Update from Mediterranean training camp - week 1

Hey All,
after my sudden break from the UK last sunday, it took me three days to find the beach in Greece.
After a couple days in Athens being taken care of by the MDx team of Michalis and Dimitris (many thanks Guys!) we found ourselves in western Crete, about half hour bus ride west of Chania.

Our appartment was on the beach which meant i could get a swim in. First session was a 40 minute aclimatisation. Two laps of 20 minutes in a very flat and forgiving sea. Two things that came back to me about ocean swimming:
1) you're so much more bouyant. I felt like i was cruising along in the early morning sunshine. Very enjoyable.
2) chaffing. SO much worse in the salt water. After 40 minutes my pits and thighs were red raw and I needed to go out and invest in a small pot of vas, which translates to Vaseline in greek, the power of branding.

Second session yesterday arvo was in much tougher seas. High winds meant the chop was horrible and the waves were coming in at 30 degrees to the beach which meant that my easterly route was roughly easy going. The odd bump from the waves but at least you were going in the right direction with it. The westerly journey was horrible, no rhythm and every other stroke took a hefty smack like you were stopped in your tracks.
I could see the sand on the bottom and used it as a reference point to see how far the waves were moving me, sideways, forwards and backwards, in a weird circular motion.
My strokes slowed right down, not pulling until I was sure my hand was actually in the water, making every stroke count. It was a good training exercise for the channel.
Interesting sights tally:
1 jelly fish - spotted and about the size of a kid's football
1 plastic bag - white
1 tinfoil tray - bent.
Nature 1 : 2 Man
Man the polluter wins.

I did three laps, in 64 minutes which was pretty tough, but I felt good for it anyway. I've been eating far too much (in true holiday style) but at least we've been walking a lot. There's so much history to see here.

So, i can knock off swimming in the Cretan sea AND the Libyan sea (which was noticeably colder than the northern beaches). Next stop, tuesday, is Santorini where i'm looking forward to swimming around the volcano's caldera with its clear waters and warm thermals.
By the time i get back, i may not be the most pale guy in our team, looking to get a hint of a tan!

Happy trails!