Swedes (who swim in lakes, rivers, the sea, at night – you name it) always think I am really weird because I do not go into water where things live, and I don’t go into swimming pools at night. Ever. I am afraid. I hate it. Just the thought of other things swimming in there freaks me out.
I am a really good swimmer – I used to swim competitive butterfly until my early twenties, and I trained as a lifesaver at school, where we had to do sea rescues. I am happy on boats, big and small. But I have never liked being out of my depth in the sea (probably because I grew up in shark territory so we were taught from when we were very small to look at the flags, check with the lifesavers how the nets/bubbles are etc etc) or in rivers and lake. I also don’t like regular swimming pools when it is dark because I cannot see what is down there.
Where I come from certain rivers and lakes contain bilharzia, which I would not want – ever. So that is an extra component into what is not exactly a phobia but more a deep fear.
Swedes though – where there is water, they are swimming!
Do I sound like a weirdo?
I am the same, I do not go into natural water. A pool that smells of chlorine and that is painted blue, that I can do, but not at night.
I am the same, I do not go into natural waters. A pool that smells of chlorine and is painted blue I can do, but not at night.
This is highly interesting! I’ve lived by the sea most of my life and now I live in the middle of Germany so no see there and I miss it a lot so I always take advantage to bathe in the ocean/at sea every chance I get. Having lived near the Atlantic Ocean, I know of the dangers. The waves are terrifying and even though we are lucky enough to not have many visits from sharks, every now and again, they turn up, so it’s never a big surprise. Even though you are a skilled swimmer, you probably have a much deeper respect of the ocean than I probably have. Definitely food for thought for the next time I’m at sea.
I can completely understand why you are afraid. My Grandmother grew up on the Ohio River and was completely scared to death of the water for various reasons. I have been told that there are catfish as big as a VW Bug car in the Ohio River, just gives me the shivers. My husband and I scuba dive, and I can honestly say that in all the years we have been diving I have only seen a Black Tip Reef Shark one time.
I couldn’t even scuba dive – eww thos things down there!
I’m with you every step of the way on this one. Maybe I’ve watched too many wildlife programmes?