i said i wanted to go at daybreak again, to slip into the warm wet sea while the sky was still deep velvety indigo blue-black yet slowly and surely turning salmon and tangerine with ease and grace.
we didn't go at daybreak. i was having the most intense, vivid yet ethereal dreams while i was in Oaxaca and when it was time to slink out of bed in the cool dark, my body wished to stay and my mind desired dreaming the perfect strangeness. too, i’ll admit it, i was uncertain about submerging in the water under the cover of night, not being able to see what creatures were swimming around and beneath me. i trust and respect Her, Mama Ocean, and i also like to see what She is drawing near me, introducing me to, showing me.
daybreak would have been the time to go for sheer and utter seclusion but who needs isolation when you’d rather just never wear clothes at all, most especially in that climate?
we meandered our way to the radiant turquoise sea before mid-day. there were families and couples, kids and elders. not crowded in the least but there were watchers and i choose to not mind. we plopped down under our sunbrella in the white powder sand and prepared for our underwater photo session.
there is this gorgeous sweet little bay area at san agustinillo beach in oaxaca. it’s between the two longer stretches of beach, and it’s only a bay in that it’s vaguely enclosed by some rock and reef outcroppings, making the waves ever so slightly less intense and allowing for the cradling of amazing sea life. i wanted my annual birthday (suit) photo shoot in this faint cove so we did it, among the families and couples, kids and elders.
we swam out just beyond the furthest out humans. we could still touch the sandy bottom. i was giddy. chad felt lucky. i handed him my bikini, which he looped over his arm, and he began taking photos. i swam away. i swam back. i floated tits up. i dove to the bottom. i didn't care who thought this or saw that and although latin american culture is far more reserved and modest, no one seemed to mind. topless sun bathing is not uncommon here so swimming nude didn't feel like much of a stretch anyhow. i flipped and flopped, plunged and pitched, dipped and dunked. it felt like freedom. it felt like being me.
the blessing and gift of getting to be on vacation each turning of the new year wheel, for my past many birthdays, at the warm seashore, with my beloveds, is not lost on me. these are the days, my friends, the ones i live for and love. this is the life. and i cherish it with my entire saltwater soul, i do.
freedom for my saltwater soul