My year in an oyster shell

The last day of the year is usually dedicated to reminiscing and remembering, to look back over the year that has passed and, for me, being amazed by all the change that happened in the last year.

My year in an oyster shell of change:

The year started with a broken heart over the loss of a very dear friend, this was compounded by seeking comfort in the wrong places.

I had a 'month of me', where I focused on making decisions purely based on what makes me happy, what I want out of life and where I am headed. Part of this was my decision to give up boys and their mischief for lent. 

I had a month where I pushed my boundaries and smashed through my limits, I became a bikini fish and took a big step closer to changing my life through doing my scuba dive instructors' course.

There was some wooing followed by betrayal and a little bit more shattering of my heart. And then some healing was found in sharing my passion for the underwater world with others and on the white beaches, warm water, sand dunes and cocktail sunsets of magical Mozambique.

There was some ferocious preparing for my mini adventure and then my biiiig adventure.

I had some awesome days in the sun, with a great group of friends sailing on a yacht along the South African coast.

There was some partying and quick catch-ups with friends and family and then good byes as I left for Thailand where I came to embrace cold showers and night dives dancing with luminescence stars.

My year was filled with many tears and doubts, fights and arguments with friends, family, the universe and myself. With discovering gems of friends. With countless moments that took my breath(e) -hehe- away. Mostly my year was filled with self discovery, with challenging myself to push harder and move further. With so much of loving and dancing and craaazy singing... and laughing... always the lauging!!

Cold showers

I find myself sitting in paradise this morning. We have some good music playing in the 'office'. There is a crazy wind that's blowing in from the sea and the water is choppy but still super clear and turquoise-blue.


I've finally settled and for the most part found my feet on the white sandy beaches of a small island in the south of Thailand.


In the little home that I share with my cousin we have the luxury of having a cold water only shower. I don't mind showering in cold water in the afternoons or evenings to wash the sea out of my hair and off my body, but find it a less-than-gentle wake up call in the mornings when my body is still warm from sleeping. Usually the stream of cold water is met by a stream of expletives from me.


The first few minutes are usually spent doing one of two things: holding my breath, bracing myself and trying to get accustomed to the cold water as soon as possible, or only spending as much time under the water as I absolutely have to.


My dream of living in a shack by the beach has finally become a reality.

With my little detour adventure doing the sailing course in Durban back home, and now my biiiiig adventure I am learning that, like stepping into a cold shower in the morning, the first few weeks, days even, of a new adventure are always the most difficult.

There is a shock to the system, confusion and often some swear words are uttered, sometimes exclaimed out loud, but mostly grumbled as a whisper to myself. While trying to soak up all the magic that this new adventure holds I found myself overwhelmed and feeling a little bit out of my depth. I was in a place where people could not understand me and I could not understand what people were saying to me, I didn't know where I was most of the time and relied on strangers to help me get where I needed to be.

I had some amazing encounters with strangers and some not so magical times while travelling. One of these being the time a guy threw me off the train only to have me wait on the platform for the same train to leave, do goodness-knows-what and come back again in half an hour., ready for me to get back on. 


Two weeks have passed with me blissfully living out my dream on Koh Lipe, where the hours and days fade into one. There is no more living for the weekend or home time at 5 pm. The hours are long, work is hard and I am getting some awesome muscles form doing general diving related tasks...


I have stood under the cold water and the discomfort has passed. I am again finding my balance and finding the magic in sunsets and breathing under water, in dancing with luminescence in the night, of crazy laughing and deep conversations... in living and loving and being... getting rejuvenated, and preparing to leap out of my comfort zone again in a few months.