International Badass Winter-Swimmers in Magical Realism

It seems like a month since I last wrote - my two weeks in Argentina were truly epic. I won't say they were life-changing, but something approaching that maybe. This was a bit of an impromptu trip, maybe 3 weeks from being invited to wheels up, and certainly not the best time for me at work, but I'm not one to turn down a free trip to one of my favorite countries!

We started in Buenos Aires...first day by myself in a terrific boutique hotel in Palermo Soho, then my friend Luisa (Brazilian living in Finland who I met at the World Championships in the Spring) came to join me. She is so interesting - from a diplomatic family in Rio, former champion kickboxer, came to iceswimming as part of a treatment plan for a blood disorder. We had a lovely few days together in Buenos Aires, just walking around, hanging out on the hotel's roofdeck, amazing dinners out, very laid back.

And then the madness started. On Friday, we headed into the town center to meet up with the other swimmers. It was sensory overload right away for me. So many people from all different countries (most countries had 1, sometimes 2 reps, we had 3 for USA and South Africa had 5 for some reason) and everyone with BIG personalities. We met up with a big group for coffee at the hotel bar, then headed out. We had beers at a local spot, then grabbed dinner alfresco at an outdoor cafe by Florida Street, a big pedestrian street of Buenos Aires. After the meal we met up with even more swimmers in the hotel lobby, then went to sleep very early for the first and last time of the trip.

Started breakfast around 8am the next day, and then the whirlwind of press conferences, city tours, receptions began. I am such an introvert by nature and it was completely overwhelming for me to be with this group of 50 other swimmers, handling team, 24 hours a day. I have a pretty strong personality but nothing compared to this bunch. It was wild.

That day we went on a Buenos Aires city tour, viewed the pool where Argentina's Olympic team trains, and even got to swim a bit. In the evening we went out to a tango show for dinner and then out to a nightclub afterwards. We got to club Museo around 1:30 and had tons of obligations the next day so didn't stay too long. The next day we toured the Casa Rosada, had a reception there, then headed to Puerto Madero for an exhibition swim. This consisted of lots of standing around, parading of flags, and then jumping into the water to do a slow 600 meter loop treading water with our flag. I had never done this but apparently it's a thing. (I am the pale one with the bright green suit holding the US flag, or possibly the Swedish guy with huge tattoos. Take your pick.)

Just before the festivities started, I saw our own [redletterday]! She was in Buenos Aires for vacay so it was so fun to meet up and chat for a bit. What a beautiful, smart person. After the exhibition swim I went for coffee with a group on the main street, then went back to one of the suites where we all chatted and passed around a bottle of some really strong Estonian spirits. We finished the bottle! That night was our "free night" but there was a dinner party scheduled at the organizer's house. I was tired but was so glad I went - it was this huge, amazing old building and he had the whole building. Everything was decorated perfectly with fantastic vintage looking finds, and the centerpiece of the whole downstairs was this wonderful pool. So beautiful, but also swimmable!

Monday we had another press conference at the Ministry of Cultural affairs, but only 1 person per country was selected to go. I was the USA rep, which more importantly meant that I didn't have to get up at 4 in the morning for a 5am flight to Mendoza! Finally I had the suite to myself and had a nice leisurely morning, showering, blowdrying, curling my hair. Day was long and our group arrived in Mendoza around 6pm. I had to take a work call so didn't get to take a nap when my roommates had been at the spa and/or sleeping all day! Rallied and went to simple pizza dinner at our hotel, which was actually this beautiful, new casino complex. Some (okay like two) people went out gambling but I was getting sick and did some work and went to sleep instead.

The next day we were up bright and early again, I was dragging from being under the weather and constantly around people. Breakfast at the casino was very nice, but mostly carbs so my energy was way off. I drank a lot of coffee and tried to eat as much fruit as I could. We toured the Mendoza region including another sports facility where people played volleyball and soccer on the huge regional field. We also had a visit to the locker room there, home of legends like Messi. I'm not a huge football fan so this was probably lost on me. One of the sponsors was a car dealership in Mendoza, and they set up an ice pool where we lounged for a while. It was bizarre. After that we had a late dinner of this amazing chicken stew. It was so cold out that night, I sat with a friend from NYC who was there representing Chile, and the Irish girls.

The next day was the first real swim, at Potrerillos Lake. We did some touring, of course, then visited the lake itself, but not the area we were going to swim in. It was so cold. Later we got to the actual area and there was no real warming tent set up for afterwards, just a three-sided tent with fire pits. It was crazy. We had option of doing 100 meters, 500 meters, or 1000 meters. I decided to be conservative and do the 500. I was fine afterwards, just am scared of not being able to walk out/dress myself/take care of myself if I got too cold, and I am still new to the cold water. One of the Russian girls was about my speed so we did the loop mostly together, then we got dressed and cheered on the last heats. It was nice. They had medals presentations and then we got back on the bus for a winery tour. Love the Mendoza wines and everything was gorgeous but I was still fighting that cold so not doing much except tasting.

We had a free night but I had a ton of work to do and was zonked so hung out with my roommate while I did work. Tried to get some rest before our 3:30am (!) wake-up call the next morning but ended up going to bed around midnight. The next morning we flew to Calafate towards the bottom of Argentina, in the Patagonia region. It was a longer flight and most everyone slept on the plane. We got in around 4pm but there was some problem with the registration so we went for lunch while everything got sorted. Hung out with Luisa and the Swedish guys mostly. It was relaxed but I was so exhausted. These rooms were configured differently so I was paired with one of the Russian girls for that night. That night the bar, dance, and buffet night was lame so I went home early to try and get some rest but ended up taking two emergency work calls at 11pm via laptop. BAH.

The next day was the big GLACIER SWIM. We did some touring of Calafate, then drove out to the Glaciar National Park. So beautiful but so cold. I was super nervous, we didn't even know what distances we would be swimming. I was finally feeling better but it had been a long week! We got dropped off to a boat, which left us off on the other side of the glacier lake. Then we had to hike through these icy streams with lots of mud to get to the swim site. I was not wearing appropriate footwear and my shoes got soaked. I would have been completely screwed but luckily was wearing really good wool socks that still kept me relatively warm even when wet. The glacier was so beautiful, but the water was still cold, close to zero degrees celsius. They had options of a quick dip, a 100 meters, or 1-3 laps of 300 meters each. I did 300 meters and was glad to do even that. It was pouring icy rain and while the recovery facilities were pretty solid, I didn't want to risk doing multiple laps. Even coming back in from the 300, the rocks were hard to walk on and I might have had an issue if my feet were numb.

After the swim everyone was on a total high. We got dressed, hiked back to the boat, took the boat back (it was hard to say goodbye to that beautiful glacier) After that we got on the bus and headed to the museum of Ice (because we love ice) and the Ice Bar (because we also love booze.) The icebar was a ton of fun but we had to head out fairly soon after that to get ready for the gala that night. We had about an hour to shower, primp, and throw on formal clothing. I'd packed one of my fave gowns from last season, hoping it wouldn't wrinkle. Sadly I don't think I have any full-length photos, this could be a tank top and jeans really.

The night was amazing - gorgeous dinner, presentations, awards, and so much good conversation and wine. The afterparty was even better - drank tons of champagne, danced, and generally indulged myself. I was finally feeling great, still on a high from the glacier swim. Shenanigans ensued, I stayed at the bar way later than I wanted to because I couldn't find my COAT, but then magically found it later on. Came home around 6am - I think I managed to avoid waking my poor roommate up but I may never know, being that I don't speak Russian. Woke up for breakfast around 10am and ran to the dining room. Met up with Ranie and Co for breakfast and debrief from the night before, packed up my shite, then headed back to the dining room for one last epic lunch. Patagonian lamb and more red wine. I had two glasses and was pretty much flying - lack of sleep, shampoo effect, IDK. Got invites to Siberia and Poland and then it was time to head back to the airport. Flight was a few hours long but uneventful, I sat in the back with my buddies and conked out.

We got back to Buenos Aires around 6pm and needed to rally for my BIRTHDAY DINNER. The other South African made us meet in the lobby at 6:15 (really 6:30) and I showered super quickly (my US roommates gave me the deluxe room in the suite as a birthday gift) and put on jeans and my BIRTHDAY shirt (chiffon tanktop with glittery sparkly collar.) Headed out for dinner at this ridiculous steak place. There were 40 people there and just the table was 25 meters long. This was really special to me because everyone was zonked from the night before, and dinner was completely optional.

I was serenaded with "Happy Birthday" in seven languages, plus some Russian/Latvian sea shanties about mermaids. It was amazing. They presented me with a flag that everyone had signed with birthday wishes. Such an amazing way to start 35, this may be the most epic year yet. After dinner we went back to the hotel bar, drank champagne, and everyone made toasts and shared items from their bucket lists. (And these folks had REALLY good bucket lists.) Went back to the room, had a pillow fight with my roommate, hung out on the roof, then went to sleep.

Woke up next day, had a last team breakfast, then walked around San Telmo with Jackie, Jakub, and Maria for a zillion years, then headed to airport. Overnight flight to NYC, took subway home and got in around 7am.

When I arrived house was in shambles (A was doing some work on the apt that went longer than he thought) so I showered and went to work. Did rowing class and yoga at gym after work, then fell asleep during savasana. Luckily l don't think anyone noticed, and if so, isn't that the point?

Namaste.

Last updated August 20, 2014