A Week At the Beach

During the Christmas/New Years week, I had the pleasure of sharing this time with the west coast of South Africa (the Atlantic) in a magnificent place called Shelley Point. This experience, amongst other things, changed me - I grew up in many ways! I also managed to document my experience with the sea in a very personal & poetic manner.

 

Day 1: Very welcoming, albeit an initiation to its coldness.

Day 2: She introduced her weapon, the scattered dead jellyfish, which created the illusion of caution & confusion - whether to take a chance & beast the water or veer toward safety & remain outside.

Day 3: She was a miserable old hag, perhaps because of the failure of her weapon upon the youth. The wind was her ally & the current its protector. With this combination, she was nigh-on unstoppable & ruthless! Her icy touch bit into the bones, leaving nothing but an aching sensation. The strength of her hand was a chastisement from the Gods! A feeling you cannot forget...

Day 4: Perhaps realising the errors of her ways, she calmed down & allowed us to test her waters once again - but with her guard on. At high tide, she was dominant & insistent on ground rules. If you ventured too far in, you were her little plaything. The dolphins, acting as perimeter police, indicated to where it was safe to venture. Always remember your place amongst the oceans...

Day 5: She was neither here nor there, presumably busy with unfinished business elsewhere. She let her guard down significantly, enough for the dolphins to venture closer to the shore. But heed her actions well as a warning to potential consequences of disobedience. And believe me, her words were marked...

Day 6: She was playful in the morning, experimenting with her tides & shore, testing the strength of her current. Initially, she played with no limits. Her towering waves signified that she was back in action, full frontal, with  pure beauty & dignified joyful expressions. Later in the day, she calmed down - but only a little! She still managed to keep this game rolling into the new year, with less vigour but more stamina.

Day 7: Blessed rain touches the surface & adds a new culture to her waters. By her reaction, she basked in the invigorating drops from the sky, finding a new source of life. At first, when I discovered a possible secret to her excited waves, she blushed & retreated - or she was angered by my discovery - but when I apologised & blew a kiss into the ocean, she once again continued her rampant onto the shore, dragging along dead jellyfish with the high tide. Once her cleansing was finished, she grew tender & brave with the overcast mist that covered the land. And with this, I entered her domain, fully willing to accept whatever treatment she may deliver. And what treatment it was! I lived through her most triumphant experience! The liveliest waves, the pure poetry of her motion! All this to remove the stains left by human pollution   of the shoreline by fireworks from the previous night. Never again shall I underestimate her valour & beauty...