Writing for Fun
August 2016
A Matter Of Life And Death - Jenni Bowers
The trip to Portugal was down to the young friend whose dad owned a timeshare apartment – we shared the cost and flew there expecting to sunbathe and explore the lovely region, but most of all relax, after stressful months working under pressure in a large insurance company.
Three swimming pools were open and we took no time to plunge straight in – the water was cool but sunlit all day long and we began to enjoy unwinding – evenings were spent wandering through the little village streets and taking in the wonderful flowers, bougainvillea and palm trees.
Evenings were spent trying out several bistro’s to sample food and the local drinks.
Midweek we found the lovely coastline and explored lots of small beaches with rocky caves to shelter amongst whilst sitting reading and enjoying the view, splashing around in the safety of the shallow sea.
Eventually on the last day we decided to sunbathe on the main beach, this was full of tourists with many local families bathing in the sea – Joanne decided to carry on sunning herself, desperate to go home with a decent tan.
I decided to be brave and join all the happy families in the water – I stepped gingerly into the sea and it was warm, so I carried on getting deeper until once waste deep I was about to dive in and swim when suddenly the shingle slid from beneath my feet and I was pulled under by a huge current – under I went and knew this was the end – my life rushed before me as I fought to regain the surface to no avail – strangely a calmness overtook me as I thought of those I’d never see again and closed my eyes.
Suddenly a hand grasped my arm and pulled for all their might – I was dragged backwards to the beach by a wonderful Portuguese lady who’d seen me go under – she dragged me out with superhuman strength and then left me to cough and expel the virtually full lungs – when I finally managed to breathe again I returned to Joanne – who hadn’t heard or seen my life or death situation as she enjoyed sleeping on the beach.
However, Portugal never figures on my holiday destinations after that and swimming, I stick to pools and just paddle off beaches in any unknown places.