The Cave at La Jolla Cove
Thursday, May 6th, 2010
The cave is a 30-minute swim from a small enclosed beach in the La Jolla Cove. The salt water is thick with big leaves that come undone from long seaweed strings and they bob up ended all the way out to the cave – the stems protruding as though they were snorkelers who needed and were breathing air. In the open water, orange-golden fish swim just beyond the oar strokes from kayakers and the other swimmers’ kicking feet, the fishes’ colors so brilliant in the cloudiness, their features blur.
“Oh … are you not going to look at the fish?” Mary asked me, the disappointment showing in her face but even more evident in her voice.
We were 50 feet out from the beach, just beyond the arching line formed by the recreational swimmers with their back to the sea. I was using all my concentration on staying afloat and familiarizing myself with the water. I hadn’t yet begun to focus on the leisurely aspects to the swim, and I doubted I’d need the goggles she handed me. (more…)
