Bob Evans
Contributor
Betty, Embrace the Mediterranean Sea for me, the cradle of my first swims. Can't wait to hear and see your adventures.
Where did I go with my force fins?
- Thread starter Soakedlontra
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OP
Soakedlontra
Contributor
I am not sure if you really would like to embrace the kind of Mediterranean Sea that I have embraced, though...I usually avoid nasty water as much as I can...This time I was curious to see what it was like to do the opposite.
Greetings from Indonesia! Force Fin Pro in action right in the middle of Indo-Western Pacific Coral Triangle - Bunaken Marine Park,..
OP
Soakedlontra
Contributor
Greetings from Indonesia! Force Fin Pro in action right in the middle of Indo-Western Pacific Coral Triangle - Bunaken Marine Park,..
Beato te! (Lucky you!)
My latest experience with Force Fins was quite different from yours...
OP
Soakedlontra
Contributor
Today I finally had the chance to go to the beach for the first time since my arrival in Italy on April 14. I walked one mile down hills wooded with olive groves and oak trees (where my sister lives) caught a bus to downtown Lucca (a small city in northern Tuscany situated near the famous white marble quarries of the Apuane Alps; where Michelangelo used to select his stones for sculptures like the Pietà). Then, hurriedly, I got on another bus to the seaside town of Viareggio, which is the nearest place to go swimming in the Tyrrhenian Sea by public transportation from Lucca.
I havent been in the water for more than a month so I couldnt wait to get wet in this familiar warm sea. My parents used to take me to this stretch of the Tuscan coast, called Versilia, when I was just a baby in 1962. Of those days I dont remember a darn thing. I just know that I was an intrepid sand-crawler by judging from some old family snapshots.
In the 60s the Versilia was already a hub for holyday-makers. But tourism began to be part of the local economy since the 18th century. However, it was during the reign of Maria Luisa di Borbone, a century later, when the still unspoiled coastline, characterized by marshes and pine forests, gradually succumbed to the axes and shovels of early developers. They gradually built public baths one next to each other and dockyards for shipbuilding.
Versilias endless wide sandy beach slopes gently into a shallow seabed and it is particularly popular among families with children to these days. As far as one can see, this stretch of fine sand is crowned with hotels, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and discos. I would not go hungry or thirsty here even if I wanted to
As you may have guessed already, Viareggio does not stand out for its pristine underwater riches but for its exciting beach life above the water. The city is the Italian capital of mass beach tourism and manufacturing of luxurious yachts. It is also renowned for its carnival where huge paper mache puppets parade through the boulevard that runs parallel to shore.
Viareggios beach is a place for showing off your newest swimsuit and fancy boat at the sound of the latest hits and having a hell of a good time. Nature, relegated as a mere backdrop, tries to cope as best as she can with the seasonal invasion of hordes of tourists, that a local young man estimated to be in the order of 35,000 in Viareggio alone.
Despite my sisters warnings, I stubbornly packed my snorkeling gear in my backpack. I did not have any past recollections of what the water was really like and I wanted to see it with my own eyes. At a café I asked where I could find a jetty (the only place where one can find rocks along this coast) and then rented a beach-umbrella next to it. I must have been the only beach goer equipped with fins, mask and snorkel in the whole 12 miles of the Versilia. Now that the day is over I understand why:
[vimeo]24815335[/vimeo]
I havent been in the water for more than a month so I couldnt wait to get wet in this familiar warm sea. My parents used to take me to this stretch of the Tuscan coast, called Versilia, when I was just a baby in 1962. Of those days I dont remember a darn thing. I just know that I was an intrepid sand-crawler by judging from some old family snapshots.
In the 60s the Versilia was already a hub for holyday-makers. But tourism began to be part of the local economy since the 18th century. However, it was during the reign of Maria Luisa di Borbone, a century later, when the still unspoiled coastline, characterized by marshes and pine forests, gradually succumbed to the axes and shovels of early developers. They gradually built public baths one next to each other and dockyards for shipbuilding.
Versilias endless wide sandy beach slopes gently into a shallow seabed and it is particularly popular among families with children to these days. As far as one can see, this stretch of fine sand is crowned with hotels, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and discos. I would not go hungry or thirsty here even if I wanted to
As you may have guessed already, Viareggio does not stand out for its pristine underwater riches but for its exciting beach life above the water. The city is the Italian capital of mass beach tourism and manufacturing of luxurious yachts. It is also renowned for its carnival where huge paper mache puppets parade through the boulevard that runs parallel to shore.
Viareggios beach is a place for showing off your newest swimsuit and fancy boat at the sound of the latest hits and having a hell of a good time. Nature, relegated as a mere backdrop, tries to cope as best as she can with the seasonal invasion of hordes of tourists, that a local young man estimated to be in the order of 35,000 in Viareggio alone.
Despite my sisters warnings, I stubbornly packed my snorkeling gear in my backpack. I did not have any past recollections of what the water was really like and I wanted to see it with my own eyes. At a café I asked where I could find a jetty (the only place where one can find rocks along this coast) and then rented a beach-umbrella next to it. I must have been the only beach goer equipped with fins, mask and snorkel in the whole 12 miles of the Versilia. Now that the day is over I understand why:
[vimeo]24815335[/vimeo]
Xeon_intel You rock thanks for posting great to see those fins in action!
Soakedlontra - Great to read, see and hear that you are back into the water. Thanks again for bringing us along on your adventure!
Soakedlontra - Great to read, see and hear that you are back into the water. Thanks again for bringing us along on your adventure!
TN Traveler
Contributor
Cozumel Pics
Here are a couple of shots from my trip to Cozumel. (Pictures of the Yellow Hockey Fins can be seen on the "Yellow Hockey Fin" Thread)
Here are a couple of shots from my trip to Cozumel. (Pictures of the Yellow Hockey Fins can be seen on the "Yellow Hockey Fin" Thread)
OP
Soakedlontra
Contributor
You got real close to that turtle. It is a very 'reptile' look!
TN Traveler
Contributor
Actually he got real close to me. Have a series of shots from when he left the bottom and swam right up to me on his way to the surface. I had the zoom at full wide open and that was all that fit in the frame (I was actually trying to swim back from him so I could get a good picture of his gorgeous shell).
Sometimes you just have to be lucky
The black seahorse was about 4-5 inches long - the other one, less than an inch.
Sometimes you just have to be lucky
The black seahorse was about 4-5 inches long - the other one, less than an inch.
Cool pics TN,..will try to post mine as soon as I get them out from my SD card,..
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