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Location: Saints

We woke up to a morning drizzle falling on the open ocean, our wet deck, and our wet heads. Alex, however, got the wettest this morning as she slipped into the ocean with full rain gear on. Huddling under the tarp in a feeble attempt to stay dry, we all enjoyed a delicious french breakfast of freshly baked croissants and baguettes with fruit jam and potent cheese. A chaotic clean-up then ensued as the pleasant tapping on the tarp turned to a loud pounding. The deckies were so drenched that when they couldn’t even tell, they were being sprayed by the hose. We then descended into the salon dreading the upcoming event….the OCE midterm… After the infamous test, some of us headed into town for a rainy afternoon while others stayed on the boat to do work in the absence of any “epic rays.” We ran from shop to shop through the alternating downpour and drizzle until we found a restaurant with delicious pizza. The sun began to peek through the clouds after lunch, so in hope of bathing in the sun, we headed off to the beach. All was well as we walked down the winding road until we saw the beach sign, and the clouds returned. We threw our bags down onto the sand, stripped to our bathing suits, and ran for the ocean amidst the rain. I dove beneath the crashing white cap, and the familiar warm saltwater rushed over me. I swam out into the waves staring below me at the churning sand and above me at the raindrops dancing on the choppy surface. We waded just before the breaking point, attempting to body surf. Alex rode wave after wave with ease while Katherine and I had some trouble catching our breath amidst being thrust about underwater. After a while, Katherine and Lauren headed back into town for some Gelato and puddle splashing. Alex and I stayed submerged, enjoying the gentle roll and fierce rush of the waves. My head bobbed above the surface, staring out at the turbulent white water set against the approaching grey clouds. Suddenly we spotted…could it be?…a patch of blue sky! We stepped back onto the sand and collapsed onto our towels to enjoy a beautiful hour of sun and sprinkling rain tickling our backs. The sun began to disappear once more, and the sprinkling gave way to pounding. I raised my head and saw black clouds approaching the horizon. We jumped up, hastily threw on some clothes, and headed back to the road for a wet walk back to town. Taking on the downpour full-on, we let it soak into our skin and returned to the quaint french town soaking wet. After a wet dinghy ride back to Ocean Star, there was another opportunity to get wet-we went snorkeling on a shipwreck! Swimming over to the wreck, I stared through the blue water down to the sandy bottom. Suddenly out of the blue haze appeared a large boat overgrown with algae and surrounded by grazing fish. We had some fun diving down to observe this underwater treasure filled with sea urchins and feather dusters hiding in the metal crevices. When we climbed back onto the boat, we finally dried off and ate dinner as the sun sank under the horizon, bidding farewell to this rainy day.