Swimming
Both the hostels that I have stayed at in Kaikoura and here in Nelson have had pools, hot tubs, and saunas. After my inability to submerge myself in water over the last year, I have quite justifiably been spending almost every evening in these hostels enjoying the ability to do so once more.
I learned something, though. The other night was not the first time I had been swimming, but it was the first time I tried to do something I used to do all the time when I was younger. I used to see how many times I could swim the entire length of the pool along the bottom on a single breath of air, only coming up once I had gotten to the far wall. Well, I tried that again the other night, and I managed to do it just fine. The only problem was that my vision was a bit blurry when I came up for air. At first I thought that maybe the chlorinated water was fogging up my contacts, but it turned out that both of my contacts had been washed out mid swim. Luckily, I packed a spare pair in my bag that I have with me (and I have a few more pairs back in my bag that's in storage in Christchurch, as well as the glasses that I haven't worn since I got contacts several years back now). But now I know: no swimming under water with my eyes open unless I have a pair of goggles. And a swim cap to keep my long hair from getting all knotted up after a few hours in the water wouldn't be a bad idea either if I plan on doing much swimming when I get back home. =D
Also, I managed to get sunburnt again, lol. Darn pasty white skin. The first time it was from wearing sleeveless shirts while biking, so the color stops abruptly at the shoulders. This time, I managed to get burnt (on a day where I was out biking all over Nelson) while wearing a tank top, so I have darker arms, a lightly colored area from the shoulder line of the sunburn that just healed, and then the still white area where the tank top covered the rest of my chest and back. It makes for an interesting set of tan lines, that's for sure. Next time, I'll have to smother sunscreen all over my arms and the areas that have gotten color already and then go out with the white areas uncovered by sunscreen in order to get everything else a bit tan as well. Either that or find a pair of sleeves that aren't connected to a shirt. Wouldn't that be a great image out on the beach, hehe.
Anyway. Still enjoying my vacation, but I also am looking forward to coming home next week (though, as in a conversation I had with a Canuk last night, I'm not looking forward to going through LAX, or the long flights - this guy likes going through that airport so little that he actually pays a few hundred extra dollars to reroute through any other airport when flying back to Calgury (sp?)).
I learned something, though. The other night was not the first time I had been swimming, but it was the first time I tried to do something I used to do all the time when I was younger. I used to see how many times I could swim the entire length of the pool along the bottom on a single breath of air, only coming up once I had gotten to the far wall. Well, I tried that again the other night, and I managed to do it just fine. The only problem was that my vision was a bit blurry when I came up for air. At first I thought that maybe the chlorinated water was fogging up my contacts, but it turned out that both of my contacts had been washed out mid swim. Luckily, I packed a spare pair in my bag that I have with me (and I have a few more pairs back in my bag that's in storage in Christchurch, as well as the glasses that I haven't worn since I got contacts several years back now). But now I know: no swimming under water with my eyes open unless I have a pair of goggles. And a swim cap to keep my long hair from getting all knotted up after a few hours in the water wouldn't be a bad idea either if I plan on doing much swimming when I get back home. =D
Also, I managed to get sunburnt again, lol. Darn pasty white skin. The first time it was from wearing sleeveless shirts while biking, so the color stops abruptly at the shoulders. This time, I managed to get burnt (on a day where I was out biking all over Nelson) while wearing a tank top, so I have darker arms, a lightly colored area from the shoulder line of the sunburn that just healed, and then the still white area where the tank top covered the rest of my chest and back. It makes for an interesting set of tan lines, that's for sure. Next time, I'll have to smother sunscreen all over my arms and the areas that have gotten color already and then go out with the white areas uncovered by sunscreen in order to get everything else a bit tan as well. Either that or find a pair of sleeves that aren't connected to a shirt. Wouldn't that be a great image out on the beach, hehe.
Anyway. Still enjoying my vacation, but I also am looking forward to coming home next week (though, as in a conversation I had with a Canuk last night, I'm not looking forward to going through LAX, or the long flights - this guy likes going through that airport so little that he actually pays a few hundred extra dollars to reroute through any other airport when flying back to Calgury (sp?)).