Freshwater Wading

I got back pretty early from school yesterday as all I had to do was meet some academic advisers regarding courses (which Mel and I finally got settled, so yay!). For once I was home when it was still daylight with nothing to do, and my newest housemate - Kenza from Algeria - asked if I knew how to go to the beach. So I said, "Yes! I can take you there and we can go for a swim!". It was perfect weather anyways - slightly warm and very bright- and we had better stay in the sun for as long as we can before fall barges in and makes our daylight hours shorter and wetter.
So we scrambled to get ready as we only had two hours before I had to go to a meeting at school at 6pm. I had to borrow Kenza's bikini top cos I only had girl boxer bottoms and luckily they matched! Then we asked our neighbour Katalin from Hungary to join us and she gleefully agreed. So we got on our bikes and sped off with me leading the way.

25 minutes later we arrived at what is probably my most favourite spot in Lulea yet. The place I was at alone, reading my book at some days ago. But this time instead of sitting under a tree on my own, I was in the company of two brave girls who wanted to run into the water as much as I did. So the moment we got there, we laid our towels on the chilly sand and stripped to our swimsuits, abandoned our belongings and clothes and ran into the water. But we didn't continue running for long...
Freezing, does not even begin to describe what the water was like. Believe me when I tell you that the outside air which as already a bit cold, was many times warmer than the water. We inched our way further and further out into the icy lake screaming and giggling as we went. Every pore that touched the waters immediately tightened and each patch of skin introduced to the lake burned, went numb and began to tingle. When the water was just halfway up my torso, I couldn't take this method of slow torture anymore and just pinched my nose and disappeared under the sparkling surface, evoking cheers and screams of "She did it!". Eventually we all went under and swam back to the surface. There isn't a current of any waves and we see people swimming and kayaking there there all the time, so it's got to be safe.
We went in twice and swam about, but it's hard to do that when you can't even feel your body and you don't quite know which limbs you are moving and if you are moving them at all! We just laid in the sunshine -that didn't provide heat at all- for about 20 mins and dried off and got changed before leaving. It was great fun - a free thrill, haha!

All we could talk about on the ride home was about coming back, but next time with more people and staying longer. Hopefully next week will be free enough for me to go for a dip in arctic waters again!