Chapter 135: Natalia’s dare

The last time I met Natalia before I left for Canada, she gave me two things: Mr. P, who wanted to see the world, and a dare.

When we were in Bolivia together, Natalia, Jonna, Cecilia and I, we visited Lake Titicaca and the island Isla del Sol. On a particulary sunny and warm day, we walked by a beach and decided to take a swim. Or more accurately, a real skinnydip. Four pale Swedish girls, running down into the chockingly blue water of the world’s highest  lake. At 3800 meters above sea level, the water of the lake was obviously cold, so the swim didn’t last for very long. But we did it. We skinnydipped in Lake Titicaca.

So now, to keep the tradition, Natalia dared me to skinnydip atleast once during my trip. And I’m not the one to back out of a dare like that. Before we left Pacific Rim National Park, I dragged the girls with me to a desolate beach. At first the girls didn’t really believe that I would do it, but here is the photographic proof, professinally captured by Frida:

The ever-returning dilemma of the semi-spontaneous skinny dipper: where should the clothes be put, close enough so that I won’t have to freeze too much on the way up, but far enough up so that they won’t get wet. I ended up chosing a rock full of mussels to stack my clothes on. They didn’t really want to stay in place, though. It was slippery.

Me, stark naked, in the cold North Pacific. It can’t have been much warmer than 12 degrees. But I’m tough, though. I have to live up to my Finnish-Swedish ancestry. And honestly, after the first chock, the skin goes numb. I even managed to take a little swim.

The best part of the swim: walking back to the car, barefoot and high on adrenaline.

So, Natalia. Pay up!