August 30 - Wednesday
Poole and Portland
Rory was feeling a whole lot better this morning and suggested we go down to his family's chalet d on the coast. Jon and I had heard a lot about this place and were excited not only that Rory was feeling better but that he was well enough to get out and about. We got in our swimsuits, shorts, sandals and Rory packed up his gear for some snorkelling.
OK, it was pretty overcast, a little windy and I had my hat and fleece on by the time we left the house but we were prepared for any kind of weather.
By the time we arrived at the chalet it was overcast with the occasional sunbreak, windy but not cold at all. We unboarded the windows to the chalet and went for a walk along the rocky coastline, looking into little tidal pools, climbing up and down the rocks. When we returned to the chalet the wind had settled down a bit so Rory broke out the wetsuit, fins, gloves, mask, snorkling-breathing-tube-thingee, knife, booties and towel. The plan was to trade off the wetsuit/snorkling gear and have a turn at snorkeling.
It was obvious how much Rory enjoys being in the water. He was very near giddy as he started putting on all the gear and had his feet in the water. He no sooner had the mouth piece inserted than he was in the water and having a look around, paddling about like a fish.
Next was Jon's turn as they traded gear. Jon seemed a little apprehensive and a little later we learned that he had never been snorkling before. Both Rory and I thought he had. He didn't go too far and when I thought he had stopped to have a look around he later told me that he was concentrating on breathing - having forgotten that he had the snorkle-tube-thingee in his mouth. Having always been a swimmer his first instinct is to hold his breath when his face is under water which is what he was doing. Overall he enjoyed the experience and was looking forward to trying again as early as Thailand or New Zealand. I passed on the snorkling - it looked a little too cold for me so we all headed back into the chalet and chatted for a while. Before long we decided to head back to Rory's - there was traffic to deal with and Rory had to meet Holly to do some horse stuff after she got off work. By the time we got back home Rory and Holly had a bite to eat before needing to head off. Jon and I spent the evening getting organized and watching The Band of Brothers series that Rory had on DVD. At Jon's request Rory brought back fish and chips as his last supper in England which Jon thoroughly enjoyed!
