of this pretty wild place.  There was only one small coffee , Curvy and visits there were not regular.    

            On the Arapiâ people came on a schedule, like they are in a hotel. Everybody knew when and where are his friends and guests had no end. Each evening, groups with plates of food and chairs in his hands went in front of some one's tent of "Tales". Well, sometimes treats were over the possibilities of tired guests luckily we didn’t have to drive.      

            The peninsula ended with a shallow reef, where we watched sea world, remained meagre on the Black Sea shores. The water in August was not cold and we regularly swam  over the Bay, round-trip-about 1mi.

            We were 6 people with 3 wind-surfs. Everyone had to wait his turn.  We had no fatigue after such swimming coming line of surf. I remember once, after a long swim I spread with sunblock and climbed on board. Fell 1-2 times, I coated the whole body of a surfboard and then it fell another 20 times from  the slippery surface. So exhausted that I decided to put back the Board. I was lucky that the help came on time. If only you know how many times the "help" fell into the water..., good that I get away in time.

             Usually we were staying on the campsite to 25 August and leaving with the first rain. General lawn became muddy and  the sea suddenly cold. So nature reveals that there is no infinite pleasures on this earth, even that, the wettest, most dynamic and always the happiest ending. Every morning someone packed.  Bags and sport equipment were stuffed in the cars. There was sadness in the procedure of separation with “the kids that you had fun with "and the sea, but there was a hope that after one year, we all will come back to Our Sea and it will re-open arms for us.

            Again the love to the water took me away, on the coast of the Indian Ocean. I found a wonderful chance to go to work in Africa-Mozambique.  What amazed me was the situation of the city of Maputo – on the shores of the Indian Ocean. I didn't need any more explanations, I will work in the University in my specialty and I live close to the beach for two years. Hooray!

                                            

            I was living on the 15th floor of the building, near the sea. II was like on a observation tower, the houses with gardens, the blue eyes of swimming pools, the coast with Palm trees on the sand in front of the beach and the vast blue space of glamorous water was around the condominium.   
        

            I didn't know what to prefer, sunrises, the lunar landscape or stars. Morning when I opened my eyes I ran the balcony to sink a glimpse into the vast expanse of the Bay. Watching speechless sunrise with the whole palette of Red-pink and blue-green colors of the sky and the sea, which were meeting on the horizon? If I wake up early enough, I could see a little fluffy puffs of mist, to carry over the water like a ghostly yachts. Often the bottom half of multi-story buildings were lost in fog. They were looking over white-pink foam and made the picture even more magical. 

             In the evenings came the mystery of great sparkling stars. They contrasted so much of the dark sky that could easily discern a few constellations. I  was impressed mostly by Southern Cross. The whole atmosphere of warmer nights brought me in the Sahara, described in the books of Antoine de Sent Exupery - the Southern Cross and a Night Flight. Instead of the dark water I could see desert plains and like all who associate the name of the author of the little Prince, I imagined I was talking with him. Alone, on the highest floor of the tallest building in the city, far away on the East coast of Africa. Anything above me, only the sea, sky and I.           

           The Bay of Maputo is very broad and shallow. At low tide the water retreats inward maybe 1mi. Then came our most colorful Sunday Beach days. We were going out to sea together with the little crabs, the fish that didn't want to be buried in the sand. Kept while the shore behind us decline enough. Lay down in small pools of water left in bottom. We enjoyed the water and decorated with the algae around us. Sometimes something came from the sand, around our bodies and we were frightened. These were small, harmless crabs and they didn't  like us there. There was a time for lunch. Such wet picnics doesn't happen often in life and we appreciated the experience of the soul.

            On the way back we had to hurry because the water moved very quickly on the shallow beach and we have had collections of shells and snails in our bags.

             Even though sharks don't like shallow water that filled them with sand, gills, who knows if someone of hem in confusion and misguidance  could bit someone's leg.  It is known that Mozambque Strait is the realm of white sharks, renowned for his appetite. So, just in case you are only allow to swim close to shore. I remember when the movie The Jaws came on the screens, it stopped us to go more than 6-7ft depth  for months.  
 

The quiet waters of the Bay not contented us and we  decided to go on a real open Indian Ocean.

Ready for a long day trip we took over in the early morning. Driving over arid sandy desert we prayed that our cars are not stuck. Then we traveled with ferry, probably from the time of Tarzan and again had to send requests to the Lord. However, with no casualty we have reached the real Ocean. Force and the vast expanse, that is the definition of water there. Large rounded green waves has been carved shore.  The water was rolling over and with a bang beat on returning streams. It was so loudly, we did not hear what we're talking about.

            In the heat of the African sun we had to  get wet, so we had timidly towards the end of the water. The next minute we're in maelstrom. With all my forces I tried to get back on the sand, 9 ft. from me. Impossible. Thankfully the powerful wave threw me ashore, where they were already lying my friends .... At least we were wet and well chilled.

             Excited that survived we had a good lunch and took our way home, pleased that Maputo, the capital of Mozambique – our temporary city was on the still waters of the Mozambique Bay.

I so sorry that the pictures we took between years 1960 to 1976 are so old that we cannot digitalize
and present here. Lets the imagination works.