Читать книгу Looking for Aphrodite - David Price Williams - Страница 28

The next morning, Harriet was her normal restrained self. True English phlegm had won through.

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I quickly discovered that swimming was the one great fun feature that was to make my stay at Knidos more enjoyable. For the really keen, there was always the opportunity of a quick dip even before starting work at 6.00 am, though few ever took that opportunity that I know of. It was the swim in the middle of the day that I looked forward to. Lunch, such as it was after a hot and gruelling six hours in the sun, was at 12 o’clock. Then we were free until three, so a couple of hours could be whiled away with a dip or two. For some, the over-keen, this meant just a quick leap into the ancient Commercial Harbour and back to the dig house for a spot of extemporary cataloguing or recreational pottery conservation. But for me the best, and to a great extent, most private time was to be had at one of the beaches facing the Aegean, north west of the site. Here, sheltered below high cliffs, there were two or three tiny coves where, provided there was no wind or heavy swell, a relaxing and contemplative swim could be enjoyed, soothing away the tensions of the daily round.

From the dig house you could walk across the isthmus and then round the north side of the Trireme Harbour and west across the ancient wall below the main part of the site. From here, a track scrambled down to the first of the three coves, then round the point to the second and third. The middle one was my favourite. There was even a small amount of sand to lie on, albeit mixed with sea weed and eroded potsherds. It was a very private little beach, out of sight of the city and used by almost no-one.

It was here that I learned a most liberating experience - to snorkel. What an extraordinary activity that turned out to be. Within a few days I could dive from the surface and swim along the sandy bottom observing the wild-life

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