Yes, it was raining when I went to the beach today, which seems to make swimming easier although not many other people seem to agree. And at Pt Chevalier beach it’s not too difficult to keep the towel dry.

A rainy afternoon at Pt Chevalier beach today

After Odysseus was confronted by those awful female monsters Skylla and Charybdis as outlined in the last post, apparently he ended up trapped on an island with the goddess Calypso who offered to make him immortal – but he was pining for his wife Penelope so declined the offer. Poor Odysseus! He was virtually emasculated by Skylla and Charybdis then trapped by a goddess! Of course he hopped into bed with her quite a few times but then he wanted to go home. Typical. Then I bet he gave Penelope all the excuses. ‘Sorry Penelope, she trapped me! And I had to prove I was a man after meeting those mean and nasty monsters!’ Despite not knowing whether her husband was alive or dead for many many years, and being surrounded by ardent and persistent suitors, Penelope was required to remain chaste – despite being chased. So, Odysseus would rather be reunited with his true love than be immortal. Do I really believe that? I think that he would rather be mortal but powerful than immortal and less powerful as it is likely that the goddess Calypso would always trump him in any kind of power-stakes because she is truly immortal, rather than the ‘muggle-wizard’ hybrid he would be if she granted him immortality. Maybe.

I feel slightly connected to the events of Homer’s Odyssey when I’m swimming as there is only really one sea. Perhaps I feel slightly immortal as I’m immersing myself in an ocean that has been circling the earth for about 3.8 billion years. Mind you, the earth has been around for even longer so there goes that theory. But then again, we don’t immerse ourselves in the earth unless we are dead and buried, and then we don’t usually get to blog about it.