We spent this past week at South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach for a big family gathering. Among the many unique experiences I went through during this marvelous vacation — besides spending quality time with family — was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. It was a first for yours truly.
What was so exhilarating about this activity was battling the "ferocious" waves and eventually learning to ride/surf them. If memory serves, I don’t recall ever facing high waves while swimming in the Red Sea – the site where most of my outdoor swimming experiences took place. Is this what distinguishes a sea from an ocean? I wonder. I must admit, being whacked by a strong wave can be painful but it’s loads of fun.
Another fascinating moment was watching a fisherman catch a shark, drag it and gut it out to get its meat. I was not the only spectator either, as many tourists gathered around the fisherman to take pictures of his most recent acquisition. However, I was the only one who asked the fisherman: "Is that a ‘real’ shark?" Somehow the whole thing was just surreal. Anyway, I’ll let the pictures [they enlarge on click] speak for themselves.
Tash, until the recent war and the environmental catastrophe, we used to swim in the Mediterranean sea all the time and the waves could get pretty rough. However, this isn’t the case for all of Lebanon’s coast….so sorry I couldn’t answer your question!
Those Pacific waves you speak of can be real pounders. I knew several that helped me drink a lot of salt water and tumble about powerless to control myself until it had passed along California’s Central Coast, especially at Cayucas.
Everyone has to do Myrtle Beach at least once and right now is good — so long as no hurricanes are bearing down — but if you surf then it’s better if one is taking aim on that coast.
Barbecued shark tastes pretty good, too.
I’ve never seen an ocean from American shores.
I know what you mean about surrealness. My mind refuses to accept that that big gold thing I keep walking past is the Dome of the Rock, and not just a large, suspended photograph thereof.
Mabrook! The Atlantic is nice when it comes to temperature; the Pacific is (much) better when it comes to waves.
That’s pretty brave to go there during hurricane season.